Closer to Nature!

A week in Riviera Maya, Mexico

2026-01-27T12:05:00.000-08:00

Dear Soul,

“Daily Affirmations and Visualization make every New Year’s Resolution a Reality.” - Happy New YOU!

The Riviera Maya is a stunning stretch of Caribbean coastline on Mexico's Yucatán Peninsula, south of Cancún, famous for its white-sand beaches, turquoise waters, luxurious all-inclusive resorts (especially around Playa del Carmen and Tulum), rich Mayan history with ruins like Tulum and Cobá, and vibrant eco-parks like Xcaret and Xel-Há, offering snorkeling in cenotes, diving, and cultural experiences. It's a top destination for relaxation, adventure, and exploring ancient civilizations, easily accessible from Cancun's airport through ADO buses.

DAY 1: Thursday, December 25: Merry Christmas at Playa Del Carmen

This is the second leg of our Mexico trip with another early flight; this time from Mexico City to Cancun, carrying many memories and the breakfast Hilton generously packed for us. It only took us 15mins to get to airport and we made the flight which took off early. Our rental car agency picked us up from airport and took to their office, all looked great except for the very old beaten-up car!

Driving to our Airbnb Condo in Playacar, an upscale, gated resort community in the city of Playa del Carmen, was a breeze (careful of TOPE – speedbump) and we ate our breakfast sandwiches voraciously in the car. Thanks to Google Maps for taking us all around in the very safe gated community instead of a short direct route, we got to enjoy the villas and coconut trees with full on tropical vibes (a perfect place to retire, no kidding!).

We went to Soriana super market in the close by Centro Maya mall and stocked up pantry and fridge covering all meals, snacks and desserts. Only then I realized I missed bringing Indian spices for cooking☹, so for the next few days I cooked all the dishes using just the cumin powder I bought there.

We took rest (while my 6-year-old daughter conversed with the next-door Canadian neighbors from the balcony) before exploring the pools here and then drove to a public beach by Soundset Beach Club. Parking was little challenging, but loved the warm water and the white soft sand sliding from under the feet with no sign of Sargassum.

We reunited with our very dear friends who joined us from Guanajuato for our time together here, had local tacos and Haagen-Dazs ice cream at the dazzling 5th avenue (Quinta Avenida) and made plans for the next day. We had a home cooked meal after a long time, did showers, laundry and went to bed.

DAY 2: Friday, December 26: Tulum and Cenote Zacil-Ha

It’s my turn to feeling unwell but we had an early start to the day driving to Tulum at 8:30 AM to beat the sun and the crowds (made me wonder how the kids have been going around so much despite being sick). No plastic was allowed inside (no wonder as we saw a lot of plastic waste on the beach), so we had to leave the water bottles in car. Apparently, Tulum is the only Mayan settlement on water and the ruins (inhabited by Iguanas now) looked beautiful against the Turquoise Caribbean Sea.

We spent time on the beach, and drove to cenote Zacil-Ha (instead of Playa Akumal) per the shuttle driver recommendation. The Cenote (sinkhole) looked small and beautiful with clear turquoise water, lots of small fish, cave access and even a pool onsite. I also liked the restaurant set up, small huts surrounded by trees and my friend and I enjoyed catching up and resting while the kids played in Cenote and pool forever.

Back home, we met our dear cousin after a long time at Parque Los Fundadores, this time used street parking for MX$10 instead of MX$100 the day before. It’s packed with people and cultural performances, but we rushed back home tired after a long day.

DAY 3: Saturday, December 27: Chichen Itza and Hacienda Cenote Oxmán

The day my DD2 had been waiting for – to see her first wonder of the world: Chichen Itza, the Mayan City built in late Classic period! (she has been reading about the New seven wonders since she was young!) Chichen Itza is a 2-hour drive from Playa Del Carmen, but is one hour behind Cancun time, so we started at 6:30 and reached by 8 AM. We parked close by and paid the federal and State entrance fee for adults while its free for kids.

As we entered, we went straight to the famous El Castillo (Pyramid of Kukulkán – the Serpent Deity), representing Mayan Calendar in stone, with 91 steps on each of its four sides, totaling 365 steps (including the top platform) for the days of the year. We clapped at the base producing an echo that mimics the call of the sacred Quetzal bird.

The things we learnt at the National museum of Anthropology, about the Preclassic, Classic and Postclassic period came to life here. We saw Chac Mool, a Reclining human figure with its head turned 90 degrees, resting on elbows with a bowl or disk on its stomach to hold offerings (such as incense, tamales, tortillas, or, in sacrificial contexts, human hearts!) in Temple of warriors adjacent to the Temple of the thousand columns.

At Ball court, it was really fun to know about a fast-moving ball game in which teams of warriors had to get a rubber ball through a stone ring high up on the wall of the court with their elbows, wrists and hips without kicking it or using their hands. Apparently, they show this in one of the Xcaret shows.

Other highlights:

The temple of jaguars (Balam), Sacred well/Cenote (A natural limestone sinkhole), El Caracol (The Observatory) – a round tower on a square platform, the Ossuary, Tzompantli platform, Chultunes -wells for rain water storage.

There were souvenir vendors all along the paths and also a store and restrooms with benches outside to relax close to entrance. We were able to get out before noon, as it was just getting busy and hot.

Our next stop to relax and have lunch was Cenote (Hacienda) Oxman near Valladolid. At the first glance, it looked scary – very deep, surrounded by dramatic roots hanging down into the sinkhole! Cenote access is equally scary via a spiral narrow wooden staircase (73 steps) built into a cave tunnel dripping water. Felt safe with the mandatory life jacket and the kids had a blast especially with the rope swing jumping into the water.

We had lunch and delicious marquesitas by the pool and I relaxed watching my 6-year-old DD2 swim in the pool and even took a nap. Still recovering, made a quick grocery trip and I planned for a relaxing time while the rest planned for Xel ha for the next day.

DAY 4: Sunday, December 28: Exploring Playa Del Carmen

Totally contrary to what I planned the night before to have a relaxing day by myself, my DH woke up with the man-cold, so decided to take it easy and stay back with me. My DD1 joined our friends as planned for Xel ha and we three went to a public beach post lunch: Punta Esmeralda with a unique, shallow, freshwater cenote that flows into the Caribbean Sea. It was hard with no parking available or restrooms, so we couldn’t stay longer. A good lesson for Cozumel - to invest on a beach club to spend longer time (if not staying in a resort).

We parked at a perfect parking spot this time and went to the Paseo del Carmen Shopping Mall and then checked out ferry and ADO information at the pier. When we picked up our DD1, they were still playing in the hot tub at our friends’ place at Bamoa Playacar Luxury residences after a whole day in water!

DAY 5: Monday, December 29: Snorkeling at Cozumel

We checked out our Airbnb and bid farewell to our friends who were on their way back to Guanajuato. Then returned the car close to the fifth avenue, bought the ticket at the pier and took the 45-minute Xcaret ferry to Cozumel enjoying Caribbean views.

We took taxi to Casa Xel-ha, our stay while at island (a second floor studio opening to a rooftop terrace) and settled down. It was always easy to get a taxi from the taxi stand at the Chedraui Cozumel Centro super market next door and we went to Skyreef Beach Club. We took the basic package of 20USD per person which included snorkeling equipment, restaurant/banos, massage, a drink and tequila tasting. We ordered lunch and the rest started snorkeling, very first time for our DD1. There was no sandy beach and the water was very clear so I could see fish and corals right from the steps.

For the first time in the trip, the book in my hand felt interesting and I actually finished a chapter. Just an hour into snorkeling, weather changed rapidly with winds and rain so we were asked to get out and take shelter inside the restaurant. We took a taxi back home through flooded streets and tropical rain and got essentials from the supermarket for the rest of the trip.

DAY 6: Tuesday, December 30: Snorkeling at Cozumel

A rainy day per weather forecast, and we planned to watch “Avatar 3” at the next door Cinepolis in the afternoon. We went to The Money Bar Beach Club with zero entry fee unlike yesterday. We took a table next to loungers so my DD2 played in the sand and on the reef shore with hermit crabs and snails with her newly made friend. My husband was very excited to attract and feed the fish with some tortillas and even got bit by them, but the highlight was the jelly fish and the shark seen while snorkeling.

I was happy to be able to see the reef and fish right from shore and read my book and we all enjoyed the lunch. What should have been an hour turned out to be an awesome whole day experience. We were just done with food when the weather changed rapidly with winds and rain so took shelter inside the restaurant, same experience as the day before. We took a taxi back home, a very friendly driver (just as the one on our way to the club) explained the importance of being good to tourists to attract more, “What goes around comes around”, he said. The supermarket trip for souvenirs took longer, so skipped going to Centro and hit the bed.

DAY 7: Wednesday, December 31: Taxi-Ferry-Bus-Flight back to States

Final day of the trip and the last day of 2025 started with a well spent morning at Cozumel Centro. Saw a lot of tourists getting off of the Cruise terminal for the day, no wonder the taxis and stores accept USD here on the island. We indulged ourselves in HUGE ice cream, so we packed the lunch I made, checked out and took ferry back to Playa del Carmen. This time we sat indoor on first floor to avoid getting wet like before, but the very choppy waters left me and my DD1 nauseous.

We took the ADO bus to Cancun airport from the conveniently located terminal right on 5^th Avenue near the Cozumel Ferry pier. One of the best experiences: very clean, comfortable (with a restroom too) and smooth ride and booking done easy using the App. We had a lot of time at airport, so had our packed dinner (even Panda Express at the terminal was crazy expensive) and shopped around before boarding the flight. We landed in LA and checked in to our hotel close to midnight to welcome the New Year!! Happy 2026 Everyone!!!

A Trip to Mexico City (CDMX), Mexico

2026-01-23T11:00:00.000-08:00

Dear Soul,

“Prioritize YOURSELF, Because YOU Matter – So fill your Cup each day with Morning Meditation.” - Happy World Meditation Day! (Dec 21)

Pro Travel tips:

In addition to researching places, have AI (like Gemini), Translate, Uber, ADO (Bus operator to/from Cancun) Apps available on the phone
Pack light: we took 2 carry-ons and skipped our one check-in policy (including our medical kit, toiletry kit, snorkeling and swim stuff and towels), hence avoided the hassle of checking in and waiting to get bags!

Monday, December 22: Off to CDMX

We took an early flight to Mexico City, which felt really long despite all the food and entertainment we carried. On descent, I excitedly started taking video of the red-roofed closely situated buildings along with the lady at the window seat who told me in Spanish that it’s her first time on a flight. When we finally landed at MEX airport which was all decorated for Christmas, we took pesos at an ATM and airport taxi to our hotel: Hilton Mexico City Reforma. We picked the hotel as it is right at the heart of the historic center of Mexico City (Centro) and walkable to Zocalo (main plaza). My DH was excited to be back in Mexico City after more than a decade and he started conversation with the taxi driver right away in his broken Spanish using Translate app. It was a lot of traffic (reminded us of India) and took 1.5hr to get to the hotel. The hotel was super nice with amazing views of Centro from the room. But we were so famished along with headache (common for the next three nights with the high altitude) that we ate the dinner I packed from home, took hot shower and went to bed early.

Tuesday, December 23: Centro and Chapultepec

The morning breakfast at Hilton was THE BEST breakfast I ever had and not to be missed. Just across the street is the Alameda central, city’s oldest park with Benito Juárez Hemicycle monument, tons of vendors and a metro station. We walked in the park and visited the adjacent Palacio de Bellas Artes (Palace of Fine Arts).

We then took uber to Bosque de Chapultepec (Chapultepec Forest), which houses a lot of attractions: Chapultepec Zoo, The museum of Anthropology, Chapultepec Castle, Rufino Tamayo museum and many more. First stop - Chapultepec Zoo, we saw the famous Axolotl and Giant Panda. We had lunch at the outdoor food court (one of the best we have seen), and used the banos (restroom) for MX$6 each. (Interesting, got to know that the toilets can be missing the seat covers and toilet paper.)

We walked in the park through alleys of vendors, CDMX letters to the famous Chapultepec Castle. It has MX$100 /person ticket unlike Zoo, but definitely worth it. After a short uphill walk, we get to the castle where each magnificent room overlooks the fantastic city views.

