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Monday, November 6, 2017

Wild West road trip through 5 states, through my lens

It had been couple of months since a road trip that we had taken from Seattle to many parts of Oregon, which I have shared with you all in my previous blog  and I got too excited when my husband decided a road trip with my visiting mother-in-law to Las Vegas and nearby tourist attractions, instead of taking a flight.
I have my own inclination towards a road or train trip which lets me float away into my own world looking at the never ending road or the passing by terrain.

I must say our trip was pretty packed due to the fact that it takes a day to get out of Texas! We started our day 1 pretty early in the morning with a target of covering at least 75% of our journey the same day(it was a 15.5 hrs drive one way to Vegas!) and pretty much started regretting within the first 3 hours as we had absolutely nothing to look at because of the flat terrain Texas had up in the North(that doesn't mean you have nothing to see in Texas. Check out some cool pics and details about one of the places in Texas Hill Country  and there is a lot more to Texas).
Windmills tried to add some motion to the rather boring drive!
Too early for snow in Texas, so here is some cotton! ;)

Since I have so many different experiences to share, I will break them down into multiple blogs so that I don't bore you to the extent the drive till Texas border bored us ;)

Checkout
The drive, the divide and the crater

Walnut Canyon in Arizona

Vegas, Antelope and Horse Shoe bend


Details:
5 days of travel through Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, Nevada and Utah

On the way attractions(Not listing everything):

  • Texas : Paul Duro Canyon
  • New Mexico : Plan a separate trip to cover this amazing place. Based on what time of the year you travel, you have a lot of action here (Albuquerque for skiing, baloon festivals, Santa Fe, Santa Rosa etc)
  • Arizona: Options to stop at Flagstaff or take a little detour and cover Sedona and Grand Canyon
  • Nevada: Vegas strip!
  • Utah: Lots of national parks (Zion National park and also the drive itself is picturesque) 







Wild West road trip through 5 states - (2) The drive, the divide and the crater

Our initial plan was to target and reach somewhere close to Flagstaff and go to the mountains. However, once we were out of Texas and in New Mexico, the flat land was replaced with beautiful stretch of huge orange/reddish walls parallel to the road, as if it was some sort of a fortress.
I googled up while we chatted about the possibility of it being Continental divide and this natural mighty rocks  guarding and standing tall indeed was the Continental divide, which was unbelievable. I will not bug you with some geographical information, however it is important to know the brilliant the natural phenomenon looks. The icing on the top is the match box like goods train passing by in the opposite direction right in front of you, reminding of the old wild west movies ;) As the dusk arrived, it seemed more like sun was kissing goodbye to these blushing rocks!
Continental divide standing tall while the herd peacefully graze with a constant chugging train



A small clipping I recorded while my husband kept driving parallel to the Continental divide (This video is no justice to what your eyes can really see!)

We continued our journey talking about the UFOs since we were still in the land of the sightings and I got curious and started looking at the nearby attractions, which popped up lots of options. Since it was too late for us, we decided to halt in Winslow however, it also meant we could not visit  the painted hills desert or the petrified forests, which came up on google search, as it was already dark, however Winslow boasted of a meteor crater which I had never heard of from any of friends. Since it was not much of a deviation from our original plan, we decided to give it an hour the next morning before reaching Flagstaff and I am so glad we decided to halt in Winslow.
Day 2:
It was a very short deviation of 15-20 mins from I-40 again entering into a place which looked like No Man's land! As we started to enter the premises, we started to wonder if we were on earth or Mars(guess the movies spoil us!). We decided not to take a guided tour because, of course we had to keep going to reach Flagstaff and did not want to spend an hour and a half there just watching crater. But you know what? We spent probably a lil more than that admiring and wondering about the universe and it's beautiful science as well as mystery! I had read someone blog about how the drive along continental divide made him think of how small he was and seeing this put me into the perspective!
This huge crater, though looks small in this pic is as huge as 20 football fields put together!

