White Sands, Continued

In this post, I chatted about White Sands and how beautiful it is at sunset.  And that's true.  But it is equally beautiful during the middle of the day.  It's hard to capture in pictures the size of the dunes made by the gypsum.  This one shown below was grand.  

Even more amazing was the plants.  Quick growing plants live in this area, stretching to survive over an incoming dune. In the middle of this particular photo, you can see the two plants in the middle of the frame are half covered with the sand.

As the wind moves the sand, it makes cool patterns in the sand.  I thought this one was cool.

But as the dune moves on its way, the plant has generated a vast root system which keeps the gypsum from moving with the rest of the dune.  The sand is tangled in with the roots and prevented from moving with the breeze.  That leaves these large towers throughout the park, waiting for the nest dune to pass by.

Run Free

There is something about a horse that I absolutely love.  They are large animals and can be intimidating, but I find them to be some of the most gentle creatures on earth.  

This is a photo of Easter Island.  Usually, when people show photos of the island they show the pristine blue water or the awe inspiring maoi status.  And if anyone has looked through this blog, I'd be guilty as well.  But the land is also so inspiring.  There are few trees on the island due to over-cultivation in the past.  But the grasses, the wildflowers cover the land beautifully.

Which makes for a good environment for the wild horses.  Yes, there are wild horses roaming all over the 63 square mile island.  Which explains the rock walls and turnstiles to protect the more significant sites on the island.  (Although, horses can jump and I did see them entrapped inside of the very area the walls were built to protect.)

One night I was walking home from a late night dinner.  The town on this island is small and there are few lights on the streets.  Footsteps could be heard, but the darkness prevented seeing the maker of the noise.  Suddenly I was surrounded by 5 - 10 wild horses as they overtook my pace and wandered down toward the beachfront.

That's when it was confirmed that I was someplace unique.  I can honestly say I had never previously been surrounded by wild horses in the middle of the busiest street in town.

White Sands National Monument

White Sands National Monument is an amazing place in the southern part of New Mexico. Not really sand at all, the dunes are made of gypsum. The gypsum is from the nearby mountain ranges. While typically the gypsum would be dissolved by the water and eliminated via water run-off, this place is different. The water here runs into a basin where there is no outlet. Once the water seeps into the ground, the gypsum is left in crystallized form.

The dunes it forms are amazingly tall. The day we went, kids were sledding down the sides and scrambling up to the top again. We looked at the evidence showing how the dunes moved over time.

But sunset makes this place magical. The light brings out the colors of the area. People wandered among the plants snapping photos where shadows formed that previously had none. Items in silhouette were stunning against the desert sky.

Southwest Wild Flowers

As mentioned here, a friend and I traveled around the 4 corner region during early May.  Of course in the desert region of the south west, I knew the soil would be dry and sandy.  However I didn't know the flowers that thrived in that kind of land.  These wild flowers were so beautiful and dotted the desert floor.

Byodo-In Temple, Hawaii

Who has ever fed the fish at the Byodo-In Temple in Hawaii? If so, you likely have a photo just like this one. The temple is built in a valley on the island of Oahu where the light brings out all of the colors of the surrounding area and the air is heavy but cool.

Around the temple is a large "lake" of water that is stocked with fish. The nearby gift shop has fish food for sale. So it's common to see people feeding the fish. What was surprising is how active they were at grabbing their next bite. Years later, I went back to this temple. These fish are now almost a foot long and not nearly as cute during fish feeding time.

Valparaiso, Chile

After independence from Spain in 1818, the harbor at Valparaiso received all shipping traffic that went between the Atlantic and Pacific oceans as the international port. With the development of the Panama Canal in 1914, this port received less traffic and slowly the city started to diminish in size and wealth.

Today the majority of the shipping traffic in Chile goes to another port in San Antonio, about 100 miles south of Valparaiso. But it is hard to tell in this picture. Fishing boats, navy ships and others were in port (with many waiting to dock). If this is a slow day, I can't imagine the traffic that this port used to see.

Rome, Italy

I think a lot of people in the world have this photo of Trevi Fountain in Rome. They snap this photo as they throw a coin into the fountain to insure their return to the city.

But I wonder how many people have this photo of Trevi Fountain in Rome. The fountain, and a nearby gelato shop, fill tourists' hands with ice cream and cameras. Wandering though this square many times, it was rare to see it with fewer tourists.

