Close up with Nature- Wild Mushrooms

I have found mushrooms to be very interesting subjects to shoot. What attracts me is their irregular shape and delicate structure!

I took this picture at Redwood National Park, California on the Fern Canyon trail. Reaching the Fern Canyon was a tricky drive on rough unpaved road crossing the stream at three places. Really amazing place!
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Great Hikes- Zion Angels Landing

Zion National Park is a peaceful sanctuary and home for very interesting cliffs and canyons. It also offers few most terrific hikes which excite the visitors beyond imagination. All NPS employees talk about it ... Every visitor wonders about it ... many want to hike it ... few complete it ... and the name is Angels Landing (5,790ft) or earlier known as Temple of Aeolus! At a height 1,488ft above the canyon floor the cliff provides spectacular views of Zion Canyon. Insanely popular, most terrific, most gratifying and most scenic hike I have ever completed. Here is  my story of hiking to the top of knife-edge cliff and back ...

Colorful Skies- Clouds over Zion cliffs

Zion National Park in Utah is one of the best in USA. It offers great hikes leading to incredible views. Even a  drive across the park on Zion Park Blvd (Route-9) is fun! With few hairpin bends and looooong tunnels the drive is interesting. The high standing cliffs on either sides and the blue sky with white scattered clouds, the total scene is a delight to the visitor's eyes.

Birds- Wood Stork

Wood Stork is a large American wading bird and is the only stork that breeds in North America. Their dark brown bald head, a dark face and woody looking neck give them the name Wood Stork. Right now it is in the endangered list, there are plans to upgrade it to the threatened. With wingspan of more than six feet they are normally above three feet high.

National Monuments- Wupatki Ruins and Sunset Crater Volcano

Wupatki National Monument has scattered settlement sites of ancient Pueblo tribes. Wupatki means Tall House in Hopi (a Native American tribe) language, is listed in the National Register of Historic Places. It seems the first  inhabitants migrated to this place after the nearby Sunset Crater volcano erupted. The volcanic ash made this place fertile for agriculture and the volcanic rocks helped in the soil's ability to retain water. The settlements were abandoned completely within 100 years. The ruins in the monument belong to different tribes. The Lomaki and Nalahiku ruins seem to be little smaller and the ruins are reduced to only mud mounds and debris. Only the Wupatki Pueblo is the largest and whatever remains are well preserved. Wupatki ruins have entrance fee of $5.

Colorful Skies- Passage at Bryce National Park

One of the places in USA which made me speechless with its stunning beauty was Bryce Canyon National Park in Utah. The strange towering hoodoos, the passages, the color red, the clear blue skies and beautiful sunsets and sunrises. There is no part of the day one feels bored here.

Scenic Routes- US Route 89A and a stalker!

I have gone on road-trips to Arizona, not much, a little in the northern parts. My journey so far has been part of I-40, on highways 64, 89 and that US-Route-89A from Bitter Springs to Kanab, UT also known as Fredonia-Vermillion Cliffs Scenic Route. It passes the Marble Canyon National Monument, crosses Navajo Bridge, passes Old Cliff Dwellers Lodge, intersects Grand Canyon North Rim Route 67 and it is scenic!

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. 

Birds- Green Heron from Florida

Green Heron (Butorides virescens) is relatively small herons in north and central America. The color of these birds gets so camouflaged with the surroundings and they go unnoticed. Initially I thought it was just a log of wood and then saw the bird moving. These herons are smart, they use insects as bait to lure fish it seems!

National Parks- Zion, A peaceful Sanctuary

Zion National Park in South-west Utah is a peaceful sanctuary. Earlier it was known as Mukuntuweap National Monument and then was upgraded to National Park in 1919. Mukuntuweap meaning straight Canyon and Zion means a peaceful or perfect place for refuge! High standing cliffs, peaks, the river, slot canyons, mesas, color of the rocks, wildlife and the clear blue sky are so very welcoming that I visited this wonderful place thrice! The high rising towers of red sandstone and the incredible canyons of Kolob region are awe inspiring. Like any other National Park in USA Zion has an entrance fee of $20.

Colorful Skies- Another Urban Sunset

I was talking about watching sunsets from my terrace in my post earlier. Here is another one! Sun is looking pretty behind the high voltage towers and lines. The sky was extremely orange which made me run up to the terrace and initially I wasn't happy with those electricity lines. But, thats what I see now-a-days.

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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.

Travel Talk- Saving money for full time travel?

Well, hardest part in full-time travel is to survive without a job. Spending wisely and saving every rupee means a lot. I took a couple of years after I quit my job and started traveling, to realize how saving little by little makes a big difference. I observed my savings were evaporating faster than I thought! There are many articles floating around on internet with general tips. But, saving money is very personal. What works for one may not work for another. Saving can be very effective when there is a strong desire and determination to fund your travel dream. Saving money is not an easy thing. It takes a lot of effort, creativity and sacrificing many of the lifestyle addictions. We may not succeed as we have planned but best thing to do is ... keep trying ... to make our dreams come true! 

Colorful Skies- Sunrise seen from Mather Point, Grand Canyon

Many times I consider Grand Canyon as The Canyon as if there is no other canyon in this big world! That could be because of the beauty of the rocks or may be I haven't seen anything better than it yet! I have visited this park more than once and every time I did spend more than 3 days here. I watched sunrise and sunset everyday. And every time from a different viewpoint. This is one of the closeups I captured in my camera from Mather Point. Lovely memories!

National Parks- Grand Canyon National Park

Grand Canyon National Park is very popular and visited by many- guess why? It is a magnificent work of art by Mother Nature, on the rocks by the river and with time. The Grand Canyon- a gorge of the Colorado River, a massive, imposing landscape is a World Heritage Site and also considered to be one of the seven Natural Wonders of the World. The grandeur, the beauty and the majesticity of this canyon is unparalleled. The beauty is increased by the layers of exposed colored rocks and the vastness. The park contains several types of ecosystems, different life zones and three types of desert systems. It is one of the places to view the rarest bird in the world- California Condor. Like all other national parks in USA, there is an entry fee of $20.

Colorful Skies- Sunrise and Thor's Hammer, Bryce Canyon

Bryce Canyon National park in south-western Utah is a land of beauty! Amphitheaters filled with hoodoos of different shapes and sizes and colors, it is one of the mesmerizing landscapes. Thor's Hammer is one of the special hoodoos and I happened to be there at sunrise. It was an unforgettable scene!

Random Thoughts- The passion called Travel!

I happened to have a chat with an acquaintance who lives in the same apartment complex as me. And obviously the conversation turned to travel. During the conversation she kept on repeating one line ... Oh! I have a job, I have a family. If I were 'like you' I would also travel. When saying 'like you' she sounded like she is alleging me of something! By the end of that conversation I was thinking ... Anybody 'who wants to' can travel ... but then, what is it to be 'like you'?

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.

Colorful Skies- Moonset for a change!

When we think about beautiful colorful skies always sunrises or sunsets come into mind. For a change I am posting a picture of a moonset on a full-moon night! One October night a couple of years ago I attended a photography meetup at Suthro Baths in San Fancisco. Suthro Baths are ruins of a large 19th century swimming pool which were abandoned almost several decades ago.