This is one of the best preserved site and I learned about this place being  used for Apollo astronaut training as it so closely resembled moon's terrain (the crater).The pictures I have is no comparison to what you can see right there - the impact a meteor can create! While this was universe at work, I would like to mention that who ever built the observatory had an eye for beauty. While the whole observatory has wall, he made sure to leave big wide open window for the distant mountain to fit in it perfectly like a beautiful wall painting!
No, it is not a LCD TV put on display! It is the actual mountains in distance which you can see standing there (Imagine a night/early morning on full moon!)



Also checkout:

Walnut Canyon in Arizona

Vegas, Antelope and Horse Shoe bend

For the whole trip plan, visit: https://soumya-innervoice.blogspot.com/2017/11/wild-west-road-trip-through-5-states_7.html

Wild West road trip through 5 states - (3) Walnut Canyon(Arizona)


After walking up and down the deck at different levels until we were satisfied, we started our journey to Flagstaff. It was our mistake that we did not look up to see if it had snow (I tried checking live cameras, which never gave me the view of the peak) and were disappointed to see that it was a good warm day with nothing but dried up mountain. With a little disappointment as we headed to our next location, we learned about a local canyon and drove there. Walnut Canyon was something which we had not remotely thought of but were stunned by the beautiful houses which were carved out of the mountains by the Sinagua tribes hundreds of years ago. It is one of the national monument and is well maintained, providing staircase and walkway around a central mountain to walk around and learn about how they had built their houses, conserved and lived with minimal water which was available.
The carved out pathway in the mountain

Remains of one of the house


Remains of one of the swelling on a flat land

A view from the view point



 I could not resist but compare this one very closely to what we find back home in Ajanta/ Ellora caves - both with their own set of history and beauty. One cannot resist but think of the distance we have come as humans looking at all the things I have mentioned in this series.
Oh, make sure to carry enough water while you go down the trail. Also, there is a mile's stretch of trail which leads you to the spot where they built their houses, while also learning a bit about some herbs on the pathway.

Also checkout:

The drive, the divide and the crater

Vegas, Antelope and Horse Shoe bend

For the whole trip plan, visit: https://soumya-innervoice.blogspot.com/2017/11/wild-west-road-trip-through-5-states_7.html

Wild West road trip through 5 states - (4) Vegas, Hoover Dam, Antelope and Horse Shoe Bend

With enough time spent in the lap of nature learning the human history, I had enough to ponder about until we reached Vegas. As they saying goes "What happens in Vegas, remains in Vegas", I will leave it there with an admiration towards "Cirque du soleil" production. It is a wonderland on an unbelievable stage. An artist cannot but admire about the hardwork and practice which goes in producing such a classy work with no flaws! Art, grace and imagination all put into team effort to create a magical treat! By the way the show we saw was "Mystere", whose pics I share here as no videos were allowed to be shot and I respect it!

After 2 nights of gambling and wandering on the strip, we visited the world famous engineering marvel Hoover dam, again to be amazed at the art combined with engineering genius. This place hardly took an hour or so for us, leaving us, however with little time to reach our next set of destinations - Antelope and Horse Show Canyons.



Both are 15 mins drive apart, however google kept telling us that we would be reaching there at 4 pm by when Antelope tours would be closed. We tried not to miss it as we had already promised my mom in law to take her there. As we drove without taking too much of a break, we were able to save 10 mins, giving us room to run to the tour operator's counter only to learn that the native American reservations do not follow day light saving(How did google not know this!??), which meant, we had reached there by 3PM :D
Perfect light makes it glow - Antelope




































We took the lower Antelope tour and were wondering if we had to take the upper canyon tour (we had visited the upper canyon 3 years ago and had enjoyed looking around the place minus the tour). Kendrick was our tour guide from Dixie Tours, who was more eager to share some knowledge about his tribe and community unlike our previous upper canyon experience, where the guide just did photo ops for all and rushed us back to the jeep!He was patient enough to answer all of our curious question, leading us to learn more about the life of a Native American in the reservations and around.
Antelope captured in evening light
And pictures will speak of the this beautiful canyon, which we were lucky to share with only one more couple as it was Off season, giving us enough time to slowly walk through the canyon sipping and tasting the beauty created by the once flowing river. If you are a photographer, you must make a trip to this place, of course in a off season. We were told that photography tours are also operated and Kendrick himself knew a lot of light and settings needed to click beautiful pics from your mobile phones.