This site attracts many people. And it should. The fountain itself is beautiful! I could stare at the marble and it's water for hours. The water has a blue color that one often sees at a sea.

Vienna, Austria

This photo personifies Vienna for me.  Extravagant rose gardens.  Stunning fountains.  Ornate buildings.  Clean.  It was everything I expected.  This garden was something I stumbled upon on my way to the nearby Palace.  And even though the day was warm and sunny, the park was filled with people taking in the sights.  It's funny to say that given the photo has only two people in it.  (Well, two people and two ducks.) But the park was large and there were many people behind me on the benches and walkways. 

Red Rocks

Halfway between Phoenix and Flagstaff AZ, in the Verde Valley, you will find Sedona and the great Red Rocks.  If you have time, the surroundings make for great reason to get off of the streets and head out via hiking paths or jeep tours.  

You may have also noticed this area as the back drop in many movies used throughout the middle of the twentieth century.  So between the places celebrating the vistas, and the feeling of the old west, you might also find a dash of Hollywood.

In addition to the great things that Sedona is known for, they also have some silly claims to fame.  For example, Sedona is the home to the only McDonald's with turquoise arches versus the common yellow ones that we see (literally) everywhere else in the world.

Las Vegas, Baby

I love things that make you stop in your tracks and just take in your surroundings.  That's what I did when I stopped in the Bellagio Hotel Lobby in Las Vegas.  What was just a normal hotel lobby became something special due to this installation from the artist Dale Chihuly.  

It is comprised of over 2000 glass flowers which is located on the ceiling of the hotel lobby.  I wish I could say that I was the only one impacted by this work.  But any quick Google search shows photos all over Flicker, YouTube and other sites on the internet by others who were similarly affected.

Grand Canyon, Arizona

There are few places where I can instantly relax.  For some reason, the Grand Canyon is one of those places.  I arrive and instantly feel calm.  And when I'm there, I force myself to get up and watch the sunrise every time.  It really is the best time at the canyon.  The other tourists are not yet out in full force, so it is one time when you can really watch the scene and take in the sights without a lot of others around.  

This photo was taken just to the east of Yavapai point one morning.  The sun lights up the entire face of the canyon in the morning light.  I was sitting with others and we were chatting watching the sunlight.  We could hear something walking behind us and found three elk wandering down the trail and finding the good eats for their breakfast.  It was awesome that they weren't afraid of us and continued to munch until they heard a couple wandering down the trail toward them.  It is experiences like this one that draws me back often.

Art in Stone, Rome Italy

This past week I was at a building in AZ and noticed the fantastic mosaics that had been installed on the walls into the entrance of the building.  I thought about how mosaics are such a lost art form and how beautiful they can be.

Then I remembered this mosaic that is in the Vatican.  Each stone couldn't have been larger than 1/2 inch by 1/2 inch.  And even smaller in some of the fine detail areas of the piece.  Always loving peacocks, I loved how they were included in such detail.  (My mosaics made out of paper squares in third grade art class were generally discernible blobs on color on paper.)

I think that is why this art on the floor stopped me in my tracks.  

300 Peaks National Park, Thailand

As I mentioned here, we went on a short boat ride to arrive at 300 Peaks National Park.  Or Khao Sam Roi Yot National Park for short.  When we arrived, there was a sandy beach and a little visitors center where you could get a bite to eat or sit in the shade.

There are many things to do here, but one of the items I recommend is to check out some of the caves nearby.  So you walk up a mountain on one of the well marked trails.

And once you've walked up, you can start to walk down into one of the large caverns.  The trail is well defined, but be careful with loose rocks as others may be walking on the trail below you.

And when you arrive, you just might see a little something like this inside.  It is huge inside of here.  And yes, that is a bunch of trees growing inside of a mountain.  Check out the people walking in the middle of the beam of light to get a better idea of the scale of this place.  I had never seen anything like it before in my life.  Our group was giddy as we walked around and checked it out.

According to what I've read, there was a service in this space which was attended by the king.  He was bit by a mosquito and died of malaria shortly after.

Northern MN

There is really no better place to be than Northern MN on a beautiful summer day.  After spending time in the middle of a desert, this part of the world feels like it was built in technicolor.

The landscape is filled with small towns.  I wish I could say this is one of the smaller towns in the area, but I have noticed a handful of signs showing town population in single digits.

But I love this sign.  I would expect it on the outer ring of a major city.  Instead this sign marks the 483rd Avenue from the epicenter of some town that likely has the population of 47 people.

