Good memory in Myanmar - Day 1

After arrival in Yangon this morning and deposit our backpacks at the hostel, we start our trip at Chauk Htat Gyi Reclining Buddha Temple.



Sule Pogoda near the hostel.
It is said to contain a hair given by the Buddha to two Burmese merchants.

Our last visit for today is at Shwedagon Pagoda.

Spring USA Trip - Day16

In front of Khun Jum’s house.
We spend the day shopping around town and went to have Korean dinner hosted by Jum and Khun Robert. It is very delicious one, sorry no picture.

And that’s the end of my trip.

Spring USA Trip - Day15

Visit Golden Gate in the morning. Couldn’t resist driving at the Lombard street. Victorian House. Was this one in the scenes of TV show long time ago: พริกขี้หนูและหมูแดง starring by my favorite actor and actress: ก้องและหมิว?? Then we walk along at Fisherman's Wharf at Pier 39.
Tonight Eak goes back to Thailand while Koh takes a flight to Seattle to visit her friend.

Spring USA Trip - Day14

Camel-by-the-Sea, a small lovely town. It is also one of the entrance to the 17-mile-scenic-drive.
Stop by at the Pebble Beach Golf Club for the golfers to view one of the famous golf courses; though impossible to play there. :-)

Spring USA Trip - Day13

We enter the park through the I-40 road on the southwest entrance and stop to explore the Yosemite Valley
From http://www.nps.gov/yose/
“….Yosemite Valley is world famous for its impressive waterfalls, meadows, cliffs, and unusual rock formations….”
Million of years ago, the granite block of Half Dome was larger, but there never was a matching half. Undercut by glaciers near the base, slabs of rock fell away form a broad vertical crack in the granite, leaving a sheer face. Remnants of the missing rock still project from Half Dome’s rim. There are more granite domes at the park than in any other place in the world. Massive granite domes form when large curved layers of rock “exfoliate” or slab off.
Half Dome is perhaps the most recognized symbol of Yosemite. Rising nearly 5,000 feet above the valley floor, it is one of the most sought-after landmarks in Yosemite.
Then we drive to the southern part of the park to visit the Mariposa Grove of Giant Sequoias. “….The Mariposa Grove is located 36 miles (one hour) south of Yosemite Valley, near the park's South Entrance. The Mariposa Grove is the largest stand of giant sequoias (also known as Sierra redwoods or big trees) in Yosemite….”

Spring USA Trip - Day12

Too bad that we have to continue our journey since Lake Tahoe is a lovely town with superb view. I wish to come back here sometime in the future, especially in the winter; although I am not sure that I can stand the cold weather or not.

Along the road to Yosemite National Park, the road is so winding that we all agree that our road to Mae-Hong-Sorn comes to second.

Tonight we stay at Bug Hostel near Yosemite National Park. The only hostel for this trip.

Spring USA Trip - Day11

In front of Boyd's house

Longest day on the road from West Yellowstone, Montana to Lake Tahoe, Nevada. We get there around 9:30 p.m. and have dinner hosted by Boyd at his restaurant, Thai One On. Its decoration is nice; it is our first Thai meal of this trip. We stay overnight at Boyd’s house.

Spring USA Trip - Day10

Wake up with the snow in the sky, I almost could not believe my eyes since it is “May”, Spring season!!!
We have to borrow the snow scrapper from the hotel to remove snow from the windshield.
Contrary to Grand Teton, here at Yellowstone, we see bison and elk so often that we just pass them without slow or stop our car for taking pictures anymore. Our main interest is at the Mammoth Hot Springs located in the northern part of the park.
“…the location of springs and the rate of flow changes daily, that "on-again-off-again" is the rule…” So the mammoth hot springs that we see today rarely has any water on. So we have to imagine that…..“…Travertine formations grow much more rapidly than sinter formations due to the softer nature of limestone. As hot water rises through limestone, large quantities of rock are dissolved by the hot water, and a white chalky mineral is deposited on the surface….”
We then drive to the northern part of the park, stop our car whenever we see a group of cars parking along the road. Most of them use the binocular to view wildlife. We see three of white foxes baking in the sun, a mom and a child grizzly bear playing together, a red fox and a group of pronghorns.
We then visit the Yellowstone canyon;
“…..Mineral stains mark the sites of hot springs and steam vents in the canyon walls. For thousands of years, upwardly percolating fluids have altered the chemistry of the rocks, turning them yellow, red white and pink….”
Fishing village that it is still cold that the surface of the lake frosts.

