Beyond Here

So we are back from the trip and going through the normal round of infections one is prone to from travelling in a long flight. (Yeah, it happens to me without fail - fall sick immediately after a wonderful vacation). There is lots to post and write. The trip covered New Hampshire, some portions of Maine and most of Vermont. And we were lucky - there was color in plenty. Hill after hill was covered with autumn colors, the air was crisp and not too cold and Master S was very patient and in good spirits throughout. Snapshot of the trip since a friend asked for it - Land into Boston Drive to North Conway (3 hours) and stay there for 3 nights Drive to Burlington (2.5 hours) and stay there for 2 nights Drive to Woodstock and stay for a night Back to Boston and fly back Around North Conway, the must-do drives were the Kanc Highway, drive up north through Jackson to Artists' Bridge and through the Oxford Lake area of Maine and a visit to the Fryeburg fair. Then through...

In Maine. Have been yearning to see a covered bridge since I read - the Bridges of Madison County. Finally saw one, though not in Iowa. Published with Blogger-droid v1.4.7

Still on the trip... but I have a smartphone :) It's gorgeous and so colorful here that it leaves me misty-eyed sometimes. Published with Blogger-droid v1.4.7

Generally this blog sits orphaned - wondering why its owner even created it, for now and then she completely forgets about it. But then some friend or family member call up or chat and tell her how they love reading her blog. They remind the owner that she has this other baby to take care of too. And so she comes back.... A trip is in the works. Its time for fall colors and we are heading to New England for a taste of it. Back during our Masters, both Mr. S and I loved the fall in upstate New York. We have never really gone back to enjoy fall since we moved to CA. Come every fall season, we have been trying to catch glimpses of it in CA itself. But this year we are finally making the trip. Its going to be a "coming-back" of sorts, almost. Our trip will not touch NY but we visit some neighboring ones. And we hope to see some color....

This post is from my phone. For this Wednesday I am sharing a picture of Maligne Lake in Jasper. Surrounded by snow capped peaks, it makes for a perfect alpine Lake. For more watery wednesday posts, click here Published with Blogger-droid v1.4.7

That summer (the summer we visited Banff and Jasper) was definitely the summer of bear sightings for us. It started with seeing a sow and 2 cubs cross the road right in front of our car on our drive over to Yosemite, followed by numerous sightings at Denali, peaked with being almost next to notorious grizzlies in Katmai and then ended with seeing another sow guide her 2 cubs near a river in Jasper. We were taking a break to take in the scenery while driving over to Maligne Lake in Jasper. Mr. S has this magnificent tunnel vision when it comes to spotting wildlife. He suddenly exclaimed - "Bear!". Right there, below the cliff where we were standing, emerged a sow with her cubs from under some bushes. We followed them for quite some time as they made their way along the river but maintained a respectable distance. A few more people driving by stopped when they saw us looking down so keenly beside the cliff. After sometime though, the bears just wa...

Lake Pyramid From Banff, we made our way further up north to Jasper National Park. Jasper turned out to be bigger and less crowded. Less crowds meant there were times when there was hardly anyone in sight and we would have the whole place to ourself. Again lots of lake visiting and hiking around lakes happened in Jasper. Our first visit was to Lake Pyramid. Very quiet and hardly anyone there except for a few kayakers at one end of the lake. From Lake Pyramid we went on to Lake Anne. Not too many people - now that might be just because my husband and I are early risers but there were a few people here sitting beside the lake and enjoying their books. I remember making a mental note to self - "Bring a book next time". Lake Anne People keep raving about Banff, but I definitely preferred Jasper to Banff. It was a larger park with much fewer crowds and much more wildlife sightings than in Banff. Walking and sitting around these lakes I felt one with nature and with mysel...