Postcard from Holi

Airplane in the Valley of Goblins

Airplane? Duck? Whatever it is this rock is definitely getting ready for take off.

Snow

Keep Balance

This rock so precariously balancing on top of another in Arches National Park is the size of three school buses. And, sadly, it will fall one day.

White Bryce

As we were driving to Bryce on the morning of the last day of the year 2012 our expectations were low. We thought that once we get to the canyon, we won't be able to see anything, as it will be completely covered by snow.

Luckily, we were in for a breathtaking surprise. The tall and delicate pinnacles of Bryce (called hoodoos) managed to shake off the white powder and were proudly presenting their magnificent orange-red colors to the raising sun, and us.

Bryce Amphitheater on a Sunny Winter Day.

Center of the Wave

"The rhythmic and cyclic alternating laminae represent periodic changes in the prevailing winds during the Jurassic as huge sand dunes migrated across a sandy desert. The thin ridges and ribbing seen within The Wave are the result of the differential erosion of rhythmic and cyclic alternating grainflow and windripple laminae within the Navajo Sandstone. These laminae have differing resistance to erosion as they have been differentially cemented according to variations in the grain size of the sand composing them."
From wiki.

Little Ice Pool at the Entrance to the Wave

Dear Nature,
Thank you for being so immensely fascinating and breathtaking.
Monika

Spider Rock

And now for something completely different: Spider Rock in Canyon de Chelly in Arizona.

Birthday Boy

My Love has entered a new decade today and it seems that it's off to a good start: no decline in physical capability or appetite has been observed so far ;)

View from Yosemite Point

We had a great time in Yosemite, both hiking and enjoying delicious food at the Ahwahnee Hotel. As always, Ahwahnee didn't disappoint and it even surprised us with a gourmet red velvet birthday cake. Maybe getting older ain't that bad after all :)

Brunch at Ahwahnee

Hetch Hetchy

It amazes me that even in San Francisco there are people who choose to drink bottled water, which comes from god-knows-where, instead of drinking delicious tap water, which in our city comes directly from Hetch Hetchy Valley in Yosemite National Park and is one of the purest in the country. To each his own, I suppose.

Hetch Hetchy Reservoir

Yosemite Falls

We're going for the weekend to Yosemite Valley to celebrate Anil's X-th birthday, so I thought it would be appropriate to post a photo from the park.

This year there hasn't been much snow in the mountains, so I don't expect the Yosemite Falls to look like in the photo below, but on the flip side no snow means better hiking opportunities.

Lower Yosemite Falls

Great Sand Dunes National Park

One of the coolest places we've visited during our honeymoon is Great Sand Dunes National Park in Colorado.

What makes this place special is that it has it all: a river with WAVES!, the tallest dunes in North America, tall mountains (six peaks over 13'000 ft/3900 m), alpine lakes, tundra, waterfalls and lots of animals. We do need to go back some time soon.

Drakensberg

Beautiful green Drakensberg ("Dragon Mountain") in South Africa.

Himba Village

While traveling in Namibia few years ago, I had a chance to visit a village of the Himba tribe.

Amazingly, the Himba have managed to maintain much of their traditional lifestyle. They are semi-nomadic, wear traditional clothes and hairstyles, use primitive tools, marry within their own tribe, don't send their kids to public schools, believe in their own god Mukuru, breed goats and cows for food, and don't speak any other language but their own. (Interestingly, their language has names for only four colors. In English, there are names for about hundred.)

During the day, men take care of herd, while the women take care of domestic chores, such as bringing water, building and repairing houses, cooking, taking care of the kids, and making jewellery for themselves and for sale.

Bubbly Crested Pool

The bubbles at the surface of the Crested Pool are a reminder that the hot springs of Yellowstone National Park despite looking o' so inviting, are in fact scalding hot and over the years have claimed lives of over 20 people.