Beyond Here

Being in the bay area puts us in close proximity to Yosemite National Park. We both absolutely love the place. Infact our trips to the place have always been special. The very first time we went there, we hit the park during perfect weather and full waterfalls. And since we did venture on one of the less frequented hikes, we also had a not-so-desired bear encounter that left us a little bit unsettled. Our second trip to the place was during fall and the fall colors had us going ga-ga over the place. Fall in Yosemite was definitely beautiful. So it was no wonder that when we set off friday evening for another trip we were absolutely impatient with excitement and what the place had in store for us. It was an uneventful drive for the first couple of hours except for a long stretch when there were loads of white and purple wildflowers along the road. Till we were closer to the park and suddenly S hit the brakes - there were 4 deer on the road. And when it comes to wildlife the rule here is...

It happened at one of the vista points along Highway 1 recently. A squirrel very graciously posed while we went click-click with our camera. Infact we clicked quite a few with the little one looking here and there and even straight into the camera lens. It was not scared at all...we were expecting it to scurry away but it was just not ready to leave.

In the end though, it is always the California poppy that rules! While driving back on Highway 1 we chanced upon a number of patches of these, but this one particular patch was especially bright orange.

Coming back to the weekend trip to see wildflowers.... While travelling down from our place we drove on Highway 101. All along the highway, after every mile were these markers reminding us that 101 is the historic El Camino Real. Since we could not stop the car just anywhere, (and I was hell bent upon taking a picture of this marker,) it took some time and effort before I could take a shot of this marker from the moving car. I was very pleased myself. Till yesterday, when I was walking to a nearby grocery store on El Camino Real near our home (its a slow driving street instead of a fast moving highway when it runs through any city) and what should I see but the same markers. So much for putting in all that extra effort. In any case, I actually found the whole 101 route to be very scenic, especially this time of the year since it was all green and colorful with flowers. On our way back we drove back on Highway 1 along the coast. We decided to stretch our legs at the Fiscalini Ranch Pres...

I have to intersperse my wildflower trip account with this post on Rome. A lot of our friends are travelling to Rome this year (atleast 3 in the immediate friend circle) - and everytime they ask me for planning tips, I am reminded that I completely forgot to blog about our Italy travel. Actually we were so caught up in moving etc. that blogging about Italy took a back seat. So here are some tips especially for Rome: 1. Buy yourself one of those Rick Steve's guide for Italy/Rome - it is very useful with very handy tips. A lot of the tips here are from that book that we used and found to be useful. 2. Pack light - If possible pack all your stuff into a big carry on, so your luggage does not get delayed or re-routed. It happened to one of our friends - they reached Venice without their luggage and spent much of their trip shopping for clothes - Infact they got their luggage back only after they had returned to US. Even when we tried to check-in our luggage at the train station at Zuri...

While there was a lot of lavendar and blue wildflowers around this season, this is definitely the year of yellow. And the star attraction of our trip was a drive to Cottonwood Canyon Road off Highway 166. Since this was basically wide open space, we could park anywhere, climb the hills, walk among the flowers (of course on foot paths so as not to trample on the flowers). Here are some pictures from the time spent there. P.S. BTW the credit for alerting me to the wildflowers in Cottonwood Canyon goes to the author of the following blog . I came across his posts when looking for wildflower locations near our place and that is how we reached Cottonwood Canyon. Thanks kmw. It was a weekend well spent, all thanks to your tip.

The central California coast is looking magnificent this wildflower season. We went searching for them last weekend and once we were in the area, did not have to search much. They were pretty much everywhere. Lining the highways were yellow, lavendar and blue flowers (lupine) along with lots of california poppies. At times it was difficult to keep the eye on the road. The following pictures were taken on Shell Creek Road, off CA-58, right before reaching the Carrizo Plain National Monument. Since it was not a freeway, there was plenty of time to walk around and observe the flowers at length.

These days there are california poppies blooming all around this place. They reminded me of these poppy fields growing in the wild that we came across outside Lausanne in Switzerland last year. We were having a hard time figuring our way out of the city in the car, when we came across these. Getting lost can be fun sometimes.

A picnic at Golden Gate State Park.... And the flowers were in full bloom after the long winter. Spring is definitely here! P.S. Mridula, this one is for you :-)