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
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