What happen generally when a bunch of tamil guys sit down together (no this is not something like a bagpiper ad)?? We talk things, may be related to anything and as always in tamil. Today during dinner something else happened. We were taking a stab at hindi. No not talking among ourselves in Hindi, but kinda poking fun at ourselves, as to how "Efficient" or "proficient we are in Hindi. Ergo it ensured for a most hilarious round of chit-chat, that I walked away with a feeling that my dinner was pretty much digested then and there, and side splitting from laughter!!
Two of our foremost and best efforts--
Prabandh Adikariyon ka Antra-Rastriya Karyakram!!
and
Bal Kamzori Mouka Khatra ka Vishleshan.
Any guess?? Keep thinking and post in comments if you get it before you see the answer down below.
Still nothing??
Well here is what each means.....
The first one is International Program in Management for Executives
The second is Strength Weakness Opportunity Threat (SWOT) Analysis.
Yes we were kinda silly today. But under such pressure situation, silly feels good! Silly is great!!!!
Thursday, April 28, 2011
Wednesday, April 27, 2011
Our 10day trip-5
Day 6 Night6
Continuing on from way back in December of 2009 to hopefully complete the story of our trip to Yellowstone-Glacier and Grand Tetons NPs.
Given that this trip of ours is more than a year old, I think of this as probably a futile exercise but nevertheless, I shall try to take it past the finish line, with whatever I can remember from the trip. I guess sometimes its just the matter of finishing, not finishing first!! (Does this qualify as digression btw?? especially if one has not yet started!! Additionally, maybe this is after all relevant for acknowledging the current situation)
So there we were finally in Yellowstone. The grand daddy of em all, as far as Volcanoes are concerned. So much so it is called a Super Volcano!! The entire park of Yellowstone is a large caldera, which explains the fuming mudpots and steaming geysers found in the only region in the North American Continent!!
So there we were up and about bright and early from the most expensive hotel of our entire trip (not to mention the most useless of the entire list) to catch wildlife action early on. Stopped over at the nearest shop and obtained the bug/mosquito spray.
Whats that?? Mosquitos in USA u ask?? Oh hell yeah! Tons of them in this forest, not to mention each the size of (or probably greater than) a pea. But then equally slow, so if you set your mind, you can most certainly blast a few of them with your hands. Although they are far too great in number for you to even make an impact and not get bitten! Well anyway...
Off we went and no sooner had we started, we came to a screeching halt! Great big Bull Elk, along with a couple of she-elks with lustrous brown coat and majestic antlers. Awe struck, it took us quite some time after many happy clicks before we proceeded any further!
We decided to spend the first two days sight seeing the geysers, the Grand Canyon of Yellowstone and Mammoth Springs before devoting the last three days purely to spot wildlife. Best strategy we ever took, you will know soon enough why in forthcoming posts.
The Geyser basin was pretty awesome, Old Faithful was indeed old faithful, exploding right on time. FYI it is really not the widest or the tallest geyser in this entire NP. However this is the one that is perfectly predictable and hence its fame. One more thing to be added regarding Old Faithful is that it is slowly losing time. It used to be around 60mins in the first half of 1900s but now it has extended to 90mins. But still very predictable (OLD FAITHFUL GEYSER). Crowd slowly fills in and gathers itself around the geyser and watches it erupt slowly but spectacularly. If you are lucky and you are in right direction to the sun, you may catch a glimpse of rainbow.
The rest of the day was spent check out the Grand Canyon of Yellowstone, and the beautiful artistic point. Hiking some more Geyser basins. Seeing the Grand Prismatic Spring and then finally the Morning Glory. Along the way we saw soo many bisons that it ceased to be a thrill anymore, except one decided to play traffic cop and stop traffic in both directions, till a Park ranger came and made it move off the road. A big salute to the rangers for being bold enough to tackle these 1 ton beasts. I doubt, I would even make a move towards them.
