During a family trip to Cancun, Samuel and I very much wanted to dive cenotes. Cenotes are a form of cave in which you are always able to see some daylight so the qualification required is less than cave diving. We chose Wetset divers who were very responsible, and we had to do a dayContinue reading “Diving Mexican Cenotes in May 2021”
Author Archives: Peter Ireland
Reflections on an LSHT Thru-Hike
(Originally published on the Lone Star Hiking Trail Facebook page.) (Daily blogs from this hike at https://cajunlimeys.com/lone-star-hiking-trail/) WHAT I DID. I hiked the LSHT westbound in six days, from Tuesday 11th May to Monday 17th May. I hiked solo. I did not get resupplied mid-route, and I did not pre-stash any water. Forums like thisContinue reading “Reflections on an LSHT Thru-Hike”
Lone Star Hiking Trail Day 7 – Pond at MM2.5 to MM0!
I tried my breakfast with cold water rather than hot (TJ coffee, Hot Choc mix, instant oatmeal), and it was all pretty good so something to consider in the future. Walking out the final 2 miles is like a victory lap, and seeing the 1 mile marker has a completely different meaning! And just whenContinue reading “Lone Star Hiking Trail Day 7 – Pond at MM2.5 to MM0!”
Lone Star Hiking Trail Day 6 – MM16.5 Lake Conroe to MM2.5 pond
Had to take the obligatory morning photo over the lake, but this campsite wasn’t the best for it. The forecast was for major storms to start at 1pm (they didn’t…), so I started early and was hiking by 7:10 and was thinking less than 6 hours to cover 14 miles was doable. A pretty fastContinue reading “Lone Star Hiking Trail Day 6 – MM16.5 Lake Conroe to MM2.5 pond”
Lone Star Hiking Trail Day 5 – MM33 Pipeline ROW to Lake Conroe MM16.5
I realized I was using up way too much battery, so left the phone (and hence camera) off today, so very few photos which is a shame. After a good night on the edge of Huntsville State Park on the pipeline ROW, it was an easy walk down the hill to Camelia dam. What IContinue reading “Lone Star Hiking Trail Day 5 – MM33 Pipeline ROW to Lake Conroe MM16.5”
Lone Star Hiking Trail Day 4 – East 4 Notch Campsite MM51.5 to MM33 Pipeline ROW
Got an earlier start so was hiking by 7am. My main memory of four notch when I did it a couple of years ago was the spiderwebs… That time, I was heading East and started from the hunter camp when it was still dark. The web would be illuminated by my head torch about aContinue reading “Lone Star Hiking Trail Day 4 – East 4 Notch Campsite MM51.5 to MM33 Pipeline ROW”
Lone Star Hiking Trail Day 3 – Magnolia Campsite MM68.5 to East 4 Notch Campsite MM51.5
One mile hike to get out of the woods then the 2.4 mile hike on blacktop to Evergreen Baptist Church and their awesome water faucet! Still early so cool and I had a nice long rest with the water at Evergreen, that I paid for later. Evergreen to TH9 is dirt road. One dog afterContinue reading “Lone Star Hiking Trail Day 3 – Magnolia Campsite MM68.5 to East 4 Notch Campsite MM51.5”
Lone Star Hiking Trail Day 2 – Tarkington Campsite MM83.55 to Magnolia Campsite MM68.5
The previous evening’s storms passed. After a fine night at the primitive campsite at MM83.5, the trails had generally drained very well and I managed to keep my feet dry. Mozzies weren’t bad either until after Double Lake. A few downed trees across the path, just to remind you there was some recent wind! ThereContinue reading “Lone Star Hiking Trail Day 2 – Tarkington Campsite MM83.55 to Magnolia Campsite MM68.5”
Lone Star Hiking Trail Day 1 – TH15 to Tarkington Campsite MM83.55
This post and the associated series were first shared on the Lone Star Hiking Club Facebook Group page, directly from the trail. I had gained much useful information from this group, so I wanted to give back. This was my second attempt at thru-hiking, my first attempt being a couple of years earlier with SamuelContinue reading “Lone Star Hiking Trail Day 1 – TH15 to Tarkington Campsite MM83.55”
Thirty Years with Schlumberger
Why do I describe my career on an adventure blog. First, the job itself was quite the adventure, and it inspired many other adventures through the travel it led to and the people I met. In describing my adventurous pursuits on this site, omitting my thirty years with Schlumberger would be a big hole. Second,Continue reading “Thirty Years with Schlumberger”
