My eyes are still slightly moist from that last blog. Kudos to Sisay for being so diligent in keeping up with it. I don't think any other in the party involved would have managed half of that. Small technical note - in case you hadn't noticed, our map/pictures have moved on to a second page. Just scroll down the list of sites on the left and click on "next page."
Our final count on my camera of pictures taken on this trip is 4,153 which includes 274 movie clips. Mad props to Canon and our index fingers. Additionally Sisay's camera had 768 pictures including 74 movies. As you can see our blog only touched on a section of our repertoire so there is lots more to see...
I'd like to mirror Sisay's words on thanks to all especially for those of you gracious enough to let us crash on your floor. Much appreciated.
Kwaherini!
Tuesday, June 10, 2008
TIME TO SAY GOOD BYE
Andy, Avi and Sisay started travelling in US May 12, 2008 to experience The Greatest America. It is going to end tonight June 10, 2008. We have been travelling for a month.
While sitting in my cubical office, I felt many times a month is like a week longer. Very short. Because we were busy. This last month, which we have been spending visiting, feels like two or three months. It was not because we have been bored rather, enjoying it a lot. We wish we could extend this travel plan but it is time to wrap it up here today in our home town, Sterling, Virginia.
America is a huge country with a breath taking scenery everywhere. No words in dictionary express its beauty. For the last one month,we have been enjoying the views, the smells and the landscapes of Water Falls, Mountains, Canyons, Valleys, Rivers, Lakes, Farms, Oceans, Creeks, Plains, Cliffs, Wildlife's, Forests, Parks, etc......
The memory of all these wonders will remain fresh in our mind until the rest of our lives. When time goes, it is going to be even more enjoyable whenever we see pictures, movies, read stories, and see documentaries of these places.
Now, I proved myself I love nature. I am also planning to travel in Ethiopia when I go back and also in the future to Europe. I am going to have The American Citizen soon so no Embassy in the world is going to deny me entry visa.
Thank you all of you guys wherever you are living in the globe and have been following up this trip. Hope you all enjoyed it a lot.
Finally, My heart felt thanks go to Andy and Avi for their friendship, Authenticity, determination, and teaching me passion for nature. I am going to miss you guys a lot !!! But I am only an e-mail away. Wishing the best of luck in all your future career, I quit right here.
This is Sisay Asrat, I approve this message :-)
You can reach me for comments at : virginiacons@gmail.com
While sitting in my cubical office, I felt many times a month is like a week longer. Very short. Because we were busy. This last month, which we have been spending visiting, feels like two or three months. It was not because we have been bored rather, enjoying it a lot. We wish we could extend this travel plan but it is time to wrap it up here today in our home town, Sterling, Virginia.
America is a huge country with a breath taking scenery everywhere. No words in dictionary express its beauty. For the last one month,we have been enjoying the views, the smells and the landscapes of Water Falls, Mountains, Canyons, Valleys, Rivers, Lakes, Farms, Oceans, Creeks, Plains, Cliffs, Wildlife's, Forests, Parks, etc......
The memory of all these wonders will remain fresh in our mind until the rest of our lives. When time goes, it is going to be even more enjoyable whenever we see pictures, movies, read stories, and see documentaries of these places.
Now, I proved myself I love nature. I am also planning to travel in Ethiopia when I go back and also in the future to Europe. I am going to have The American Citizen soon so no Embassy in the world is going to deny me entry visa.
Thank you all of you guys wherever you are living in the globe and have been following up this trip. Hope you all enjoyed it a lot.
Finally, My heart felt thanks go to Andy and Avi for their friendship, Authenticity, determination, and teaching me passion for nature. I am going to miss you guys a lot !!! But I am only an e-mail away. Wishing the best of luck in all your future career, I quit right here.
This is Sisay Asrat, I approve this message :-)
You can reach me for comments at : virginiacons@gmail.com
MISSOURI, TENNESSEE & VIRGINIA
June 10, 2008. The last day for Team Travel America. On June 8, we stopped by Mississippi River. This river divides Missouri and Tennessee. It was for the second time we were crossing this river. When we were driving towards West, we crossed it in Minnesota. We sat down by this river and ate lunch. We did put our foot also on this river.
We camped yesterday and the day before yesterday in Tennessee. On June 8 at Natchez Trace State Park by Pin Oak Lake.We got there around 10 PM. It was a beautiful place.
Shavuot is one of Israeli Holiday. The eve was Sunday night. Avi has been celebrating all Israeli holidays since I knew him in 2005. Andy, myself and more friends have been part of the celebration in sterling for more than three years. This time we celebrated it by Pin Oak Lake. SHAVUOT SAMEAH !!! Avi.
As most of you know Avi travelled in US for six months four years ago with Elad. During that time, his car was broken in small town in Tennessee called Sweat Water.
John owns bar and restaurant in this town. Avi and Elad spent a couple of days by this bar fixing their car. So they were dining in this restaurant and became friends with John and with most people who were coming to this bar frequently. Avi never forgets his old friends . So he called John and started heading towards Sweat Water.
When we got there, John welcomed us warmly and invited us beer. Apparently, he himself grabbed beer and started talking with us. Later he asked us whether we needed a burger. The best burger in town is in this restaurant. He served a cheese burger for three of us. I tell you, that was one of the best burger I have ever had. Every food tastes better in small town :-)
We spent our last camping night in SMOKEY MOUNTAINS OF TENNESSEE. We are now heading to Virginia.
You can reach me for comments at : virginiacons@gmail.com
We camped yesterday and the day before yesterday in Tennessee. On June 8 at Natchez Trace State Park by Pin Oak Lake.We got there around 10 PM. It was a beautiful place.
Shavuot is one of Israeli Holiday. The eve was Sunday night. Avi has been celebrating all Israeli holidays since I knew him in 2005. Andy, myself and more friends have been part of the celebration in sterling for more than three years. This time we celebrated it by Pin Oak Lake. SHAVUOT SAMEAH !!! Avi.
As most of you know Avi travelled in US for six months four years ago with Elad. During that time, his car was broken in small town in Tennessee called Sweat Water.
John owns bar and restaurant in this town. Avi and Elad spent a couple of days by this bar fixing their car. So they were dining in this restaurant and became friends with John and with most people who were coming to this bar frequently. Avi never forgets his old friends . So he called John and started heading towards Sweat Water.
When we got there, John welcomed us warmly and invited us beer. Apparently, he himself grabbed beer and started talking with us. Later he asked us whether we needed a burger. The best burger in town is in this restaurant. He served a cheese burger for three of us. I tell you, that was one of the best burger I have ever had. Every food tastes better in small town :-)
We spent our last camping night in SMOKEY MOUNTAINS OF TENNESSEE. We are now heading to Virginia.
You can reach me for comments at : virginiacons@gmail.com
Monday, June 9, 2008
BREAKING NEWS
A TEAM OF TRAVEL AMERICA : ANDY, AVI AND SISAY IS GOING TO FINISH TRAVELLING AND HIT VIRGINIA BY TOMORROW, JUNE 10,2008.
NEW MEXICO, TEXAS, OKLAHOMA & ARKANSAS
June 6 & 7,2008. We were in New Mexico, Texas, Oklahoma & Arkansas. On the night of June 5, we spent camping in Clayton, New Mexico. Morning of June 6, we started heading towards East, North of Texas. I was interested to visit Houston, but it was out of the way. My buddy kebede is living in Houston, Texas with his family. I first landed in US soil in Houston when I came in from Ethiopia. Thanks for Kebede and Martha for their hospitality.
Most of the thing we saw in Northern Texas was, a huge farm land and oil fields. My thought about oil exploration before was ,a sophisticated drilling machines. However, What I saw in Northern Texas was not much better than a hand dug well with a pulley. May be they were producing in a very small scale. By the way, I saw the same kind of oil fields in Ruthven, Canada too.
We stopped by a dam reservoir north of Amarillo . We swimmed, played freezby and had lunch there. It was such a nice place. We really enjoyed it.
Then we headed towards Oklahoma. We saw huge farms. It was a beautiful place I have ever seen. Well, I saw many beautiful places since we started travelling. One was completely different from the other.That is why I am keeping saying this and that is the most beautiful.
We camped by Grounder Lake. It was used to be a state park but now it is South Western Oklahoma State University Park. It was such an amazing place. We had the best diner since we started camping. Avi fixed dinner. It was a feast. It was Friday night he also brought beer from a small nearby town called Weather Ford.
What I was impressed more about Oklahoma was, the farm and Wind Power generating stuffs on the field. There were a lot here in Oklahoma than we saw everywhere throughout our travel.Wind for power generation sounds interesting. It was windy in Oklahoma so may be this was the best site for Wind Power Generation.
Then we headed towards Arkansans.By the way the first Wal-Mart store was opened in this state. We spent the night of June 7, in one of the most beautiful forest, OZARK National Forest. It took us more than an hour to get there and another 4 hours to get out of that forest. A place we camped that night called LOST VALLEY.
Every Sunday Andy has been going to church. Our first Sunday was in Madison, Wisconsin. He woke up in the morning and attended in a near by Catholic Church. We spent our second Sunday in Yellow Stone, Wyoming. He also attended there.We were in Boulder City, Nevada on the third Sunday. Andy attended church at St. Andrew Catholic Community. Today, on the fourth Sunday Andy couldn't find churches in near by. It was a huge forest so he couldn't even had Internet access to locate a church.
Tonight We are going to camp in Tennessee. Keep in touch.
N.B: WHEN YOU GO TO PICTURE PAGES SOME OF THE PICTURES AFTER WE PASSED OKLAHOMA WERE POSTED ON NEXT PAGE OF THAT WINDOW. SO CLICK NEXT PAGE.
You can reach me for comments at : virginiacons@gmail.com
Most of the thing we saw in Northern Texas was, a huge farm land and oil fields. My thought about oil exploration before was ,a sophisticated drilling machines. However, What I saw in Northern Texas was not much better than a hand dug well with a pulley. May be they were producing in a very small scale. By the way, I saw the same kind of oil fields in Ruthven, Canada too.
We stopped by a dam reservoir north of Amarillo . We swimmed, played freezby and had lunch there. It was such a nice place. We really enjoyed it.
Then we headed towards Oklahoma. We saw huge farms. It was a beautiful place I have ever seen. Well, I saw many beautiful places since we started travelling. One was completely different from the other.That is why I am keeping saying this and that is the most beautiful.
We camped by Grounder Lake. It was used to be a state park but now it is South Western Oklahoma State University Park. It was such an amazing place. We had the best diner since we started camping. Avi fixed dinner. It was a feast. It was Friday night he also brought beer from a small nearby town called Weather Ford.
What I was impressed more about Oklahoma was, the farm and Wind Power generating stuffs on the field. There were a lot here in Oklahoma than we saw everywhere throughout our travel.Wind for power generation sounds interesting. It was windy in Oklahoma so may be this was the best site for Wind Power Generation.
Then we headed towards Arkansans.By the way the first Wal-Mart store was opened in this state. We spent the night of June 7, in one of the most beautiful forest, OZARK National Forest. It took us more than an hour to get there and another 4 hours to get out of that forest. A place we camped that night called LOST VALLEY.
Every Sunday Andy has been going to church. Our first Sunday was in Madison, Wisconsin. He woke up in the morning and attended in a near by Catholic Church. We spent our second Sunday in Yellow Stone, Wyoming. He also attended there.We were in Boulder City, Nevada on the third Sunday. Andy attended church at St. Andrew Catholic Community. Today, on the fourth Sunday Andy couldn't find churches in near by. It was a huge forest so he couldn't even had Internet access to locate a church.
Tonight We are going to camp in Tennessee. Keep in touch.
N.B: WHEN YOU GO TO PICTURE PAGES SOME OF THE PICTURES AFTER WE PASSED OKLAHOMA WERE POSTED ON NEXT PAGE OF THAT WINDOW. SO CLICK NEXT PAGE.
You can reach me for comments at : virginiacons@gmail.com
Sunday, June 8, 2008
COLORADO - ROCKY MOUNTAINS
June 5,2008. Twenty five days have passed since a team of Travel America started travelling.It has been enjoying. It is once in a life time opportunity. Hope you guys also have been enjoying it.
A moment ago I talked to Asni Tekle my x-coworker in Ethiopia. We worked together at Construction Design Share Company ( AKA - BDE). This Company has been the largest design firm in Ethiopia. I have a lot of friends in the States who used to work in this company. Asni is among them. She is living with her husband and daughter in Maryland.
She has been reading blogs and enjoying pictures since started on May 12, 2008. Asni, we are glad you enjoyed it. She said, " I have been checking the web site two times a day". And if you guys haven't posted something new, I go back and see the pictures the second time. Enjoy !!
Last night we spent the night in Colorado, at a small town called Grand Junction. We spent the night in a motel. You might say why these guys are not taking us to big cities.Most of our travel has been in rural areas. We love rural towns, farms, mountains, valleys, canyons, etc...If you go back and see the routes we have been taking in Google map, most of it was rural roads.Imagine how beautiful driving through a farm and a forest. It is refreshing.
Myself and Andy grew up as a country boy. So we love the view, the smell, and the landscape of rural areas. Avi does too. We just crossed Oklahoma City right now. We didn't give much attention to it. In some rural areas I noticed our car was may be the only one you see on the road driving for so long.
After we got in to our motel and saw it, we headed towards Mexican Restaurant for a dinner.Andy & Avi grabbed beer. Me not this time. We enjoyed the food and it was also a lot. Apparently, I took half of it, put in the fridge and enjoyed it for breakfast.
We woke up in the morning and headed to the Rocky Mountains of Colorado. We drove through scenic route in a valley by Colorado River. We arrived at mountain top. Snow was falling right there. The elevation of that point was 11, 312 ft. That place was called Monarch Crest. It was cold enough for me and stayed inside our car.
Andy and Avi played freezby on the snow. The interesting thing about that mountain was, it was right in these mountains where the CONTINENTAL DRAINAGE DIVIDE located. This divide goes along on top of a chain of mountains until South America and divide Atlantic and Pacific Ocean Watershed in to two. Isn't it amazing ?