We drove off towards West Yellowstone in the evening and again spotting a Elk herd near Madison river and a Bald Eagle Nesting along the way, where we were not allowed to halt, so as to not disturb the bird.
The room in West Yellowstone was nice and peaceful. We had our usual fare of Indian food of Readymade paratas, some frozen sabji and some rice and hit the sack early once again.
Continuing on from way back in December of 2009 to hopefully complete the story of our trip to Yellowstone-Glacier and Grand Tetons NPs.
Given that this trip of ours is more than a year old, I think of this as probably a futile exercise but nevertheless, I shall try to take it past the finish line, with whatever I can remember from the trip. I guess sometimes its just the matter of finishing, not finishing first!! (Does this qualify as digression btw?? especially if one has not yet started!! Additionally, maybe this is after all relevant for acknowledging the current situation)
So there we were finally in Yellowstone. The grand daddy of em all, as far as Volcanoes are concerned. So much so it is called a Super Volcano!! The entire park of Yellowstone is a large caldera, which explains the fuming mudpots and steaming geysers found in the only region in the North American Continent!!
So there we were up and about bright and early from the most expensive hotel of our entire trip (not to mention the most useless of the entire list) to catch wildlife action early on. Stopped over at the nearest shop and obtained the bug/mosquito spray.
Whats that?? Mosquitos in USA u ask?? Oh hell yeah! Tons of them in this forest, not to mention each the size of (or probably greater than) a pea. But then equally slow, so if you set your mind, you can most certainly blast a few of them with your hands. Although they are far too great in number for you to even make an impact and not get bitten! Well anyway...
Off we went and no sooner had we started, we came to a screeching halt! Great big Bull Elk, along with a couple of she-elks with lustrous brown coat and majestic antlers. Awe struck, it took us quite some time after many happy clicks before we proceeded any further!
We decided to spend the first two days sight seeing the geysers, the Grand Canyon of Yellowstone and Mammoth Springs before devoting the last three days purely to spot wildlife. Best strategy we ever took, you will know soon enough why in forthcoming posts.
The Geyser basin was pretty awesome, Old Faithful was indeed old faithful, exploding right on time. FYI it is really not the widest or the tallest geyser in this entire NP. However this is the one that is perfectly predictable and hence its fame. One more thing to be added regarding Old Faithful is that it is slowly losing time. It used to be around 60mins in the first half of 1900s but now it has extended to 90mins. But still very predictable (OLD FAITHFUL GEYSER). Crowd slowly fills in and gathers itself around the geyser and watches it erupt slowly but spectacularly. If you are lucky and you are in right direction to the sun, you may catch a glimpse of rainbow.
The rest of the day was spent check out the Grand Canyon of Yellowstone, and the beautiful artistic point. Hiking some more Geyser basins. Seeing the Grand Prismatic Spring and then finally the Morning Glory. Along the way we saw soo many bisons that it ceased to be a thrill anymore, except one decided to play traffic cop and stop traffic in both directions, till a Park ranger came and made it move off the road. A big salute to the rangers for being bold enough to tackle these 1 ton beasts. I doubt, I would even make a move towards them.
We drove off towards West Yellowstone in the evening and again spotting a Elk herd near Madison river and a Bald Eagle Nesting along the way, where we were not allowed to halt, so as to not disturb the bird.
The room in West Yellowstone was nice and peaceful. We had our usual fare of Indian food of Readymade paratas, some frozen sabji and some rice and hit the sack early once again.
Monday, October 18, 2010
Our 10 day trip-4
Day 5 Night5
It will be quite a surprise if I can still recollect all that happened during this trip which happened so long ago, that I am not sure many care. However, I always hoped to take this to a completion so here goes...... (as aside, I much thank my friend-N.S, who we met over the weekend, who prompted me to open up the blog again, and try to be slightly more regular in blogging, so hopefully this is an attempt to do the same without faltering!!------ There, I think I have digressed for this post :D)
Day 4 started as usual with Sri up, followed by others and then packing into our SUV with which I was by now familiar as to where each suitcases and things go so as to be a perfect fit without blocking the rear view. We checked out of an excellent accommodation in Jackson Hole (a small town just south of Grand Tetons NP), got some gas, and off we went. This was the first absolutely clear sky day we encountered in the trip, till which time, we encountered rain some time or other in the day.