Our final destination was Horse Shoe Canyon or Horse Shoe Bend, which gave an awesome view of the river with the sun deciding to set slowly as the gentle breeze bid us goodbye!
Beautiful Horse Shoe Bend at sunset!


A glimpse of the beautiful view driving from Hoover Dam towards Antelope Canyon


If you have not yet checked related blogs, checkout:

The drive, the divide and the crater

Walnut Canyon in Arizona

For the whole trip plan, visit: https://soumya-innervoice.blogspot.com/2017/11/wild-west-road-trip-through-5-states_7.html

Saturday, October 14, 2017

Voices in my head


I am never alone
Those days have gone long

There are voices, there are voices…
There are voicessssss up - when I close my eyes


I sit in the shower
Cos I think I am gonna take it slower
But there you see….

I am never alone….
Those days have gone long

There are voices, there are voices…
There are voicessssss up - when I close my eyes

When I am not listening
They come to me whispering

I am never alone
Those days have gone long

There are voices, there are voices…
There are voicessssss up when I close my eyes

All of them, all off them
Crowding upon each other
Chaos being their only order….
I can't bring them any closer…..

There are voices, there are voices…
There are voicessssss up - when I close my eyes

When I am light and sober
Stronger ones do bother
When I need the strength
They decide to leave a dent

When I am happy, you hear me
Oh! The nasty one you send to me
Killing my new found harmony
For you only want you in my company

ಪಯಣ

ಹೇಳದೆ ಮನೆಯಿಂದ ಯಾರಾದರೂ ಹೊರಟೆರೆಂದರೆ ಮನದಲ್ಲಿ ಬೇಕಾದಷ್ಟು ಕಸಿವಿಸಿ, ಪ್ರಶ್ನೆಗಳು ಬಂದರೂ ಮುಂದೊಂದು ದಿನ ಸಿಕ್ಕಿದಾಗ ಕೇಳಬಹುದು, ಅಥವಾ ಫೋನ್ ಮಾಡಬಹುದು.... ಸ್ವಲ್ಪ ನೋಟ್ ರೀಚಬಲ್ ಆದ್ರೇನೇ ನಮಗೆ ಸಹಿಸಲಾಗದು. ಹಾಗಿದ್ದಾಗ, ಪ್ರೀತಿಪಾತ್ರರು ಯಾವಾಗಲೂ ನಮ್ಮೊಟ್ಟಿಗೆ ಇರುತಾರೆಂದು ತಿಳಿದಿರುವ ಮನಕ್ಕೆ ಆಘಾತ ಆಗೋದು, ಹೇಳದೆ ಕೇಳದೆ ಹೊರಟಾಗ - ಮತ್ತೊಂದು ಜಗಕ್ಕೆ .... ಆ ನೋವು ಸ್ವಂತದ್ದೇ ಆದರೂ, ಭವನಗಳ ಸಂಬಂಧಗಳು ಒಂದೇ ತರ್ನಾದ್ದು ..... ಇತ್ತೀಚಿಗೆ ಅಗಲಿದ ನನ್ನ ಗೆಳೆಯರ ಪ್ರೀತಿಪಾತ್ರರಿಗೆ ಅರ್ಪಣೆ..... "ಪಯಣ" 



ಕಣ್ಣಿನಾ ಕಡಲಿಂದ
ಜಾರಿತೊಂದು ಹನಿಯು
ಮನದ ಮೂಲೆಯಿಂದ
ಕಾಣೆಯಾಯ್ತು ದನಿಯು....