We took Uber back to hotel and went to the pool directly to relax. Saving the best for the night, we had dinner at nearby Toks (Mexican fast casual restaurant chain) and walked to Zocalo. Zocalo, or Plaza de la Constitucion, is one of the most popular spots in Centro that dates back to the Aztec era. It's a large historic public plaza that never sleeps and surrounded by beautiful architecture and landmarks, such as Templo Mayor. Considering it’s the Christmas Season, it was fully lit up and decorated and super packed for a concert. After a long wait in line, we had the freshly made, popular churros from Churrería El Moro, a must try!

Wednesday, December 24: Revisiting Chapultepec and Zocalo

We started the day with yet another extravagant breakfast at Hilton and took uber back to Chapultepec for the National museum of Anthropology. The entrance opened to a large courtyard with "El Paraguas" (The Umbrella), an iconic, massive inverted fountain and a koi fish pond behind it, with museum halls all around, very convenient and easy to navigate. We visited the Mexica (Aztec), Mayan (with replica of a famous royal tomb) and Teotihuacan halls and were thoroughly impressed.

We had lunch at the onsite restaurant - Sala Gastronomica, got souvenirs and drove to hotel via The Angel of Independence statue at the beginning of the Paseo de la Reforma.

Walked to the Museum of Popular Art next door but it was closed for Christmas Eve. Kids were feeling under the weather, so we stayed in the hotel taking turns going out for food and fun. We revisited Zócalo, which was not as packed as last night with stores and many street vendors closed for the night. Restaurants were closed including the very popular El Cardenal downstairs, so got some fruits from across the street and Chinese food from Barrio China (China town) for a quiet night in the hotel room.

This two-day trip was just enough to get a taste of Mexico City from Cultural and Historic perspective, and we plan to return this year to explore the Art side of it including our kids’ favorite Frida Kahlo! (of course, staying at Hilton again) Merry Christmas and now off to the Caribbean!!!

Camping at Death Valley National Park and Las Vegas Visit

2025-12-03T11:20:00.000-08:00

Dear Soul,

“Our thoughts are Our power! We are the architects of our life!”

How it all started?

Some trips have a backstory that makes them even more interesting and keeps us looking forward to it. My DD1 wanted to have a buffet for her 12^th birthday and my DH offered to take her to the best one… in Vegas! Of course it comes with its own T&C, that we will explore Death Valley for the two days before. Combining the Camping at the Hottest, Driest and Lowest place on earth followed by the luxurious stay at glitzy glammy Vegas has to be the weirdest combination, but couldn't miss the perfect opportunity to experience a rare, historic weather event in this famously dry landscape caused by the recent Fall storms.

Sunday, November 23: All day drive

With car full of camping gear and hearts full of enthusiasm for a special reason that my DH's cousin's family was joining us, we started driving south from the bay area to Ridgecrest, CA, 2 hours away from Death Valley. Coalinga/Avenal Southbound Rest Area was a timely stop for lunch to enjoy the homemade food packed with love by parents; well enough for dinner too so we can have a good sleep and early start for the next day.

Monday, November 24: Death Valley – Canyons and Sand dunes

We started early to Death Valley through Trona, reminded me of a ghost town while the mind started to weave stories how we can spend our whole lives in that little town! Once on Hwy190, since the days are short and we have a lot to see, we skipped going East to Panamint springs for Father Crowley Vista point and Darwin Falls trail and chose to drive towards Stovepipe Wells village.

We stopped by a Scenic vista point and took pictures at Death Valley sign before going on Mosaic Canyon hike. The rough gravel road access to the trail head was beaten up even more by recent rains, but well worth it and the best part of the canyon is the first 0.5 miles.

After a rest stop at Stovepipe Wells Village, we went to Mesquite Flat Sand dunes, where my DH grilled a good lunch in the shade of the car. At Harmony Borax works, it was hard to imagine the borax mining in 1880s and wagons driven by 20 mule teams to take it to the nearest railhead.

Finally, we reached Furnace creek visitor center, central hub to all things Death Valley, got maps and info on the park. “Death Valley National Park is the homeland of the Timbisha Shoshone and preserves natural resources, cultural resources, exceptional wilderness, scenery, and learning experiences within the nation’s largest conserved desert landscape and some of the most extreme climate and topographic conditions on the planet.”

Our campsite was luckily dry and big enough to accommodate both the tents with parking fairly close. Contrary to what I had thought, the rest rooms were quite developed, with running water and a huge wash area outside for dishes (main importantly the water was not freezing cold!). We enjoyed the night sky and campfire, but the monsoon moisture soaked us wet. Death Valley is an internationally recognized night sky park, living up to its tagline: “Half the Park is After Dark.”

Tuesday, November 25: Death Valley – Salt Flats and Badlands

Mesquite Flat Sand dunes shone bright at Sunrise (just like Namibia), right time to witness them. After breakfast, we hiked to Natural Bridge, with the most amazing Badwater Basin views from the trailhead where kids did some rock scrambling at the end of the trail.

At Badwater Basin, lowest point in NA at 282 ft below sea level, rain water formed a shallow lake (colloquially called “Lake Manly” not as big as the one that formed after the remnants of Hurricane Hilary passed through the park in 2024) submerging the salt flats that reflect the sky and surrounding snowy peaks looking beautiful and reminded of Bolivian Salt flats.

Devils Golf Course and Artists Drive were closed with the flood damage. We had picnic lunch at Furnace creek visitor center and went to campsite for rest (Surprisingly in nice shade). We went to Zabriskie point for sunset, and saw the magnificent yellow and brown stripped badlands, revealing colors and textures that wash out in the harsh light of midday.

Coming back, we explored the furnace creek area and I was shocked to see what seemed all desolate, quiet and simple valley turned into a lush resort with water fountains, pool, golf course and shopping, just couldn’t believe the extravagance.

Wednesday, November 26: Red rock Canyon NCA

After Morning Sunrise at Zabriskie point and Golden Canyon hike, we packed up the tent. It was low 70s but the dry air made it exhausting, no wonder a person can lose 2 gallons of water per day just sitting in the shade!!!

We skipped Dantes View and started driving to Red Rock Canyon NCA after booking a timed entry reservation. It could be due to its proximity to Vegas, it felt very busy. But climbing the red rocks was very fun and enjoyable. We definitely needed more time than half a day to explore this beautiful one-way 13-mile scenic drive.

Finally, when we arrived in Vegas late evening, kids couldn’t believe their eyes at the first sight of the flashy bright lights of the strip. We checked in at the Caesar’s palace and made Buffet reservations for the next day. We had dinner at the Celebrity food hall and went to bed early 😊

Thursday, November 27: Thanksgiving @ Las Vegas

Starting the day at Brahma Shrine just outside the Caesar's palace was the least expected surprise, and enjoyed a monk lighting incense sticks and praying at all four sides of the temple.

We toured the Christmas decorations at Bellagio, our DD’s favorite Eiffel tower at Paris Paris and made it to the most awaited part of the trip: Buchannon buffet at Caesar’s palace. Highlight was the Thanksgiving menu: Pumpkin and Apple soup, Sweet Potato Casserole with Marshmallows, Roast Chicken, and the Crepe Dessert.

We had to take a nap after the very big and sumptuous brunch and then went around to explore shopping at The forum shops and Venetian, the Strip and Sphere Views from High Roller (Ferris wheel), had fast food dinner and relaxed in the soaking tub for the last night in preparation for all day drive home the next day!

Glamping in Everglades National Park and Hollywood Beach Living

2025-04-23T13:14:00.000-07:00

Dear Soul,

“Only a fool blames the rain for his bad vacation!” 😊

This blog focuses on the second half of this memorable and most beautiful trip to Florida, back to nature but not so rustic way, exploring Everglades National Park and East coast of Florida. Contrary to the landscape of the many previous national parks we visited which dominate in scenery, this one is a wetland rich in diverse wildlife (both tropical and temperate), offering many beautiful National Geographic moments.

Christmas Eve, Tuesday Dec 24: Drive to Everglades from Orlando

We bid farewell to our family and checked out from Cabana Bay Beach Resort, Orlando after one last sumptuous breakfast at Bayliner diner. On our way to Everglades, a 4-hour drive that turned out to be a 7-hour drive with grocery shopping at Costco and Walmart-Subway lunch @ Pompano Beach. First stop is Ernest F. Coe visitor center to get maps and info to plan for next day. As we entered the park, we drove straight through vast plain lands in sight for 40 miles unlike Yosemite. Mosquitoes swarmed as expected as we got out of the car at dusk (5:15 PM) after checking in at Flamingo Glamping Eco tents. Right on the tip of the Mainland Florida, we enjoyed the sight of Florida bay in the twilight from inside the tent. Since we weren’t allowed to bring food inside the tents, we ended up having our dinner right in the car with mosquitoes everywhere. As the night progressed though, there was a cool breeze and no sign of mosquitoes, so we enjoyed walking under the stars and got even a better view through our 11-year-old neighbor Robbie’s telescope, his Christmas gift. There was no signal/Wi-Fi at tents, so we played games in tent under the dim light of the only stand light in the tent and went to bed.

Christmas, Wednesday Dec 25: Merry Hiking in Everglades

It was a very pleasant day for hiking and exploring the various habitats in the park. After breakfast, we started driving north along Main Park Road, doing all the short trails starting from Eco Pond trail with the highlight being Royal Palm Trails (Anhinga and Gumbo Limbo)

Eco Pond trail (0.5m loop): As we strolled around this freshwater pond, we saw something in the water and took it for a python. This was our first trail getting used to mosquitoes.

West Lake Trail (0.5m loop): Took the boardwalk into “mangrove forest” – the salt tolerant trees rising from the shallow water on prop roots and had first sight of crocodile.

Mahogany Hammock Trail (0.5m loop): “Hammock” in Florida is a term used to describe an island of tropical hardwood trees (Mahogany trees here) surrounded by pine or sawgrass (in the wetland).

Pa-hay-okee Overlook (0.25m loop): Walked to a platform to view Saw grass prairie of the Shark River slough

Pinelands Trail (0.5m loop): Explored a subtropical pine forest and had lunch in rain at Long Pine Key picnic area, saving the best for the last: Royal Palm Trails below

Anhinga Trail (0.5m loop): Exciting and perfect wildlife watching opportunity of alligators, wading birds walking on the leaves’ floor, Anhinga diving into water, turtle chewing on a flower, fishes and even a rattle snake from up close.

Gumbo Limbo Trail (0.5m loop): This trail winds through a once dense hardwood hammock of gumbo limbo (a tropical tree with peeling red bark suggesting sun burn hence called tourist tree) and royal palm trees. This Paradise Key Hammock was considered one of the most beautiful before a devastating fire in 1945. This area became Royal Palm State Park in 1919 and later the nucleus for Everglades National Park established in 1947.

We got back to the tent for dinner and had hot showers to wash off the deet and relieve from mosquito bites.

Thursday, Dec 26: On water in Everglades

It was a humid and sunny day unlike the day before (can only imagine how it will be in summers!!), We hung out in the tent after breakfast as my DH went kayaking in Florida Bay. We saw exhibits at Guy Bradley Visitor center but skipped the Guy Bradley Trail. After lunch and nap, we did Flamingo Back country boat tour from Marina, which we booked the day before. This is part of a 99-mile Kayaking path called Wilderness waterway from Flamingo to Everglades city.

The tour guide was one of the best with detailed explanations of the park and its wildlife and did a great job spotting them too. We passed through Buttonwood canal with white, red and black mangroves on either sides, opening to Coot Bay. Then along Tarpon creek, we spotted Anhinga bird (snake bird Similar to cormorant) and oysters on mangroves and rode into vast Whitewater Bay - almost size of Lake Okeechobee.

But the best sight of Manatees and crocodiles was right on Marina on our return. As suggested in the tour, we enjoyed Sunset and remnants of an outpost fishing village at amphitheater (another spot was pee hi kee overlook) and dined at Flamingo restaurant after hot showers.