Diving the Oriskany and Lionfish Hunting in July 2020
My research for diving adventures led me to Brady Hale’s Ocean Strike Team which organized lionfish hunting trips out of Pensacola Florida. The dives required the Deep Dive specialty, so we signed up to do that first with Michael Watkins from Dive Pros, and that took us to the amazing Oriskany wreck. This was aContinue reading “Diving the Oriskany and Lionfish Hunting in July 2020”
Motorhome Rental
On our journey to motorhome ownership, we have rented units three times: once in the UK and twice in the US. The UK rental was in 2008 when the kids were small. The US rentals were in 2017 for driving the west coast between Mexico and Canada, and in 2020 to visit North Carolina waterfallsContinue reading “Motorhome Rental”
Buffalo Bayou Paddling Trail: Briar Bend Park to Woodway Memorial Park
This is a “catch-up” post from May 2020 to describe our second outing on the Buffalo Bayou. Having successfully completed a solo outing the previous week, I persuaded Samuel to join me for the next leg. The days were getting hot, so a short trip was advised. Moving upstream from my previous outing, the nextContinue reading “Buffalo Bayou Paddling Trail: Briar Bend Park to Woodway Memorial Park”
Buffalo Bayou Paddling Trail: Woodway Memorial Park to Allen’s Landing
This is a “catch-up” post from April 2020, when COVID was just starting to get real. The legacy of Hurricane Harvey in 2017 remained strong. We’d bought our bright-green ten-foot “Lifetime Manta” kayak for less than $300 in 2012 to have some fun with the kids. It had been hanging from the ceiling of ourContinue reading “Buffalo Bayou Paddling Trail: Woodway Memorial Park to Allen’s Landing”
The British Virgin Islands by Sailboat in 2020
We had booked a dream holiday for March 2020. Over the previous year, I had taken courses to qualify as a yacht skipper and Samuel had qualified as crew. We were bareboat chartering a yacht from Sunsail in the British Virgin Islands. When we left Houston in mid-March, there remained some uncertainty about where thisContinue reading “The British Virgin Islands by Sailboat in 2020”
The Outer Mountain Loop and Guadalupe Peak in 2019
The fifth installment of my West Texas adventures takes Samuel and I back to Big Bend’s Outer Mountain Loop (OML) and to “The Top of Texas,” Guadalupe Peak. The primary goal of the trip was to be the highest person in Texas at the beginning of 2020. The rest was just for fun! You canContinue reading “The Outer Mountain Loop and Guadalupe Peak in 2019”
A Six-Day Tour of Lake District Peaks
This is a “catch-up” post, written in July 2022, of a fantastic loop trek that a 14-year-old Samuel and I completed in June 2019. When we had lived in Ulverston in 2010 and 2011, Samuel had been too young and I too inexperienced for extended wildcamping trips. Our 2018 trek in Colorado had given usContinue reading “A Six-Day Tour of Lake District Peaks”
Diving at Sea Base in March 2019
The catalyst for Samuel to learn how to dive was a trip to Florida’s Seabase with scouts in March 2019. These were his first dives after qualifying the previous year. Seabase’s setup was very good for new divers. Our instructor, Dale Davis, a former air traffic controller with the air force, was fantastic both asContinue reading “Diving at Sea Base in March 2019”
Our Trip to Israel in 2018/2019
As Janet and I prepare for a trip to Greece in October 2024 to retrace the Apostle Paul’s footsteps, I write this post describing our trip to Israel to help refresh my memory. Perhaps you’ll enjoy reading it? I warn you that it was a packed trip, and this post includes many adventures. Summary ReflectionContinue reading “Our Trip to Israel in 2018/2019”
Ten Days in Colorado
This is the last of my “catch-up” posts for now, and this adventure with Samuel from 2018 is perhaps the most memorable trip we have done. While we have done longer trips since, this adventure had a combination of challenge and remoteness that were a stretch for each of us. We avoided crowds and enjoyedContinue reading “Ten Days in Colorado”
The Adventures of the Cajunlimeys 