Sunset on Lake Calhoun

I recently had the opportunity to go sailing in an old sailboat on Lake Calhoun in Minneapolis. I got a brief sailing lesson and did pretty well i.e. the sailboat stayed afloat and went in the general direction of land. That's enough achievement for a day, for me!


It was magical to watch the sun. It painted the sky in vivid colours as it slowly disappeared out of sight. My pictures don't do justice at all to the wonderful sunset I witnessed.
It was a glorious end to a beautiful day. Sigh!

Rhyming Road Signs in Sikkim

As it has happened with me before, my previous post triggered memories of a different set of pictures. I was reminded of a motor-bike trip I went on a couple of years ago. So, I went trawling through my folders and found some pictures taken from the back of a motorcycle while riding to Gangtok from Kalimpong. This was with a simple point and shoot camera before I owned a digital camera and a tripod. A few of them give a sneak peak of me in the bike's rear view mirror!

These pictures of road signs bring back a flood of memories. The wet roads, parts of it washed into the roaring Teesta River; the two of us on a motorcycle in the pouring rain; the vibrant green of the hills. I remember I was both anxious and excited. I was terrified that we would be caught in a landslide, fall into the roaring river and nobody would know what happened to us. Excited at the same time about the grand adventure I was having in the beautiful hills. I was thankful and amazed at how hard BRO (Border Roads Organisation) was working to maintain these roads.

This was a common sight with warning signs posted everywhere. The side of the road sliding into the river is know as sinking road. (part of Teesta River visible in the photo)

The road signs we came across kept us entertained on that treacherous ride.

Oh we tested the roads alright!

Sign(s) of the Times

Some random pictures of signboards taken while travelling around in the US.


On top of Chimney Rock. The parking lot was directly below.

In Las Vegas

Chicago.
Hmnn, I wonder how the food is.








Downtown Chicago

In New York City

Audubon Swamp Garden

Audubon Swamp Garden in Charleston, South Carolina, is a unique nature and wildlife preserve. It boasts of a variety of plant life, birds and water-loving creatures. The beautiful area can be explored from the many boardwalks, bridges and dikes. I had a grand time exploring the place and could easily have spent the whole day there.

A Great Egret greets us as we enter the swamp

A paddling of ducks in the swamp

An Anole gives us a baleful look

Ah! Now that's a comforting sign!

Anhinga and Yellow-bellied Sliders enjoying the sunny day

This was a common sight in the swamp. An American Alligator and Sliders enjoying a nap

Second Longest Escalator in the World

This is the longest escalator in the Western Hemisphere located at Wheaton Station, Washington DC. It took us two minutes and 45 seconds to reach the top from the bottom! We saw some people sit on the steps and ride up, while others walked to reach the top faster.

Pismo Beach / Napa Valley (California Master Trip)

May 18th
Reached Pismo from Yosemite Campsite
Swam in the pool like I had temporarily taken leave of my senses
Enjoyed a relaxing two mile walk to Thai Thalay
After a thai dinner, walked back to hotel

May 19th
Next day started with a 3 mile jog on the Pismo roads
Then we hit the outlet mall hard!
Jogged again in the hotel gym for 40 minutes
Walked to pier and enjoyed dinner in Italian Pastabella

May 20th
Long but beautiful 9 hour drive from Pismo to Napa on Highway No-1
Stunning views of the pacific ocean from vista point
Lunch at spirit garden
Ended journey at KOA campsite in Petaluma
Small walk around the campground enjoying the flowers and mulberry trees
Built a campfire and had dinner

May 21th
Started the day with a swim in the big KOA pool.
Visited two farms of Napa/Sonoma - bought peaches in the first, strawberries in the second.
Ate too many strawberries (one month's supply of vitamin c in one sitting!)
Vineyard visit
Lunch at Market Cafe
Visited Old Faithful Geyser
Petrified Forest
Drove back to Oakland
Spent time picking pennys from the parking lot
Cleaned the RV so that it was ready to return the next day on the way to the airport
All American food at Denny's Diner for dinner
Packed up and called it a day and a great holiday!

Sulphur Spring

My previous post reminded me of a different hot spring. This is an old picture of a sulphur spring near Joshimath in India. The soft bubbling mud, the blue steam and the gushing hot water was an astonishing sight. It also smelt horrible like rotten eggs!

