For us, this was a year of exploration-
of our strength, tolerance, companionship and most importantly…gumption.
Our travels to American wilderness took
us through various places.
We…
…stood at the northwesternmost point of
the lower 48 and gazed from the southernmost point of the USA.
…attempted climbing the tallest mountain on
the Earth (Mauna Kea), hiked around the most prominent mountain of lower 48 and
stood at the lowest point of the USA.
…marveled at the glowing crater of the
most active volcano, walked within old craters and saw the most destructive
volcano of our time.
...watched sunrises above the clouds
and sunsets beyond oceans.
…found ourselves walking into clouds, a
polished marble canyon leading to a dry waterfalls and through cheese like
perforated sandstone walls that echoed.
…got splashed at pristine sandy
beaches, showered besides erupting geysers, drenched at the hottest place in
the world, and thrills touching glacial ice.
…passed through vast grassland, lush
green rain-forests, colorful and fragrant alpine meadows, grove of ancient
trees, oasis dominated by palms, gardens of cacti and desert forest of Joshua.
…woke-up in wee hours to see sunrises,
rushed to witness erupting geysers and stayed up to watch milky-way and
meteorites.
…counted starfish in tide pools of a
rugged coast and stargazed atop mountains.
…beheld beauty of painted hills, jagged
peaks, materializing mountains, rushing waterfalls, reflecting lakes, vast
prairie, unexpected rainbows, unforeseen weather change, winding roads and
unfolding vistas.
…marveled at tufa towers and wondered
through a lava tube.
…searched patterns in glaciers, old
lava flows, and followed animal tracks in sand dunes.
…tried to discern fossils from ancient
bedrocks and attempted to imagine life of natives from petroglyphs.
…mingled in crowded cities and pondered
through ghost towns.
…encountered bisons, elks, prong horns,
deer, moose, grizzlies, marmots, mountain goats, bighorn sheep, tortoises,
humpback wheals, birds like Nene and Gambel's Quail, and unique plants.
…visited sacred grounds, pioneers’
towns, abandoned mines, war-fronts and battlefields, monuments of
engineering feat, and memorials of human courage and endurance.
2014 was the year, we could fulfill a
long-due wish from our bucket list- a month long road trip to American west.
Coincidentally, the first stop of this trip was St. Louis. From there onwards
in our westward journey, we visited Lewis and Clark, Mark Twain and Buffalo
bill Cody. We survived thousands of miles of highways, cold nights and
waterless restrooms while camping, lightning and low oxygen while hiking up
mountains, sever thunderstorm in open, vast plains which followed us for a couple
of hours through dense forest wilderness in dark, dead midnight hours while
driving on a most remote, sparsely populated state route. We were busier than
usual exploring places and our energy demand was higher than ever, but
surprisingly, we never felt tired. Although connection to the civilization was
minimal, we enjoyed being lost in nature; it was reinvigorating and at
times…surreal.
We made memories of a lifetime, thanks to the National park service,
the US Forest service and many state park systems!
Looking forward to new adventures in
2015!
Stats for 2014
National Parks* visited: 21
Miles Hiked: 100-120
(*incl. national preserve,
historic site, monument, memorial, trail, recreation area, battlefield)
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