Friday, Dec 27: Key Biscayne and Bill Baggs state park

Since the Shark Valley tram tour tickets were sold out for today, we had a leisure day; We spent morning at “Robert is here” fruit stand enjoying tropical fruits and petting farm. Although the prices were ridiculous, we enjoyed Sapodilla and Custard apple after a long time! Then ran errands for the coming days and checked into our hotel in Kendall for lunch. We drove to Key Biscayne and Bill Baggs state park through Miami skyline and kids got to play on the beach with Cape Florida lighthouse in the background. Unfortunately, we missed the tower tours (at 10am and 12pm except Tue/Wed) and even the compound is closed at 4PM. We came back to hotel earlier than we thought since the park was closed at 5:30PM. Another blessing in disguise, thanks to the excellent location of the hotel, we walked to Barnes and Nobles next door and kids loved their first experience at the book store.

Saturday, Dec 28: Tram ride in Everglades

Set on Shark Valley tram tour, my DH went early to the Shark Valley visitor center and managed to get the walk-in tickets for 11am tour. This is a 2-hour tram tour along a fifteen-mile loop trail with a midway stop at the Observation tower offering panoramic views of the park. We learnt the habitat types, differences between crocodiles and alligators (fresh water counterparts – always black) and most importantly, the challenges faced by the park with human intervention on channeling water away from the park and current restoration projects.

Throughout the tour, we saw almost all the alligators (and babies) on the left side of the tram (could be because of the deeper borrow pits?) and for the first time, touched the sharp sawgrass.

P.S: In case you didn’t get the tram tour tickets/bikes, walk the trail anticlockwise and you will see tons of alligators on the side.

After the ride, we stopped for lunch at a neighborhood park and drove to Hollywood for the beach vacation at Shore View hotel, nestled among residences to end the trip/year. We met our family again one last time and enjoyed pool time/dinner at Marriott harbor Beach Resort and said byes until we meet next year.

Sunday, Dec 29: Hollywood Beach Living

Contrary to our most anticipated time on the beach, it was a rainy day, too windy to even step outside, so we stayed inside waiting to clear up. Evening as the weather got better, we went to Publix (with a dock so people on boats can run errands!) for dinner and errands, and enjoyed a heavy dinner by the beach. We took a walk on the beach and enjoyed homes on Ocean Drive. Next morning, we got to enjoy Sunrise on beach with hot breakfast and left to airport contented and hoping to return soon!

Orlando Reunion: Universal and Disney Resorts and Parks

2025-02-27T17:06:00.000-08:00

Dear Soul,

“We don't attract what we want, we attract what we are” 😊 - BK Shivani

It’s that time of the year, to keep the tradition of taking Christmas vacation with extended family going, this year to Orlando to explore Universal and Disney parks. This is very different from my usual Nature blogposts, but these Resorts and the Parks, albeit expensive, were quite exciting and inspiring, so I had to share. It was a completely different and wonderful experience in each of the parks. I hope you find this post helpful with the tricks and enjoy visiting these parks as much with your loved ones.

Dec 20: In Paradise @ Loews Royal Pacific Resort

After a very exciting reunion with the welcoming and smiling familiar faces, had Thai lunch at our airport hotel and moved to Loews Royal Pacific Resort at Universal. The idea was to get early entry and fast passes the next day to Universal Island of Adventure by staying here. Very first thought: where am I? With the tropical plants and warm humid weather, I felt like we were back in Punta Cana. As I entered the resort, I was instantly transported to some exotic Asian paradise with the vegetation, entry lake with water lily pods, frogs, lit up Christmas tree, soaring wooden beam ceilings, water feature with Buddha, and the refreshing cucumber water drink. The most striking was the Sandalwood art pieces on either side of the entry, one picturing what I felt was a scene from Gita and the other with all the tropical animals.

At check in, we picked up our individual room key cards with our names on it (excellent memorabilia and handy Universal fast passes) and Universal tickets for the next day. While kids swam in the pool, we took water taxi from resort to Universal City Walk, a magic in itself. Wrapped up the night with gigantic desserts at Toothsome Chocolate Emporium and walked back to the hotel along the well-lit waterway, once again making me forget where I was. Enjoyed quiet night at room for an early start the next day reading Gita, yes kids go to bed listening to it.

Dec 21: First World Meditation Day @Cabana Bay Beach Resort – Universal Islands of Adventure

While kids enjoyed Universal Island of Adventure with dads, our trio enjoyed a relaxing morning with breakfast at lounge and exploring around, lunch later at Madras Café and moved to Universal’s Cabana Bay Beach Resort, our home for the next three nights. Unlike our previous one, this is extremely family friendly with a Pool and Lazy River, Bayliner diner, bowling alley, movie nights by the pool and many tailored activities towards families with kids. After Chipotle takeout dinner at the diner (our meet up place for breakfast and dinner for all days), we loved our time at Swizzle bar, enjoying live music and my DD2 dancing and giggling with Scooby Doo. And we had a change in plan to do Disney’s EPCOT the next day, with the Volcano Bay Water park closed due to weather.

Dec 22: One World @ EPCOT

Breakfast at Bayliner Diner was very good, with yummy French toast and pancakes, with sides of potatoes and eggs. Ridesharing with Uber and Lyft was so cheap that we didn’t have to rent a car while in Orlando to go to/from Disney parks. EPCOT (stands for “Experimental Prototype Community of Tomorrow”, even the gate keeper didn’t know!), an unfinished dream of Walt Disney’s idea of futuristic city, is centered around our world and its people(cultures) and organized into four neighborhoods:

World Nature: Enjoyed the Soarin’ hang-gliding flight, Awesome planet show on Earth as a valuable real estate, Living with the land: Ride along in greenhouses, Journey of water: an interactive outdoor trail inspired by moana.
World Showcase: Amazing with setting from 11 different countries around a lake (used for night time fireworks display). While I enjoyed it, it felt less impressive probably because of a lot of walking (especially for kids, unlike getting on/off the rides from the previous day).
World Discovery: Guardians of the Galaxy gave the kids a much-needed adrenaline rush to end the day and totally did justice to the long wait!
World Celebration: We trio ended the tour with Spaceship Earth, a slow train ride showing the innovations from the Stone Age to the Digital Age.

Met back at the diner for Indian takeout dinner and got Christmas Gifts from my dearest nieces, so blessed.

Dec 23: Best for the last @ Animal Kingdom

Started the day with another sumptuous breakfast at Bayliner diner. Thanks to the lightning pass and efficient planners, we were able to plan the night before and have a productive day covering most of the park.

Pandora: Avatar ride was exhilarating and with the scenery and company around, the 2.5hr wait tine felt like 25 minutes. Another breathtaking ride was Na’vi River journey, boat ride taking us through Pandora’s lit forests.
Africa: Enjoyed the live musical show - Festival of the lion king, Kilimanjaro safaris- saw a real-life bare Baobab tree, Rhinos, Giraffes, Lion, somehow reminded me of Nehru Zoological Park in Hyderabad, India
Asia: Enjoyed Anandpur setting, a fictional village in India and the rides Kali River Rapids and Expedition Everest
Discovery Island: Located at the center is the “Tree of Life”, the park's sculpted, man-made baobab tree, where we watched a light show. Also watched the 3-d show - it’s tough to be a bug.
Dinoland USA: Kids and adults enjoyed the Dino-Rama Ride alike :)

Wrapped up the day and this part of the trip with celebrating our dear sis-in- law’s early birthday with dinner at Kavas. Looking forward to the next segment of glamping at Everglades National Park and meeting them again in Fort Lauderdale (next post).

RV Camping at Banff and Jasper National Parks, Canada

2024-05-30T17:47:00.000-07:00

Dear Soul,

“The still waters of a lake reflect the beauty around it. When the mind is still, the beauty of the Self is seen reflected in it.” - BKS Iyengar

This is the second part of our Second RV trip, this time to Glacier-Banff-Jasper National parks in USA and Canada. Here is the link to the previous post for Glacier National Park, USA

The four National Parks of the Canadian Rockies: Banff, Jasper, Kootenay and Yoho share their boundaries and are part of UNESCO World Heritage Site. We have covered Banff – Canada’s first and Jasper – largest of the National Parks (and part of Kootenay) in this trip. Exploring these two parks is best done driving along 2 major highways:

Highway 1 (Alternately 1A -Bow Valley Parkway) connecting the town of Banff to the village of Lake Louise and
Hwy 93 connecting Lake Louise village to Jasper town (famously called Icefields Parkway).

This is one of the most beautiful journeys on the planet and an awesome road trip for everyone.

As per the campsite availability along the way, we started with Jasper National Park and then Lake Louise and finally Banff National Park. One thing they promote is the “Bare” campsite program: to keep the campsite clean so that the campers can stay safe and help keep animals in the national parks alive and wild.

Day 6: July 21, 2022: Camping @ Tunnel Mountain Trailer Court, Banff National Park

From Glacier National Park, we started driving our RV to Canada only to know at the Customs border that it is mandatory to prefill and submit travelers’ information using ArriveCAN app and were asked to return to US. We had to re-enter USA and drive back for a while for LTE mobile coverage and downloaded the app. When we entered Alberta, we drove through endless yellow mustard fields to our friend’s home in Calgary. It was nice catching up after more than a decade and sure was a relief for the kids to get home atmosphere and play with other kids/toys. They helped us pick up Annual Parks Canada Discovery Pass, restock groceries and gave Indian breakfast batter, rotis and local tips for a good yogurt. The gas lines were long at Costco, so we drove towards Banff and camped at Tunnel Mountain Trailer Court that night.

Day 7: July 22, 2022: Camping @ Wabasso, Jasper National Park

We drove through the town of Banff to fill up gas and started driving on Hwy 1 and soon Hwy 93 towards Jasper. Rated as one of the top drives in the world by Condé Nast Traveler, this Icefield Parkway (Hwy 93) is a 232 km stretch of double-lane highway winding along the Continental Divide through soaring rocky mountain peaks, icefields and vast sweeping valleys. Our first stop on the Icefields Parkway was Columbia icefield Glacier discovery center to get tour tickets to experience Columbia icefield adventure and Columbia icefield Skywalk. We parked our RV there, board a shuttle then rode a massive ice explorer to take us on Athabasca glacier to explore on foot for an hour. Another shuttle took us to skywalk center, where after walking a one KM walkway, we reach the Glass floored skywalk with unobstructed views of the Sunwapta valley. After that, we drove to Athabasca falls and finally went to our campground for the night- Wabasso.

Day 8: July 23, 2022: Camping @ Wabasso, Jasper National Park

We parked at the junction of Hwy 93A and Edith Cavell Road and my DH tried to hitch hike to the trailhead since the road is not suitable for RV to do the Edith Cavell Meadows trail, but he couldn’t find a ride, so instead he did Valley of the Five Lakes trail. Then we both hiked the Maligne Canyon trail and then went to medicine lake and Maligne lake. While DH kayaked in the Maligne lake, we played in water and had a close encounter with a family of bears driving back on Maligne Lake road to our campground.

Day 9: July 24, 2022: Camping @ Whistler, Jasper National Park

We went to Jasper sky tram, the longest and highest guided aerial tramway in Canada for stunning views of six mountain ranges, turquoise lakes, glacial fed rivers and the mountain town of Jasper. We wandered around the boardwalks while my DH explored the alpines taking the Whistlers Mountain summit trail. We headed to the Town of Jasper for lunch at a Chinese restaurant and groceries and Afternoon, we played at lake Annette beach. We went to Whistlers campground, most beautiful ever with so many elks around, spring flowers and could even see the tram from here.

Day 10: July 25, 2022: Camping @ Lake Louise Campground, Banff National Park

We skipped Jasper East area and starting driving back on Icefields Parkway making random stops on our way to Lake Louise. We stopped at Sunwapta falls and later my DH did Toe of the Athabasca Glacier trail while we fought the mosquitoes at the trailhead. After shopping at Saskatchewan River Crossing, we did Mistaya canyon trail, Peyto and Bow lakes. Just when I thought the lakes couldn’t get any better, Lake Louise was breath taking with turquoise water against the white glaciers at distance and wondered if this is the heaven on earth. While my DH and DD1 kayaked in the beautiful lake, my DD2 played in the ice-cold waters for a peaceful night in Lake Louise campground.

Day 11: July 26, 2022: Camping @ Lake Louise Campground, Banff National Park

As my DH left for hiking early in the day to Lake Agnes, Kids and I took a free connector bus from the campground to the Park & Ride with beautiful views of the Lake Louise Ski Resort & Sightseeing Gondola. From here, we took Parks Canada shuttle (reserved advance through Parks Canada website) to Lake Moraine, which is yet another beautiful lake but has no beach. We went back to bow lake that afternoon to play in the water although it was very windy unlike the day before.

