Waterfalls- Lower Calf Creek Falls in Grand Staircase Escalante

Well, I had mentioned the ruggedness of the Grand Staircase Escalante National Monument in my earlier post on Devil's Garden. The place is simply wonderful and full of surprises. On Scenic-Byway-12 (MAP) driving 15-miles from Escalante one can find another pleasant, lush and lovely desert surprise- Lower Calf Creek Falls in Calf Creek Recreation Area. 

Waterfalls- Jog Falls, The pride of Karnataka, India

Recently I received an email from one of the readers and he addressed me as a Non-American blogging on America. Well, it reminded me to write on India too! So here is one post on India- a destination from my own Karnataka. Jog Falls (830ft), one of the tallest plunge waterfall in India is located in the state of Karnataka. This is one of the major tourist attractions that comes to life during the monsoons. River Sharavathi plunges down 830ft in four segments to create this magnificent beauty.

Waterfalls- Alamere Falls

Alamere waterfalls ... one of the popular waterfalls in the San Francisco Bay area. After falling in three cascades the Alamere Creek flows into the ocean. After hiking 4.5 miles on an almost flat terrain, to see this last cascade one has to scramble down a very steep cliff. Being a popular picnic spot this waterfalls attracts bigger crowds on weekends. 

National Parks- Bryce Canyon, Giant natural amphitheaters

Bryce Canyon National Park is a land of natural giant amphitheaters of hoodoos. As the name suggests bryce canyon is not a canyon. The hoodoos are structures in the form of pinnacles formed due to frost weathering. These exposed delicate pinnacles are red, pink and white in color and about 200ft high. The whole set of amphitheater area is about 20 miles long north-to-south. The rim of the amphitheater varies from 8,000ft to 9,000 and hence has a cooler weather. Being remotely located in south-western Utah clear sky and colored rocks make a beautiful contrast, and the clear air helps produce good photographs. Like any other national park in USA, Bryce Canyon NP has an entrance fee of $20 per car.

Hawaii- More from Big Island!

Big Island of Hawaii is popular for its most active volcano Kilauea. But, there are many other places one could enjoy this island's volcanic beauty. As any other island it has numerous beaches on the western coast and waterfalls on the wind and rain swept eastern coast. If you take a drive along the perimeter of the island numerous viewpoints await you.

Hawaii- Waterfalls along beautiful Hana Highway, Maui

Isn't it wonderful to drive on a ever winding road in the thick rain forest with countless hairpin bends, viewpoints and waterfalls?! One such great experience I had was on the popular Hana Highway on the eastern coast of Maui, the best Hawaiian island. Being a waterfall-oholic I went crazy! I had to stop at every waterfalls to take pictures. Rain allowed photography only at some places. Here are a few of them.

Waterfalls- Columbia River Gorge, A National Scenic Area!

Ponytail Falls

American north-western states are very popular for the gorgeous waterfalls. I haven't visited all these states but have seen few waterfalls in Oregon. One of the most beautiful area in Oregon is Columbia River Gorge National Scenic area. The gorge runs on the border of two states- Oregon and Washington. There are 77 waterfalls on Oregon side alone!! They are of different heights, volume, widths and shapes. No waterfall will disappoint you. Most of them are easily accessible and several other may need a short or a lengthy hike to reach.

National Parks- Haleakala, The landscape from Moon

Oheo Gulch waterfalls

Hawaii- everybody's dream destination ... huh? Yeah, it was for me too ... Tropical Paradise they say ... I was fascinated, mesmerized, speechless by the live volcanoes and the landscapes created by this fury of nature! These islands away from the mainland have very interesting weather, their eastern coasts get rainfall almost throughout the year and western coast is hot at the same time! Well, my first stop was Maui, rated best in the islands to visit the most beautiful volcanic beauty! Well, I took an accommodation in Kihei with the view of Charlie Young Beach.

Waterfalls- Hedge Creek Falls

Once, I took a road trip from San Diego to Portland mostly on I-5. On the way there are many global cities like, San Diego, Los Angeles and San Francisco. But, what interested me were numerous small lesser known places ... One of them is Dunsmuir in northern California. This place is blessed with small yet wonderful waterfalls and friendly people. One of the waterfalls is Hedge Creek waterfalls. Very close to the freeway exit. A short hike downhill leads to this falls. 

Waterfalls- Mossabre Falls

As I mentioned in one of my earlier posts that smaller places interest me more. Long ago I was reading  a book which was about smaller towns in America. The book listed the interesting small towns also. Unfortunately, I forgot the title of the book :( but I remember Dunsmuir was listed among them. Dunsmuir town has two beautiful waterfalls which are easily accessible. Hedge Creek Falls and Mossabre Falls.