Then we started driving down from the mountain top. With in 3 miles distant the snow was gone. We entered into dry area.It was such an interesting contrast.
Next We are going to be in New Mexico, Texas, Oklahoma, and Arkansas. Keep in touch.
You can reach me for comments at : virginiacons@gmail.com
A moment ago I talked to Asni Tekle my x-coworker in Ethiopia. We worked together at Construction Design Share Company ( AKA - BDE). This Company has been the largest design firm in Ethiopia. I have a lot of friends in the States who used to work in this company. Asni is among them. She is living with her husband and daughter in Maryland.
She has been reading blogs and enjoying pictures since started on May 12, 2008. Asni, we are glad you enjoyed it. She said, " I have been checking the web site two times a day". And if you guys haven't posted something new, I go back and see the pictures the second time. Enjoy !!
Last night we spent the night in Colorado, at a small town called Grand Junction. We spent the night in a motel. You might say why these guys are not taking us to big cities.Most of our travel has been in rural areas. We love rural towns, farms, mountains, valleys, canyons, etc...If you go back and see the routes we have been taking in Google map, most of it was rural roads.Imagine how beautiful driving through a farm and a forest. It is refreshing.
Myself and Andy grew up as a country boy. So we love the view, the smell, and the landscape of rural areas. Avi does too. We just crossed Oklahoma City right now. We didn't give much attention to it. In some rural areas I noticed our car was may be the only one you see on the road driving for so long.
After we got in to our motel and saw it, we headed towards Mexican Restaurant for a dinner.Andy & Avi grabbed beer. Me not this time. We enjoyed the food and it was also a lot. Apparently, I took half of it, put in the fridge and enjoyed it for breakfast.
We woke up in the morning and headed to the Rocky Mountains of Colorado. We drove through scenic route in a valley by Colorado River. We arrived at mountain top. Snow was falling right there. The elevation of that point was 11, 312 ft. That place was called Monarch Crest. It was cold enough for me and stayed inside our car.
Andy and Avi played freezby on the snow. The interesting thing about that mountain was, it was right in these mountains where the CONTINENTAL DRAINAGE DIVIDE located. This divide goes along on top of a chain of mountains until South America and divide Atlantic and Pacific Ocean Watershed in to two. Isn't it amazing ?
Then we started driving down from the mountain top. With in 3 miles distant the snow was gone. We entered into dry area.It was such an interesting contrast.
Next We are going to be in New Mexico, Texas, Oklahoma, and Arkansas. Keep in touch.
You can reach me for comments at : virginiacons@gmail.com
Saturday, June 7, 2008
NATIVE AMERICAN INDIANS & THE ARCHES
June 4,2008. We started heading to Utah to visit Arches National Park. Before we start travelling nothing impressed me more than The Arches and Niagara Falls. We have been travelling for 25 days and visited the most tourist attraction places in US. If you ask me which one is the best so far, I don't think that I have an answer for that. Each individual places had something special which is different from the rest. What I can say is as much as human beings built Hoover Dam, Nature has been building itself such a breathtaking scenery of Arches. Nature didn't need an Architect and Engineers for these sculptures.
For a moment I am going to take you back to Arizona from Utah. When we were driving from Arizona to Utah we drove through one of the largest Indian Reservation in US. It was located inside the state of Arizona. The area was dry and mountainous. The name of the reservation and Native Indian tribes living in there called Navajo.
We stopped by where The Native Indians sell crafts. It was too hot. When Andy and Avi were heading to see the Canyon, I first started touring the crafts and then talked to a Native Indian Guy inside the store. You shouldn't expect a fancy store :-) It was in the middle of nowhere. The crafts were amazing. Myself bought necklace and bracelet for my sister.
First I asked him about the flag I saw. It was an American flag but it had a picture of Native Indian woman in the middle. He said " This is a flag for Sioux tribe. There are 217 Native American Indian different Tribes living throughout the US and I guess in Canada too.Each tribe speaks its own language. 217 languages !!!! He also said each tribe has its own flag.
I heard also a music which was playing there. He said Indians like music and dance. Apparently, All Native American Indians ( 217 tribes ) are going to meet in Texas in October for yearly festival. He also asked me where I am from. I told him about myself and tribes in Ethiopia including my tribe. For those of you who want to know my tribe, it is called Guraghe. I speak my tribal language in addition to our National language called Amharic.
There are about 80 tribes in Ethiopia. They have their own language and culture. I asked him to have a picture with me. He was glad. Andy took a picture of him and I. That was my best picture ever. I smiled a lot !!!
I asked him more about himself. He said he was born and raised in this area. His parents and grand parents were all lived here. Their sons and daughter were sent to the nearby town to school so that they can get a job.
Then we started heading towards Utah. We took scenic drive through Monument Valley. It was enjoyable to see different shaped cliffs on left and right side of the road.
Around 8 PM we arrived at Moab, a small town in Utah. This town is located very close to The Arches National Parks.Right there one of a friend gave me a call from Virginia and told me, my hero Obama secured his Presidential Nomination for Democrats. I was excited. I have been following up the Presidential Campaign and debates since February, 2007.
Before we headed to camping site we went to a movie theater to see Indian Jones. We enjoyed it.
The following morning, June 5, 2008 around 10 AM we started heading towards the Arches. There are 2000 arches in this park. We did tour the whole day until 5 PM. Every Cliff or Arch you see were astonishing. Please, go and see the pictures. I can't describe this. IT IS ONE OF THE WORLD'S GREATEST DENSITIES OF NATURAL ARCHES. The most interesting thing is: Until today new arches are being formed and the old ones destroyed. Water, ice,extreme temperatures, underground salt movement and erosion are responsible for the sculptured rock scenery of Arches National Park.
We went also for hiking. As usual Andy climbed over some Arches and Cliffs. Also we played freezby. We have been playing freezby everywhere in the parks.
Our plan after visiting the Grand Canyon was heading towards New Mexico. Because heading towards the Arches were a litte bit out of the way.I wanted to visit this park. The documentary I saw about this park before we start travelling impressed me a lot. Thanks to Andy and Avi for sticking with my plan.
Next, we are going to drive together over the rocky mountains of Colorado. Keep in touch.
You can reach me for comments at : virginiacons@gmail.com
For a moment I am going to take you back to Arizona from Utah. When we were driving from Arizona to Utah we drove through one of the largest Indian Reservation in US. It was located inside the state of Arizona. The area was dry and mountainous. The name of the reservation and Native Indian tribes living in there called Navajo.
We stopped by where The Native Indians sell crafts. It was too hot. When Andy and Avi were heading to see the Canyon, I first started touring the crafts and then talked to a Native Indian Guy inside the store. You shouldn't expect a fancy store :-) It was in the middle of nowhere. The crafts were amazing. Myself bought necklace and bracelet for my sister.
First I asked him about the flag I saw. It was an American flag but it had a picture of Native Indian woman in the middle. He said " This is a flag for Sioux tribe. There are 217 Native American Indian different Tribes living throughout the US and I guess in Canada too.Each tribe speaks its own language. 217 languages !!!! He also said each tribe has its own flag.
I heard also a music which was playing there. He said Indians like music and dance. Apparently, All Native American Indians ( 217 tribes ) are going to meet in Texas in October for yearly festival. He also asked me where I am from. I told him about myself and tribes in Ethiopia including my tribe. For those of you who want to know my tribe, it is called Guraghe. I speak my tribal language in addition to our National language called Amharic.
There are about 80 tribes in Ethiopia. They have their own language and culture. I asked him to have a picture with me. He was glad. Andy took a picture of him and I. That was my best picture ever. I smiled a lot !!!
I asked him more about himself. He said he was born and raised in this area. His parents and grand parents were all lived here. Their sons and daughter were sent to the nearby town to school so that they can get a job.
Then we started heading towards Utah. We took scenic drive through Monument Valley. It was enjoyable to see different shaped cliffs on left and right side of the road.
Around 8 PM we arrived at Moab, a small town in Utah. This town is located very close to The Arches National Parks.Right there one of a friend gave me a call from Virginia and told me, my hero Obama secured his Presidential Nomination for Democrats. I was excited. I have been following up the Presidential Campaign and debates since February, 2007.
Before we headed to camping site we went to a movie theater to see Indian Jones. We enjoyed it.
The following morning, June 5, 2008 around 10 AM we started heading towards the Arches. There are 2000 arches in this park. We did tour the whole day until 5 PM. Every Cliff or Arch you see were astonishing. Please, go and see the pictures. I can't describe this. IT IS ONE OF THE WORLD'S GREATEST DENSITIES OF NATURAL ARCHES. The most interesting thing is: Until today new arches are being formed and the old ones destroyed. Water, ice,extreme temperatures, underground salt movement and erosion are responsible for the sculptured rock scenery of Arches National Park.
We went also for hiking. As usual Andy climbed over some Arches and Cliffs. Also we played freezby. We have been playing freezby everywhere in the parks.
Our plan after visiting the Grand Canyon was heading towards New Mexico. Because heading towards the Arches were a litte bit out of the way.I wanted to visit this park. The documentary I saw about this park before we start travelling impressed me a lot. Thanks to Andy and Avi for sticking with my plan.
Next, we are going to drive together over the rocky mountains of Colorado. Keep in touch.
You can reach me for comments at : virginiacons@gmail.com
Friday, June 6, 2008
GRAND CANYON & POOL PARTY
We were in Grand Canyon-Arizona on June 2 and 3,2008. Grand Canyon is one of the Earth's most powerful, inspiring landscapes. Geological process which has been taking place for so many millions of years with erosion forms 277 river miles long, 18 miles wide and a mile deep Canyon. Colorado river is deep in Canyon. By the way we crossed Colorado river for more than 10 times while we were driving in Arizona, Nevada, Utah and Colorado. It is such an amazing river.
We arrived to Grand Canyon at 8 PM on June 2. We were planning to camp. Even before we went to a camping site Avi wanted to show us the Canyon. We stopped and walked by the Canyon. Wow !!! Nature has been working hard to shape the land in such a way for millions of years.The shape, the colour, and the view were all fascinating.
Then we headed towards camping ground. Andy got a chance to check his e-mail. Since he is driving most of the time, the best time for him has been either in the morning or at night if Internet is available. Sometimes there is no Internet access in valleys and mountains.
Jana, our x-coworker from South Carolina started chatting with Andy on IM before heading towards camping site. When he started driving, Avi took the computer and continued chatting. Later, Jana started chatting with me. She has been following up this trip since started. What impressed me most was, Jana forwarded our web site to co-workers. She also told me that her co-workers also have been following up and enjoying this trip.
Avi, Kelly, Gabe, Andy and I are going to host a pool party in Sterling on June 14, 2008. We are hosting this party mostly because my trip to Ethiopia is approaching so brings together many people for me to get a chance to say good bye.
The other reason is, it is summer so it is time to grab beer by the pool and have fun. The third reason would be for Avi to tell travel story to the crowd . Avi talks as much as I write and also adds more fun to it.
Jana is also going to come over to Virginia for the pool party. You are also invited if you are living close to Sterling and can make it.
This time I am not going to tell you this and that about Grand Canyon of Arizona. Action speaks more than words. Just recommends you to go and see pictures!
Next, see you in Arch National Parks in Utah.
We arrived to Grand Canyon at 8 PM on June 2. We were planning to camp. Even before we went to a camping site Avi wanted to show us the Canyon. We stopped and walked by the Canyon. Wow !!! Nature has been working hard to shape the land in such a way for millions of years.The shape, the colour, and the view were all fascinating.
Then we headed towards camping ground. Andy got a chance to check his e-mail. Since he is driving most of the time, the best time for him has been either in the morning or at night if Internet is available. Sometimes there is no Internet access in valleys and mountains.
Jana, our x-coworker from South Carolina started chatting with Andy on IM before heading towards camping site. When he started driving, Avi took the computer and continued chatting. Later, Jana started chatting with me. She has been following up this trip since started. What impressed me most was, Jana forwarded our web site to co-workers. She also told me that her co-workers also have been following up and enjoying this trip.
Avi, Kelly, Gabe, Andy and I are going to host a pool party in Sterling on June 14, 2008. We are hosting this party mostly because my trip to Ethiopia is approaching so brings together many people for me to get a chance to say good bye.
The other reason is, it is summer so it is time to grab beer by the pool and have fun. The third reason would be for Avi to tell travel story to the crowd . Avi talks as much as I write and also adds more fun to it.
Jana is also going to come over to Virginia for the pool party. You are also invited if you are living close to Sterling and can make it.
This time I am not going to tell you this and that about Grand Canyon of Arizona. Action speaks more than words. Just recommends you to go and see pictures!
Next, see you in Arch National Parks in Utah.
Thursday, June 5, 2008
HOOVER DAM - WONDER OF CIVIL ENGINEERING
Jun 1, 2008. We were in Boulder City, Nevada visiting Hoover Dam - One of the most significant Civil Engineering achievements of all time.
Colorado River drains 242,000 sq. miles of seven large Western States ( 1/12 th of the US continental land area ). This river originated from Colorado and flows to The South West and finally to Mexico. The people in the basin depended on this water wherever they lived. Their right to use Colorado River water was far more valuable to them than their title to the land.
Before Hoover Dam was built a lot of legislation was passed to recognise riparian rights even though it was the most difficult argument for the equitable division of the river water. This scenario could be a good example for Nile River riparian countries in Africa to utilise this huge Water Resource for Hydro power, Irrigation and Water Supply development. Nile river is the longest river in the world, and part of the river originates from Lake Tana in Northern Ethiopia. (Editor's/Chu's note: Please realize that the true origin of the Nile is Lake Victoria in East Africa. Remember this is from an Ethiopian's point of view. That is all)
Engineers and Geologists selected 70 sites throughout the basin to build Hoover Dam.This site,where it was built,was an excellent site for many technical reasons.
Hoover Dam was the largest construction contract let by the United States Government up to that time. It costs 165 million. By the time completed in 1935, it was the largest ever built structure next to the Egyptian Pyramids in the world.