Day 12: July 27, 2022: Camping @ Tunnel Mountain Trailer Court, Banff National park

We took scenic alternate route 1A from Lake Louise instead of Hwy 1, called The Bow Valley Parkway stopping by the viewpoints. We hiked the Johnston Canyon, and kids enjoyed the views along the suspended catwalks to the lower and upper falls. Next stop is Lake Minnewanka, where my DH and DD1 were adventurous enough to swim in the freezing waters while I struggled to even soak my feet in. We drove back to the town to finally take picture at the most sought-after BANFF sign before going back to our campsite at Tunnel Mountain Trailer Court.

Day 13: July 28, 2022: Camping @ Tunnel Mountain Trailer Court, Banff National Park

My DH hiked to the top of Tunnel, Banff’s most popular mountain while we are still asleep and returned to take us into the town. We took the bus from our campground to Banff and from there to “Cave and Basin” National Historic Site. In 1885, a small area around the Cave and Basin Hot Springs was protected and became the core of the first national park in Canada. For years people used to bath in “the basin”, pool with warm, mineral rich spring fed water and preferred it over the dark and sulphurous Cave pool; now home for the endangered Banff Springs snail. We got to know the area history watching videos, interactive exhibits and roamed around the area and took the Roam Public transit back to the town. We explored and shopped around the vibrant downtown making the most of our final day in Canada.

Day 14: July 29, 2022: Kootenay National Park, BC, Canada

We started driving back to States via Kootenay National Park on Hwy 93 South (Kootenay parkway). We hiked the Marble canyon trail, which crosses the canyon multiple times on small bridges and at the top was a beautiful waterfall. Kootenay (and Yoho) is also home for the Famous and most important Burgess Shale fossils, soft-bodied organisms that lived in Cambrian Sea, 505 million years ago. We hiked the Paint Pots trail, that take us through mineral-rich springs of incredible colors. Our last stop was Numa Falls before we entered USA. We did shop at Whitefish, MT for Huckleberry tees and finally went back to Rocky Mountain “Hi”RV Campground. Kids played in swim hole until after 9pm, as it wouldn’t set until 10pm and made friends catching Crawfish. Apparently for them, this is the best part of the whole camping trip.

Day 15: Saturday, July 30, 2022: Back home

We spent all morning at the creek, catching more Crawfish and drove the RV to airport where the owners picked it up. There was chaos at the airport as there’s no internet, so they manually checked the list and let the people board. We were glad to reach home safe and sound after a very long memorable trip, indeed still vivid that I could write this post today after almost 2 years 😊

Love for Nature and Camping made easy :)

2024-05-23T19:16:00.000-07:00

Dear Soul,

“Beauty lies in the simplest of things: Think Right always”

Who doesn’t like holidays with long drives, hiking in valleys and mountains, playing in snow/beaches, watching sunsets/stars, lake fun or just enjoying silence in Nature?? A weekend of Camping is a good relaxing break from routine with no pressure of planning or packing and best way to discover and explore new places. Luckily, being in California and a family who appreciate outdoors most, we have several destinations close by to enjoy year around. We have evolved as campers over the last decade growing from a couple to having two kids (however the love remained the same) and went on several short and sweet nearby and some longer international camping trips (RV and tent/car). Since some of my friends are interested too and summer is around the corner, I thought this is a good time to make it easy for them here.

Book:

In addition to national parks/forest lands(recreation.gov) and state parks (reservecalifornia.com), there are several other resources to find and book campgrounds: regional parks, county parks, private (KOA.com, hipcamp.com or just google for “campground”), hike/backpack camps for more adventurous spirits. There are also first come first serve options in many campgrounds, so we can take advantage of them if we reach early, for last minute trips. Weather is very important for everyone to have a fun experience in camping, there are quite a few trips in the past year that we canceled due to weekend rains or bad forecasts.

Must pack:

We have a spreadsheet that includes my shopping/packing list which makes it easy each time, you can tailor make one according to the then needs of your family.

Food and drinks: Breakfast cereal/croissants, Lunch sub or hoagie sandwiches, Elaborate dinners with rice, tacos, noodles etc. and desserts
Cut/Cook/clean: cutting board, knife, utensils, dish soap, trash bags, plates/napkins/cutlery
Camping equipment: Tent, tarp, stove, fuel(propane), cooler, mattresses, picnic blanket, lighter and firewood, lamp
Hiking essentials: flashlights, hiking sticks
Luggage: seasonal wear, swim wear, toiletries, towels
Travel aids: A good book, first aid, games, kids’ activities

In camping:

Setting up tent early in the day is easier with sunlight and gives plenty of time to relax and explore around/make dinners, campfires and smores. On other days of hiking, we return early to enjoy what campground has to offer.
Food tastes so much better, as I get to enjoy my DH’s cooking with my DD1 helping and DD2 feeding herself, so I get to really relax.
We go to bed early and align ourselves with Circadian cycle so Mornings start early and fresh.
This is the best time to enjoy company with oneself, family, old friends or new ones made with campsite neighbors with so many stories to share around campfire.
Since we are engaging in nature all day instead of technology, thoughts become slow and so clarity and creativity are biproducts. So, I make sure to take notes or write/record my experiences in phone.

In short, camping for me is all good things wrapped up in one, so please do definitely give it a try. Now off to enjoy our lake camping for the long weekend, see you all again soon 😊

Camping in SoCal - Palm Springs and Joshua Tree National Park

2024-05-21T10:43:00.000-07:00

Dear Soul,

“The beautiful journey of today can only begin when we learn to let go of yesterday” – BK Shivani

This trip is very dear to me, as I wanted to do camping in SoCal from a long time and I enjoyed EVERY moment of it. I learnt many lessons from the desert: Being flexible and adapt to (harsh) weather/environment, being true to nature from the cold-water springs, knowing self-worth from Joshua tree, being hopeful from desert blooms and having trust in higher self from Oases.

Plan for Spring break:

Since this was a road trip we tweaked it as per weather and started on Sunday instead of Saturday and set to return on Friday. Initially the plan was to do Mohave National Preserve and Joshua Tree National Park, but in order for the kids to enjoy a different scenery, we skipped Mohave and decided to do Palm Springs instead.

Sunday Mar 31: Drive to SoCal

We loaded the car with all the camping and food supplies for the week and started driving south early from the Bay area. Along Hwy 152 (connecting 101 to I5), are a couple of cool spots to stretch the legs: Casa De Fruta And San Luis Reservoir Recreation area (Romero overlook visitor center).

I5-S along central valley has nothing much to offer, mostly vast plains with occasional big rest area/gas stations. We stopped for lunch at ButtonwillowRest Area – Southbound close to Tule Elk State Preserve, and kids enjoyed playing with hamsters. As we are approaching SoCal, the snow mountains were a welcoming scene and soon we passed through Six flags and reached our hotel in Beaumont by late afternoon. Heard it’s snowing up in the mountains (Oak Glen – San Bernardino National Forest) but resisted the urge to check it out and rested instead (even made it to my online class), excited for the next day.

Monday Apr 1: Palm Springs - Indian Canyons

Diving into palm springs, we enjoyed the change of scenery into desert and sands. We stopped by Palm Springs Visitor Center for some pics and info and since Mt San Jacinto appeared to be engulfed in clouds, we decided to do Indian canyons instead of Palm Spring Aerial Tramway. Indian Canyons are the ancestral home of the Agua Caliente Band of Cahuilla Indians. There is a fee required for entry PP and we get to explore three desert canyons: Palm Canyon, Andreas Canyon and Murray Canyon. We parked the car in the Murray Canyon Parking lot and did 4-mile Murray Canyon Trail to Seven Sisters, a 12-foot waterfall. We shared the initial trail with horseback riders until a horse hitching area when the trail became more challenging. The first sight of Palm filled Oasis in the canyon was very thrilling. There were multiple stream crossings (we lost count after a point) along the trail, which was the most fun part in the hike. For the first couple, we managed to cross the stream/creek without shoes getting wet, but soon realized it’s not possible and walked our way through the water going forward- much faster, easier, and keeping us cool to get through the trail.

Hiking in the desert has its own challenges and with my 4-year-old DD2 hiking all the way, it took us way longer than expected and got really hungry by the end. We then drove to Palm Canyon, the world’s largest California fan palm oasis stretching fifteen miles long. It can be seen best from up the trading post which has food options, souvenirs, books etc.

We did lunch picnic and hiked down to palm canyon where kids enjoyed the remnants of the early Agua Caliente society and played in water. Finally, rejuvenated, we went to our KOA campground in Desert Hot Springs to relax for the evening and thanks to the weather, the shoes got dry by night.

Tuesday Apr 2: Palm Springs Aerial tramway and Mount San Jacinto State Park

Ignorant of the huge wait times at Palm Springs Aerial tramway, we spent time roaming around in campground and went to Tramway by its opening time. Little did we know that the ticketing opens well ahead, and by the time we reached, there were lines at the entrance, then lines at the parking for bus transport, then ticketing lines with a 2.5 hour wait time for boarding the tram. So, we picked up the tickets and drove down back to the city and hung out in the vibrant downtown. We shopped around –loved the “Only in Palm Springs” store and had a date shake to beat the heat. We went back just in time for boarding and enjoyed the 360degree view from the rotating tram. It reminded me of Jasper Skytram in Canada, only its even higher and longer. The landing station exits to San Jacinto State Park where my DH and DD1 did the snowy Discovery Nature Trail and Desert View Trail while my DD2 and I spent time playing with snow on concrete pathway to Long Valley and watched the movie on history of the tram.

On the way down the tram ride, we got to listen to some great songs of all time: “Don’t worry be happy”, “Don’t Stop Believin’” by Journey. We went back to campsite for some swimming and relaxing at Natural hot springs as promised to kids and ended the day with a nice dinner. Since the tram turned out to be an all-day thing, we had to skip Date Farm tour (next door to our KOA), Living Desert Zoo and Gardens (for my DD2’s love of animals), Coachella and other preserves around Palm Springs (Palm-filled Oases).

Wednesday Apr 3: Joshua tree National Park

We packed up our tent and drove to Joshua tree Visitor center at Joshua Tree passing by Yucca Valley and small towns. We took the park map highlighted with must see places in the park and saw exhibits one differentiating Joshua tree from Mojave Yucca. We entered the park through West Entrance Station and did few hikes:

Hidden Valley: As the name suggests, a valley hidden by boulders, what’s believed to be a legendary cattle rustlers' hideout. We first saw rock climbers here in the park.

Barker Dam: Only spot in park with water, constructed by early cattlemen then abandoned. We had lunch picnic in the shade of a Joshua tree here.

Ryan Ranch: Remains of an old homestead of J.D. Ryan who operated the nearby Lost Horse Mine

We skipped Keys View (panoramic views) for Sunset/Sunrise for next day and continued to Jumbo Rocks Campground and were thrilled to see our campsite.

We set up our tent and drove to skull rock (should have taken the trail instead), did rock scrambling around and hiked Discovery Trail. As we made dinner, DD1 explored around with their newly made friends with campsite neighbors. As the night got chilly and windy, and we enjoyed the warmth (and smores) at the campfire and stories from our neighbors.

Thursday Apr 4: Joshua tree National Park and Drive home

My DH set out to do Ryan Mountain trail instead of driving to Keys View in the morning while the daughters strolled around with their friends and I packed our tent with the windy forecast. We drove south to hike to Arch Rock, Heart rock and had lunch at Cholla Cactus Garden.

We decided to not be around Joshua tree NP as it got very windy and started driving home. We experienced every kind of weather on our way back home- wind, rain, hail, snow, sun and took a detour on I-5 for the best Chinese dinner at New China Restaurant in Huron, CA (well worth it). We made it home late in the night and relaxed on our own bed, reminiscing about the trip and planning for the next camping trip 😊

Memories of the Majestic Yosemite National Park

2024-03-29T14:40:00.000-07:00

Dear Soul,

“Everybody needs beauty as well as bread, places to play in and pray in, where Nature may heal and cheer and give strength to body and soul alike.” – John Muir in “The Yosemite”, 1912

It’s been over a decade since we moved to San Francisco Bay area from Ann Arbor, Michigan, and I just realized I haven’t yet posted on Yosemite National Park. It’s likely because it being in our backyard, we visited it about a dozen times since 2013 (over half a dozen in the last two years) and I often forget how special it is. From John Muir to me, it inspired everyone in different ways every time with its new look in each season: spring, fall, summer and winter. We have seen and experienced the many facets: the gushing waterfalls (May-June) down to trickle (late summers), the river and meadows from frozen to flooded, chilling temps to sweating hot, biking to hiking on the valley floors, intense hiking like half dome and just wandering around, full of traffic to complete seclusion, white walls of snow replaced by white Dogwood blossom to vibrant all colors. This is by no way a detailed trip planner, but I will share my favorites in the park.