Spring USA Trip - Day9

Since the south entrance to the Yellowstone from Jackson is still closed, we have to detour by entering Yellowstone through West Yellowstone , Montana. Our first visiting point is at the Old Faithful Geysers.
From the website: http://www.nps.gov/yell/
“….Established in 1872, Yellowstone National Park is America's first national park. Located in Wyoming, Montana, and Idaho, it is home to a large variety of wildlife including grizzly bears, wolves, bison, and elk. Preserved within Yellowstone National Park are Old Faithful and a collection of the world's most extraordinary geysers and hot springs, and the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone.
With half of the earth’s geothermal features, Yellowstone holds the planet’s most diverse and intact collection of geysers, hot springs, mudpots, and fumaroles. Its more than 300 geysers make up two thirds of all those found on earth. Combine this with more than 10,000 thermal features comprised of brilliantly colored hot springs, bubbling mudpots, and steaming fumaroles…”

Spring USA Trip - Day8

Today is another long driving day from Salt Lake City, Utah to Jackson, Wyoming to visit Grand Teton National Park. The weather is so cloudy and cold with strong wind chill. Though the view is quite superb, we are quite disappointed with the park since we expect the see many wildlife in the park such as bison, elk, mouse. But end up seeing only 1-2 bison, 1 group of elks and 1 fox. The small town itself is full of wildlife decorative and a good place to stroll; however, I prefer to stay in a hotel taking a hot shower, while the rest of the gang go out to visit the town.

Spring USA Trip - Day7

Today we will be back to town, Salt Lake City; some of our gang may looking forward to civilization.



Capitol Canyon

Gas Station

On the route to Salt Lake City, the capital of Utah, we stop by at Provo recommended by Pe Arm. Brigham Young University main campus is located here. The town seems to be one of the good living places.

http://www.visittemplesquare.com/home.asp
We walk in the downtown to visit Temple Square.






Salt Lake City is well-known for Mormon pioneer history
Temple: This building is a worldwide icon of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and the heart of Temple Square. The massive granite edifice was constructed in a neo-gothic style over the course of an astounding 40-year period between 1853 and 1893. However, only members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints are permitted to enter the temple.
.”………… Four days after entering the Salt Lake Valley on 24 July 1847, Brigham Young designated where the temple would be built, and on 6 April 1853, he laid the cornerstone of the temple foundation. That event marked the beginning of a long construction process……..”
Note: Brigham Yong was the leadership of the Mormon pioneers traveled from Illinois to Utah and established a rich society and culture in Utah.
On the southwest corner of Temple Square is the Assembly Hall, a charming Gothic-style building with lovely stained-glass windows. This jewel of a building was constructed by Latter-day Saint pioneers in 1877.

Spring USA Trip - Day6

Last night we checked in at one of Days Inn, of which the lady owner was very nice. We came to the place quite late, though it was about 60 miles from Bryce Canyon, but it seemed to take forever for me since the road was so winding and twisting. By the time that we reached the place, we were so hungry. We asked to use the microwave to warm our food and the lady was so willing helping us: providing hot waters, no complain that we used her breakfast room for dinner.
Today we continue our trip as planned to visit Arches National Park; of which one of the Arches, Delicate Arch, is on Utah car template.
And I am glad that on the route we follow from the GPS, it passes the Coral Pink Sand Dunes State Park. It is the 3,730 acres of fine salmon-colored grains, surrounded by red sandstone cliffs, and deep emerald forests. Who would think that there would be forests next to the sand dunes. It is a massive playground for hiking, off-highway vehicle riding.


Arches National Park offers a 40-mile round-trip paved road for visitors to visit the major sights, including Balanced Rock, Skyline Arch, Double Arch in the Windows Section, Fiery Furnace, and the park's most famous geologic feature - Delicate Arch.
I choose the easy trail first which is the Windows Section and then the Delicate Arch. The Delicate Arch trail is about 3 miles, of which it take about 1.30 hours walking and for me it seems like 3 miles (roundtrip) by flying, not by walking. The trail slopes gradually upward ,the total elevation gain is only 480 feet, but it seems steeper than that as I climb up the slickrock ridge. There is no shade!!! Steps have been carved into the sandstone to make it easy to get up some steep places. In one spot the trail follows a shelf on the side a solid-rock mountain, a sheer cliff falling off one side.