When Hoover Dam filled with water to maximum level, it is enough to cover the state of Pennsylvania ONE FOOT deep. The construction of the dam started in 1931 and finished in 1935 two years before the schedule working seven days a week and twenty four hours a day. I really impressed with hard working people of America. God Blessed America.
The other night, camped by Lake ( Hoover Dam Reservoir) Mead named after Dr. Mead a chief Engineer and Head of Bureau of Reclamation who has contributed a lot of professional input particularly in Hoover Dam study and in the West Coast Water Resource Development in general.
We swam in this lake. This lake is also a National Recreation Area and it is a contrast of desert and water. Desert environment is the best place helps people to understand how water is life. You recognise it while swimming, bathing, and drinking.
The whole idea of this dam was not only for Hydroelectric Power generation, Irrigation and water supply but also for Tourism. Since completed in 1935 it has been visited by more than 45 million people from US and throughout the world.
Our primary point of interest was not only to visit the lake so started driving towards the dam and the power house.It was on Sunday.There were a lot of people. We walked on top of the dam and by the reservoir. We also saw upstream and down stream part of the dam, the four intake towers, spill ways on left and right side of the dam, and power houses on the left and right side of the dam as well. However, just touring this dam from outside is not enough to tell, I visited Hoover Dam.
We scheduled time to visit the body of the dam and started visiting the power house. As I mentioned earlier there were a lot of people visiting the dam. Not all people were allowed to go down and visit the power house and the dam. Only a specific number of people were allowed to visit at a time. For each crew a tour guide were to be assigned. Before start touring, the crew entered in to a room for a ten minutes presentation explaining the history of this massive project.
Then the crew with tour guide entered inside elevator to go down to a tunnel in down stream side of the dam.It took 70 seconds to go down. This tunnel was not built with concrete rather the rock formation was hard enough to support itself. Then we started heading into a Pen stock. When we were walking through a tunnel I saw branched tunnels going into different directions. The height of the tunnel was a little bit higher than a height of an average person. We arrived a place where a pen stock connects with dam . A Pen stock is a pipe conveys water from a forbey/reservoir to a power producing turbines.
Since this pipe was massive it was not possible to ship from plants in Mid West or East Coast.To resolve this problem a Steel fabricating plant was to be built by the dam on the canyon side of the Nevada.
Then we headed through the tunnel towards the power house where the generators are located. This time we were off of the tunnel. Massive generators were placed. By the way Colorado river is boarder for the sate of Nevada and Arizona. Nine Generators were placed on Nevada side and the other nine were on Arizona side. There was another small generator, generating power for the dam facilities.
After we finished visiting the power house we had to wait for another one hour until for the scheduled time, to visit the dam body. So we went to a restaurant and had lunch. There were many restaurants, shopping centers, museum, visitor center and rest rooms by the dam.
Then we headed towards a visitor center by the dam to continue our visit. The visiting crew with the tour guide entered inside another elevator which is exactly located inside a body of concrete dam.We headed down and landed inside a tunnel. We walked inside the tunnel to different directions guided by the tour guide.There were tunnels going different directions.A tour guide explained us many things about this dam.The floor,roof and sides of the tunnel were well finished with shiny terrazzo tiles. There are pictures to see more about these tunnels. There were a moment when the tour guide turn off the light to show us how dark it is inside the tunnel without light. It was a complete darkness.
I couldn't believe myself I was there. I heard about this dam, read a story since I was senior student in college. It was fun and educational. Seeing is believing !!!
Next a story about Grand Canyon in Arizona will be posted soon. Hope you are enjoying this trip.
I can be reached for comment at : virginiacons@gmail.com
Colorado River drains 242,000 sq. miles of seven large Western States ( 1/12 th of the US continental land area ). This river originated from Colorado and flows to The South West and finally to Mexico. The people in the basin depended on this water wherever they lived. Their right to use Colorado River water was far more valuable to them than their title to the land.
Before Hoover Dam was built a lot of legislation was passed to recognise riparian rights even though it was the most difficult argument for the equitable division of the river water. This scenario could be a good example for Nile River riparian countries in Africa to utilise this huge Water Resource for Hydro power, Irrigation and Water Supply development. Nile river is the longest river in the world, and part of the river originates from Lake Tana in Northern Ethiopia. (Editor's/Chu's note: Please realize that the true origin of the Nile is Lake Victoria in East Africa. Remember this is from an Ethiopian's point of view. That is all)
Engineers and Geologists selected 70 sites throughout the basin to build Hoover Dam.This site,where it was built,was an excellent site for many technical reasons.
Hoover Dam was the largest construction contract let by the United States Government up to that time. It costs 165 million. By the time completed in 1935, it was the largest ever built structure next to the Egyptian Pyramids in the world.
When Hoover Dam filled with water to maximum level, it is enough to cover the state of Pennsylvania ONE FOOT deep. The construction of the dam started in 1931 and finished in 1935 two years before the schedule working seven days a week and twenty four hours a day. I really impressed with hard working people of America. God Blessed America.
The other night, camped by Lake ( Hoover Dam Reservoir) Mead named after Dr. Mead a chief Engineer and Head of Bureau of Reclamation who has contributed a lot of professional input particularly in Hoover Dam study and in the West Coast Water Resource Development in general.
We swam in this lake. This lake is also a National Recreation Area and it is a contrast of desert and water. Desert environment is the best place helps people to understand how water is life. You recognise it while swimming, bathing, and drinking.
The whole idea of this dam was not only for Hydroelectric Power generation, Irrigation and water supply but also for Tourism. Since completed in 1935 it has been visited by more than 45 million people from US and throughout the world.
Our primary point of interest was not only to visit the lake so started driving towards the dam and the power house.It was on Sunday.There were a lot of people. We walked on top of the dam and by the reservoir. We also saw upstream and down stream part of the dam, the four intake towers, spill ways on left and right side of the dam, and power houses on the left and right side of the dam as well. However, just touring this dam from outside is not enough to tell, I visited Hoover Dam.
We scheduled time to visit the body of the dam and started visiting the power house. As I mentioned earlier there were a lot of people visiting the dam. Not all people were allowed to go down and visit the power house and the dam. Only a specific number of people were allowed to visit at a time. For each crew a tour guide were to be assigned. Before start touring, the crew entered in to a room for a ten minutes presentation explaining the history of this massive project.
Then the crew with tour guide entered inside elevator to go down to a tunnel in down stream side of the dam.It took 70 seconds to go down. This tunnel was not built with concrete rather the rock formation was hard enough to support itself. Then we started heading into a Pen stock. When we were walking through a tunnel I saw branched tunnels going into different directions. The height of the tunnel was a little bit higher than a height of an average person. We arrived a place where a pen stock connects with dam . A Pen stock is a pipe conveys water from a forbey/reservoir to a power producing turbines.
Since this pipe was massive it was not possible to ship from plants in Mid West or East Coast.To resolve this problem a Steel fabricating plant was to be built by the dam on the canyon side of the Nevada.
Then we headed through the tunnel towards the power house where the generators are located. This time we were off of the tunnel. Massive generators were placed. By the way Colorado river is boarder for the sate of Nevada and Arizona. Nine Generators were placed on Nevada side and the other nine were on Arizona side. There was another small generator, generating power for the dam facilities.
After we finished visiting the power house we had to wait for another one hour until for the scheduled time, to visit the dam body. So we went to a restaurant and had lunch. There were many restaurants, shopping centers, museum, visitor center and rest rooms by the dam.
Then we headed towards a visitor center by the dam to continue our visit. The visiting crew with the tour guide entered inside another elevator which is exactly located inside a body of concrete dam.We headed down and landed inside a tunnel. We walked inside the tunnel to different directions guided by the tour guide.There were tunnels going different directions.A tour guide explained us many things about this dam.The floor,roof and sides of the tunnel were well finished with shiny terrazzo tiles. There are pictures to see more about these tunnels. There were a moment when the tour guide turn off the light to show us how dark it is inside the tunnel without light. It was a complete darkness.
I couldn't believe myself I was there. I heard about this dam, read a story since I was senior student in college. It was fun and educational. Seeing is believing !!!
Next a story about Grand Canyon in Arizona will be posted soon. Hope you are enjoying this trip.
I can be reached for comment at : virginiacons@gmail.com
Tuesday, June 3, 2008
DEATH VALLEY - KING OF DESERT
May 31, 2008. We headed towards Death Valley National Park, in California. It is one of the hottest place in the world. It is also one of the largest protected desert wilderness area in America.It was established as a National Park by Congressional Legislation in 1994. Prior to that President Herbert Hoover signed the proclamation making the area a National Monument on February 11, 1933.
Death Valley is visited annually by more than 770,000 visitors throughout the world who come to enjoy its diverse geologic features, desert wild life, historic sites, colourful scenery, clear night skies and extreme desert environment.
We were in Yosemite one of the highest point in US,yesterday. Later we experienced one of the lowest point in the world. I couldn't find the reason behind this park was named as Death Valley. A little scary ? Huh :-) But there were people who were killed by excessive heat while they were hiking. So it was recommended to drink at least four gallons of water a day. It was totally dry mountainous area.
We got there around 6 PM. It was about 2 hours drive from Yosemite. Death valley is located in California close to Nevada border. We kept on driving until we got to camping site. If you want to see how camping ground looks like in a desert, please check out pictures.It was on dust ground surrounded by dry mountains. Everything was as usual except there was no fire wood to light up the fire.It was a little bit hot inside our tent may be because the elevation was around 5,000 feet. It was Friday night so Avi bought wine in a small town before entering the park and surprised us after dinner. Avi has been the one fixing dinner always whenever we camp. The other reason I am enjoying camping is because I like Avi's soup.
Before we go to sleep,We also looked at clear night skies when the stars were shooting and satellites were moving. It was fun.
We woke up early in the morning. There was no any chance to stay in bed. It was hot and sunshine. We started heading towards the real desert from 5000 feet to 5 feet above sea level and then to mean sea level. While we were driving the elevation of mountains surround us were probably even more than 10, 000 feet.
We started driving until we arrived at the lowest point in America. When we arrived there we stopped by and experienced the heat. That elevation was 282 ft (85.5m) below sea level. It was too hot. There were a lot of people who came from throughout the world. We walked on it and felt the heat for about 45 minutes.
The lowest point in the world is located in Jordan/Israel. Its elevation is 1360 ft (414m) below sea level. This place is called Dead Sea. Another lowest point is located in Afar, Ethiopia at a place called Denakil. This place is the second lowest point in Africa and its elevation below sea level is 410 ft (125m).
Here is the interesting thing about Afar,one of Regional State of Ethiopia.Paleontologists discovered fossils and supported where life is originated from. A 3 million old baby was found in Afar at a place called "Hidar" in 1974 and her name was Lucy.
A year ago, another 3.3 million years old fossil was found and it was a baby and named Selam. The meaning of selam in Ethiopian language is peace.Afar has been a home for scientists throughout the world for many decades.
Have you ever put yourself inside a body of a concrete dam walking ? Next we are going to take you to HOOVER DAM- Wounder of Civil Engineering in a modern world. Keep in touch.
Death Valley is visited annually by more than 770,000 visitors throughout the world who come to enjoy its diverse geologic features, desert wild life, historic sites, colourful scenery, clear night skies and extreme desert environment.
We were in Yosemite one of the highest point in US,yesterday. Later we experienced one of the lowest point in the world. I couldn't find the reason behind this park was named as Death Valley. A little scary ? Huh :-) But there were people who were killed by excessive heat while they were hiking. So it was recommended to drink at least four gallons of water a day. It was totally dry mountainous area.
We got there around 6 PM. It was about 2 hours drive from Yosemite. Death valley is located in California close to Nevada border. We kept on driving until we got to camping site. If you want to see how camping ground looks like in a desert, please check out pictures.It was on dust ground surrounded by dry mountains. Everything was as usual except there was no fire wood to light up the fire.It was a little bit hot inside our tent may be because the elevation was around 5,000 feet. It was Friday night so Avi bought wine in a small town before entering the park and surprised us after dinner. Avi has been the one fixing dinner always whenever we camp. The other reason I am enjoying camping is because I like Avi's soup.
Before we go to sleep,We also looked at clear night skies when the stars were shooting and satellites were moving. It was fun.
We woke up early in the morning. There was no any chance to stay in bed. It was hot and sunshine. We started heading towards the real desert from 5000 feet to 5 feet above sea level and then to mean sea level. While we were driving the elevation of mountains surround us were probably even more than 10, 000 feet.
We started driving until we arrived at the lowest point in America. When we arrived there we stopped by and experienced the heat. That elevation was 282 ft (85.5m) below sea level. It was too hot. There were a lot of people who came from throughout the world. We walked on it and felt the heat for about 45 minutes.
The lowest point in the world is located in Jordan/Israel. Its elevation is 1360 ft (414m) below sea level. This place is called Dead Sea. Another lowest point is located in Afar, Ethiopia at a place called Denakil. This place is the second lowest point in Africa and its elevation below sea level is 410 ft (125m).
Here is the interesting thing about Afar,one of Regional State of Ethiopia.Paleontologists discovered fossils and supported where life is originated from. A 3 million old baby was found in Afar at a place called "Hidar" in 1974 and her name was Lucy.
A year ago, another 3.3 million years old fossil was found and it was a baby and named Selam. The meaning of selam in Ethiopian language is peace.Afar has been a home for scientists throughout the world for many decades.
Have you ever put yourself inside a body of a concrete dam walking ? Next we are going to take you to HOOVER DAM- Wounder of Civil Engineering in a modern world. Keep in touch.
Monday, June 2, 2008
YOSEMITE - ANOTHER PARADISE
May 29 & 30, 2008 in Yosemite National Park in California. This was quoted by John Muir. "It is by far the grandest of all the special temples of nature I was ever permitted to enter".
Before we started travelling many people were suggesting where to go and what to visit. I guess this park was suggested by Jennifer Depascale, our x-coworker at ESE Consultants Inc. Jenn I have been to many national parks for the last 19 days ranging from Badlands in South Dakota, Yellow Stone and Grand Teton in Wyoming and many more.