We were off to the nearby resort, which had a sky-lift to go near about the top of the Tetons range. Though the day was sunny and bright, it was pretty chilly once we reached the top and there was an abundance of snow around. We got a beautiful close-up view of the range, spent some time up top, admired some jumpers who descended with parachutes and then came back down to the resort. We had some lunch then proceeded into the national park itself. Saw a lone deer real close by, which was absolutely not bothered by cars nearby.
The park itself was nothing spectacular except the huge Tetons range that was visible along the drive in the park. Saw a couple of lakes and kept quickly progressing to next viewpoint but overall nothing majorly special to write home about. I have seen some fantastic scenes played out in Tetons and the bright clear and cloudless sky made the scenery a bit bland and touch disappointing. We proceeded on to Snake River vista point, the one made famous by Ansel Adams. However again with a lot of haze and heck a lot of trees (which blocked the perfect 'S' of the snake river) it was another viewpoint with nothing much to write about.
On the way though, was our first sighting of the American Bison. An absolute mammoth of a beast, with which I am sure many carnivores would be quite vary of messing with. Each weighed near about 1 ton and though they seemed languid, there was no doubt that they could muster required speed and knock a man off. Wisely we kept our distance, but it was great to see.
After Snake River vista point- we proceeded to go towards Yellowstone (definitely the main highlight of our trip, and one all of us were eagerly looking forward to), when we encountered a unpaved road called Deadman's Bar Road. Our wives were thinking we were crazy to venture into such a place, what with its name and all. The road was very short and reached the Snake river's eastern bank. But it was worth it!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
A GRIZZLY across the river above the slope serenely walking along. To say we were all excited would be a gross understatement. It was our first grizzly sighting and perked us up. Nothing quite like seeing wild out in the open.
Nothing much happened after that and we just drove over on the way to Yellowstone NP, entering from south entrance.
Check into Grant Village, spent some time near the sign that indicated the Continental Divide, cooked and ate dinner called it an early night to be up and early next day. We went to bed buzzing about definitely being early as the info was-- best wildlife sightings during early morning and evenings.
Have to add a departing note about Grant Village (or for that matter any place to stay within Yellowstone NP) -- avoid it. Ridiculously expensive for absolutely nil amenities. At least the other Inns (Mammoth Inn, Roosevelt Lodge, Old Faithful Inn) are gorgeous to look at. Grant Village is a scam.
Split your stay between West Yellowstone (West) and Gardiner (in north). These two are very close by respective entrances (5miles) and you can access most of major points from here. You have lot more options and lot cheaper options.
Yellowstone will follow.........
It will be quite a surprise if I can still recollect all that happened during this trip which happened so long ago, that I am not sure many care. However, I always hoped to take this to a completion so here goes...... (as aside, I much thank my friend-N.S, who we met over the weekend, who prompted me to open up the blog again, and try to be slightly more regular in blogging, so hopefully this is an attempt to do the same without faltering!!------ There, I think I have digressed for this post :D)
Day 4 started as usual with Sri up, followed by others and then packing into our SUV with which I was by now familiar as to where each suitcases and things go so as to be a perfect fit without blocking the rear view. We checked out of an excellent accommodation in Jackson Hole (a small town just south of Grand Tetons NP), got some gas, and off we went. This was the first absolutely clear sky day we encountered in the trip, till which time, we encountered rain some time or other in the day.
We were off to the nearby resort, which had a sky-lift to go near about the top of the Tetons range. Though the day was sunny and bright, it was pretty chilly once we reached the top and there was an abundance of snow around. We got a beautiful close-up view of the range, spent some time up top, admired some jumpers who descended with parachutes and then came back down to the resort. We had some lunch then proceeded into the national park itself. Saw a lone deer real close by, which was absolutely not bothered by cars nearby.