Yuyuan Garden, Shanghai

Yuyuan Garden is a beautiful garden in the middle of the Old City of Shanghai.  The garden was built in the mid 1500s and finally declared a national monument in the 1980s.  The garden is filled with traditional buildings that I've wanted to see ever since I was a kid.

The details of the buildings are amazing.  I love the tile roofs.  I noticed that some hadn't been cleaned in awhile.  So little green plants were growing between the tiles.  I loved how the light highlighted some of the plants.

I loved my time in this garden.  If I ever return to Shanghai, this is one place I will visit again in a heartbeat.

Valparaiso, Chile Grafitti

Valparaiso is a city that shows its past.  Once a major shipping destination as discussed here, the city started to decline when the Panama Canal opened and ships were no longer required to navigate around Cape Horn.

In many ways, the city reminds me of San Francisco with the steep hills and homes built on every square inch of the city.  It also has an arty vibe which is used to highlight the sentiment of the young people in the city.

But mostly I loved seeing this city was willing to share its soul.  It had a past which was evident when others made it visible via their art.

Four Corners Petroglyphs

I love this petroglyph that was discovered on a trip around the four corners area.  I especially love the man that is carried off by the bird.  Wonder what happened to inspire the artist with that image.

Volcano National Park

Volcano National Park is a cool place to visit if you have the time to check out the Big Island.  The Kilauea Volcano is one of the most active volcanoes in the world.  According to the Go Hawaii website, the volcano "current produces 250,000 - 650,000 cubic yards of lava per day, enough to resurface a 20-mile-long, two-lane road daily.  As of January 1994 (18 years ago!), 491 acres of new land have been created on Hawaii Island."

This top photo shows the Halemaumau crater, a huge expanse filled with smooth lava.

The Thurston Lava Tube is over 500 years old and is large enough to walk through.  When large lava flows rush from the Volcano, the sides cooled quickly forming these tube walls.

A lush rain forest greets you at the end of the tube.

But many visitors like to see where the lava met the ocean.  This arch is a commonly photographed site.  A few hundred feet away, you can see where the lava overtook the asphalt and city street signs.  A bit further and you could see the lava pouring into the ocean in its unpredictable way.

Trafalgar Square

In the 90s, I was in college and studied at a university in Europe. During a long weekend a few friends and I took off to spend some time in London. Being surrounded by English was such a treat! We could speak so easily! And be overheard by those who sat around us. Oops.

During that trip, we walked to Trafalgar Square. This was when people could still easily buy birdseed and feed the pigeons. There were thousands of them and if you carried any birdseed, you'd be engulfed in birds. (Gross.) It was really something to see.

Evidently around 2005 they determined it was a health concern to have so many birds (some estimate 35,000 birds) in this one square. They prohibited the sale of seed and brought in birds of prey to discourage the pigeons from coming back. But I did like taking photos of that site. Everyone with their cameras capturing their friends who were barely visible under a fine coating of bird.

Tortilla Flat and Apache Trail

If you have a spare time in Phoenix, I highly recommend this trip! This is a view of Canyon Lake on the way to Tortilla Flat. Canyon Lake has a couple of marinas and places where you can watch the boats as you eat lunch. I once learned that Arizona has the highest percentage of boat regristrations per capita. In the midst of the desert, there is a lot of water.

With a current population of 6, Tortilla Flat is the last stagecoach stop on the Apache trail still in existence. It's a short drive from Phoenix, but gets you out in the desert.

If you have enough time, take the whole day and finish the entire 13 miles of the Apache Trail through the Superstition Mountains and Tonto National Forest. Currently the trail is a gravel road (at times it is only a lane wide as you wind down a mountainside, so it isn't for those who have a great fear of heights). You will see some amazing sites along the salt river with the trail ending at Roosevelt Dam. This trail is beautiful in the spring when the valleys fill with wildflowers.

Washington DC

Like so many American kids, my first trip without my family was to Washington DC, the Nation's Capital.  Our bus ride was a long one from the Midwest... two full days.  It included a stop in some college town where we spent the night in college dormitories and, in general, got into innocent trouble.

(Of course there was the kid who also wandered away from the group, supposedly spent the night drinking, and was too late to catch his bus in the morning.  His mom was a chaperone for one of the groups and she stayed behind as the officials planned to drag the river.  I'm glad I wasn't him.  Of course, I'm glad I wasn't the mother either.)