I said it many times this and that was the most beautiful but this one was different. I enjoyed its views, sounds and smells.
Yosemite has four geographic areas. High Sierra, Granite cliffs,Sequoia groves and valleys.
We arrived around 3 pm on may, 29. We started looking at massive granite cliffs. It was not only one cliff but many cliffs continuously.Some of the cliffs have water falls. That was another beauty of these cliffs. We walked towards the water fall from the bottom.We were actually right by the fall. Can we imagine for one second and see how the water smokes when it falls from top to down over a cliff ?
George Anderson was the first man reached the top in 1875. Since then adventurous men and women have been climbing cliffs.Climbers from around the world come here to challenge these cliffs.
Andy and I climbed to the bottom the cliff which has a water fall :-) To do this it needs to climb over trees,rocks and walking along the river until we hit the water fall.Avi followed us but ended some where in mid way. Actually, he hide himself in a tree and rock, and when I returned he shouted from my back and made me nervous.I didn't expect any human being over there.I have a picture by the water fall so that explains much more than what I am writing about with my broken English.
We kept on driving by the cliffs and the valleys. Everything what we saw, was amazing.It was around 8 PM so we got a point where looking for a camping site.We didn't want to camp on camping ground somewhere close to Yosemite Valley Visitor Center.Rather we wanted to camp in National Forests. There are about five national forests in this park.
It was quite camping in one of the forest. What we heard during night was birds singing, Creeks flowing, trees swaying and some wild animals. No human or any vehicle noise. We liked that. We camped inside a sequoia trees. Another interesting thing about these tree were , fire actually promotes the reproduction of these trees.
We woke up the morning of may 30, 2008. We got breakfast, brushed teeth and I shaved. Here is what happened. Andy wanted to climb a tree. Wow !! It was impressing. He climbed over an Oak tree. I scared a little bit when he was climbing at some point and said "You did a great job so far and I would say please stop climbing and come down". Thinking for his safety. He replied "Sisay this is the worst thing you are telling me ". He was serious. Then he kept on climbing to top of the tree and came down safely. He is the man !! I used to climb a tree when I was around 12 but not on big tree like this.
Then we headed towards Sierra Mountains. It is among the highest mountains in US.We saw many rocky mountains covered with snow. We were driving mountain to another mountain until we hit close to 10,000 feet. It was snow and cold in there.We stopped by and started walking to even a higher elevation.Andy took the lead.Avi and I followed.It was too cold and less oxygen.It was amazing to sit on top and see such a stunning scenery around us. We took pictures right there. One of my favourite picture was the one when I was rolling over massive rock :-)
Then we started driving. Still there were many rocky mountains covered with snow. But this time we were going down to a lower elevation. We stopped by for lunch and packed our lunch and put in back pack. And then started hiking.
We arrived at a creek on bottom of the mountain. Wow!! It was beautiful. We had lunch there. Avi swimmed. And and I took a little nap while listening to the creek flowing. It was refreshing.
Hey guys if you are travelling with us we are going to heading towards death valley. I am also going to write a little bit about Denkil Depression in Ethiopia-The second lowest point below see level in Africa. Have fun
For comments my e-mail is : virginiacons@gmail.com
Before we started travelling many people were suggesting where to go and what to visit. I guess this park was suggested by Jennifer Depascale, our x-coworker at ESE Consultants Inc. Jenn I have been to many national parks for the last 19 days ranging from Badlands in South Dakota, Yellow Stone and Grand Teton in Wyoming and many more.
I said it many times this and that was the most beautiful but this one was different. I enjoyed its views, sounds and smells.
Yosemite has four geographic areas. High Sierra, Granite cliffs,Sequoia groves and valleys.
We arrived around 3 pm on may, 29. We started looking at massive granite cliffs. It was not only one cliff but many cliffs continuously.Some of the cliffs have water falls. That was another beauty of these cliffs. We walked towards the water fall from the bottom.We were actually right by the fall. Can we imagine for one second and see how the water smokes when it falls from top to down over a cliff ?
George Anderson was the first man reached the top in 1875. Since then adventurous men and women have been climbing cliffs.Climbers from around the world come here to challenge these cliffs.
Andy and I climbed to the bottom the cliff which has a water fall :-) To do this it needs to climb over trees,rocks and walking along the river until we hit the water fall.Avi followed us but ended some where in mid way. Actually, he hide himself in a tree and rock, and when I returned he shouted from my back and made me nervous.I didn't expect any human being over there.I have a picture by the water fall so that explains much more than what I am writing about with my broken English.
We kept on driving by the cliffs and the valleys. Everything what we saw, was amazing.It was around 8 PM so we got a point where looking for a camping site.We didn't want to camp on camping ground somewhere close to Yosemite Valley Visitor Center.Rather we wanted to camp in National Forests. There are about five national forests in this park.
It was quite camping in one of the forest. What we heard during night was birds singing, Creeks flowing, trees swaying and some wild animals. No human or any vehicle noise. We liked that. We camped inside a sequoia trees. Another interesting thing about these tree were , fire actually promotes the reproduction of these trees.
We woke up the morning of may 30, 2008. We got breakfast, brushed teeth and I shaved. Here is what happened. Andy wanted to climb a tree. Wow !! It was impressing. He climbed over an Oak tree. I scared a little bit when he was climbing at some point and said "You did a great job so far and I would say please stop climbing and come down". Thinking for his safety. He replied "Sisay this is the worst thing you are telling me ". He was serious. Then he kept on climbing to top of the tree and came down safely. He is the man !! I used to climb a tree when I was around 12 but not on big tree like this.
Then we headed towards Sierra Mountains. It is among the highest mountains in US.We saw many rocky mountains covered with snow. We were driving mountain to another mountain until we hit close to 10,000 feet. It was snow and cold in there.We stopped by and started walking to even a higher elevation.Andy took the lead.Avi and I followed.It was too cold and less oxygen.It was amazing to sit on top and see such a stunning scenery around us. We took pictures right there. One of my favourite picture was the one when I was rolling over massive rock :-)
Then we started driving. Still there were many rocky mountains covered with snow. But this time we were going down to a lower elevation. We stopped by for lunch and packed our lunch and put in back pack. And then started hiking.
We arrived at a creek on bottom of the mountain. Wow!! It was beautiful. We had lunch there. Avi swimmed. And and I took a little nap while listening to the creek flowing. It was refreshing.
Hey guys if you are travelling with us we are going to heading towards death valley. I am also going to write a little bit about Denkil Depression in Ethiopia-The second lowest point below see level in Africa. Have fun
For comments my e-mail is : virginiacons@gmail.com
Saturday, May 31, 2008
GOLDEN GATE BRIDGE
May 28, 2008.We were in Oakland where we spent the night and started driving around 10 AM to Berkley to pick Avi from Idan's house. We talked a little bit about plan for the day to visit and started driving heading towards San Francisco. We crossed the bay bridge and arrived at downtown.
Our plan in downtown San Francisco was to ride cable car ( Electric car ) and see the city more. We bought full day pass ticket and started riding.It was fun to ride cable car.This car helps tourists to see the city easily since all sides are open. The city was beautiful. Many high rise buildings by the bay on flat and steep topography.
We walked around Chinatown and the bay area around Fisherman's Wharf.While we were in bay area we saw Alcatraz island from a distant. This island used to be a prison. Guess what would happen escaping from this prison.It is risking life.
We also drove over Golden Gate Bridge.Our plan was to walk over it but preferred to drive.After we crossed the bridge we stopped by Vista point.Wow!! It was exciting. While you are at this point you can see the whole part of the bridge, Alcatraz island, the bay and down town San Francisco.
If you are in Ethiopia and started talking about America, this bridge is the first thing it comes to most people's mind.This is because there is a postcard of this bridge everywhere. Myself also had it.
Then we headed towards a beach by the Pacific Ocean. If you remember may 14, 2008 I hit Atlantic Ocean by New York for the first time.This time we are in the Pacific Ocean. We drove all the way from East Coast to West Coast. I was so excited. The water was a little bit cold but was not that much bad.
It was about two hours drive from San Francisco taking scenic routes to Sunnyvale . First we drove south along the shore line taking highway one. Then we took the skyline drive along the hill top and saw Red Wood trees. Red Wood tree, when grows fully are the tallest trees in the world.
Jody is Avi's cousin. She leaves with her husband Jed and two beautiful daughter Molly and Ellen in Sunny Vale, California. May 30 is Molly's 16th birth day. Happy birthday Molly :-)
Jody has been following up our trip since it was started in may 12, 2008.Jody and Jed are experienced travellers.They travelled for several years. They travelled in Africa, Asia, Europe and US.They travelled to African countries like Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, and many more.
When I saw a picture of "Maasai" tribe photos in their living room I realised that both were travelling in Africa.Jody and Jed met in Crete Island in Greece, Europe while they were travelling.She was from the states and he was from England.
Jody, Jed, Molly, and Ellen have been waiting for us.We arrived at 7:15 PM.Jed and Jody welcomed us warmly.They asked us what to drink.Beer, water , wine, and many more.We chose red wine and started to see inside parts of their house.It is a new house and beautiful.
When Avi came here three years ago this house had not yet been done being built.Only the left wing of the house was built.Since then they have been building it towards the right side with in the property.The kitchen, living room, dining room, bed room and dining room are well done.I impressed a lot with the finishing materials. They did such a great job.
While Andy, Avi, Jody and I were looking at the house, Jed started grilling steak in back yard.Molly and Ellen were in their room. Both have their own room.Both gave a hug to cousin Avi. Andy and I introduced ourselves.
We went out to the back yard where Jed was grilling steak.Then we started talking about a lot of issues like how Jed and Jody met,their solar power on roof top, Andy and myself career plans, Jed's work, travel , and about Kenya and Ethiopia.Avi also saw herb plants he planted three years ago in the back yard.
We entered into a dining room and sat down around a dining table.Molly and Ellen also joined us.We got more wine and started eating. Wow !! The steak was great.
I was asked if I am shy to eat more. Avi said " When it comes to food Sisay is not shy" . Most people were done eating but I kept on eating. Then Jed asked me if I need more well done steak.
I said, "Yes". Guess what ? Everybody laughed.I never stopped eating because I enjoyed it.
We kept on drinking wine and started talking about different issues.We became more friendly with Molly and Ellen. They were very happy meeting their cousin, Avi and us. The whole family was happy. Molly and Ellen didn't go to bed until 11:30 even if Jody was telling them to take shower and then to go to bed so that they wake up early for school.They loved talking with us.
Hey buddies, no matter where you live and belong, there is hospitality everywhere. Thanks for the hospitality. Next we are going to take you to YOSEMITE, one of the most beautiful place.Please keep on travelling with us.,
Our plan in downtown San Francisco was to ride cable car ( Electric car ) and see the city more. We bought full day pass ticket and started riding.It was fun to ride cable car.This car helps tourists to see the city easily since all sides are open. The city was beautiful. Many high rise buildings by the bay on flat and steep topography.
We walked around Chinatown and the bay area around Fisherman's Wharf.While we were in bay area we saw Alcatraz island from a distant. This island used to be a prison. Guess what would happen escaping from this prison.It is risking life.
We also drove over Golden Gate Bridge.Our plan was to walk over it but preferred to drive.After we crossed the bridge we stopped by Vista point.Wow!! It was exciting. While you are at this point you can see the whole part of the bridge, Alcatraz island, the bay and down town San Francisco.
If you are in Ethiopia and started talking about America, this bridge is the first thing it comes to most people's mind.This is because there is a postcard of this bridge everywhere. Myself also had it.
Then we headed towards a beach by the Pacific Ocean. If you remember may 14, 2008 I hit Atlantic Ocean by New York for the first time.This time we are in the Pacific Ocean. We drove all the way from East Coast to West Coast. I was so excited. The water was a little bit cold but was not that much bad.
It was about two hours drive from San Francisco taking scenic routes to Sunnyvale . First we drove south along the shore line taking highway one. Then we took the skyline drive along the hill top and saw Red Wood trees. Red Wood tree, when grows fully are the tallest trees in the world.
Jody is Avi's cousin. She leaves with her husband Jed and two beautiful daughter Molly and Ellen in Sunny Vale, California. May 30 is Molly's 16th birth day. Happy birthday Molly :-)
Jody has been following up our trip since it was started in may 12, 2008.Jody and Jed are experienced travellers.They travelled for several years. They travelled in Africa, Asia, Europe and US.They travelled to African countries like Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, and many more.
When I saw a picture of "Maasai" tribe photos in their living room I realised that both were travelling in Africa.Jody and Jed met in Crete Island in Greece, Europe while they were travelling.She was from the states and he was from England.
Jody, Jed, Molly, and Ellen have been waiting for us.We arrived at 7:15 PM.Jed and Jody welcomed us warmly.They asked us what to drink.Beer, water , wine, and many more.We chose red wine and started to see inside parts of their house.It is a new house and beautiful.
When Avi came here three years ago this house had not yet been done being built.Only the left wing of the house was built.Since then they have been building it towards the right side with in the property.The kitchen, living room, dining room, bed room and dining room are well done.I impressed a lot with the finishing materials. They did such a great job.
While Andy, Avi, Jody and I were looking at the house, Jed started grilling steak in back yard.Molly and Ellen were in their room. Both have their own room.Both gave a hug to cousin Avi. Andy and I introduced ourselves.
We went out to the back yard where Jed was grilling steak.Then we started talking about a lot of issues like how Jed and Jody met,their solar power on roof top, Andy and myself career plans, Jed's work, travel , and about Kenya and Ethiopia.Avi also saw herb plants he planted three years ago in the back yard.
We entered into a dining room and sat down around a dining table.Molly and Ellen also joined us.We got more wine and started eating. Wow !! The steak was great.
I was asked if I am shy to eat more. Avi said " When it comes to food Sisay is not shy" . Most people were done eating but I kept on eating. Then Jed asked me if I need more well done steak.
I said, "Yes". Guess what ? Everybody laughed.I never stopped eating because I enjoyed it.
