Den and Wen in Italy - The Dolomites Day 5

Thursday, Oct. 1, 2026 - Breakfast at the Hotel Diamont - note our view of yesterday's gondolas:

After 2 nights, we left Hotel Diamont. After breakfast we boarded The Bus and headed east toward Cortina d'Ampezzo - one of the sites of the 2026 Winter Olympic Games. To get there we had to cross the Passo di Falzarego (Falzarego Pass):

Once over The Pass, 10 miles from Hotel Diamont, we stopped to take The Chairlift up for today's hike:

To quote The Tour's pdf: "This morning starts with a scenic chair lift ride to the iconic Cinque Torri, a dramatic cluster of five rock towers that once served as a strategic stronghold during World War I. Today, the area is an extraordinary open-air museum, where restored trenches, bunkers, and artillery emplacements wind beneath the iconic towers—silent witnesses to the fierce battles fought here between Italian and Austro-Hungarian troops. As you walk these serene and scenic trails, your guide brings history to life, sharing stories of the soldiers who endured high-altitude warfare and pointing out the panoramic views that made this site such a crucial observation post."

After all that scrambling, we were on a "regular trail" down to the bottom:

From there we drove 9.2 miles to a fun restaurant-with-a-view, up a dirt road (Malga Giau):

View from the porch - note the dirt road:

Then the drive to Hotel de Len in Cortina d'Ampezzo:

The view from our hotel room:

Dinner-with-the-group, and off to bed. WOW - Thank you God for another wonderful Dolomite-Adventure Day!

Shameless Plug: if you enjoy this blog, you may like my other one about Hiking the 4,000 footers in New Hampshire/Vermont/Maine/New York:
hyperlink: dixonheadingnorth
http://dixonheadingnorth.blogspot.com/

Den and Wen in Italy - The Dolomites Day 4

Wednesday, Sept. 30, 2026 - Breakfast at the Hotel Diamont was fun - as we were chatting, I was asked what kind of music I listen to on my Road Trips. When I said "Oh, rock 'n roll - The Rolling Stones, ...", the British lady at the next table exclaimed "OH - THE STONES ARE MY FAVORITE!" Smiles all around (and stories about Hyde Park performances 50 years apart).

We started the day with a 2/3 mile hike through town, to the little gondolas:

The Group is going on a 5-mile hike up on The Pralongià Plateau, with a cheese-tasting adventure in the afternoon. The Dixon's, however, are going to take it easy today (I'm getting a "Sports Massage"). So we hiked around The Plateau for a little while before going back down:

Wendy got to play for a bit:

Pretty view as we took the gondola back down:

Nice architecture in town:

We had lunch, and did our massages and relaxation (at one point in my "Sports Massage" I thought: "This will either help my pain, or I Will Never Walk Again." It helped the pain.). Later in the afternoon, I looked up Wendy's location on "Find Friends":

Dinner-with-the-group, and off to bed. WOW - Thank you God for this wonderful Dolomite-Adventure Day!

Shameless Plug: if you enjoy this blog, you may like my other one about Hiking the 4,000 footers in New Hampshire/Vermont/Maine/New York:
hyperlink: dixonheadingnorth
http://dixonheadingnorth.blogspot.com/

Den and Wen in Italy - The Dolomites Day 3

Tuesday, Sept. 29, 2026 - Breakfast at the Alpenroyal - note 2 tableclothes on each table:

To start the day, we took a 15-minute bus ride west, back down The Valley. It is a cloudy day as we took a cable-car up for our morning hike:

As we took the cable-car up, we entered the clouds. But then, less than 100 yards from the end of the ride, WE BROKE OUT OF THE CLOUDS! Everyone applauded - it was a magical, mystical experence, and even humbled our guides:

The Seceda cable car top station sits at 2,518 meters, which is 8,261 feet (Estes Park, Colorado is at 7,522 feet).

In the blazing sunshine, we started our hike:

Very cool views down the valley (I like the ski lift coming out of the clouds):

WONDERFUL HIKE (as you can probably tell, it doesn't get any easier than this) - 2.67 miles through ⁨Parch Naturel/Puez-Odles/Val Gardena:

The clouds seemed to recede as we moved downhill to our lunch-stop:

Our hike in Google Earth, with base imagery from October 2017 and February 2026:

Pretty neat view at lunchtime (I was able to give the honeymoon-couple in front of me a nice photo):

After lunch we were treated to a presentation on "The Making of Gin", while we sat on the hillside. Nice conference room:

After the presentation, we took gondolas back down to Santa Cristina Valgard. We "saw the sights" for about an hour:

Then The Bus took us to our 2nd hotel in the little village of San Ciascian:

I LOVE THE VIEWS, especially traveling through the fog-shrouded mountains:

We checked into Hotel Diamont at 6, with dinner at 7:

Dinner-with-the-group was a lot of fun, and off to bed. WOW - Thank you God for this wonderful Dolomite-Adventure Day!

Shameless Plug: if you enjoy this blog, you may like my other one about Hiking the 4,000 footers in New Hampshire/Vermont/Maine/New York:
hyperlink: dixonheadingnorth
http://dixonheadingnorth.blogspot.com/