Entrances to the park:

We entered the park mostly from West: from Big Oak Flat entrance (HWY 120) and Arch Rock entrance (HWY 140) and once from the South Entrance (HWY 41) mainly to see Mariposa Grove. In summer, there’s always lot of traffic closer to Yosemite entrance and we even had to wait over an hour just to get to the entrance. It didn’t get any better once we got in, with bumper-to-bumper traffic going to valley and parking is hard to find as well. So, park entry is restricted by a reservation system during peak times. In other seasons, it isn’t bad and the drive is pretty too with fall colors or snow along the way.

Places to stay:

There are several options in/around the park that cater to all kinds and budgets for overnight guests. I highly recommend staying inside the park, within the valley. Other than camping options (that can be reserved at recreation.gov), there are other ways to stay inside the park like Curry village tents/cabins(our usual go to), Housekeeping camp (rustic than curry village), Wawona(south), Yosemite valley lodge and expensive hotel The Ahwahnee (Queen Elizabeth II stayed here), which can be booked at https://www.travelyosemite.com/ We have also stayed earlier in Yosemite view lodge and Groveland (Airbnb with friends), outside the park and made day trips to Yosemite. So far, we stayed 1-2-3 nights in Yosemite, but we have also done a day trip once with guests which felt quite a long drive.

Places to eat:

Although there are plenty of places inside the park, we usually do Lunch picnic or at Base camp eatery near Yosemite falls and Breakfast/dinner at our cabin or Seven tents pavilion in Camp curry. There is also a microwave at the gift shop next to the pavilion to heat/prepare meals

Places we visited:

With Yosemite, the first thing that comes to my mind is its majestic Granite peaks (El Capitan and Half Dome) and gorgeous waterfalls, after that the beautiful meadows and many bridges on Merced River😊 Although there is so much more to explore, the valley is synonymous to Yosemite for us. It is beautiful with the Merced River (my moon river) flowing along, meadows surrounded by granite walls and waterfalls. There are walking/biking trails through out valley, highly recommend in peak times(summer) instead of driving or even taking valley shuttle, to enjoy the views. Below are the attractions in the order of the driving in the valley:

Bridalveil Falls: These are the first waterfalls to see as we enter the valley. We got drenched at Bridalveil falls in May’23 (Epic waterfalls year) and still remember sliding down the snowy 0.2-mile trail slopes in Jan’13

Sentinel beach picnic area: We stopped here for lunch picnic and had a lot of fun playing in the shallow ice-cold glacier water.

Swinging bridge Picnic area: Another fun spot for lunch Picnic

Sentinel/Cook’s meadow and Yosemite Chapel: My Absolute favorite for views of waterfalls and half dome from the Sentinel bridge. With Yosemite Chapel in distance, it often reminded me of the West I watched on TV. We spend time walking on the icy river and playing in the sandbar.

Yosemite Falls: Top of the list and very accessible path to Lower Yosemite falls

Housekeeping camp: Camp fire by the Merced River was once in a lifetime experience for me. There was a bridge behind the campground with more beautiful views and we also saw a church service going on in amphitheater close by.

Camp curry/Curry village: Great alternative for tent camping if we don’t find spot in housekeeping camp, only thing there is no place to grill here, so we gather for breakfast/dinner in seven tents pavilion.

Vernal Falls: We can take the valley shuttle or bike to Happy isles, the trailhead to go to Vernal falls, Nevada Falls and John Muir trail to Half Dome. First time, we hiked up to the Vernal Falls footbridge (moderate, 400 Ft gain), and next time continued to the top of the falls (strenuous, 1000 ft gain); was quite an experience getting soaked head to toe on Mist trail (as name suggests). We also like to play at the Merced River access at the trailhead.

Half Dome: A day-long challenging hike with a steep ascent up the cables (permit required) and most rewarding views

Mirror lake: This is an easy 1-mile paved path to this seasonal lake with Tenaya creek along (for accessible drive) offering reflections of surrounding cliffs, so we always walk/bike here on the last day. We have seen it full, completely dry and then walked on the frozen lake and enjoyed breaking the ice.

Church Bowl Picnic area: We stopped here on our way back to a visit to the Ahwahnee (not a stay) for grilling and saw rock climbers here as well.

El Capitan Meadow: I am always in awe to watch rock climbers taking on the mighty El Capitan. At night, these climbers are often seen as a subtle point of light against the starry skies.

Finally, just outside the valley, we have also explored:

Glacier Point (via Glacier Point Road): End point of Four-mile trail from valley with fantastic views of the valley and Half dome. We had a lunch picnic at Taft Point/Sentinel dome trailhead and then hiked to Sentinel dome, stopping by the famous tunnel view going back into valley.

The Crane Flat Snow Play Area on Hwy 120: Perfect for snow play

This post was as special as Yosemite itself, since it gave me the chance to relive the memories from the park in the last decade and I look forward to creating many more with my beloved family and friends.

Camping on Pinecrest Lake for Fourth of July

2024-03-27T14:35:00.000-07:00

Dear Soul,

"A man cannot step into the same river twice, because it is not the same river, and he is not same man." -Heraclitus

A little backstory before we begin: This trip was very special for many reasons: Our first tent camping as a family of four, on a lake, with our very own and new ISUP (Inflatable Stand Up Paddle Board), which is the recent obsession of my DH. We were very disappointed when our housekeeping camp reservation at Yosemite National Park was canceled for possible flooding of Merced River just a day before the trip. What’s July 4^th without camping and grilling? So, I desperately started looking for camping options on recreation.gov when I found a two-night window available at Pinecrest campground. Knowing very little, but since it’s a lake, I went ahead and booked it. Little did I know how popular it was, and how lucky I was to find it at the last minute.

Saturday, July 2, 2023:

Since it was a very hot day, we started early before 8 AM and the drive felt alike to Yosemite, as we drove past the Oakdale; we even stopped at our favorite picnic spot in Oakdale - Oakdale Cheese! It’s totally worth it with its beautiful Koi ponds, petting zoo, friendly cats, clean restrooms and grassy areas with picnic tables. The area around lake was crazy packed when we reached, so we had to park far on Dodge Ridge Road and walked to the lake. There were lots of canopies and tents set up on the beach already, and hundreds of people already grilling food (made me hungry), picnicking with music, adults and kids alike chilling in lot of inflatables in lake. The beach was nicely shaded by the many pine trees all around the lake, but the water was just COLD!

Pinecrest Campground (and others nearby) is in Stanislaus National Forest, located right off the Lake Day use parking lot(free), run by Dodge Ridge Corp by special-use permit administered by USFS. It is extremely popular and kid friendly with its proximity to the lake, several activities and amphitheater playing movies every night.

Luckily, they let us into campsite by noon and we cooked a nice lunch using our new camp stove. We set up our tent, changed into swim clothes, took our new paddle board and went to beach. Played for a while on lake. DD2 took a nice long nap with me on the shore and we returned to campsite for a sumptuous dinner. We went back to amphitheater and loved the vibes there.

Sunday, July 3, 2023: Happy GuruPurnima

We started the day with hiking on the trail around the lake, but it was too hot so returned after the Strawberry dam.

We spent the day on the lake, this time the girls and I had so much fun with floaties. A kind lady not only offered to inflate our floatie but also shared their cat floatie with us for the day. We went back to campsite for lunch and tried to nap, but it was just too hot. So, we returned to the beach and played for some more time while I read my book – “The Heartfulness Way” by Daaji. I thanked the gurus/teachers in my life who shared their knowledge and made this day possible for me. Of course, we had to have the best soft serve ice cream from the snack bar to beat the heat. Evening we made fire as it was little chilly and enjoyed Smores.

Monday, July 4, 2023: Happy July 4th

My DH went for a very early swim and hike around the lake and Sunrise was beautiful.

We packed up everything and went to Aspen Meadow Pack station, for horse rides as promised to the kids. Contrary to our expectations, the place was not busy and the owner was super nice to let the girls go around on two very friendly horses.

We returned home early afternoon. This trip was truly memorable with good hearted people, and I am so glad we made it here.

P.S.: Please drop a line in with your lake camping favorites/ recommendations around SF Bay area, so we can all share our love for camping in our golden state.

A day at Pinnacles National Park – Pinnacle of fulfilment

2024-03-19T14:05:00.000-07:00

Dear Soul,

Happy First day of Spring 2024 :) "Where flowers bloom so does hope."- Lady Bird Johnson

After a very rainy winter and canceling long weekend (President’s Day) plans, on Saturday 2/24/24, we planned an early day to Pinnacles National Park, one of the youngest National Parks and closest to us. We packed our breakfast and lunch and started by 6:30am and drove through scenic Hwy 25 to the East Entrance of the park. The east and west entrances of the park are not connected by road (Only through King City on US 101), and we picked east side as it has more activities. We didn’t have to pay $30 park entry fee as we have my DD1, a fourth grader in the car, with Every kid outdoors initiative. When we reached at 8:30am, the bear gulch nature center lot was already full, so we drove back and parked at Manzanita Parking area. Important: Please do not park on the sides of the road to avoid parking tickets.

We took 1-mile Sycamore trail to nature center, which was very scenic with Chalone creek along the way and many wooden bridges and several ladybugs, clustered together for warmth just like we saw at Mt Diablo and Uvas Canyon earlier this year.

Then we started our hike towards Bear Gulch Reservoir on the cool and shaded Moses Spring Trail, which has boulders on either side covered with moss.

To my surprise, Bear Gulch Cave trail was open (just the day before – Please check the status here before your visit) and the cave floor was all water with rocks lined up to walk in it. It was not just dark (we used flashlight from phones) but very loud with waterfalls gushing at places and cave crawling was quite an experience for kids and adults alike. The caves at Pinnacles were made when boulders fell down into narrow canyons and got stuck. Jumbles of fallen rock are called talus, and so these are called talus caves. This makes dark, quiet passages that are important for some animals, especially Townsend’s big-eared bats raising their young (hence closed May-July).

Soon afterwards, we arrived at the reservoir which was very scenic and an excellent picnic spot.

We continued on the Rim trail to High peaks trail to explore towering volcano formations, but I returned to Moses Spring Parking area with my 4 year old DD2 via switchback trail while the rest of the group continued on the High peaks – Condor Gulch trail loop. The loop was strenuous especially steep and narrow sections, but is best to explore the park’s namesake pinnacles and condors up-close.

Meanwhile, thanks to my friend who offered ride to the Manzanita parking area, I got the car back to Nature center and waited for the rest of the group. I and my DD had lunch and strolled at the Chalone creek as the nature center is closed, but there was a ranger outside with exhibits. When the group reunited, we wrapped up by 3:30 and went directly to restaurant by our home at 5:30 very hungry. And our very thoughtful friend already ordered the food for us and we heartily ate the sumptuous meal, wrapping up one of the best days of my life.

Thank you for visiting my blog. You can find more about this hike on Alltrails at Condor Gulch Trail to High Peaks Trail loop. Happy exploring!

RV camping at Glacier National Park, MT, USA

2023-01-10T12:02:00.002-08:00

This is the first part of our Second RV trip, this time to Glacier-Banff-Jasper National parks in USA and Canada. Here is the link to the next post (Banff and Jasper National parks, Canada).

Inspired by our first RV trip to Utah’s mighty Five National Parks in Spring 2022, we planned this 2-week RV camping trip to Glacier National Park in Montana and Banff and Jasper National parks in Canada for Summer 2022. Since it was just our family this time and we don’t know anyone at the destination, we carried all the stuff we needed for every weather (Heat, cold, wind, Rain-hail, Snow - absolutely useful), instant pot, my Indian cooking spices and dal, and even ordered online grocery for pick up to save time. It was a smaller RV by Mallery’s memories RV rented on RVshare, very thoughtful as its loaded with water, very authentic Montana’s huckleberry pancake mix and the welcome kit with very popular Montana’s special seasoning, local soap and the toiletries among others.