ಹೆಗಲನೇರಿ ಭಾರ,
ದೂರವಾಯ್ತು ತೀರಾ.....
ನೆರಳಿನಂತೆ ಜೊತೆಯಲಿದ್ದುಕಡಲ ಸೇರಿ ನೇಸರಾ........
ಗೆಳೆಯನಾಯ್ತು ಬೇಸರ

ಗಾಳಿ ಹಿಂದೆ ಮುಂದೆ ಸೋಕಿ,
ನಿನ್ನ ನೆನಪೇ ಭಾಸವಾಗಿ
ಕೊನೆಯ ಮಾತು ಹೇಳದೆಯೇಹೊರಟೆ ಎಲ್ಲಿ ಎತ್ತರಾ.....
ನೀಡದಂತೆ ಉತ್ತರ...


ಕೊಡಲಿ ಏನು ಅವನಿಗೆ
ನೋಡಲೊಮ್ಮೆ ನಿನ್ನನು?
ಒಮ್ಮೆ ಬಾ ಅರೆ ಘ್ಹಳಿಗೆ,
ಬೇರೆ ಏನು ಬೇಡೆನು

ज़िंदगी



थोड़ा तू जीतले,
थोड़ा तू जीनेदे......

तोड़ा मुजपे हंस ले,
थोड़ा मेरे सात.....

मैं जो भी करता हूँ,
उसके हिस्सा हो तुम....

मेरे हर घम खुशी-
जिसके किस्सा हो तुम


पहले मुजको था तूने अपनाया........
फिर क्यू उंगली पे यूँ नचाया........


कभी मुज़मे समाये,
तू सात चले......
कभी रूटे तो आंशू-
नैनो तले

लिया हैं तूनेजो भी मुजसे
आज़माया हैं मैने तुज़से

कभी उपरतो कभी नीचे
कभी आगे निकलेकभी पीछे

तू मुजसे या तुज़से मैं,

खोई हूँकशमकश और सवालों में

Tuesday, September 5, 2017

ಓಡದಿರು ಮನಸೇ

ಓಡದಿರು ಮನಸೇ,
ನೀ ಉತ್ತರಿಸದೇ....
ಕಾಡದಿರು ಕನಸೇ,
ನೀ ಬೆಂಬಿಡದೇ....

ಮೀನಿನ ಹೆಜ್ಜೆಯಂತಾಗದಿರು
ಗುರುತು ಒಂದಾದರೂ ಕೊಡು
ಮೊದಲ ಮಳೆಯಂತಿರುಸುರಿದು....
ನನ್ನೆದೆಯಾ ಘಮ್ಮೆನಿಸಿಬಿಡು...

ನಲಿದಿರು ಮನಸೇ,
ನೀ ಬೇಸರಿಸದೇ....
ಕಾಡುತಿರು ಕನಸೇ,
ನೀ ಬೆಂಬಿಡದೇ


Tuesday, August 22, 2017

Pain

I don’t want to feel a thing
I need not feel a thing...


Through the window of despair,
there is none to peep and care

I don't know where to begin
I can't cry, for there is one too many reason

Let me walk into a crowd
can't silence the heart that cries out loud

I don’t want to feel a thing
I need not feel a thing...


I don't know where do I begin
There is so much rooted deep within

Cos the pain is too much to bear
I would rather keep it than share.....


Just beat it and repeat it , on and on.....
This is how I silence it and move on......

Was I hypnotized and let to be in pain?
or am I trying to push it in vain?


Wednesday, August 16, 2017

Stranger staring at me....

Ever been followed by stranger's eyes, intrigued by some?
When you are at battle within, when you know not the next step and know not whom to reach out.... When you get a glimpse of someone silently watching you and you want to hang on to the hope it gives.... For ease of narration, I put in here, a girl who has lost all her past,but still holding on to memories, finding it hard to move on....