According to the locals, one can boil an egg here in under a minute. The water cools down a bit as it comes down the hillside and is channeled into two pools, one for men and the other for women, to bathe in. The water is said to have medicinal properties. The place was deserted and we had the pools to ourselves. The warm water felt good in the cold weather and did not smell so strongly. I'm glad I got over my initial reservation, as it was a thoroughly enjoyable experience.

Old Faithful Geyser

Old Faithful Geyser of California, located in the scenic Napa Valley, is said to be one of the only three old faithfuls in the world. The geysers get such a name because they erupt at regular intervals and have a predictable pattern. Scalding water (around 350 degrees F) shoots high in the sky, in this natural occurrence. This one put out a spectacular show every 15-20 minutes while we were there.
The mountain in the background is Mt. St. Helena.

Tuolumne Meadows and a hike in the snow.

Tuolumne Meadows is the largest sub-alpine meadow in the Sierra Nevada mountains. The Tuolumne River meanders here, rugged mountain peaks and domes surround it. To reach the meadow from the Yosemite Valley, one has to drive on the Tioga Road. The road is a scenic drive with fabulous views of meadows, lakes and granite cliffs. It is open for vehicular traffic in early spring, and closes sometime in fall when snowfall gets heavy. In May, there were still huge piles of snow on roadsides and on the mountains.


This picture neither looks like the photo in my travel book nor how I imagined the meadow to be. The book showed a green meadow with beautiful sub-alpine flowers and I was excited to see it in person. This view is what I got. But then again, this is not the season for the flowers to start blooming.

Beautiful Tenaya Lake, located at an altitude of 8141 ft.

Hiking in the snow:

We had come to see the meadow and to do a hike around the area. We decided to hike to the Cathedral Lake and set off enthusiastically. What we were not prepared for was the amount of snow on the way, in places knee deep. After 4 hours of ploughing through the snow with wet shoes and cold feet, one could tell our enthusiasm was beginning to wane. After a brief meeting, we all decided to turn back. Though we did not get to see the lake, the distance we hiked in the snow was an enjoyable experience. We even came sliding down a few slopes, when our legs needed a rest, which was pure fun! One of the most enjoyable hikes I have done in the US.

The snow was not too much when we started

Views along the way

Then the snow got too much to walk on. It was great fun to figure out where to put the next step and see how deep it would sink in. In some places the snow came up to our knees!

After we abandoned the trek, we spent some time enjoying a steaming bowl of maggi and thawing out our poor toes in the warm comfort of our RV. Parked here it looks like an ad for an RV company!

Mariposa Grove

The beautiful grove with the Giant Sequoia Redwoods deserves a post of its own. We spent over 5 hours walking 14 miles, exploring the thousands of years old trees. A walk among them is truly an awesome experience. Some snapshots of the grove:

Mariposa Grove of the Giant Sequoias

I found this interesting sign near the entrance to the grove

The Grizzly Giant, the biggest tree in the grove, and a major crowd puller

A Chipmunk
Tannin rich bark of a Sequoia
Giant tree= giant cone. The tree grows from seeds.
A Mule Deer peeks out at us as we pass him

The Fallen Tunnel Tree
The Bachelor and Three Graces

A Woodpecker, pecking away, unmindful of the people trying to photograph him

The Faithful Couple Tree

Bird's eye view of Wawona from Wawona Vista Point

Yosemite Valley

After we got the RV, we spent a few days in the unbelievably beautiful Yosemite National Park. We got to see the beautiful lakes, waterfalls and the huge granite rocks that the park is famous for. Most of the hikes we did we had the trails to ourselves, as the park is not very crowded at this time of the year. Apart from hiking in the Yosemite Valley, we also did some spectacular hikes in Mariposa Grove and Tuolumne Meadows.

Merced River flowing through the Yosemite Valley

The campground we stayed in for the nights was right out of a dream! Our allotted parking spot was within a few yards from the Merced River. Imagine going to sleep every night surrounded by tall trees, a dazzling starry sky and the sound of the gurgling river, and to be woken up by the chirping of the birds and being greeted by the many pretty flowers blooming on the riverbank. Ah, bliss!

Horsetail falls, tumbling down the face of El Capitan


Half Dome on a cloudy day


Bridalveil Falls


The beautiful Mirror Lake with Mount Watson reflected in the water

Elephant Rock

Emerald waters of Mirror Lake