Being summer, the days are long (sunset at 10pm), so we had plenty time to cover places and unwind at campsite at night. We moved almost each day, and as my DH gets busy setting up RV every evening, I would cook dinner, have kids shower and we plan for next day.

Day 1: Saturday, July 16, 2022:

Lucky for us, Allegiant runs direct flights from Oakland, CA to Kalispell, MT. Arrived in Kalispell, we were picked up by our RV owners and given a quick tour in a nearby hotel parking lot. We ran errands at Rosauers and Walmart stores and checked into our Rocky Mountain “Hi” RV Campground. It’s a beautiful campground, very welcoming with the spring creek and its swimming hole at the entrance packed with kids and conveniently located. So, we stayed here on our return as well, and kids were even able to make friends and labeled it the best part of the trip, more on it later😊

Day 2: July 17, 2022:

It was very hot and my DH was under the weather so we rested till 3pm as kids played in the creek and playground, then made trips to Costco, Walmart and drove towards Glacier National Park. West Glacier village at the west entrance has grocery, dining and cute shops for souvenirs, and we tasted my much-anticipated huckleberry candy here.

There is also Canada welcome and Information center as Waterton Lakes NP, Alberta and Glacier NP, MT meet along the international boundary and Waterton – Glacier becomes the world’s first International Peace Park. We drove to Apgar campground and played in lake McDonald next to campsite, before wrapping up for the night.

Day 3: July 18, 2022:

The park has 7 regions to be explored with multiple entrances: The North Fork, Goat Haunt, Two medicine, Many Glacier, St Mary Valley, Lake McDonald Valley, Logan Pass and we could only visit the last four of them.

The road connecting Apgar to St Mary – “Going-to-the-Sun Road” has RV restrictions, so we parked the RV at Visitor center and took the park bus to go to Avalanche creek area, that’s when we were able to see the vastness of Lake McDonald, the result of a once massive glacier today filled with water. We did Cedars Nature Trail in rain, halfway through which my DH and DD1 split up to do the 4 mile hike up to avalanche lake while I took my sleepy DD2 back to visitor center and spent time there. They experienced hail half way but the end result was so worth it.

To go to St Mary Valley, we had to drive around the park via Browning with RV restrictions as I said before, but it became too windy to drive and we stopped on the side. A good Samaritan (forgot to get her number) guided us to a deserted barn area at the end of a dirt road off HWY 464, and we parked there behind the barn as a windshield for the night, hoping and praying the rest of the night will be an uneventful one. She promised to return the next morning to check on us, but we left early to St Mary Campground.

Day 4: July 19, 2022:

It was still windy morning and contrary to the Apgar campground nestled in big trees, this campground is a wide-open grassy area with no big trees in sight. We got ready and took the park bus to Logan Pass which we had to change midway at Sun Point. During the wait, we did the Nature Trail to the St Mary Lake overlook which was windy but spectacular and rode the bus to Logan Pass.

As the shuttle drive up to the apex, we saw beautiful carved valleys and waterfalls. The Logan Pass Visitor center is a huge building, very busy, surrounded by snow and subalpine meadows. As we were not prepared to hike in snow, my DH did the 3-mile hidden lake overlook trail, as us girls did the Hidden Lake Nature Trail and played in snow at the visitor center.

We returned and drove to the Many Glaciers hotel and spent some time looking in and around the once Showplace of the Rockies. Made popular by the “See America First” campaign by the Great Northern railway at the park’s inception time, this place lived up to its Swiss hype with all the Swiss architecture and Rockies resembling Alps on the shores of Swiftcurrent lake.

Right off the parking lot, we saw the popular Red bus tours and Trail rides being offered by the Swan Mountain Outfitters, but they were all booked up. Behind the hotel and right off the boat dock is the ticket office for Scenic boat tours for Swiftcurrent and Josephine lakes, which is a convenient way to get to Grinnell Glacier Trailhead. Advanced reservation here is required as ticket office is DAY OF sales only with a small daily number of walk-up tickets available via a waitlist. We confirmed our boat rides for the next day and went to Many Glacier Campground for the night.

Day 5: July 20, 2022:

My DH took an early morning boat ride to do the Grinnell Glacier hike, which was not as strenuous and he even met a 90-year-old hiker on the way. I took our girls on a later one (instead of Swiftcurrent Nature Trail) and we enjoyed the boat ride and took pics. The first boat took us along Swiftcurrent lake and after a ¼ mile walk over a hill, another boat awaited to take us around Lake Josephine. We hung out at the hotel, did shopping at café and gift shop downstairs as we waited for my DH to join.

Back to the campground, DH and I hiked to Redrock Falls leaving kids in the RV as the older one watched over the younger one nap.

Evening we went back to hotel for kids to play at the lake for a while, then did laundry, showers and went to bed excited for Canada next day.

On the LAKE

2022-06-28T15:31:00.005-07:00

This Juneteenth weekend we stayed with friends right on the Pine Mountain Lake at Groveland near Yosemite National Park, and was so fun and relaxing to say the least. The place was called the Huckleberry Hideaway and there were mentions of lake and huckleberry everywhere –

“If you are Lucky enough to be at the LAKE, you are lucky enough”

“Life is better at the LAKE”

“LAKE HOUSE”

“I am your huckleberry”

And my curiosity especially began after reading the Moon River that’s hung in the restroom (interesting right!).

Moon river by Johnny Mercer and Henry Mancini, goes as:

“Moon river, wider than a mile
I'm crossing you in style some day
Oh, dream maker, you heart breaker
Wherever you're goin', I'm goin' your way

Two drifters, off to see the world
There's such a lot of world to see
We're after the same rainbow's end
Waitin' 'round the bend
My huckleberry friend
Moon river and me”

Only after I started researching on the meaning, I got to know this is a very popular song by Audrey Hepburn from Breakfast at Tiffany’s (1961). I felt a strong connection to these words and the beautiful lines are interpreted differently by many. To me, the river is the journey of love/life/time and it all makes sense with that one Huckleberry friend in life. Just like Huckleberry Finn to Tom Sawyer, always game for anything, especially adventure up and down the Mississippi, hence the river analogy.

Thanks to our good friends Grindalls for showing us this place in February, it was quiet then as the Marina beach was closed for construction but we enjoyed the snowboarding at Yosemite. This time it was a relaxing day on the beach by Pine Mountain Lake Lodge, close by the house and accessible by kayak. The lake itself, kayaking, swimming for DH, playing with sand for kids, Family sunset boat ride, birds and deer watching in the backyard, beautiful big pines gleaming gold at sunset resembling fall colors, company of our dear friends, celebrating Fathers’ Day together were are all memorable. We made new memories revisiting San Jose Family camp Yosemite this time with both daughters, walking on the Tuolumne River.

So glad to be able to make this trip even after many setbacks, we always receive far more than we seek in Nature. Now can’t wait to try out the Huckleberry, a popular fruit in Montana in our upcoming RV trip to Glacier National Park and to Canada, stay tuned! :)

RV Camping at Zion National Park

2022-06-11T15:04:00.004-07:00

This is the sixth and last part of our first RV trip to Utah Mighty five National parks loop. Here is the link to the previous post(Bryce Canyon National Park)

April 8, 2022:

We entered the park at the East Entrance and paid a $15 fee for the Zion-Mt. Carmel Tunnel escort ahead. Since our RV was an oversized vehicle, the oncoming traffic had to be stopped by the rangers so we may drive down the center of the road in the tunnel (check tunnel hours). As we drove through the tunnel, we enjoyed the glimpses of the spectacular Zion canyon through the windows and soon we were at the last campground of our trip- Watchman. Its next to the Zion Canyon visitor center, ¼ mile away from the (Pedestrian/bike only) South entrance in Springdale, UT. It was so beautiful right by the north fork of the Virgin River with covered sandy beach and a trail along and just a footbridge away from Springdale town with shopping area and restaurants on the other side.

This place definitely has vibes never seen before, felt like we saved the best for the last. We went to bed early excited for the much-awaited Angels landing hike next day, as the permit we applied for yesterday got approved this morning.

April 9, 2022:

We took the first bus into the canyon from the Zion Canyon visitor center to Stop# 6: The Grotto for the Angels Landing via West Rim Trail. Zion Canyon Scenic drive is open ONLY to these articulated/tandem shuttle buses Spring through Fall and these are very effective in controlling the traffic. We crossed the Virgin River on a bridge and the elevation gained quickly on the West Rim trail to “Refrigerator Canyon”.

After walking through the flat, cool inner recesses of the cleft, it was a strenuous ascent on 21 switchbacks to a sandy pad called “Scout Lookout”. We had rangers checking the permit here again to take on the last part of 500-vertical-foot push to the top of Angels Landing. As I pulled myself using heavy chains attached to rocks serving as the handrails and reached the first knob, the sight of the angels landing ahead got me scared and I decided to stay back. It didn’t feel like a long wait sitting at the edge watching the climbing duo (and the many brave souls, some very young kids) as they vanished onto the hill as ants and joined me back in 2 hours. It was very hot on our way back and felt relieved to be done early and proud of my hiking pals.

Meanwhile, the kids had a relaxing day at the covered beach by the campsite.

Evening, we ran errands using the Springdale shuttle and enjoyed yet another dessert by my niece without which our dinners were never complete.

April 10, 2022:

We took the shuttle bus back into the canyon, this time to its final stop #9: Temple of Sinawava. We did the 2.2-mile Riverside walk along Virgin River to the Narrows but it was closed.

While the rest took the shuttle to Zion lodge for Emerald pools hike, I returned to Watchman with my DD2.

Later, we spent time at the Visitor center and walked to a Thai restaurant for the last night’s dinner celebration of our successful trip.

April 11, 2022:

We exited the park from South entrance and skipped Kolob Canyons in order to reach home early. Thankfully we checked the weather the night before and started driving back early to SLC to avoid high winds starting afternoon. We were able to return RV ontime and kids experienced their first snow storm that night.

April 12, 2022:

It was a beautiful morning in SLC as the snow cleared up and we took the flight home. On the trip, days rolled by so fast with no signal mostly and the occasional WhatsApp messages would be gentle reminders of time and the parallel life. It was like a peaceful retreat into the nature, came back so reset that life still felt like a holiday. Those soaring Arches, vast Canyonlands, acres of Capital Reef orchards, tall hoodoos of Bryce and the oasis of Zion would replay for several days afterwards. My 2-year-old thoroughly enjoyed our RV trip as she nicknamed it “the beautiful bus” and I really hope these impressions remain with her and may continue to inspire the generations to come.

RV Camping at Bryce Canyon National Park

2022-06-09T15:36:00.008-07:00

This is the fifth part of our first RV trip to Utah Mighty five National parks loop. Here are the links to the previous post(Capitol Reef National Park) and the next post(Zion National park)

April 7, 2022:

On our way to Bryce Canyon City, we saw small towns and homesteaders living off of ranches. Just outskirts of the National Park are the Ruby’s Inn RV Park and Campground and a huge store where we parked, had lunch and took shuttle to the park. Shuttle system is free, runs April-Oct and can be tracked at brycecanyonshuttle.com. We got down at the Bryce Point which offers spectacular view of hoodoos, then reboarded to visit Inspiration point. The upper and lower inspiration points the most iconic and popular views of the scenic Bryce Amphitheater.

Hoodoos don’t grow like trees but are eroded out of the sandstone cliffs where narrow walls called fins form in step 1. Frost-wedging enlarges cracks in the fins, creating holes or windows in step 2. As windows grow, their tops eventually collapse leaving a column and rain further dissolves and sculpts these limestone pillars into bulbous spires called hoodoos in final step. The delicate climatic balance between snow and rain ensures that the new hoodoos will emerge while others become reduced to lumps of clay. We stayed the night at Ruby’s campground and enjoyed the showers.

April 8, 2022:

We drove the RV inside the park, parked at the Visitor center and took the shuttle to explore the park. As I strolled along the easiest and the paved portion of the Rim Trail from Sunset to Sunrise points with my DD2, the others explored the most popular Queen’s Garden/Navajo Combination Loop, a 2.9-mile hike below the rim in between hoodoos from Sunset to Sunrise points (Clockwise direction recommended).