We kept on drinking wine and started talking about different issues.We became more friendly with Molly and Ellen. They were very happy meeting their cousin, Avi and us. The whole family was happy. Molly and Ellen didn't go to bed until 11:30 even if Jody was telling them to take shower and then to go to bed so that they wake up early for school.They loved talking with us.
Hey buddies, no matter where you live and belong, there is hospitality everywhere. Thanks for the hospitality. Next we are going to take you to YOSEMITE, one of the most beautiful place.Please keep on travelling with us.,
Friday, May 30, 2008
CALIFORNIAN HOSPITALITY - IN OAKLAND AND BERKLEY
May, 27 2008. Day long drive was ahead of us from wells, Nevada to Oakland ,California. Right now I can only talk about the Northern part of Nevada.I haven't seen southern part yet.It was About 9 hours drive.I saw many small towns far apart until we arrived in Reno, the capital city of Nevada.Fairly flat, hilly to mountainous topography, and dry to desert open land.That is all about it.
We arrived in Reno at 2 pm. We stopped by Jiffy lube for oil change.We grabbed subway for lunch and started driving. Reno was beautiful.There was casino everywhere:-)
Mike Helms, Andy,s mom Christine's cousin, is living in Oakland, California with his whole family.His wife Martha, their daughter Hillary and their sons Tristan and Christopher. (Christopher was born in Uganda, Africa.He has been living with them for the last one and half years.These family have been raising him).
Avi also has a friend in Berkley, California.His name is Idan ( Known also by Bearman). He lives with his wife Sara and adorable one year old son Amitai.Initially, we were planning to spend the night with Andy's family. But Avi didn't want to miss this opportunity to spend with Idan and his family. So we dropped Avi in Berkley and started heading toward Oakland to Andy's family.The whole family have been waiting for us to arrive in.
Martha welcomed us warmly. She introduced herself to me. Then she started introducing Hillary and her boy friend, and Tristan to us. Mike then came in and I introduced myself.Christopher was taking shower so he came later and introduced ourselves.Martha started telling us a bunch of restaurant to choose for a dinner. The whole family and us started driving heading into China town, downtown Oakland. We chose china restaurant among a bunch of options.
All of us sat down around a dining table and started talking about many issues. We talked about Andy's family in Kenya and US, his cheetah in Kenya ( Andy raised him), about myself and my family and many more.
Christopher was excited when he did shake Obama's hand. He met him during Presidential campaign in California.Tristan also started telling us about the campaign in Penn State University where he is going to college.Here is the interesting part. Martha and her daughter Hillary wants to see the first female American President.Tristan is a supporter of Obama.I didn't know about Mike and Andy. Andy never heard him talking about Obama.
Myself, like many Ethiopian Americans have been supporting Obama even if I can't vote because I am not a citizen yet.I explained why Ethiopians have been supporting Obama. Here is the thing.We never had free election in Ethiopia. We had in 2005 but ended up with violence and unrest.There is nobody who doesn't like democracy except the politicians in power now. America is a powerful country so supposed to stand with the opposition parties who won the election that time. Bush failed to do that. Most Ethiopians here in US beleive that if Obama is elected as a president somehow he can influence to bring real democracy in Ethiopia.
We came back home around 9:30 pm. Martha showed us the room where we are going to spend the night. She is a kind of person enjoying to help people. She brought us towel and more blanket. The whole family was a welcoming family. Thanks for the hospitality.
Mike wanted to show us the city. Their house is located in a hilly area. when you are in back yard you see down to Oakland city, the bay area and part of Sanfransisco.So we went out to the back yard. May be it was one of the most stunning scenery I have ever seen during night. Before, I moved to US that was the kind of view I had in my mind. After four years and a half I saw it.This imagination may come from the postcard I saw back at home or from movies. Mike also showed us the hot tab and the bath room.
Finally, Mike brought map of Sanfransisco area and showed us better spots to visit tomorrow. Both Martha and Mike told us many times to help ourselves for a breakfast tomorrow morning and to feel at home any time. Avi also told us the hospitality he got from his friends, Idan house.The organic stake was great.
This is Californian Hospitality in Oakland. Sunny vale's Hospitality is coming up soon. Keep in touch.
We arrived in Reno at 2 pm. We stopped by Jiffy lube for oil change.We grabbed subway for lunch and started driving. Reno was beautiful.There was casino everywhere:-)
Mike Helms, Andy,s mom Christine's cousin, is living in Oakland, California with his whole family.His wife Martha, their daughter Hillary and their sons Tristan and Christopher. (Christopher was born in Uganda, Africa.He has been living with them for the last one and half years.These family have been raising him).
Avi also has a friend in Berkley, California.His name is Idan ( Known also by Bearman). He lives with his wife Sara and adorable one year old son Amitai.Initially, we were planning to spend the night with Andy's family. But Avi didn't want to miss this opportunity to spend with Idan and his family. So we dropped Avi in Berkley and started heading toward Oakland to Andy's family.The whole family have been waiting for us to arrive in.
Martha welcomed us warmly. She introduced herself to me. Then she started introducing Hillary and her boy friend, and Tristan to us. Mike then came in and I introduced myself.Christopher was taking shower so he came later and introduced ourselves.Martha started telling us a bunch of restaurant to choose for a dinner. The whole family and us started driving heading into China town, downtown Oakland. We chose china restaurant among a bunch of options.
All of us sat down around a dining table and started talking about many issues. We talked about Andy's family in Kenya and US, his cheetah in Kenya ( Andy raised him), about myself and my family and many more.
Christopher was excited when he did shake Obama's hand. He met him during Presidential campaign in California.Tristan also started telling us about the campaign in Penn State University where he is going to college.Here is the interesting part. Martha and her daughter Hillary wants to see the first female American President.Tristan is a supporter of Obama.I didn't know about Mike and Andy. Andy never heard him talking about Obama.
Myself, like many Ethiopian Americans have been supporting Obama even if I can't vote because I am not a citizen yet.I explained why Ethiopians have been supporting Obama. Here is the thing.We never had free election in Ethiopia. We had in 2005 but ended up with violence and unrest.There is nobody who doesn't like democracy except the politicians in power now. America is a powerful country so supposed to stand with the opposition parties who won the election that time. Bush failed to do that. Most Ethiopians here in US beleive that if Obama is elected as a president somehow he can influence to bring real democracy in Ethiopia.
We came back home around 9:30 pm. Martha showed us the room where we are going to spend the night. She is a kind of person enjoying to help people. She brought us towel and more blanket. The whole family was a welcoming family. Thanks for the hospitality.
Mike wanted to show us the city. Their house is located in a hilly area. when you are in back yard you see down to Oakland city, the bay area and part of Sanfransisco.So we went out to the back yard. May be it was one of the most stunning scenery I have ever seen during night. Before, I moved to US that was the kind of view I had in my mind. After four years and a half I saw it.This imagination may come from the postcard I saw back at home or from movies. Mike also showed us the hot tab and the bath room.
Finally, Mike brought map of Sanfransisco area and showed us better spots to visit tomorrow. Both Martha and Mike told us many times to help ourselves for a breakfast tomorrow morning and to feel at home any time. Avi also told us the hospitality he got from his friends, Idan house.The organic stake was great.
This is Californian Hospitality in Oakland. Sunny vale's Hospitality is coming up soon. Keep in touch.
Thursday, May 29, 2008
A LITTLE BIT OF UTAH & NEVADA
May 26, 2008. We were in Utah. Seeking for a religious freedom, the Mormon came to the valley of the Great Salt Lake more than 150 years ago. Their hard work and strong sense of community, transformed a near desert into productive farm state.There are a lot of spectacular parks in Utah like Arch, Bryce etc,..We are not going to visit them now. Our plan for now is heading into Nevada and then to California.
We stopped by a small town in Utah called Garden.It was 11 AM. We didn't have breakfast so it was time for brunch. I ordered chicken fried steak, scrambled egg, hash browns and toast.All for 8 dollar. It was too much food. I enjoyed it.Avi and Andy also enjoyed theirs. I saw also many kids with their family.May be it was a Mormon town :-)
It was raining yesterday, so we didn't get a chance to dry up our tent. We have been also camping for four days continuously so we wanted to spend the night in a Motel. Moreover, in many places it was raining in Nevada.
When we drove from Utah boundary to Wells, a small town in Nevada,It was dry land, salty and also mountainous.There were a bunch of option to choose a Motel. This town has more Motel than residential houses. Many truck drivers spend the night here. It is also a kind of slow town too. The first thing I did in a Motel was to take shower. Shower is not always available in camping site. Some sites have, others don't.
We also dried up our tent and sleeping bags by the motel on grass land and trees. Thanks for the Motel manager letting us to do so.
We were also planning to wash cloth. We did laundry in Madison, Wisconsin after a week since we started travelling. Fortunately there was a Laundromat here by the motel may be it is the only one in town.
Before we went to a laundromat we went to restaurant for a dinner. There was casino inside the restaurant. Hey this is Nevada so there is a slot machine everywhere. I have a good luck. During summer of 2007, I played slot machine and got 250 dollar in Charles town ,West Virginia.I may need to give it try here too:-) Just kidding.
The following day were going to drive 9 hours to Sanfransisco. So we needed to woke up early. After dinner we headed to a Laundromat. By the time we got there, there was nobody except three of us.
I am so excited. Tomorrow, We are going to hit Pacific Ocean by Sanfransisco. It is going to be my second time to Ocean. Keep in touch.
We stopped by a small town in Utah called Garden.It was 11 AM. We didn't have breakfast so it was time for brunch. I ordered chicken fried steak, scrambled egg, hash browns and toast.All for 8 dollar. It was too much food. I enjoyed it.Avi and Andy also enjoyed theirs. I saw also many kids with their family.May be it was a Mormon town :-)
It was raining yesterday, so we didn't get a chance to dry up our tent. We have been also camping for four days continuously so we wanted to spend the night in a Motel. Moreover, in many places it was raining in Nevada.
When we drove from Utah boundary to Wells, a small town in Nevada,It was dry land, salty and also mountainous.There were a bunch of option to choose a Motel. This town has more Motel than residential houses. Many truck drivers spend the night here. It is also a kind of slow town too. The first thing I did in a Motel was to take shower. Shower is not always available in camping site. Some sites have, others don't.
We also dried up our tent and sleeping bags by the motel on grass land and trees. Thanks for the Motel manager letting us to do so.
We were also planning to wash cloth. We did laundry in Madison, Wisconsin after a week since we started travelling. Fortunately there was a Laundromat here by the motel may be it is the only one in town.
Before we went to a laundromat we went to restaurant for a dinner. There was casino inside the restaurant. Hey this is Nevada so there is a slot machine everywhere. I have a good luck. During summer of 2007, I played slot machine and got 250 dollar in Charles town ,West Virginia.I may need to give it try here too:-) Just kidding.
The following day were going to drive 9 hours to Sanfransisco. So we needed to woke up early. After dinner we headed to a Laundromat. By the time we got there, there was nobody except three of us.
I am so excited. Tomorrow, We are going to hit Pacific Ocean by Sanfransisco. It is going to be my second time to Ocean. Keep in touch.
Tuesday, May 27, 2008
GRAND TETON NATIONAL PARK AND AMERICAN SMALL TOWNS
May 25, 2008. It was a beautiful day. We were in Grand Teton National Park. In this park there are eight large lakes and many smaller ones.It was first photographed by William H. Jackson, a member of the Hayden expedition sent by the government to survey the area in 1872.
We woke up in the morning and started driving inside the rest of this park. When we drive, we saw one of the most beautiful place. It was Jenny Lake.By the lake, the snow covered mountains had such a stunning scenery. Spring may be the best time to see those mountains with snow covered.If you don't like to camp on the snow ground , there are lodges inside the park to spend the night.
We arrived at a small town named Driggs in Idaho. It was around 2 PM so we wanted to have lunch.During our stay in the parks we have been eating turkey sandwiches for lunch so this time we needed something different.
We stopped by a pizza place . Andy and I entered in to the room. There was only one guy working there and asked him whether he serves pizza or not. He said , " It is for TAKE AND BAKE". We asked him if there is another restaurant opened. He said, " Well, today is Sunday so most restaurants are closed but there might be one restaurant opened" and told us the name of the restaurant and got directions how to get there.
When we got to the restaurant, in front of the door there was a post reads " Opened". When we opened the door there was a woman cleaning the room and said, " it will be opened by 3 PM". Apparently, by the time we talked with this woman it was 2:59 PM. Only one minute to go:-)
We left that restaurant and started driving in that town looking for any restaurant opened. There was none.So we headed to a nearby mountain to sit down and fix our lunch.It was a beautiful place. We enjoyed that place and our lunch.
Then we started driving towards south in Idaho to spend the night camping in Caribou National Forest.In our way,we saw many small towns by the road. It is a great place to live in this area. I would assume most of the residents are farmers and some small business owners. This is totally stress free living area.
I imagined sitting down after work either in front yard or back yard of a house in this area, grabbing beer, doing some grill and just seeing spectacular mountains in any direction.It is enjoyable. You are not also going to worry driving back and forth to work and spending more or less than one hour a day. Everything is available at walking distance. Shops, restaurants, bars etc,..No worry also for getting traffic ticket for drinking and driving. It is a simple life. I would assume the living expenses are minimised too. Nothing is complicated,living in a small town !!!
In Idaho we visited a dam for Hydro Electric Power generation. What most impressed me was , the watershed which was totally covered with trees. It was ever green. Andy and I estimated the length of the reservoir area as 10 miles. Erosion is minimised here so that the quantity of silt building up in reservoir would be small. In Ethiopia, a lot of dam for Irrigation and Hydro power have been built. However,much emphasis has not yet been given for erosion and sediment control. As a result some Dams are unsuccessful. What a waste of time and money !!!
We spent the night at Caribou National Forest camping by Crow Creek. It was a wonderful night if not for the rain in the morning. It looks like here in West Coast is still winter. A lot of snow. More stories coming up about Mormons in Utah and small towns in Nevada. Keep in touch.