Stranger staring at me....
no word you speak,
nor a signal for me,
at your life to peek....

is that my hair I brushed aside?
or is it my restless stride?
either ways, am on the move.....
but holding on to me is your eyes!

Am I to turn around and smile......
or bury the thought and walk a mile?
either ways, am on the move....
but holding on to me is your eyes!

You sit there, with my mind u fiddle,
While I ponder to solve the riddle....
A step back or ahead,
Unable to decide, I close my eyes!

The sting is too much to handle,
an old wound, that is yet to settle....
I better be on the move,
for it all started with beholding eyes!

Stranger staring at me.....
causing memories to wreak....
And all that the past has given to me,
Has left me bleak!

Stranger staring at me....

strings are now entangled,
If life throws a chance at me,
Who am I to not have a peek! 

Friday, August 4, 2017

Floating clouds.....


Pic Courtesy : Prasad Kamat (Thank You!)


Sometimes high up....
hanging low,
sometimes….

Loaded – heavy and dark,
sometimes…..
Taking hues of the fading sun,
sometimes....

Reaching high up,
in the sky...
Rushing with fellows,
filled with joy.....

Off to fulfill some dreams,
some yours, some mine....
Touching gently and roaring,
sometimes….

Kissing the grass,
bringing sparkles....
Slashing anger,
strangling lives....,
sometimes…..

Floating clouds, changing shapes
Do you mind, to stop and help us

What is the story you weave up there
We are mortals here, blink and miss
the future you show - floating and changing shape!

Saturday, July 29, 2017

Oregon - a blissful state!


July seems to be the best month for me. I say this because, I had so many memories of all the travels I made in the past, brought up to my face - Thanks to Facebook and Google memories!
And this July was no different, with our plan to visit  friends in Seattle and then a road trip to Oregon. I and my friend made all the arrangements and planning, giving a break to our spouses, who were happy to be relieved of those responsibilities.

So, here are some of the details I would like to share with you all, in case you are searching all possible websites to know the details of different places you can cover.

Disclaimer: While we enjoyed all these places in 4 days(Oregon), this is not all to it! Oregon is blessed with natural resources and has many many beautiful places for you to visit and calm your busy selves. If you have enough time, try to see many other places :)

Day1: Seattle to New Port
Seattle to Florence has scenic views all along the way. The highlight for me was the bridge, which officially marked the entry into Oregon and that small cute town(yes, small towns are kind of cute for me!;)) which faces you, as you enter Oregon. 
Bridge connecting two states

We planned to visit Cannon beach but on noting that there was a beach nearby called " Seaside beach", we just decided take a small break and finish our packed lunch there. What was supposed to be quick visit ended up to be an affair for couple of hours. This beach had very few visitors making me wonder why and at the same time thankful for that! Park the car and enter a certain patch of long, half dried grass, with dandelions in between reaching to the end, only to find a paradise - a paradise with a mountain foreseeing the sea on one side and never ending row of clouds and waves! One of the clean beaches and ample space for you to stroll, play or simply spread out a mat and relax. Sea usually calms you down and if you are someone who likes meditating, you should plan on this one!

A window opened there!
 
Seaside beach, where it is a conversation between water, cool breeze and your soul!

We then drove down to Indian beach, which offers you breath taking view from the view point and a stretch to hike and explore. After soaking enough in thoughts, water and happiness, we drove down to New Port, where we had our booking done right next to a beach.

Indian Beach view point

Natural Arch @ Indian Beach
Day 2: New Port to Florence
The drive from New Port to Florence was all scenic with ocean on one side and mountains on the other. We could not get enough of the view and kept stopping at most of the viewpoints taking pictures and reached Florence. If you are one like me, you surely do not want to miss the Sand land adventures. ATVs/ quads are available for you to go on ride individually or as a couple. If you do not want to bother about it but still would like to experience the sand dunes, you can take the buggy rides. We made our bookings after reaching there, but would recommend you do it in advance, if possible.
Some scenic spot closer to New Port

Stage was set! So were light, camera and action!