As we waited for them to return, I explored the many elaborate exhibits in the Visitor center about prairie dog colonies, Hoodoos around the world (one we visited was Cappadocia Chimneys in Turkey), Space and Stars. We also did shop for memorabilia and started driving to Zion National Park.

RV Camping at Capitol Reef National Park

2022-06-09T14:40:00.006-07:00

This is the fourth part of our first RV trip to Utah Mighty five National parks loop. Here are the links to the previous post(Canyonlands National Park) and the next post(Bryce Canyon National park)

April 6, 2022:

After days of driving around in the dry sandstone landscape, sight of Fremont River along hwy 24 was very welcoming. Indeed, water not just adds beauty to the landscape, but the also reason for the early settlers and hence these beautiful historic orchards here today. It was a love at first sight as we drove through our campground and soon became my most favorite camping spots so far.

We hiked the Hickman Bridge Trail, which is a 2.2-mile round trip walk to the natural bridge, which felt like another arch. We enjoyed our packed sandwiches at the bridge and walked back. Capitol Dome can be seen looking east from the trailhead, named for its resemblance to the U.S Capitol. This dome, along with the nearly 100-mile Waterpocket Fold (a barrier of rock that obstructed early travelers like a barrier “reef”), inspired the park’s name.

We drove back to the visitor center, got some maps, drove the 4.5-mile scenic drive and to the Panorama point for scenic vistas. The Fruita orchards were one of the largest historic orchards maintained by NPS with over 2,000 trees including apple, pear, peach, apricot, cherry and plum. Now bare, flowering typically occurs March into May, and harvest generally occurs June through October. Fruit is free to sample while in orchards; a small fee is charged for fruit taken out of the orchards.

Interestingly, there were lots of dogs in the campsites but the people were very friendly and even helped us with stabilizing the RV lending their bricks. The rows of trees, the horses on the ranch, the cowboys next door from whom we borrowed the firewood for the night and the starry sky transported me into a different world and made the camping extra special that night.

April 7, 2022:

We spent the morning strolling around in the Fruita Historic District beginning with the historic Gifford house museum and store (open 9:00 AM-4:30 PM). Be sure to go early to grab their cinnamon rolls, we went around 10am and they were all gone, and we had to work with their personal fruit pies (made from local cherry, apple and peach). It was interesting to see the Mormon pioneers lived off this isolated land with such ingenuity and hard work, completely self-reliant. We strolled around the picnic area and the orchards, before driving to Bryce Canyon National Park.

RV Camping at Canyonlands National Park

2022-06-09T11:49:00.008-07:00

This is the third part of our first RV trip to Utah Mighty five National parks loop. Here are the links to the previous post(Arches National Park) and the next post(Capitol Reef National Park)

April 5, 2022:

We started driving South from Moab to Canyonlands National Park and possibly because of timed entry at Arches, there was a lot of traffic before the entrance to the park. Cattle crossing and the landscape kept us occupied, but it was very very windy.

We entered the park from the north, stopped at “Island in the sky Visitor Center” and took the maps. Green river and the Colorado river divide the plateau into 3 regions in Y shape: Island in the sky on the north, The Maze on the west and The Needles on the east. We drove to Grand View Point Overlook and did a one-mile hike along the rim of the Canyon, offering spectacular views of the canyon.

We went to Green River Overlook, but it was very hazy and we saw a newly wedded couple photoshoot.

We couldn’t stop at Mesa Arch or see the other two regions and started driving back North onto Capitol Reef National Park. But it was just too windy to drive that evening, so we pulled into Shady Acres RV Park at Green River, UT for the night. This is the first time we learnt that windy conditions needed to be considered for RV driving. Although we missed a night at Fruita Campground at Capitol Reef, It turned out to be a blessing in disguise. That night my DD1 fell off the top bunk bed and her nose bled, and the very early morning, we had her checked at Green River Medical center. It felt relieved to get the assurance that she didn’t break any bones and we could continue on the trip.

RV Camping at Arches National Park

2022-06-08T15:14:00.010-07:00

This is the second part of our first RV trip to Utah Mighty five National parks loop. Here are the links to the previous post(planning first RV trip) and the next post (Canyonlands National Park )

April 2, 2022:

After an early fresh bagel breakfast, my DH set out to pick up the RV. It was completely worth to start early by 8am instead of the usual 6pm, so we have time to load and reach Arches National Park. We loaded the RV with the all the essentials, clothing, and stocked up the fridge and pantry, did lunch and started driving to our first destination – Devils Garden Campground, the northern most point in the Arches National Park. The campsite was wide open with the distant snow caps and I still needed time to get used to the orange hues instead of all green. We had our first campfire under the stars, thanks to the kind ranger for lending the fire-starting liquid and maps. The propane hookup from the RV to the grill was very convenient for meats.

April 3, 2022:

Morning was very chilly, so RV was very comfortable for the LO. A quick morning stroll took us to the Skyline arch which was clearly seen from the restrooms. We moved to our next campsite early in the morning and this location is tucked in unlike the last one. We hiked on the Sand Dune and Broken Arch trail within the campground to see the two arches and in the afternoon walked to the popular Devils Garden Trail to explore more arches: Pine Tree Arch, Tunnel Arch, Landscape arch, Navajo arch and Partition arch. It was a long day and the kids did amazingly well.

April 4, 2022:

This morning we started with hike to Delicate arch. Although it was a full parking, we had no issues as there was a dedicated parking lot just for RV/Trailer on the other side of the trailhead. We saw Ute petroglyphs and Wolfe ranch cabin (built 1888 and abandoned in 1910) by the Salt Wash early in the trail. The trail was stroller accessible for some distance until the base of a steep sandstone hill. It’s a popular trail with cairns (stacks of rocks) to guide and a ledge in the last took us to the delicate arch.

After lunch, we went to the view points and started driving south in the park and stopped at Double Arch, North and south windows. We saw more landmarks on the way from the La Sal Mountains Viewpoint- Three gossips, Sheep rock etc and drove to Moab. This night, we parked at the Spanish Trail RV Park, so we can have full hook ups, showers and laundry.

Memorial weekend escape to The Lost Coast

2022-06-04T19:41:00.004-07:00

This weekend was all about escape from the sad news of Uvalde shooting and finding inner peace at the serene Shelter Cove, Central landscape of the famous California’s Lost Coast (extending from Punta Gorda on the north and Bear Harbor on the south). California’s Lost Coast is part of and gateway to the California’s coastal National Monument, a string of more than 20000 rocks and small islands off the state’s 1,100-mile-long coastline. Hw1 was originally to traverse the entire coastline, but the rugged landscape forced its development inside. Today there are no major roads or highways through this region and its remoteness has earned it the apt title of “the lost Coast”.

It was about 5-hour drive north from home so we started early Friday. We couldn’t stop at my favorite “City of Ten Thousand Buddhas” at Ukiah as it was closed for COVID. Instead, we did lunch picnic at Pomo Day use area on Lake Mendocino very close by which also has a nice play area for the kids. We really drove slow on the road after exiting the 101 towards Shelter Cove as it was very windy and drive felt a bit of a stretch for the girls. It was early evening by the time we reached our Airbnb home and waited for our dear friends to join us. The place was beautiful with deer right in the open backyard.

Saturday is all rain but we still braved the rain to go to the major attraction- the historic Cape Mendocino Lighthouse, located in Mal Coombs Park, famous for its history and the tidepools. This was originally located on the bluffs of Cape Mendocino and was moved to Shelter Cove, restored and open to public for Memorial Day 2001. Apparently, the rocks, reefs and the tidepools below the park provide magnificent opportunities to see seals, sea lions, an occasional river otter and during migration seasons, to catch the glimpse of whales. Unfortunately, the light house was only open 11am-3pm and the tidepools trail is closed as well so we returned home and had a long lunch BBQ. As it cleared up in the evening, we went to the Black Sands Beach at the north end of the community, also the trailhead for the northern section of the Lost coast trail. We strolled along the coarse black sand and stones, saw lot of Mussels on the rocks and played with the waves in the caves they made. The weather was perfect for our kites and enjoyed sunset with the dramatic ridges and peaks of the King Range (NCA) in the background.

On Sunday, we drove to the Avenue of the giants and did a hike at Gov. William D Stephens loop trail of 0.7 miles and then drove to the visitor center for lunch picnic. We (some of us, but my dear friend recorded them here) were lucky to catch the 2pm guided walk at 0.5-mile Gould Nature Loop from the visitor center with the very passionate interpreter Griff, a must do one. Very interactive and knowledgeable, that the clover cover is actually Redwood Sorrel leaves and tasty to eat, how the trees support each other with roots intertwined and Photosynthesis to be the new god.

We had an early BBQ dinner and watched basketball before catching another beautiful sunset at the Lighthouse and chatted long into the night before wrapping up for the long drive back home the next day.

First RV Camping trip to Utah Mighty Five

2022-05-17T12:05:00.009-07:00

This is the first part of our first RV trip to Utah Mighty five National parks loop. Here are the links to the next post(Arches National Park)

Preparation:

Plans are useless but planning is indispensable - Dwight D. Eisenhower.

It took over a month of learning RV 101 and planning everything in detail since this is our very first RV trip once we found the perfect one(32 ft Forrester from Sphere Rental spacious enough to accommodate 10 ppl).

We modified our camping list to include RV essentials and especially the long list of grocery items for the 10 days. The google spread sheet helped us coordinate meal planning with our extended family joining us on the trip – including breakfast, lunch, dinner and snacks for everyone. We used a website to help look for canceled campsites and book them as they got filled up way before we even thought of this spring break trip to Utah Mighty Five National Parks. That primarily determined the schedule below taking into account we have access to showers in between.

RV vs Tent Camping:

RV has all the comforts of home with mobility; I really appreciated the heater for the cold nights and not having to set up the tent each night and take off next morning. On the go prepared fresh meals with the convenience of having a fridge and stove, dining table for mess free feeds, and queen bed for naps made my life so much easier travelling with a toddler. Not to forget the luxury of having a mobile restroom with hot water shower for the little one in the bathtub. We are still camping within the park, closer to the hikes, nature, grill and the campfire. The only challenge we faced was its not as easy to drive around and park wherever for impromptu hikes and stops.

April 1, 2022:

Finally, the day has come and I have this habit of keeping the house clean and organized for our return, so I’m always a late nighter before the trips, to fold all laundry or organize the stuff around. DD1 enjoyed the extra day off from school so we could start on time to the airport. My cousin received us and our very first impression on SLC is so beautiful surrounded by snow mountains in every direction. After running errands at the Mexican and Harmons stores primarily for deli and fresh meats (while the other family took care of the more elaborate shopping including Costco, Indian store and Target), we had a welcome dinner at their place, but I went to bed early with DD2 tired from the night before and excited for the next day. My mom says if we do something on Ugadi, we tend to follow in the same lines for the rest of the year. Happy Ugadi (Hindu Lunar New Year’s Day), cheers to new beginnings.

Happy Earth Day

2022-05-02T05:42:00.007-07:00

Nature has always inspired and healed me.

When I saw the loads of messages for Earth Day (Friday, April 22) on Thursday evening on social media platforms, I decided how I can contribute: Potty train my 2-year-old.

I never really focused on it, despite my mom’s constant reminders since before my LO turned one. But this is motivating enough that one year of one child using disposable diapers uses two full grown trees, not to mention they take 250-500 years to decompose (as mentioned in the Oh Crap Potty Training book by Jamie Glowacki). It is sad that I was risking Environment and the landfill space in addition to my child’s dignity prolonging diapers because I don’t care or I am not ready. Potty Training 101 (although I missed it the workshop) follow-up email from Stratford schools was really timely and helped a lot.

In addition to avoiding single use plastic, Couple of other things how I helped in recent times.

Avoid single use masks as much as I can
Turn off facade lights to avoid light Pollution: On our recent trip to Bryce Canyon NP, one of the exhibits in the visitor center caught my eye, how the millions of lights at night are obscuring night skies and stars, in addition to wasted energy, greenhouse gases and money.

There is so much buzz on sustainability these days, which is very nice if it helps bring us back to our roots. I believe it comes naturally when we go back to basics in kitchens and staying closer to Nature, imparting common sense in every way of life and not going through the fads. Thanks to Rujuta Diwekar (anyone who knows me know my outright love for her) for the guidance on this subject.