We woke up in the morning and started driving inside the rest of this park. When we drive, we saw one of the most beautiful place. It was Jenny Lake.By the lake, the snow covered mountains had such a stunning scenery. Spring may be the best time to see those mountains with snow covered.If you don't like to camp on the snow ground , there are lodges inside the park to spend the night.
We arrived at a small town named Driggs in Idaho. It was around 2 PM so we wanted to have lunch.During our stay in the parks we have been eating turkey sandwiches for lunch so this time we needed something different.
We stopped by a pizza place . Andy and I entered in to the room. There was only one guy working there and asked him whether he serves pizza or not. He said , " It is for TAKE AND BAKE". We asked him if there is another restaurant opened. He said, " Well, today is Sunday so most restaurants are closed but there might be one restaurant opened" and told us the name of the restaurant and got directions how to get there.
When we got to the restaurant, in front of the door there was a post reads " Opened". When we opened the door there was a woman cleaning the room and said, " it will be opened by 3 PM". Apparently, by the time we talked with this woman it was 2:59 PM. Only one minute to go:-)
We left that restaurant and started driving in that town looking for any restaurant opened. There was none.So we headed to a nearby mountain to sit down and fix our lunch.It was a beautiful place. We enjoyed that place and our lunch.
Then we started driving towards south in Idaho to spend the night camping in Caribou National Forest.In our way,we saw many small towns by the road. It is a great place to live in this area. I would assume most of the residents are farmers and some small business owners. This is totally stress free living area.
I imagined sitting down after work either in front yard or back yard of a house in this area, grabbing beer, doing some grill and just seeing spectacular mountains in any direction.It is enjoyable. You are not also going to worry driving back and forth to work and spending more or less than one hour a day. Everything is available at walking distance. Shops, restaurants, bars etc,..No worry also for getting traffic ticket for drinking and driving. It is a simple life. I would assume the living expenses are minimised too. Nothing is complicated,living in a small town !!!
In Idaho we visited a dam for Hydro Electric Power generation. What most impressed me was , the watershed which was totally covered with trees. It was ever green. Andy and I estimated the length of the reservoir area as 10 miles. Erosion is minimised here so that the quantity of silt building up in reservoir would be small. In Ethiopia, a lot of dam for Irrigation and Hydro power have been built. However,much emphasis has not yet been given for erosion and sediment control. As a result some Dams are unsuccessful. What a waste of time and money !!!
We spent the night at Caribou National Forest camping by Crow Creek. It was a wonderful night if not for the rain in the morning. It looks like here in West Coast is still winter. A lot of snow. More stories coming up about Mormons in Utah and small towns in Nevada. Keep in touch.
Monday, May 26, 2008
GEYSER - YELLOW STONE
May 24, 2008 is third day in Yellow Stone.We have been enjoying nature a lot.Our plan for today was to visit geyser and hot spring. Yellow Stone is known for that. Apparently,it is number one in the world. There are many geyser and hot spring spouts to look at here. Since we couldn't cover all geyser locations so we decided to go a place called Old Faithful Geyser.
This place is 120 feet wide and water spouts erupts every 80-90 minutes. A paved walk way and benches surrounds the cone geyser, keeping visitors about 300 feet away from the massive spray.By the time we got there, many people were waiting to see the eruption. There were a little eruption when we got there but everyone have been waiting for the massive one.
We were actually lucky. It didn't take more than 15 minutes eruption to happen. I would assume the height of the geyser was 60 feet and lasts for approximately 4 minutes.
After eruption ended , visitors started walking back to their car to keep on visiting other locations, to visitor centers and some kept on looking at small geyser. It was spectacular.
There is another geyser spouts at Yellow Stone called Norris Geyser Basin. It is the world's tallest geyser, reaches height of 300-400 feet. The bad news is, often remains quite for months or years between eruptions. Only some geysers are predictable.So any one who was there during the eruption probably be the most lucky person on earth.
Then we started driving to the south entrance to leave Yellow Stone National Park and to enter to another National Park called Grand Tetons National Park located also in Wyoming.
When we drive there it was raining as well as snow falling.It was such a depressing weather. A more intense snow condition.We got hungry and we wanted to eat lunch. There was no place to eat lunch.It is a National Park.We had to get a place to fix Turkey sand witch.There was no any place better than our car. So we stopped by the Jackson Lake inside Grand Tetons National Park. It was totally covered with snow. Anyways we enjoyed our lunch inside a freaking cold weather condition.
Here is the most interesting part of today's trip. We had to camp to spend the night somewhere in this park. It was a snow ground but we used to it. We got a camping site called Signal Mountain. Andy and I fixed our tent. Avi started fixing dinner. It was soup. Avi named it Signal Mountain Soup. Avi gave me a mission to collect fire wood.Myself was a country boy as a kid,so I am good at it. It is called " Enchet Lekema" in Ethiopian language. Andy was going to light it up. And he did.
The camping site was almost full of people even with a snow ground. There were many people camping since it was a memorial day week end. With Andy's fire and Avi's soup the night was wonderful.
Hey guys more stories coming soon including about American small towns. As long as Avi fix dinner, Andy light up the fire and I ( Sisay ) collect the fire wood, We are going to keep on camping in any weather condition and enjoy our trip. . We loved it !!!
This place is 120 feet wide and water spouts erupts every 80-90 minutes. A paved walk way and benches surrounds the cone geyser, keeping visitors about 300 feet away from the massive spray.By the time we got there, many people were waiting to see the eruption. There were a little eruption when we got there but everyone have been waiting for the massive one.
We were actually lucky. It didn't take more than 15 minutes eruption to happen. I would assume the height of the geyser was 60 feet and lasts for approximately 4 minutes.
After eruption ended , visitors started walking back to their car to keep on visiting other locations, to visitor centers and some kept on looking at small geyser. It was spectacular.
There is another geyser spouts at Yellow Stone called Norris Geyser Basin. It is the world's tallest geyser, reaches height of 300-400 feet. The bad news is, often remains quite for months or years between eruptions. Only some geysers are predictable.So any one who was there during the eruption probably be the most lucky person on earth.
Then we started driving to the south entrance to leave Yellow Stone National Park and to enter to another National Park called Grand Tetons National Park located also in Wyoming.
When we drive there it was raining as well as snow falling.It was such a depressing weather. A more intense snow condition.We got hungry and we wanted to eat lunch. There was no place to eat lunch.It is a National Park.We had to get a place to fix Turkey sand witch.There was no any place better than our car. So we stopped by the Jackson Lake inside Grand Tetons National Park. It was totally covered with snow. Anyways we enjoyed our lunch inside a freaking cold weather condition.
Here is the most interesting part of today's trip. We had to camp to spend the night somewhere in this park. It was a snow ground but we used to it. We got a camping site called Signal Mountain. Andy and I fixed our tent. Avi started fixing dinner. It was soup. Avi named it Signal Mountain Soup. Avi gave me a mission to collect fire wood.Myself was a country boy as a kid,so I am good at it. It is called " Enchet Lekema" in Ethiopian language. Andy was going to light it up. And he did.
The camping site was almost full of people even with a snow ground. There were many people camping since it was a memorial day week end. With Andy's fire and Avi's soup the night was wonderful.
Hey guys more stories coming soon including about American small towns. As long as Avi fix dinner, Andy light up the fire and I ( Sisay ) collect the fire wood, We are going to keep on camping in any weather condition and enjoy our trip. . We loved it !!!
Sunday, May 25, 2008
YELLOW STONE - THE HOME OF WILDLIFE
May 23, 2008. The second day in Yellow Stone National Park and the 12th day for Team Travel America since started travelling on may 12. We are going to continue our visit tomorrow too. This park is huge. The distance from North to South visitor center is 79 miles and, East to West visitor center is 83 miles.
When we woke up in the morning the weather was beautiful. It was a perfect sunny day to see the mountains top covered with snow. We started driving leaving the tent the same place we spent last night. We are also planning to camp tonight here.
The first thing in the morning we went to visitor center. We got map for the park and more information where we can see the wild animals better.We grabbed our binoculars and started heading from Mammoth Hot Springs to Roosevelt Lodge.
There were Bison everywhere in the field. On the field right and left side of the road what we saw frequently was a Bison. Sometimes we saw them when they cross the road where we were driving.Most of the time we saw them ranging from one to twenty ( even more) in number either grazing grass or walking.
Bison were heavily hunted throughout in the 1800s and by 1900. Only a few dozens remained wild. Male Bison can weigh as much as 2000 pounds and both sexes can run faster than humans.
It was not also hard to see Elk in the mountainous area. Elk is a member of the deer family. Only male Elk have antlers. The antlers are shed each spring and regrow during summer. They feed on grasses. Their mating season is autumn and start calling to attract female.
Then we saw Pronghorn which is the fastest land animal in North America. Approximately, 200 Pronghorn live in Yellow Stone.
Andy and Avi have been using their binoculars to see many wild animals. Then we headed to Roosevelt Lodge where President Roosevelt camped. President Roosevelt put a corner stone for an arch to North entrance.
Every time we travel we have food in a cooler. We have turkey sandwiches for lunch. So we sat down on grass and grabbed lunch. After lunch we kept on driving to North East entrance. It is located in Montana. On our way there in addition to looking for more wild animals to see, we also really impressed with snow covered mountains. We also stopped by the mountain and played freesbee.I recommend you to go and see the pictures in our web site. You will love it :-)
It was closer to the evening so it was the best time to see more wild animals.When we drove from Roosevelt Lodge to North East entrance and back to Mammoth Hot Springs we saw Grizzly Bear, Black Bear (one with 2 young cubs),Moose, Wolf, Coyote, Goats, and many kinds of birds including a bald eagle.
In the early 1900s, Wolves and other predators were killed in Yellow Stone. Since that time , Scientists have recognised predators as essential members of any ecosystem. They eat Elk, Deer and a variety of small mammals.
Now we are heading to our tent. Avi is going to fix pasta for dinner. The weather was nice today so I am not going to sleep early like yesterday:-) Tomorrow we are going to visit hot springs and geysers and then drive to Grand Tetons National Park. Hope you are enjoying our trip. Keep in touch.
When we woke up in the morning the weather was beautiful. It was a perfect sunny day to see the mountains top covered with snow. We started driving leaving the tent the same place we spent last night. We are also planning to camp tonight here.
The first thing in the morning we went to visitor center. We got map for the park and more information where we can see the wild animals better.We grabbed our binoculars and started heading from Mammoth Hot Springs to Roosevelt Lodge.
There were Bison everywhere in the field. On the field right and left side of the road what we saw frequently was a Bison. Sometimes we saw them when they cross the road where we were driving.Most of the time we saw them ranging from one to twenty ( even more) in number either grazing grass or walking.
Bison were heavily hunted throughout in the 1800s and by 1900. Only a few dozens remained wild. Male Bison can weigh as much as 2000 pounds and both sexes can run faster than humans.
It was not also hard to see Elk in the mountainous area. Elk is a member of the deer family. Only male Elk have antlers. The antlers are shed each spring and regrow during summer. They feed on grasses. Their mating season is autumn and start calling to attract female.
Then we saw Pronghorn which is the fastest land animal in North America. Approximately, 200 Pronghorn live in Yellow Stone.
Andy and Avi have been using their binoculars to see many wild animals. Then we headed to Roosevelt Lodge where President Roosevelt camped. President Roosevelt put a corner stone for an arch to North entrance.
Every time we travel we have food in a cooler. We have turkey sandwiches for lunch. So we sat down on grass and grabbed lunch. After lunch we kept on driving to North East entrance. It is located in Montana. On our way there in addition to looking for more wild animals to see, we also really impressed with snow covered mountains. We also stopped by the mountain and played freesbee.I recommend you to go and see the pictures in our web site. You will love it :-)
It was closer to the evening so it was the best time to see more wild animals.When we drove from Roosevelt Lodge to North East entrance and back to Mammoth Hot Springs we saw Grizzly Bear, Black Bear (one with 2 young cubs),Moose, Wolf, Coyote, Goats, and many kinds of birds including a bald eagle.
In the early 1900s, Wolves and other predators were killed in Yellow Stone. Since that time , Scientists have recognised predators as essential members of any ecosystem. They eat Elk, Deer and a variety of small mammals.
Now we are heading to our tent. Avi is going to fix pasta for dinner. The weather was nice today so I am not going to sleep early like yesterday:-) Tomorrow we are going to visit hot springs and geysers and then drive to Grand Tetons National Park. Hope you are enjoying our trip. Keep in touch.
Saturday, May 24, 2008
CAMPING ON SNOW - THE YELLOW STONE
May 22, 2008. We are in Yellowstone, the first National Park in the world and was established by an act of congress in 1872. Most of the Yellow stone is located in Wyoming and a small portion in Montana and Idaho. We have been visiting for two days in the park but there are a lot of places we haven't reached yet.The area is 3, 472 sq.miles.
There is nothing you see in this park is not amazing.This park is a home to buffaloes/Bison, bighorn sheep, elk,moose, pronghorn, grizzly bear,black bear, wolf, coyotes and others. It is unique for its geysers, hot springs, mud pools and fumaroles.There are more geysers and hot springs than in the rest of the world combined. The largest concentration of geothermal features in the world is in Yellowstone.
The park sits in one of the largest active volcano on earth. When erupted carving out a caldera 28 miles wide and 53 miles long. Each year more than three million people visit Yellowstone. The Yellowstone river in a big valley, the fall, the Yellowstone Lake, the Valleys, the Mountains, the Forest and others are all magnificent.
When we got closer to Yellowstone on may, 22 around 3 PM snow was falling. This park was the top priority in our list to be visited. So when I see the snow, it disappointed me a little bit.We also planned to camp the night. We hold deciding where to spend the night for a moment and started driving around and visiting the park.
The rocky mountain on the left and right side of the road was breathtaking when looking at covered with snow. The snow gave some kind of more beauty to the mountains and valleys.Even before we entered into the boundary of The Yellow Stone National Park we saw a bison.It was my first time to see a bison in front.