Waterfalls- Silver Falls State Park

I stayed a night in Salem, Oregon. My plan was to visit the Silver Falls State Park and the numerous beautiful waterfalls around. I drove 20 miles south-east very early in the morning so I could get beautiful morning light to shoot those amazingly gorgeous waterfalls. I looked around as I drove on the deserted road towards Silverton ... it was green all around ... it was beautiful and dreamy for a person from Bangalore or say California. My friends from Oregon complain about the grey sky though :)

National Parks- The popular Yosemite

This is my 100th post on this blog! I started this new blog with a beautiful template (recently changed it anyway!). I started it on May 24th, a little over 6 months ago. It has grown well with over 27K hits. I thank all of you who like to read my articles and encouraged by expressing beautiful thoughts in comments. On this occasion I would like to present an article on Yosemite National Park- one of my all time favorite place!

Yosemite National Park is one of the most popular, most beautiful, most visited, most hiked and most photographed national parks of USA. I have visited this place n-number of times, in spring for wildflowers and waterfalls, in summer for hiking, in fall for fall colors and in winter for snow-shoeing. To visit this place one doesn't need a reason or occasion just the name is enough! Very easily accessible waterfalls and viewpoints are crowd pullers.

Waterfalls- Burney Falls, A never ending flow

Burney is a small town in northern California. It is popular for the McArther-Burney memorial state park. The centerpiece of the park is an ever flowing waterfalls. This 129ft waterfalls is fed by underground springs and has water even in dry summers. (Info from Wiki) The waterfalls was called eighth wonder of the world by then President of United States Theodore Roosevelt. It is declared as National Natural Landmark.

National Parks- Sequoia, A walk in the Land of Giants

Sequoia National Park in California is a place to see the ancient giant sequoia trees. As I had mentioned in the previous post Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks are adjacent to each other. And one can see these magnificent trees in both parks. In Sequoia, one finds the world's largest tree and in Kings Canyon- world's second largest tree :)

National Parks- Kings Canyon, The rugged beauty of nature

Located in Southern Sierra Nevada range, California, Kings Canyon National Park is known for its rugged scenery, high mountains and deep canyons. Beautiful waterfalls and mysterious caverns add to the beauty of it. This national park is adjacent to the Sequoia National Park which is popular for its ancient and giant sequoia trees. Springtime wildflowers make this place a heaven.

Cities- Jabalpur

I had heard about Jabalpur as a base for higher education and Kanha National Park. Never knew anything much about it. I had some time when in Indore, I did an internet search some evening and was surprised to know there are many beautiful places in and near the city. Jabalpur is well connected by bus and train. I was at Pachhmarhi and so decided to take a train from Piparia to Jabalpur (about 170KM) and found a decent budget hotel with the help of autorikshaw driver. The hotel restaurant food was great.

Hill Stations- Pachmarhi

Pachmarhi is the only and beautiful hill stations in Central India. It is popularly known as Queen of Satpuras and lies inside the Satpura Biosphere Preserve. At an altitude of 3500ft the little town is a tourist retreat and bustling with tourists, touts and has a strong presence of Army base. Pachmarhi is 144KM from Bhopal, capital city of Madhya Pradesh.

Waterfalls- Alamere falls

Alamere Waterfalls ... One of the popular waterfalls in San Francisco Bay area. It flows in three cascades and empties into the ocean. How wonderful is that? The waterfalls can be reached by 10 miles (16 KM) round trip hike, part of it along the coast with beautiful views. One has to scramble down the cliffs with loose rocks to reach the bottom of the falls. It is a beach and hence it is a great picnic spot.

There are two lakes on the trailside and during springtime the whole place looks colorful with wildflowers blooming and the music of chirping birds soothes the soul!

In the picture is the first cascade during springtime!

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Hill Station- Darjeeling

At 9:00AM I got into a shared taxi at Siliguri railway station. My destination was Darjeeling, West Bengal -The Honermooner's Paradise. I was in anticipation of many things. Green everywhere, mountains with cloud hats, tea gardens carpeting the rolling hills, waterfalls as embelishments, blue sky, cool breeze, hot green tea with a hint of lemon etc ... ah! I have read too many books! Mountains hiding behind the mist, grey sky, invisible valleys, relentless rain, worn out road ... was the reality during my visit in late October. We were driving on an uneven road with lots of water streaming down. Best part was ... I was enjoying it!

Cities- Dharmashala, Little Lhasa of India

Dharmashala, a hill station on the spur of mighty Dhauladhar Range is the district headquarters of Kangra. It is the temporary residence of His Holiness Dalai Lama and so gained international fame and is now popularly referred to as Little Lhasa of India.