We visited Connemara, which is very reminiscent of the Eastern Sierra Nevada Mountains in the vicinity of Carson City, Nevada. Mountains 2500 feet in height with few trees; mostly ground cover. Did we mention that the wind blows so hard that trees do not survive in this area? Needles to say this area is greener but overall it looks so much like the Eastern Sierra Nevada Mountains that it shocked us. We should mention that this was one of those rare days in this part of Ireland when the sky was blue and the sun was shinning. Usually it is overcast, foggy and very wet.

We spent the night in Westport, County Mayo. A lovely town! We stayed at an old hotel - breakfast included in the accommodation fee. While having breakfast we encountered another couple from the states who had spent 24 years in the SF/Sacramento areas and are now residents of Kansas City, MO. Seems they had the same impression about the Connemara area looking like the Eastern Sierra Nevada Mountains.

They harvest a lot of peat in this part of Ireland. Peat continues to be used as a heating fuel. The continuous harvesting is destroying the landscape. With employment being less of an issue perhaps the use of peat will slowly subside. The picture above shows the barren landscape due to the high winds. However, a lot of the area does get some protection and where that happens there are flora and fauna as also shown above and in the picture of our bikes in the car park

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