We visited the Yellow Stone Lake. Actually it was totally covered with snow. We also got a point where we can see a Yellowstone river. It is not a big river like Mississippi or Missouri, but what makes it amazing is the depth of rocky valley in the left and right side of the river. When we stand on the river bank and look down to the river it is way down to see.We took a picture right there so may be one of the best scenery nature provided us.
We drove by the river and saw many attraction points. One of this place was the Yellowstone Fall on the Yellowstone river. Mind you there are many rivers in this park but this is the biggest.Again it was not a big fall volume wise like Niagara Falls but what amazing is that the depth of the rocky valley left and right side of the fall. It was raining a little bit by the time we got there so I haven't gotten a clear glance of the fall like sunny days look. But I saw that the fall smokes when the water hits the bottom on a deep gorge.
When we got Yellowstone while the snow was started falling, I hate it. Later, after stopped falling I loved it as much as I hate it.Here is the thing. I found the rocky mountains and valleys look better with snow on top of it. The top of mountains and valleys were covered with snow. Whenever I looked at the front view of the rocky mountains and valleys I saw a different kind of colour contrast. Rock mountain or tree covered mountain from front, covered with snow on top with blue or cloudy sky was forming such an amazing contrast.
Finally, we we were in between looking for a lodge or camping ground to spend the night. Our plan was actually to camp rather than to spend in lodge room if there was no snow. Honestly, I didn't want to spend inside a tent because it was too cold for me. Andy and Avi wanted to camp.
We got to camping ground called Mammoth hot springs. It was a nice place with a good scenery in front of a mountain. We put up our tent quickly and immediately I went to sleep. I couldn't wait outside with Andy and Avi for a dinner. I realised that only that way I can stand freaking cold weather. Andy and Avi stayed outside the tent so long fixing dinner. Fortunately, It was not cold inside a tent the night, and had a good sleep. Please keep travelling with us. Yellow stone is not yet touched. A lot of stories coming up.
There is nothing you see in this park is not amazing.This park is a home to buffaloes/Bison, bighorn sheep, elk,moose, pronghorn, grizzly bear,black bear, wolf, coyotes and others. It is unique for its geysers, hot springs, mud pools and fumaroles.There are more geysers and hot springs than in the rest of the world combined. The largest concentration of geothermal features in the world is in Yellowstone.
The park sits in one of the largest active volcano on earth. When erupted carving out a caldera 28 miles wide and 53 miles long. Each year more than three million people visit Yellowstone. The Yellowstone river in a big valley, the fall, the Yellowstone Lake, the Valleys, the Mountains, the Forest and others are all magnificent.
When we got closer to Yellowstone on may, 22 around 3 PM snow was falling. This park was the top priority in our list to be visited. So when I see the snow, it disappointed me a little bit.We also planned to camp the night. We hold deciding where to spend the night for a moment and started driving around and visiting the park.
The rocky mountain on the left and right side of the road was breathtaking when looking at covered with snow. The snow gave some kind of more beauty to the mountains and valleys.Even before we entered into the boundary of The Yellow Stone National Park we saw a bison.It was my first time to see a bison in front.
We visited the Yellow Stone Lake. Actually it was totally covered with snow. We also got a point where we can see a Yellowstone river. It is not a big river like Mississippi or Missouri, but what makes it amazing is the depth of rocky valley in the left and right side of the river. When we stand on the river bank and look down to the river it is way down to see.We took a picture right there so may be one of the best scenery nature provided us.
We drove by the river and saw many attraction points. One of this place was the Yellowstone Fall on the Yellowstone river. Mind you there are many rivers in this park but this is the biggest.Again it was not a big fall volume wise like Niagara Falls but what amazing is that the depth of the rocky valley left and right side of the fall. It was raining a little bit by the time we got there so I haven't gotten a clear glance of the fall like sunny days look. But I saw that the fall smokes when the water hits the bottom on a deep gorge.
When we got Yellowstone while the snow was started falling, I hate it. Later, after stopped falling I loved it as much as I hate it.Here is the thing. I found the rocky mountains and valleys look better with snow on top of it. The top of mountains and valleys were covered with snow. Whenever I looked at the front view of the rocky mountains and valleys I saw a different kind of colour contrast. Rock mountain or tree covered mountain from front, covered with snow on top with blue or cloudy sky was forming such an amazing contrast.
Finally, we we were in between looking for a lodge or camping ground to spend the night. Our plan was actually to camp rather than to spend in lodge room if there was no snow. Honestly, I didn't want to spend inside a tent because it was too cold for me. Andy and Avi wanted to camp.
We got to camping ground called Mammoth hot springs. It was a nice place with a good scenery in front of a mountain. We put up our tent quickly and immediately I went to sleep. I couldn't wait outside with Andy and Avi for a dinner. I realised that only that way I can stand freaking cold weather. Andy and Avi stayed outside the tent so long fixing dinner. Fortunately, It was not cold inside a tent the night, and had a good sleep. Please keep travelling with us. Yellow stone is not yet touched. A lot of stories coming up.
Friday, May 23, 2008
AVI WOKE UP CRANKY
May 21, 2008. We are in Wyoming heading to Yellow stone. For a moment I am going to take you back to Ditch Creek camping ground in South Dakota where we camped yesterday. Here is what happened . I stole Avi's mattress and went to sleep early at 10:30 PM before Avi and Andy. They were sat down by the fire. Avi's mattress was more comfortable than mine. I had a good sleep night. The night was cold and raining.Whenever we are camping Andy sleep in the middle. Avi and I sleep on left and right side of him. Sleeping inside a tent was enjoyable. No human being by us. The only thing I was listening to was birds singing and a creek by us flowing.
While we were eating breakfast in the morning, I asked Avi whether he had a good night sleep or not. He said , "No Sisay". I asked why? He said you stole my mattress. Lol !! He woke up cranky. Courtesy of Avi -He is saying I was cranky because It was cold.
It was winter of 2007. Avi, I and a couple of people went to DC for a dinner. It was too cold. We were walking. I couldn't stand the cold. I didn't have anything to do. I said " Avi please hug me":-)He yelled at me. Before we start travelling Avi sent us a list of items to prepare for the trip for cold and hot weather. He said "Sisay I am not going to hear saying Avi please hug me any more" . Based on that I was prepared for cold and hot weather but not like freaking cold snow. I thought winter was over so there will not be snow any more. However, in Wyoming there is snow until now. Right now snow is falling and we are going to camp tonight at yellow stone.
The other thing about Ditch Creek camping was where we actually washed dishes.I washed the dishes water from the creek.It looks clean visually may be because the water was coming either from a spring source or from melted snow on the mountains.There was no shower service in this camping.I washed my face and hair by the creek water.Andy also washed his feet.
Andy as usual woke up early in the morning and went for hiking on Black Hills Forest on hilly areas.He said he enjoyed it a lot.Overall, we had a wonderful time there and had a lot of fun.Avi also gave us a small training on how to light the fire. I brought the firewood with Avi from a pine wood forest.
When we were driving in a town called Worland looking for a motel we were pulled over by a Wyoming police for driving 40 miles on 30 miles speed limit. No ticket was given. Thanks to Avi's and Andy's good driving record, and having him a little fun and making lough the police.
Hey guys we are entering Yellow Stone National Park, which is the first national park in the world. Wow!! It is exciting.I want also let you know that Internet signal is not always available in the mountain. So I apologize for posting out dated blogs. Keep in touch.
While we were eating breakfast in the morning, I asked Avi whether he had a good night sleep or not. He said , "No Sisay". I asked why? He said you stole my mattress. Lol !! He woke up cranky. Courtesy of Avi -He is saying I was cranky because It was cold.
It was winter of 2007. Avi, I and a couple of people went to DC for a dinner. It was too cold. We were walking. I couldn't stand the cold. I didn't have anything to do. I said " Avi please hug me":-)He yelled at me. Before we start travelling Avi sent us a list of items to prepare for the trip for cold and hot weather. He said "Sisay I am not going to hear saying Avi please hug me any more" . Based on that I was prepared for cold and hot weather but not like freaking cold snow. I thought winter was over so there will not be snow any more. However, in Wyoming there is snow until now. Right now snow is falling and we are going to camp tonight at yellow stone.
The other thing about Ditch Creek camping was where we actually washed dishes.I washed the dishes water from the creek.It looks clean visually may be because the water was coming either from a spring source or from melted snow on the mountains.There was no shower service in this camping.I washed my face and hair by the creek water.Andy also washed his feet.
Andy as usual woke up early in the morning and went for hiking on Black Hills Forest on hilly areas.He said he enjoyed it a lot.Overall, we had a wonderful time there and had a lot of fun.Avi also gave us a small training on how to light the fire. I brought the firewood with Avi from a pine wood forest.
When we were driving in a town called Worland looking for a motel we were pulled over by a Wyoming police for driving 40 miles on 30 miles speed limit. No ticket was given. Thanks to Avi's and Andy's good driving record, and having him a little fun and making lough the police.
Hey guys we are entering Yellow Stone National Park, which is the first national park in the world. Wow!! It is exciting.I want also let you know that Internet signal is not always available in the mountain. So I apologize for posting out dated blogs. Keep in touch.
Right Now
It's almost 1:00 in the morning / at night. It's late, I'm getting tired, so I'll have to call it for the night. Sisay has been sleeping in the tent since ~8:47, no Dinner or nothing. He is such a 'Haps"sh'... Andi joined him around 11:00 pm, after we finished our dinner, and I'm sitting here, in this nice cozy hotel, writing these words, before going back to the campsite and the frigging temperatures outside.
We're @ Yellowstone, one of the most beautiful and amazing places, not just in the US, but in the world, in my opinion. Words can not & will not describe the awesomeness and wonder of this place, so I won't even try. Maybe you'll get a fraction of it from the pictures. It something one need to view with ones own eyes.
But I will tell you this - today was May 22. Now it's the beginning of Friday, May 23, & Memorial Day Weekend, here in the US. The official "marker" for the start of summer... - We drove in to the park at the early afternoon. It was snowing. Not just snowing - it was coming down, blowing, and what not! The amount of snow and ice all over the place is ridicules. Snow packed on the side of the roads, after the plowers came through, was in some places over 7 ft (2 m) high! It was more of a winter day than we've experienced in Virginia all winter... Unbelievable!!
OK, it's really late. I'm out of here. You all have a great weekend & a Shabat Shalom,
Avi
Complaints
For those of you who know me, and for those of who don't - I like to complain. I enjoy that. It's easier than doing something about it. If you ain't gonna do something about something, all you are really left with is either to shut up or complain about it. I choose complaining, and figured that if I'm already complaining - why not enjoy it? - The only problem is that people hate hearing other people complain. I'm no exception. So, for all my Israeli friends out there, that are about to complain that this blog or my writing is too long... - you know the drill: If you don't want to read this - go a head and hurt my feelings... or, you can do the right thing - print this up, place it at that important room in your house, and read it @ your own convenient.
Comments
Please comment! Put yourself out there; make an effort; share. You don't have to comment on my posting, but I urge you - comment on Sisay's posting. It breaks his heart, everyday, or even 3-12 times a day, when he checks for comments, your comments to our blog. And guess who gets to hear him complaining?!... Seriously, people, I know you're all busy with life & work etc. especially you guys back in the office. But take 2 min and write a line or 2. Cut the guy some slack. He puts so much effort in writing for the blog and later typing it on the computer. Show him some love... - Some times I think that this trip is what happens while old Sis is writing he's blog...
And Chu - do you have any idea of the effort he puts in downloading all the pictures, drawing the maps and having the blog up, running and updated?...
Please don't give me another reason to complain... - Comment. Thanks.
Long Time
As I mentioned before, we began our road trip 11 days ago on May 12, and this will be my first posting on this here Blog. 'Better Late than Never', I always say, and it's a good thing I say that - as I'm usually late....
If I pose for a moment, and think of you, our readers, it seems that you can be divided in to 3 groups: Those of you whom are reading this blog but haven't read my e-mails from when I traveled with Elad, and by myself, throughout the US & some of Mexico, 4 years ago; Those of you that are reading this blog and were reading my mails; Those of you whom are not reading this blog & didn't get my mails. I find the 3rd group less interesting from the the first group or the more fortunate second group, so let's disregard them all together. But enough about you - let's get back to talking about me... : )
It's been a long time (~3.5 years) since I last wrote mass e-mails about my traveling or 'blogged' them, to that matter... Don't know if the 'wait' will be worth it (I wouldn't recommend on too high of expectations), but for what it's worth - here it goes...
East by Mid-East
"An Ethiopian, a Kenyan & an Israeli walk in to a bar... " - No, that's not a beginning of a joke, but part of my life reality for the past 3 years.
"An Ethiopian, a Kenyan & an Israeli go on a road trip across America... " - Now here's something to raise an eyebrow about... - 'Cause you know, even though it's not intended on being the beginning of a joke - things are bound to be a little funny, to say the least...
While Sisay & Andi are from East &/or Eastern Africa (lets try and not go in to the differences with too much detail...), I am from the Middle East. We all live on the East Coast, at the Eastern part of Northern Virginia AND... we all worked for Eastern States Engineering, which later became ESE (which now is no longer a very cosmopolitan place to work for, as most of the foreigners, or to be more specific - the 3 of us, don't work there no more...). Anyway, with so much East everywhere, there was only one direction we could head out to at the beginning of our trip...
- You guessed it right: EAST!!!
So on Monday, May 12, about 1.5 weeks ago we set sail: First we headed towards NYC, and then even further East on to Long Island & the shore of the Atlantic Ocean. After that we headed North, towards upstate NY, and there, by the New York State Capital, we made that crucial move from I-87 on to I-90 and started heading West. The real part of our trip began - we were headed Out WEST!!!
Wednesday, May 21, 2008
CRAZY HORSE
May 21, 2008 still in South Dakota for the second day. One day was not enough to visit spectacular areas ranging from Sioux Falls, National Grass Land, Badlands National Park, Mount Rushmore National Memorial, Black hills National Forest and Crazy Horse Memorial.
