If this tree were a person, it would be a supermodel appearing on the cover of Vogue or Cosmopolitan. This non-descript oak, planted on the edge between two fields, transforms into a model every evening, with the sinuous curves exaggerated by the low sunlight close to sunset. And every spring day, dozens of photographers train their cameras and long lenses to get up close and personal with this supermodel of the Palouse.
Palouse
WA USA
I chose to spend the longest day of 2017 exploring the multitude of canyons that dissect the pockmarked terrain of Cappadocia. It was an ambitious though, but reality proved to be a tougher opponent, as navigation here was an exercise in frustration. Having been used to well-marked trails with plenty of maps typically, I was forced to rely on faded trail signs, blurry satellite view images and pure gut instinct to navigate multiple unnamed forks and deep slot canyons. The amount of backtracking easily added an hour to my meanderings in that area.
But there was nothing to complain about - I had an amazingly long day hiking through breath-taking scenery, visiting dozens of centuries-old historical ruins, and consuming plenty of delicious local treats.
After all, exploration is the essence of human spirit.
Happy Solstice Day
Goreme
Turkey
It was a lonely piece of driftwood that I spotted on the smooth sandy shores of Shi Shi beach a few weeks ago. It's life probably began as a tree deep in the temperate rainforests along the wet coastline of the Pacific Northwest.
The deluge of water from a strong summer storm would have probably yanked away the tree, or probably it's branch, and carried it down its rocky cascades leaving it somewhere in the Pacific. It would have floated for months on the turbulent foamy waters, with time slowly hewing away all the leaves and rough branches, leaving behind a gnarly yet smooth piece of driftwood. It would have taken another storm, or few, for it to finally get deposited on this beach in the high tide, never to be disturbed from its final grave. That is, until humans moved it around for photographic pleasure to this very location.
Olympic National Park
WA USA
After a mere four hours of sleep, I trudged myself on that freezing morning to the knife's edge at Inspiration point. The dawn skies were still dark, save for a sliver of light on the eastern horizon. Below me, the vast amphitheater of hoodoos were cold and pale, awaiting the morning light.
And as the sun broke through the clouds, the warm light lit the amphitheater aglow. The steep slopes down below were a bright orange, while the maze of hoodoos turned a deep red from the afterglow. It was a scene I could not take my eyes off.
Bryce Canyon National Park
UT USA
Thousands of tired, nerve-shaken, over-civilized people are beginning to find out that going to the mountains is going home; that wildness is a necessity - John Muir
Two years ago, to the day, I found myself staring at the end of a long dirt road weaving by a gushing creek of ice-cold melt-water. Silver-capped mountains gleamed in the distance. My destination for that night was somewhere there, deep amidst the towering peaks in a beautiful valley pine forests, vast open meadows and lush green hills.
That excitement and giddiness of hauling all my clothing and gear up into the mountains apart, it made me wonder why I made the decision of heading to this mountainous heartland of Central Asia. I already knew the answer: I love being amidst the mountains. And that was why I was relocating back to the west coast after that trip, where mountains are not just a dot on a landscape, but a region with innumerable nooks and crannies waiting to be explored and photographed.
I could not think of a better place to enjoy my last few days in this amazing country, for in going to the mountains, I was going home.
Altyn Arashan
Kyrgyzstan
The joys of exploring Palouse remain in getting lost in it's vast hinterlands, and finding an abandoned shack amidst the rolling hills and pastoral landscape. This joy is extra special when the clouds, the light, and the landscape come together for a beautiful visual symphony.
Palouse
WA
Seven years ago, I had stepped foot in a fairytale. Tall red hoodoos in impossible shapes and crimson shades towered over the trail and every turn in the corner brought out even more mystical shapes. The vibrant red and orange landscape was peppered with deep green pine trees somehow surviving in this orchre terrain. It was like walking through nature's recreation of a medina, complete with tiny alleyways lined towering houses painted in an coat of orange.
Climbing out of the aptly named peekaboo canyon, I got to look upon this fairytale land, a land which impressed upon me how water can act in mysterious ways.
Bryce Canyon National Park
UT USA
From the distance, I could see rock formations lining the shore. As I got closer, I realized that these were sea stacks. These tall formations, capped by a few pine trees, stood stoically out in the middle of the bay, sentinels guarding the pristine beach through the hardiest of storms.
At one point, they wold have been connected to the mountainous coastline, but the erosive power of water would have slowly scoured these fingers of earth until all that remained were a few sea stacks. In a few hundred years, they will most likely crumble away as new ones form from the land slowly giving away to the powerful ocean.
For now, they remain out there in the hundreds and thousands, waiting for the day of their timely demise.
Olympic national Park
WA USA
The rugged Pacific coast of the Olympic National Park is an unique jewel of that National Park. Here, once gets to see rocky sea-stacks topped by conifers stand just a few hundred feet from flat sandy beaches which disappear into the thick temperate rainforest that characterizes this lush and pristine environment.
I am excited to spend a couple of days exploring the nooks and crannies of the rugged coastline in the northwest corner of this National Park. Hope your weekend plans are just as colorful.
Olympic National Park
WA USA
The volcano was mired in clouds and fog as we were climbing up during the wee hours of dawn. Not that we could have enjoyed the views - the steep sprint up slushy terrain, rocky scree, and thick vegetation had left us pretty exhausted. And the possibility of not having any views from the top of the Concepcion volcano in Nicaragua had dampened our spirits as well.
Then, just we were about to descend, the skies opened up. Lake Nicaragua, the largest inland water body in the country, stretched before us, with the mainland visible far in the distance. Puffy white clouds were floating lazily above the lake and the distant landmass. And it was only now did we appreciate the steep ascent we had made, and the steep descent that we were about to face.
Volcan Concepcion
Rivas, Nicaragua