So after a long, eventful trip out East, we were pulling into Washington DC.  Who could forget it... the freeway with 8 lanes in each direction.  Growing up where I did, most of my travel was on winding two-lane roads.  I had never seen anything like this expressway.  The leaders said that our first stop was at the Mall.

I was in the back of the bus and generally we weren't paying attention.  Some kid asked where we were going.  My friends and I said we were going shopping.

In our defense, we did come back to the bus loaded up with t-shirts, coffee cups and key chains.  The perfect holiday gifts.

Water Runoff in Alaska

This is a great picture taken in Alaska to show the difference between water generated from a glacier (on the left - filled with sand and dirt from the glacier) and the clear water generated from snow melt on the right.  In both cases, the water was sooo cold.  Like the cold when your woolen-mittens-get-wet-but-you-still-play-in-the-snow kind of cold.

Here's a picture of the silt that remains after a glacier has receded.  It's this fine sand that is carried so easily by the runoff, but you can see that much is left behind waiting for the first brave plants to seed the area.  (I learned that Fireweed usually takes this honor.)

And this picture shows how clear the water is in the lakes in Alaska.  I remember there was a bear on the lower-left side of the lake grabbing a quick drink, although I can't find him in the picture now.

It's these memories, filled with crystal clear lakes, that makes me remember how different Alaska is when compared to my experience of the lower 48 states.

Schoenbrunn Palace

I had previously mentioned a trip to Vienna, Austria here.  But this "room" is the whole reason for the trip.  I was desperate to get to Austria once I was this part of the Schoenbrunn Palace on a TV show.  In the show, this room was filmed at night and the light had a beautiful amber glow.  I remember thinking it was like I was on the inside of a wedding cake.  Ha!

Given the people walking around the edges of the space, you can start to get a feel of the scale.  This area is actually open to the outdoors and was used as an entrance to the palace.  You can see the gate where horse drawn carriages or cars drive through even today.

And although they have netting up to discourage anything from resting on the ledges leading up to the ceiling, it doesn't obscure the opulence of royal construction from the past.

I highly recommend visiting a site just because you saw an amazing photograph or TV show.  It might just introduce you to a completely new place or culture.  Vienna is an amazing city and I am so glad I went.

Luck of the Irish

Galway, Ireland is a great city on the western edge of Ireland.  We traveled over to visit some family friends and see the sites in Ireland and England.  Our trip was in the early spring, and we encountered three seasons in the first hour of our arrival.  A warm breeze was quickly followed by hail and then rain.

The cities in Ireland are everything you expect them to be.  Warm.  Comfortable.  Gracious.  

My favorite story of Ireland actually took place in Dublin.  I was traveling up to Bangor, Northern Ireland and took the train from Galway through Dublin.  Of course I arrived in one train station and needed to transfer to another. There was a bus to aid in the shuttle of passengers, but I was confused and got off the bus one stop too soon.  Obviously not in the right place, I asked someone on the street if he could explain where the train station was.  The directions were simple.  Walk to the next corner, turn right and you'll see it at the end of the road 2 blocks up.  He then proceeded to walk me to the station to make sure I got there.  I just remember thinking there are so many cities in the world where that wouldn't have happened.  So gracious.

This week is a big one.  This week I could use a little luck of the Irish.  This week I want to be warm, comfortable and gracious.

Monument Valley

One time I took a road-trip around the 4 corners region with a friend from college. We must have covered well over one thousand miles and we saw a lot for our 7 day investment. One of the highlights was a trip to Monument Valley.

I'm pretty sure I wasn't expecting a site where we'd wander down a gravel path onto the valley floor as we drove past these vistas that were absolutely amazing. It was a warm day, with perfect sunshine in May. I'm not sure that words can capture the dusty, dry air and feeling of serenity and wonder that was experienced on this trip.

Botanical Garden, Melbourne

One time I was sent down to Melbourne, Australia for work. Always the adventurer, I looked forward to my free time to see the sights. One day I wandered over to the Botanical Gardens. The garden was large (I passed it every day going into work) and there were many activities within the park, so I knew it was well visited by tourists and locals alike.

There was a section called Grey Gardens, named because the plants all have a grey or silver tone to them. After the vivid green in other ares of the garden, this section was decidedly 'grey'.

I had to check it out because I recently watched this movie, and I wanted to see if there were any similarities. But alas, there wasn't a raccoon or cat to be found. Not even a dancing Edie.