Stop on the way to check this cool light house in the picturesque backdrop!

Check out the river on the left, somewhere there is a meeting point!
Since we had time to kill in between our morning ATV ride and the last batch Buggy ride, we drove down to nearby Silver falls, which gives you an amazing view of the water fall. Did I forget to mention that you get to walk behind the waterfalls? Again, there are different tracks based on your hiking interest and you can choose to see all the falls there taking a longer hike or just go to the first stop and return. The park has picnic place if you are someone who would like to barbeque :)

Not at all shy with all the attention around - Silver falls!(You might find better pics when you search ;))

There are different views of the same falls available due to the way it  is situated

After an amazing Quad and buggy ride, it was time for us to head to the vacation rental, we had booked in Eugene and we needed to fuel ourselves up.

We stopped mid-way to finish our dinner. Do visit this Chinese restaurant for its authentic taste and the humble service(I thought I remembered the place, but I will try to find it out and add the info soon;) )
Our Buggy ride. No pic of ATV as all of us took  the ride ;)

Day3: Eugene to Crater Lake

Our vacation rental place itself was so beautiful that, we did not want to go out to see anything. The hosts were warm and friendly and provided with all handy information and were patient with our queries. My friends spotted deer around and we did hear some happy peacock! They have a trail, which opens you to a beautiful open space filled with wild flowers and if you go further has "crooked tree" and spot for you to just enjoy your time (Meditate!)
I have no words enough to describe the beauty of Crater Lake, so I will  let the photos speak for itself. Since it was early July, snow on the top had not yet melted and we had an opportunity to play in snow, build snow man and then reach the view point. Because it was a holiday, we heard Rim Village was overcrowded and had slow moving traffic, so we just stopped at the view point and enjoyed the breathtaking beauty of this magnificent lake! Though I had seen the pics of this place before our travel, there is no substitute to what you see through your eyes and what a bliss it brings!
There are boat rides available from one of the villages, but since there still was enough snow, we could not take ride. Also, one can book the rides online, if it is open to booking (there is seasonal limit)



On our way to Crater Lake, spotted beautiful Diamond peak capped with snow

 Day4:
As we packed up from Eugene, after one last hiking on the trail to see the crooked tree, we had only one place on mind - Oneonta gorge. So, let me tell you that we did not pass/ walk through the gorge as we intended to. The reason is that the GPS did not actually provide the info initially and also, we were too excited at the spotting of horse tail falls. We parked our car and tried to track the Oneonta gorge with failed attempt. We finally took a small trail, all the time ignoring something which was written underneath in relation to Oneonta gorge. So eventually we saw pony tail falls and while we were crossing that, we heard happy cries of people who were walking near the gorge. It was a different track which we had neglected and night was dawning, not giving us enough room to take that path. So, we then we drove further to stop for a view of Multnomah falls, that falls which probably is inspiration to many paintings, many wall papers and one, that I always imagined. Like I mentioned earlier, there is no feeling as good as being there than seeing in pictures.
Waterfalls are as usual beautiful, but this one with a small bridge in front of it, makes it very special - at least to me :)
  




My recommendation is that, if you are coming to this Colombian gorge with all these many places, plan to arrive early in the morning and spend the entire day hiking, playing and enjoying in the water, responsibly :)

We bid good bye to Oregon with a sumptuous Indian food in Portland and headed back to Seattle, whose stories, I shall write in a separate post !


Duration: 4 days
Stayed at:

  • New Port:  Best Western Agate Beach Inn 
  • Eugene: https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/16218652 
Best time to visit: End of June - Sep, sometimes October too, depending on which part of Oregon (Check weather before your plans)
Route: I5, US 101 and Oregon Coast Highway


Voices in my head

I am never alone Those days have gone long There are voices, there are voices… There are voicessssss up - when I close my eyes ...