Mississippi Head Water: In Five Pics

Mississippi river: What is the best part of it? The culture, the serene beauty, the history, the music, the food, the water, the legends. Answer: All of them. The Great River Road runs from Mississippi head waters in northern Minnesota all the way to its mouth in Louisiana. The best part: You can drive through it. I know because I did it. I started from Louisianan and drove all the way up to Minnesota. An experience everyone should take. While, I am posting many posts about the great river, this post is mainly about serene calmness of its headwaters in Itasca State Park. The legends and search for Mississippi headwaters are known. Enjoy the humble start of the mighty river.

 



 

National Tom Sawyer Days: In Five Pics

The word Hannibal evokes mixed emotions: A brilliant psychological thriller movie based on the violent novel by Thomas Harris, a recent TV series (I have not seen is, but highly acclaimed), and Mark Twain's hometown on the banks of Mississippi river. During my recent trip on the Great River Road, a must-visit was Hannibal. Little did I know, my visit coincided with the National Tom Sawyer Days, two and a half weeks long festival celebrating the most famous work of Mark Twain. The day I visited had fence painting competition (Genius! Whoever thought of the idea!), a mud volleyball competition, carnival, happy hour (Where everyone was invited!), and arts and crafts. These all in addition to Mark Twain's museum, his boyhood home, and many other homes from his childhood. The museum has sections of his books, its narration, movie clips and his inspirations behind some of the characters: one of the most memorable museums I have ever visited. The town was a living legacy of Mark Twain. They have been celebrating National Tom Sawyer Days from June 20th to July 7th for sixty years. (Wow!) Below are some pics from the town and the festival. Do not miss the video of the fence painting competition. The kids in the competition were dressed as Tom Sawyer. Enjoy other highlights from the Great River Road. The life is not enough to explore the Mississippi.



 



 



 

Hall of Mosses - The Most Colorful Trail in US: In Five Pics

Olympic National Park and entire Olympic Peninsula are hundreds of acres of heavenly natural beauty. Twilight series was based in that area. I was mesmerized by sheer colors in the region. It had more colors of plants and flowers and shrubs than I can find in MS word. The most colorful trail I have ever walked was the Hall of Mosses in Hoh Rain Forest. If someone asks what should be done before dying, I would say walk the hall of mosses. The green carpeted trees, shrubs and branches were otherworldly. Looking at them I could sense the depth of the green layer. I was there in early November - late fall season there. Red and brown leaves were scattered and they were falling graciously one by one like putting on a performance for us. Except for the trail where people have walked, every inch was taken by the dense vegetation. My eyes had seen neither the many colors before nor the many shades of green. Accommodating all colors in five pictures is impossible, but I hope the five pictures below are enough highlight to motivate everyone to visit this place. Enjoy bonus videos at the bottom.

 



 



 

 

Oregon Beaches: In five pics

Five pics are no witness for fresh beauty of Oregon coast. Not only beaches but also wildlife and small communities across the coast are unique. The tectonic fault that run parallel to the west coast has produced many earthquakes over centuries. Tsunamis and ocean currents along with earthquakes have created a unique set of islands and ecological system across the coast. Old light houses and trails still stand. Whales, seals and other animals frequent the shores and waters. Oregon coast was like no other coast in USA not only because of its landscape and natural beauty but also for the vibe in small towns of northern and central coast. To wrap it all southern coast also has large sand dunes. I experienced people living with real freedom there. Stress was at the lowest and cash was king. Cannon Beach came out as winner, my favorite town of all. As one of the local shopkeeper put it, cannon beach was a town of well-settled happy hippies and it was evident. Do not miss Oregon coast, it is truly one of a kind! Enjoy a bonus video of drive through central Oregon!

Landscapes of the Yellowstone National Park: In five pics

Yellowstone national park is famous for two attractions: its wildlife and hot springs. However, there's a lot more to it. Yellowstone varies a lot in its landscape and altitude. I went to Yellowstone in early May, when south east portion of the park was closed and eastern Yellowstone was just opened. I entered the park from north western entrance in Idaho and greeted with green landscape and marching bisons. I was staying at mammoth hot springs within the park which was located north central. Yellowstone is huge, larger than the state of Rhode Island. In numbers, the park is around 3500 square miles. Few deers tried to run me and my car down on my way there. Their bright eyes in dark did help avoid the collision. Lesson learned: do no drive in Yellowstone after dark. Mammoth hot springs village, as the name suggested, was near one of the hot springs, mammoth hot springs. Different bacteria live in those hot springs based on the temperature. They have different colors, which make every hot spring an assortment of rainbows. Then, of course, there's a lake Yellowstone. Yellowstone also has an active volcano. Northeast entrance of Yellowstone in Montana had a bit of snow but east Yellowstone was a white paradise. For snow lovers, a better sight hardly exists. Two days before I exited from the east side of the park, avalanche warning closed that exit for several hours. I experienced the reason. A part of east Yellowstone was like a big box. The mountain slops on both sides were steep, high, almost 80 degrees and snow covered. I felt claustrophobic and exhilaration of trapped inside a gigantic box. A vast field filled with undisturbed snow definitely showed me how heaven must look like: serene, calm and beautiful white. Of course Yellowstone has a grand canyon, waterfalls and not to forget two valleys full with wild animals. Enjoy five of the best landscape pics. It is difficult to chose one bonus video for Yellowstone landscape, but east Yellowstone it is, since that part of Yellowstone is not in any other Yellowstone posts.
 

Lakes of Minneapolis: In five pics

Minneapolis: A city that pleasantly surprised me the most in USA. It was a huge city and each part of the city felt like a city in itself with its own flavor. In addition, public transport was amazing. The city had a big mall, the Mississippi river, rich history, lots of lakes, and a hipster downtown. This post is about its chain of lakes. Western Minneapolis has a chain of lakes. I chose the Lake Calhoun for a hike. It was a beautiful Sunday morning, so a lot of people. People were playing volleyball, barbecuing, having picnics, fishing, swimming, paddle boating, sail boating, sunbathing, walking, running, talking and everything in between. Living for two years in DC, I was used to seeing only stress and smugness on people's face. It was amazingly refreshing not to see that on anyone's face. Every citizen was having real fun there. I sat down at benches, I observed birds, I observed people, I admired reflections and spent a wonderful morning there. Enjoy my experience in five pics. I hope you visit Minneapolis some day.

Anaktuvuk Pass/Gates of the Arctic National Park: In five pics

The most memorable part of my Alaska Trip was a visit to Nunamiut Eskimos' town, Anaktuvuk Pass. The town is inside the northernmost national park of the United States, The Gates of Arctic National Park: A breathtaking place! In spite of being the second largest, the national park receives the least number of visitors (~10000 a year). I traveled there from Fairbanks via a chartered flight. The return flight was bumpy. However, flying at 11000 ft provided a perfect sightseeing opportunity of vast areas of the park for an hour. Snow clad mountains, lush green valleys, zigzagging water streams, geological formations and intermittent clouds made that the best flight of my life despite non-stop turbulence. While I will post another article about Simon Paneak museum and life of Nunamiut Eskimos at the village, below are highlights of the national park from the village.

That's a view from a street of the village. Who would not want to wake up to this view everyday? There's a catch: 9 months with snowfall.

A peak with snow and many without. Not too far from the Ranger station.

Airport. No long lines, no barriers, just walk in and take the first flight. You can even pay for the ticket after landing in Fairbanks.

The river bisects the village. The dynamic riverbed necessitates rebuilding of the bridge every few years.
 
That's the wonderful river streams from the sky.