As a happy camper, living right on the bay a mile from camping (the Dumbarton Quarry campground by the bay) remind me of my love and duty towards Nature every day.

The final Michigan trek

2011-10-09T20:11:00.000-07:00

This September long weekend was particularly special for us marking the end of summer, probably our last one in Michigan. The very thought was little painful, so we decided to do the most awaited and long postponed upper peninsula trip: Mackinac Island, Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore, Traverse City & Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore.

Day 1: Mackinac Island:

We started at noon from Ann Arbor and drove to Mackinaw city. A 15min ferry ride in the blue waters of Straits of Mackinac took us to the island with good views of Mackinac bridge. We checked into a hotel and rode our rented bikes on the 8-mile road around the island hiking the cliffs, stopping by the Arch rock and the shore, taking pictures.

After a sating dinner, we walked under the night lights in the historic main street, checking out shops resisting the “Mackinac Fudge”, of course without tasting which the trip would be never complete!

Day 2: Mackinac Island Carriage Tour and Pictured Rocks Boat Cruise:

The official shared carriage tour took us inside the island showing the Grand Hotel, cemeteries and other points of interest in the city and the state park in 3 segments. The horses were huge and did a great job while we enjoyed the cool breeze with quite funny narration from driver. We got down at Fort Mackinac and walked in the state harbor and around before taking the return ferry. The waters were very fierce rising above the ferry on either sides and soaked even the people on the deck.

We crossed the Mackinac bridge and drove past Lake Michigan and small towns to Munising. We collected the info at the visitor center there and made it just in time to the Pictured Rocks Cruise in Lake Superior. The tour was almost for 3 hours from the Munising city pier to Spray falls with Grand island on left and pictured rocks on right. The shoreline was truly an interesting combination of beaches, falls and most importantly the towering sandstone cliffs in beautiful patterns painted in all colors. We dined at a Chinese-Thai restaurant nearby the pier and stayed the night at a motel in Christmas, a small town west of Munising.

Day 3: Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore:

We started the day with Munising falls, a waterfall in residential area and Sand point, a perfectly sandy beach, both a little unconventional. We then went to Miners Castle overlook and hiked to Miners falls.

We drove on H58 further to Little Beaver Lake, Kingston lake and spent time at Twelvemile Beach. From Hurricane River, we hiked to Au Sable light house along the lakeshore which had shipwrecks that washed ashore(Au Sable is french for ‘with sand’ - named so for its close proximity to Grand Sable Dunes).

We loved walking in the sinking loose sands across a steep bluff and the Log Slide overlook with magnificent view of the Grand Sable Dunes and Lake Superior.

We hiked the Sable falls trail and Grand Sable Dunes Trail which begins with American Beech-Maple forest and then winds into open dunes.

The Mackinac bridge was flashing in the lights as we drove back to Gaylord for the night.

Day 4: Traverse City and Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore:

In Traverse city, we visited beach park and harbor, had lunch in the lively downtown and drove towards Sleeping bear dunes. The Glen lake was surprisingly beautiful and definitely made us forget we were in Michigan, with its clear calm indigo waters, many piers and busy boating and kayaks.

Glen Haven Historic village had a nice beach, dock, museum and a general store. From the Sleeping Bear point, we could see South and North Manitou islands, the two cubs that drown in Lake Michigan while the Mama bear fell asleep waiting for them(now the Sleeping Bear Dune) according to Anishinaabek Indian Legend. The Dune climb was as painful to climb as was fun getting down.

We felt the best was saved to the last at the Lake Michigan/Sleeping Bear Dune overlooks in Pierce Stocking Scenic Drive walking in the steep dune rised 450 feet above Lake Michigan. We stood in the cold breeze, watching the thick clouds and pouring rain coming to us and barely escaped from being wet.

The only thing we missed for the trip was the Labor day Mackinac bridge walk, to pay homage for the “Mighty Mac”-longest suspension bridge for years withstanding the harsh winds, waters and winters and stood as a symbol of pride to Michigan, to us all… The trip felt like visiting family and we hoped to be back again soon!!

Love of Continents: Istanbul, Turkey

2011-09-25T00:22:00.000-07:00

Note: This is the second guest post from my DH from his Europe tour, a tradeoff for not taking me along with a promise for this blog-post and lot of gifts. I hope you enjoy reading!!

Day 1: After an hour flight(Pegasus) from Sofia, we got down at S.Gocken(SAW) airport in Istanbul in the afternoon. Istanbul is the only city in the world that is situated on two continents(Europe and Asia, divided by Bosphorus Strait), and we spent most of the time on the European side(Byzantium/Constantinople). We checked in to a hotel in Sultanahmet which is the heart of historic old Istanbul and quickly set out for our first destination- Blue Mosque/ Sultan Ahmed Mosque. It was closed for the prayer so we visited Hagia Sophia, which was once a Church, later a mosque and now a museum depicting two different cultures (Ottoman and Byzantium) under one great dome. Being the month of Ramadan, the streets were busy by evening with people, celebrations and food.

Day 2: We started off at the Sultanahmet Archaeological park, a UNESCO world heritage site and this time were able to get into Blue mosque.

We visited Topkapi palace with great views both inside and out. Our next stop was the underground Basilica Cistern which once provided water to the Topkapi Palace, but is now limited to a few feet of water lining the bottom.

Evening we went around in Taksim square, an 8 storey mall and Hippodrome. But the real buzz started at night after 6pm for Iftar(a meal to break the fast), when families gather to eat, shop and enjoy the special performances.

Day 3: We went to Dolmabahce Palace, a very grand and classy palace right on the European coastline of the Bosphorus strait.

Then we toured Istanbul University. Evening, we took the sunset/night cruise on Bosphorus which was expensive but got to see the dazzling Istanbul along with dinner, drinks and belly danceJ (There are also official ferry tours http://ido.com.tr/en/index.cfm for fraction of cost available for Bosphorus and Prince's islands).

Day 4: Its nearing the end of the trip, so we went to Grand Bazaar for some souvenir shopping. We spent there quite some time before going to New Mosque, colorful spice market and walked across the Galata Bridge. The Galata tower offers nice views of the city and the Golden Horn.

With so many mosques, palaces, architectural monuments and long history from different empires, this alpha world city has so much more to see and explore in itself, let alone Turkey. The beautiful peninsula, people, culture and not to forget the great food especially Turkish Tea leaves such a strong impression that anyone would want to come back, but its time to go home and before that…a rich dinner!!!

Let’s go International – Visiting Bulgaria

2011-09-14T21:41:00.000-07:00

(Bansko, Pirin National Park, Rila Monastery, Sofia)

Note: This is a guest post from my DH, a tradeoff for not taking me along with a promise for this blog-post and lot of gifts:) I hope you enjoy reading!!

A week of classes in Bansko, Bulgaria on a scholarship was a unique, not to miss opportunity for an International trip. Bansko is a town and ski resort in southwestern Bulgaria, located at the foot of the beautiful Pirin Mountains, about 3 hour drive from Sofia, the capital of Bulgaria. The Sofia airport was relatively small and currency exchange in the airport was indeed a bad idea. As part of the course, we toured industries in and around Bansko, which included Shumensko (Bulgarian beer company now owned by Carlsberg). We explored exotic restaurants with live native band and traditional Bulgarian costume. The houses(apartments) look alike, people speak no English and weren’t very enthusiastic about economy. All over, it felt like the country was stuck in communist era after the fall of soviet union. We also met Bankso mayor who was keen on developing skiing and tourism while the managers expressed interest in cheap labor and industry.

Catching our own fish at a Restaurant, Bansko

Malnik, a town near Bansko

On the last day, we hiked in Pirin National Park, known for its wealth of flora and fauna. There were colored markings along the trails. The glorious alpine landscape and its beautiful glacial lakes, called “the crystal eyes of Pirin” make it completely worth to be a World heritage national park.

Next day we visited the popular Rila Monastery, another UNESCO world heritage site on the way back to Sofia. This big eastern Orthodox monastery has beautiful wall paintings and equally astounding natural surroundings and stands as an important symbol for culture, architecture and ancient history.

We spent the evening in Sofia touring around Sofia Center- Alexander Nevski Church, Banya-Bashi mosque, the Sofia Synagogue, Hagia Nedelja church, Central Department Store, Saint Sophia statue and stayed there for the night.

Inside a mosque

Next morning we went to a local farmers market and few other streets before taking the flight to Istanbul, Turkey!

On the Road again..Part 2

2011-08-23T22:52:00.000-07:00

Road trips are always exciting keeping us on toes especially with no fixed plans and least expectations. Further continuing the journey…

Day 4: Wyoming, South Dakota – A day of Surprises

We started the day early from Rawlins, WY to make it comfortably to the many places planned for the day. By afternoon, we were at Jewel Cave National Monument, ready to take the “Scenic tour”. We were very disappointed to learn the tours were all booked for the day and without which there’s no entry to the cave. (For all the people traveling in summer, beware of school holidays despite weekdays!) We proceeded to Wind Cave National Park and took a tour of Wind cave. It was quite different from laurel caverns in Virginia, not as pretty but sure was scary.

Our next destination was the famous Mount Rushmore National Memorial, a masterpiece of Gutzon Borglum. Standing high in the Black Hills, this granite sculpture definitely succeeded in its purpose of attracting millions of visitors every year and making them feel proud and inspired from the four outstanding presidents of the United States: George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Abraham Lincoln, and Theodore Roosevelt.

We stayed the night at Wall, a place closest to Badlands and that proved a great decision next day.

Day 5: South Dakota – A day of Luxury

It was about 5am when we somehow woke up despite a long day before. Making the most out of it, we decided to catch Sunrise in Badlands National park. In just 10min, we were at the park enjoying the cool breeze in “blue light” along with a mountain goat and its kid. The sun rose from between the hills, the peaks shone red in sunlight and within an hour, the sunrays drenched almost the entire park. We saw herds of mountain goat by the Sage Creek Rim Road and hundreds of birds singing to the glory of the sunrise.

We went back to the hotel, took a short nap and returned to the park. We drove the Highway 240 Loop Road, stopping by the overlooks. It looked quite different from what we saw in the morning, still spectacular with wild pinnacles and buttes rise starkly out of the seemingly endless mixed grass prairie. There were prairie dogs, dear and also signs of Rattle snakes everywhere.

The east end of the park was better especially the Fossil exhibit trail where the badlands had dominant patterns and shining white tall spires. The Ben Reifel Visitor Center had more exhibits and the Tipi Village located across from it was good to experience the Oglala Lakota Sioux culture.

By noon, it was so hot and we were glad to finish the loop and get onto I90. We stopped by Lewis and Clark Interpretive center and Memorial Bridge at Chamberlain, dedicated for the two great explorers on one of the pioneer expeditions in American history.

We made an early halt for the day to spend the night at Sioux falls. We walked to the Falls Park and saw the illuminated waterfall in the night. The dinner at Minervas Restaurant in the downtown and Jacuzzi were such a treat after another tiring day and we slept like babies.

Day 6: Minnesota, Wisconsin – A day of Drive

The drive through Minnesota was beautiful - green farms with white windmills and lakes! Had an awesome lunch at a cute Chinese restaurant in Albert Lea, which I consider as one of our best finds till date. We couldn’t visit the twin cities with time constraint and continued on I90 to Madison.

As we approached Wisconsin, the sight of great plains faded and contrary to our expectations, Madison was a big city. We went to Olbrich Botanical gardens, Lake Monona, roamed in downtown around Wisconsin state capitol and drove to Chicago. The city was dazzling and still bustling that late in the night and looked more beautiful from our hotel downtown.

Day 7: Illinois, Michigan – A day back home

Next morning, we started off at the Magnificent Mile along with the pouring tourists. The shopping was fun and John Hancock Observatory surely got the best sight of Chicago, its skyscrapers, lake and beaches.

Boat tour in the Chicago river and Lake Michigan gave us another great view of the city and the high rise buildings along with Buckingham fountain, Grant park(The day of Lollapalooza at Grant Park) and Navy pier.

We bummed around in Devon street, which reminded of streets of Hyderabad, India and made us feel nostalgic. With Haleem(a Ramadan specialty dish) and my all-time favorite Hyderabadi Biryani, we drove home, tired, sad and equally excited!!