- Through the Dolomiti

NOT traditional housing in South Tyrol

We hit a good number of places in the Dolomites after Venas, including Lake Misurina, Passo Valparola, Val Gardena, Halfling and Bolzano. After leaving Venas we sailed along the mountain roads into Cortina d'Ampezzo and straight up to Lake Misurina for views of the Mountain Tre Cime. This was a beautiful spot indeed. We had some nice clouds that moved in, and a little wind cooling things down a bit. Ali went on a short venture to photograph some ducks. She spent considerable time along the lake shore getting the perfect shot (I've included her favorite picture below). Cailin
played her ukulele for some bell-laden cows and seemed to catch their attention with the tunes. At one point several of them moved toward her. The sound of the cow bells and the ukulele strumming in this beautiful spot was fun to hear.

Ali's shot of one duck nesting

Cailin playing for the cows

Tri Cime (on the right) seen from Lake Misurina

Strummin' at Lake Misurina

After a quick bite for lunch we jumped back in the rental car and lit out west through the Dolomites toward the Val Gardena area. A short while later we arrived, along with plenty of bicyclers and motorcycles, at the high point of our trip, Passo Falzareggio and Valparola. From there we dropped down toward our destination of Selva in the Val Garden area. We had a room rented in the village of Selva (Wolfenstein in German) where we would spend four nights exploring the countryside and relaxing. The road from Cortina d' Ampezzo to Selva was interesting with plenty of good curves to make for fun driving.  What a spot for motorcycling!

Shannon asked to photograph the bicyclist on Passo Falzareggio

Approaching Val Gardena from the NE

Moon rising over Piz Boe

Once we arrived in Selva we settled into our hotel, which was very nice. It had a "wellness area" containing a pool, hot tub, sauna, steam room, cold room and quiet area with hot tea. We were certainly living it up here! The views weren't bad either. We were treated to a nice show that evening as the moon rose over Piz Boe. Selva is one of three primary villages in the Val Gardena area that we explored. The other two are St Christine and Ortisei. All three are small villages (I would guess around 3000 people) famous for skiing and mountain biking. They all have tram access to the surrounding peaks making it very easy to gain access for hiking. Selva is the highest elevation of the three villages and its name originates from the Latin word Silva, meaning "wood. It's a very nice town, and like this entire area it has a Austro-Hungarian influence (more on this later). We enjoyed a nice relaxing stay here and took the opportunity to explore the high country.