In the middle of a stunning valley near Ben Nevis, stands an enormous bronze statue of three soldiers that is dedicated to The British Commando Forces that fought in the Second World War.

I've experienced many war memorials, but what makes The Commando Memorial stand apart, is the setting. We were driving through the gorgeous countryside and then all of a sudden, there was this statue in the middle of nowhere. There are a few houses, but mostly just fields, with the memorial, just off of the main road.

If the soldiers in the statue could see, this would be their view.

In addition to The Commando Memorial , there was an Area of Remembrance for soldiers in commando units who have died in more recent wars.

The Commando Memorial was a very moving tribute and a must-stop on the drive towards Loch Ness.

As we continued our journey, the landscape shifted from green valleys to the nay blue shores of Loch Lochy. Loch Lochy is clearly the best name of any loch in Scotland. Say it five times fast. Go ahead!

A rock pile along the shore of Loch Lochy.

We continued to drive away from Loch Lochy and into farm country.

A sign that you would never see in Los Angeles.

In Fort Augustus, near the location of our Loch Ness night-stop, we discovered The Bridge of Oich.

The double suspension bridge was built in 1854 and is listed as a Historical Landmark.

There are so many beautiful places in Scotland and I have just begun! Stay tuned to find out if we spotted Nessy!

Our drive towards Loch Ness continued with more unplanned stops. We had no idea that we were going to drive right past Ben Nevis, the highest peak in the British Isles.

It was raining heavily, but they were still running a gondola to the top. Many cyclists were taking the gondola to mountain bike down Ben Nevis' various bike trails. We opted for a round trip ticket. This is the only mountain gondola in Britain.

Tickets in hand, we boarded our gondola. The carriage could hold six, but felt small and claustrophobic with just the two of us. I felt like I was on a carny ride at a local fair! It had a small window at the top, which had been left open and the seats were covered in rain.

It was windy and the windows were pelted with rain during the entire ride. Quite frankly, it was a little bit scary!

I sat very still, as if my lack of movement might be what saved our lives! Dan thought it was hilarious and took a video of me admitting that I might not be "always packed for adventure".

It was a long way up and a long way down. Just when we thought that the ride must be over, we came to a mini-peak and noticed that we still had a long climb. It took about fifteen minutes (felt longer with the rain) and we climbed to 2150 ft on the north face of Aonach Mor.

Finally we reached the top.

In addition to being the start of the mountain bike trails and ski slopes, the top had a cafe and the Mountain Discovery Centre.

We walked around and saw a giant snow plow. Ben Nevis is gearing up for ski season.

The biggest snow plow that I've ever seen.

In the cafe we had comfort food for lunch.

On a clear day, I'm sure that the view is spectacular. Here is a picture of what we could have seen, if the cloud cover had not been so thick. All we saw was a blanket of solid grey.

As we stayed at the top a little longer, some of the clouds lifted and we were able to see the gondola.

We walked down a set of creeking metal stairs to visit the Mountain Discovery Centre, where we learned about the local wildlife and construction on the mountain.

My favorite thing at the discovery centre was this little bit of History.

This was tucked in around information about deer and pine martens.

We spent about two hours at Ben Nevis. I would love to return when the visibility is better and maybe try some of the ski runs.

UK August-October 2013- Commando Memorial and Bridge of Oich

UK August-October 2013- Ben Nevis