Crazy Horse was a name of a person who was Native American Indian born on Rapid Creek in the black Hills of South Dakota in about 1842 and killed by American solidiers september 6, 1877. He was defending the American Indians and their way of life. The reason for fighting between the native American and the American soldiers was because the treaty of 1868 was broken which was signed by the president of the united states.
The treaty stated as:
" As long as river run and grass grows and trees bear leaves paha sapa-the black hills of Dakota-will forever be the scared land of the Sioux Indians.
This is a quote by crazy horse " They made us many promises, more than I can remember-They never kept but one; they promised to take our land, and they took it!
The sculupture of crazy horse is being carved out on a cliff in the Black Hills. It was started in 1949 and has not yet been done. It represents North American Indians of all tribes. When completed it is going to be the largest statue in the world. When we visit this sculupture I was impressed with the story behind.
Another amazing place we visited, was Mount Rushmore National Memorial. There is a sculpture of great American national leaders. This sculpture is on a rocky mountain. It shows only their faces. Their face is 60 ft high. The sculpter died before completing the sculupture. We can imagine how many years it took. It is the largest pieces of a sculpture ever created.
This sculpture is of four great leaders for their outstanding achivement. These leaders are Washington, representing the founding princples of of the new union; Jefferson, representing the declaration of independence and the Lousiana purchase from france. Lincoln, representing the preservation of the country during the civil war, and Roosvelt representing the expansion of the country throgh the implementation of the panama canal and the conservation of the united states natural resources.
Now, I am going to take you back to Badlands National Park. For the first time since we started travelling I saw facinating mountain in the park. It is the most breathtaking scenery, and estabilished as National Monument in 1939. Fortunately the weather was nice. We took advantage of it. We sat down and had lunch in the shade. I liked the colour and the shape of these mounains ranging from pink to yellow colours and, curved to domed shaped.
Many wildlife inhabitants were in the park including Coyotes, deer, Prairie dog, Bison and others. South Dakota is home to mountain Lions too. Unfortunately we haven't seen one.
Finally, I am going to say something about Black Hills National Forest. The area is 1.2 million acre. In this forest there are eleven reservoirs and thirty camp grounds.The name of the camping ground we spent was Ditch Creek. This camp ground is on flat topography by creek and on the bottom of the surrounding mountains covered with pine trees. It looks a typical mountanious area in Ethiopia with a similar landscape. The topography and the landscape is totally different from the rest of US I have seen for the last 9 days. All pine trees, steep slope and curvy roads and mountanious.
Hey guys we entered Wyoming heading to Yellow stone. Snow is falling. We may not camp tonight. We will see. Bye
Crazy Horse was a name of a person who was Native American Indian born on Rapid Creek in the black Hills of South Dakota in about 1842 and killed by American solidiers september 6, 1877. He was defending the American Indians and their way of life. The reason for fighting between the native American and the American soldiers was because the treaty of 1868 was broken which was signed by the president of the united states.
The treaty stated as:
" As long as river run and grass grows and trees bear leaves paha sapa-the black hills of Dakota-will forever be the scared land of the Sioux Indians.
This is a quote by crazy horse " They made us many promises, more than I can remember-They never kept but one; they promised to take our land, and they took it!
The sculupture of crazy horse is being carved out on a cliff in the Black Hills. It was started in 1949 and has not yet been done. It represents North American Indians of all tribes. When completed it is going to be the largest statue in the world. When we visit this sculupture I was impressed with the story behind.
Another amazing place we visited, was Mount Rushmore National Memorial. There is a sculpture of great American national leaders. This sculpture is on a rocky mountain. It shows only their faces. Their face is 60 ft high. The sculpter died before completing the sculupture. We can imagine how many years it took. It is the largest pieces of a sculpture ever created.
This sculpture is of four great leaders for their outstanding achivement. These leaders are Washington, representing the founding princples of of the new union; Jefferson, representing the declaration of independence and the Lousiana purchase from france. Lincoln, representing the preservation of the country during the civil war, and Roosvelt representing the expansion of the country throgh the implementation of the panama canal and the conservation of the united states natural resources.
Now, I am going to take you back to Badlands National Park. For the first time since we started travelling I saw facinating mountain in the park. It is the most breathtaking scenery, and estabilished as National Monument in 1939. Fortunately the weather was nice. We took advantage of it. We sat down and had lunch in the shade. I liked the colour and the shape of these mounains ranging from pink to yellow colours and, curved to domed shaped.
Many wildlife inhabitants were in the park including Coyotes, deer, Prairie dog, Bison and others. South Dakota is home to mountain Lions too. Unfortunately we haven't seen one.
Finally, I am going to say something about Black Hills National Forest. The area is 1.2 million acre. In this forest there are eleven reservoirs and thirty camp grounds.The name of the camping ground we spent was Ditch Creek. This camp ground is on flat topography by creek and on the bottom of the surrounding mountains covered with pine trees. It looks a typical mountanious area in Ethiopia with a similar landscape. The topography and the landscape is totally different from the rest of US I have seen for the last 9 days. All pine trees, steep slope and curvy roads and mountanious.
Hey guys we entered Wyoming heading to Yellow stone. Snow is falling. We may not camp tonight. We will see. Bye
Tuesday, May 20, 2008
CAMPED ON THE MIDDLE OF NO WHERE
May 20, 2008. We are in South Dakota which is the Land of Great Faces and Great Places. Minnesota and Iowa from East, North Dakota from North, Wyoming from South West, Montana from North West are boundary states to South Dakota.
When we drive from Sioux Falls to Pierre for 226 miles for 4 hour and fourty minutes, I would say 90% of the land is either farm land or grass land. The only place I saw a small town was at Sioux Falls and by Missouri river. There are a lot of cows grazing grass. I asked myself many times where people are living in this state. You don't even see people driving on the road for a while. We are driving on I-90. So I tried to figure out the population of South Dakota. Guess how many ? It is only 754,844. The area of South Dakota is also 77, 121 sq. miles and ranked the 16 th largest state in US.I wouldn't surprise now.
The United Sates acquire the area part of the Lousiana purchase in 1803. George Armstrong Custer's expedition discovered gold in French Creek in the black hills. The Dakota territory was split and North and South Dakota become states in 1889.
We have been enjoying South Dakota a lot. It is another big day. We spent time on Sioux falls. It is beautiful. The geological formation around the fall looks pink colour. We can imagine how amazing to see the fall, the pink stone and the green landscape surrounding it. The weather was so nice. We spent around one hour and a half by the fall and started driving to Pierre National grass land. We are going to camp there.
We stopped by at Missouri river. It flows from South Dakota to Nebraska. Another US big river. Missouri river used for transportation by American Indians. Lewis and Clark also used it for transportation on expedition to west searching for Pacific Ocean. I saw this movie before we start our journey to get to know a little bit of American West. It is an amazing expedition. Missouri river is now a source for water based recreation as a result of a series of dams called Oahe Dam.What a beautiful river on a little bit mountainous area with amazing landscape. I love it !!!
We are heading to Pierre National Grass Land. We are going to camp over there. It is going to be the second camping night since we started travelling. We are driving west on I-90. The area is all grass land and farm.
It is 9 PM still still driving to west. Avi is driving and Andy is navigating. We are looking for a camping site. I don't even see a small town. It is a huge grass land. No trees. Many cows are grazing on the field. We made right turn to a gravel road.
I asked Avi whether we are on expedition :-) He said no. we are looking for a camping site. We kept on driving and looking for a camping sight. It was hard to find one. We turned left on another gravel road to see if there is a camping site.We found one.
It is grassy area. I scared snakes. So I didn't like that area. That place turned to be not part of a park but some body's property. So we had to drive Pierre National Grass Land area and find another site. The problem was basically to get the entrance.We figured out the boundary of the park and camped there. As usual Avi fixed tea and pasta for dinner. Thanks avi !! Andy and I put up the tent.
I woke up in the morning to see the area. It was one of the most beautiful nature.God Blessed America. Keep on travelling.
When we drive from Sioux Falls to Pierre for 226 miles for 4 hour and fourty minutes, I would say 90% of the land is either farm land or grass land. The only place I saw a small town was at Sioux Falls and by Missouri river. There are a lot of cows grazing grass. I asked myself many times where people are living in this state. You don't even see people driving on the road for a while. We are driving on I-90. So I tried to figure out the population of South Dakota. Guess how many ? It is only 754,844. The area of South Dakota is also 77, 121 sq. miles and ranked the 16 th largest state in US.I wouldn't surprise now.
The United Sates acquire the area part of the Lousiana purchase in 1803. George Armstrong Custer's expedition discovered gold in French Creek in the black hills. The Dakota territory was split and North and South Dakota become states in 1889.
We have been enjoying South Dakota a lot. It is another big day. We spent time on Sioux falls. It is beautiful. The geological formation around the fall looks pink colour. We can imagine how amazing to see the fall, the pink stone and the green landscape surrounding it. The weather was so nice. We spent around one hour and a half by the fall and started driving to Pierre National grass land. We are going to camp there.
We stopped by at Missouri river. It flows from South Dakota to Nebraska. Another US big river. Missouri river used for transportation by American Indians. Lewis and Clark also used it for transportation on expedition to west searching for Pacific Ocean. I saw this movie before we start our journey to get to know a little bit of American West. It is an amazing expedition. Missouri river is now a source for water based recreation as a result of a series of dams called Oahe Dam.What a beautiful river on a little bit mountainous area with amazing landscape. I love it !!!
We are heading to Pierre National Grass Land. We are going to camp over there. It is going to be the second camping night since we started travelling. We are driving west on I-90. The area is all grass land and farm.
It is 9 PM still still driving to west. Avi is driving and Andy is navigating. We are looking for a camping site. I don't even see a small town. It is a huge grass land. No trees. Many cows are grazing on the field. We made right turn to a gravel road.
I asked Avi whether we are on expedition :-) He said no. we are looking for a camping site. We kept on driving and looking for a camping sight. It was hard to find one. We turned left on another gravel road to see if there is a camping site.We found one.
It is grassy area. I scared snakes. So I didn't like that area. That place turned to be not part of a park but some body's property. So we had to drive Pierre National Grass Land area and find another site. The problem was basically to get the entrance.We figured out the boundary of the park and camped there. As usual Avi fixed tea and pasta for dinner. Thanks avi !! Andy and I put up the tent.
I woke up in the morning to see the area. It was one of the most beautiful nature.God Blessed America. Keep on travelling.
Monday, May 19, 2008
ETHIOPIAN MAN
May 19, 2008. We are in Minnesota a home of 10,000 lakes. Did I say 10,000 lakes. Yes, I did. That is true. Wow !!! What a country !!! We are now driving further west to South Dakota. On left and right side of the road almost 90% what I see is a farm land. I think mainly they grow all sorts of grains like corn, wheat etc. I lived in Washington, DC metropolitan area for the last four and half years. When I compare East Coast where I lived with Mid west, I would say there is a huge farm and in Mid-west than East Coast.
The northern part of Ethiopia is mountainous.Most of the area is not suitable for agriculture. but it has hydro power potential. So it is amazing for me to see such kind of huge farm land on fairly flat topography. I haven't seen any kind of dam for impoundment to irrigate this land. But I can see a kind of borehole for ground water discharge in the field. I would assume ground water is available at shallow depth. So my guess is they are using sprinkler at a latter time to irrigate the crops.
There are also wind mills in the field at a distant to generate power. I want to give a clear vision of how much huge the farm is. Until now we have been driving west to South Dakota around 350 miles from Minnesota. All these area is a farm. I don't know where it is going to end.
We have been travelling 2000 miles since may12, 2008 the trip was started. Including our hometown Sterling, VA we have been to 10 states in addition to Canada. I haven't seen a mountain yet. It is all flat topography suitable either for agriculture or to develop it in to a town.
Another interesting thing is to see Mississippi river. I heard about it since I was 5th grade student in my Geography class. I just saw it today. That was wonderful. It is the biggest and the longest river in US. This river takes my attention because my country, Ethiopia is the source of Nile river which is the longest river in the world.
Last night we spent the night in St. Paul, Minnesota. Abebe, an Architect was my x-coworker in Ethiopia. We spent the night in his house. Avi and Andy used to eat Ethiopian food many times. It is spicy food ranging from mild to hot sauce made beef or lamb and comes with a kind of bread called "Ingera". A team of travel America had a dinner with Abebe. I enjoyed the food and hope Avi and Andy do the same. Abea, Thanks for the hospitality.
Hey guys, We just hit South Dakota. Hope you are enjoying our trip. We are going to camp tonight in South Dakota.
The northern part of Ethiopia is mountainous.Most of the area is not suitable for agriculture. but it has hydro power potential. So it is amazing for me to see such kind of huge farm land on fairly flat topography. I haven't seen any kind of dam for impoundment to irrigate this land. But I can see a kind of borehole for ground water discharge in the field. I would assume ground water is available at shallow depth. So my guess is they are using sprinkler at a latter time to irrigate the crops.
There are also wind mills in the field at a distant to generate power. I want to give a clear vision of how much huge the farm is. Until now we have been driving west to South Dakota around 350 miles from Minnesota. All these area is a farm. I don't know where it is going to end.
We have been travelling 2000 miles since may12, 2008 the trip was started. Including our hometown Sterling, VA we have been to 10 states in addition to Canada. I haven't seen a mountain yet. It is all flat topography suitable either for agriculture or to develop it in to a town.
Another interesting thing is to see Mississippi river. I heard about it since I was 5th grade student in my Geography class. I just saw it today. That was wonderful. It is the biggest and the longest river in US. This river takes my attention because my country, Ethiopia is the source of Nile river which is the longest river in the world.
Last night we spent the night in St. Paul, Minnesota. Abebe, an Architect was my x-coworker in Ethiopia. We spent the night in his house. Avi and Andy used to eat Ethiopian food many times. It is spicy food ranging from mild to hot sauce made beef or lamb and comes with a kind of bread called "Ingera". A team of travel America had a dinner with Abebe. I enjoyed the food and hope Avi and Andy do the same. Abea, Thanks for the hospitality.
Hey guys, We just hit South Dakota. Hope you are enjoying our trip. We are going to camp tonight in South Dakota.
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