Beyond Here

Happy new year everyone!! Last year was especially good for travel. S and I were finally living together and that gave us a lot of opportunity for weekend trips and vacations. There was the trip to Yosemite, another one in search for wildflowers, wine tasting in Livermore, a hiking trip to Zion and Bryce, a short rendevouz in Vegas, a week long vacation in Alaska, another week in Canada's Banff and Jasper National parks - all in all lots of meadows, bends in rivers, waterfalls, colorful flowers, snow covered mountains, gem-colored lakes, glaciers and icefields and last but not the least loads of bear sightings. This was definitely the summer when we saw more bears than any other wildlife - the season started with seeing a sow and 2 cubs in Yosemite, and ended with seeing another sow with her cubs in Canada. In between was an exhillarating trip to Katmai to see the grizzlies. In addition to all this were the day-long trips to San Francisco and the towns nearby - an effort on our par...

Cuckoo continues her photography competition with a different topic each month. The topic for this month is Clouds and here is my entry. This picture was taken this summer when we visisted Alaska. We were driving from Fairbanks to Chena Hot Springs, the day had been clear for the most part when suddenly the clouds started reeling in. We stopped at this pond and the clouds were stark grey.

A few months ago, we went wine tasting with a couple of friends and came across this barn in front of one of the tasting rooms. In front of the barn was this very interesting "Official weather station"

During our trip to Alaska one day was dedicated to a drive down Richardson Highway. Richardson Highway runs from Fairbanks to Valdez, a distance of about 350 miles. Google Maps will tell you otherwise - that Richardson Highway runs from Delta Junction to Valdez and that the section before it is Steese Highway, but the actual road signs mark it as going from Fairbanks to Valdez. Before leaving I had done some search on the internet - there were people who claimed it to be the most scenic highway in Alaska. Plus when we started it looked like it was going to be a pleasant day. Our 2 prior days in Denali had been cloudy and rainy at times and so I was really looking forward to the drive. Our first majestic glimpse was that of the Alaska range that started coming into view pretty much as soon as we were leaving Fairbanks. As we crossed Delta Junction and the range came closer the views kept getting better.... Plus there were long stretches of the highway when we couldn't see a car for ...

A friend recently asked me what our exact trip plan for Alaska was and I forwarded her a small spreadsheet I maintain for longer trips. I thought it might be useful for other people planning a trip. Here is a snapshot of what I ended up sending to her.

Sunit and I have run into bears unexpectedly twice before. The first time left us scared - we were all alone on a hike in Yosemite. The second time was jaw dropping - we saw a sow and 2 cubs crossing the road, from the safety of our car. So it was no surprise that one of the items on our itinerary to Alaska was a visit to Katmai - home to the grizzly bear. The Katmai National Park has the largest concentration of brown bears in the world. It also provides one of the safest environs to see bears. There are viewing platforms along the mouth of Brooks river and Brooks falls and though one has to leave the safety of the platform when going from one platform to another (about a mile or more apart), this is still the best way to see grizzlies closely without any need for binoculars or zoom lens. When the salmon visit the river for spawning, about 70-80 bears congregate at the brooks falls to catch fish. Our final day saw us making a day trip to Katmai. Our travel plans were booked through Ka...

Cuckoo has been a regular visitor on my blog and I saw that she is hosting a photography competition on a different topic each month. Thats interesting. Now here's a reason for me to go back and look at all the pictures we take. The topic for this month is Sunrise and here is my entry. We were on a boat (ketuvallam) in Allepey in Kerala. At night we were docked near a paddy field. And early morning my parents woke us up to this cloudy sunrise...