Yosemite National Park - Photoblog

We (us and the cousin family) decided to go to Yosemite two days ago. It was supposed to be a day trip. We left at 8AM. Wanted to reach by noon, eat lunch near a river or creek, then go on a trail or hike to a place we have not been to, have dinner at curry village, then go up to glacier point for sunset and be back by 1:00 in the night.

It was a nice plan which we did execute till the lunch part. We had to overcome two obstacles.

a. It was free day and that meant an overwhelming crowd and no parking. We searched for parking for approximately an hour and forty minutes. We were this close to giving up and heading back home when we decided to make one last try and miraculously we found parking. It was a good thing we did not give up because we definitely would have missed some great sights.

b. The 0.8 mile hike to the foot bridge at Vernal falls was supposed to be mild difficulty. It was mild for healthy men and women who looked like horses with not an ounce of fat on their bodies and had rippling muscles to show! The me who has not seen any exercise in years and had to hike the paved trail which was at a 60 degree angle was struggling to just keep up.

Again the kids co-operated on flat terrain and protested during inclines. The older kids starting saying things like "my heart hurts" or "my lung aches". We kept promising a most beautiful sight, just like the other parents on the trail. The older kids really enjoyed it when we finally got there but the three/ four year olds were just bummed out.

At one point the little one just lifted her hand heavenward and said "thookie" (lift me). On any day, would just lift her up, give her a big kiss and carry her. Not on this hike. She pleaded and I made the mistake of lifting her. Immediately all eyes were on me. Every parent on the trail promptly reprimanded me indirectly or directly for setting a bad example. All the kids started lifting their hands up and saying "thookie" in their respective mother tongues! Apparently lifting kids on trails like this is banned. I just didn't know.

But we all did pull through to the foot bridge and it was gorgeous. Suddenly there was a cool mist as the river gushed through rocks. There were rainbows everywhere. The temperature dropped a good ten degrees. There was a water fountain and a rest room!

After spending almost a half hour at the bridge, the ladies and kids made their way back to the MIL who wisely stayed put at the trailhead. Balaji and me decided to go on the rest of the trail towards the top of the falls. It was the most exercise I have ever gotten in any two hours but was worth it!

After coming back, have decided to start working out more seriously so more such adventures can be enjoyed without getting bummed out too soon..

The self imposed ban on fries, chips and sodas and the local biking has definitely helped, but not enough to go on hikes. I am very much a work in progress...

On the bright side, I did get creative during the last hike. It was difficult enough to carry my own bodyweight. So ditched the tripod with the ladies and took only the camera and used my hat as a camera stand of sorts for self timer. The iPhone doubled up as a camcorder..

If you go on this hike, take one of those Niagara falls type raincoats with you. Should come in handy to protect the camera from getting wet as you go up.

All said and done, another great local trip.

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Ho Rain Forest - Olympic National park

The only park where we have seen

a. snow covered forests
b. green rain forests
c. beaches
d. meadows
e. snow capped mountains
f. hurricane ridges
g. rivers
h. streams
i. Lakes
j. hot springs

etc. etc. (we have not fully gone on all roads within the park by van, so there is no talk of things not seen by foot)

is Olympic National park. Truly beautiful.

On our last trip the able adults who had any strength left (or were desperate to take photos) went on a trail into the Ho rain forest to see the Moses trees. The entire area of trees is covered in a thick green Moss and reminds you of Jurassic Park. The ferns growing everywhere give you the added effect of being in a primordial place. Truly scary and awe inspiring at the same time.

Here are five of my photographs from the Ho rainforest (taken about three weeks ago.. It feels like three months ago already!).

Talking of going by foot vs. going by car/van or caravan, there will be a post tomorrow on the public transportation system in the US of A!

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Remlinger Farms - Seattle

Happiness is going on a little boat with your sister and watching plastic fake duckies swim in front of you.

More on Remlinger Farms later. It was a fun place for a half day trip near Seattle. The kids and adults enjoyed it.

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Woodland Park Zoo - Photoblog

There comes a time in every mans life when he starts straying.. and gives in to temptation. You have been faithful and loyal to what you thought was a "vision to behold", the "apple of your eye" etc. etc. only to find by chance that sometimes you might just have missed out on a lot of fun.

Okay. We are not talking about my woman here, though god knows that Seattle women who come to the Woodland park zoo on a summer weekday can make you doubt your own resolve. That zoo can as well market itself as a pickup bar! As usual we digress, especially after a whole post has been dedicated to this topic already..

Now that you have guessed the names of all those animals from their butt shots, here are their portraits. But before going further, we have to clarify. The Canon digital rebel with the simple 28-80 (non image stabilized) lens is not exactly zoo material, except for low light shots.

The BIL has recently acquired a Nikon D40 with the works (body, wide angle, telephoto, tripod, etc. etc.). He had the 55-200 lens on his Nikon and in an impulsive move, I grabbed his camera to take a shot, simply because my camera couldn't zoom that nicely. Lo and behold, what a shot!

The rest of the zoo trip, would borrow his lens at every opportunity.

Love my Canon. This is not a camera limitation. If the old Tamron 18-200 lens was there, it would have done the job. There are no imminent zoo trips, so the wait for the lens will continue.

All shots taken with D40 except the snakes which were taken with the Canon.

Finally, our wild ones..

At the end of this trip when we were driving back, one thought kept crossing my mind. Human beings, inspite of all their flaws are the most fascinating of creatures.

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Sunset, last night

Just plain gorgeous...

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