The park itself was nothing spectacular except the huge Tetons range that was visible along the drive in the park. Saw a couple of lakes and kept quickly progressing to next viewpoint but overall nothing majorly special to write home about. I have seen some fantastic scenes played out in Tetons and the bright clear and cloudless sky made the scenery a bit bland and touch disappointing. We proceeded on to Snake River vista point, the one made famous by Ansel Adams. However again with a lot of haze and heck a lot of trees (which blocked the perfect 'S' of the snake river) it was another viewpoint with nothing much to write about.
On the way though, was our first sighting of the American Bison. An absolute mammoth of a beast, with which I am sure many carnivores would be quite vary of messing with. Each weighed near about 1 ton and though they seemed languid, there was no doubt that they could muster required speed and knock a man off. Wisely we kept our distance, but it was great to see.
After Snake River vista point- we proceeded to go towards Yellowstone (definitely the main highlight of our trip, and one all of us were eagerly looking forward to), when we encountered a unpaved road called Deadman's Bar Road. Our wives were thinking we were crazy to venture into such a place, what with its name and all. The road was very short and reached the Snake river's eastern bank. But it was worth it!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
A GRIZZLY across the river above the slope serenely walking along. To say we were all excited would be a gross understatement. It was our first grizzly sighting and perked us up. Nothing quite like seeing wild out in the open.
Nothing much happened after that and we just drove over on the way to Yellowstone NP, entering from south entrance.
Check into Grant Village, spent some time near the sign that indicated the Continental Divide, cooked and ate dinner called it an early night to be up and early next day. We went to bed buzzing about definitely being early as the info was-- best wildlife sightings during early morning and evenings.
Have to add a departing note about Grant Village (or for that matter any place to stay within Yellowstone NP) -- avoid it. Ridiculously expensive for absolutely nil amenities. At least the other Inns (Mammoth Inn, Roosevelt Lodge, Old Faithful Inn) are gorgeous to look at. Grant Village is a scam.
Split your stay between West Yellowstone (West) and Gardiner (in north). These two are very close by respective entrances (5miles) and you can access most of major points from here. You have lot more options and lot cheaper options.
Yellowstone will follow.........
Wednesday, December 16, 2009
Our 10 day trip-3
Day 4 and Night 4
We started out really early, and not so bright. Hot breakfast was served in Tamarack and the bagels were freshly baked and delicious (as delicious as they can be anyway). Tamarack lodge is maintained by a family who live there near the west entrance to Glacier National Park. check it out if you are heading into GNP from the west! They opened up their living room to us, which was one of the most rustic and most wonderfully set up living room ever. You gotta see to believe it.
As for the day itself, it was another washout. It was raining continuously and visibility was very poor. We drove alongside Lake McDonald, given that there was not much to see at the viewpoint with very poor visibility. There was some interesting points with as much as we could see all the way up as far as they let us go. Usually Going-to-Sun highway is open by mid June, but given excess stormy winter, which meant much more snow, it was delayed and we missed Logan Pass. I dont think we would have been able to see much anyway. One of the points- Weeping wall was quite interesting to see . This has to be experienced before its too late in summer. Mimicking a driver before me, I drove the SUV right under the weeping falls, where there was a cavity in the wall.
After that we set out on the long drive from Glacier NP to the town of Jackson close to Grand Tetons National Park. This one is expected to take well over 9hrs. We stopped at Bigfork for a very well made flat crust pizza and had fun along the way.
Along the way we encountered some very weird names for towns such as Kicking Horse, Yerka, Bonner, Nimrod and Divide (yes you read it right- Divide)
Stretches of I-15 was soo very empty, that as we entered Idaho, we missed taking a picture of the big sign that said Welcome to Idaho- Well no problem, we simply stopped the car, backed it up (yes in reverse) and took a couple of shot and moved on.
We made a quick stop in Idaho falls, admiring one of the widest falls ever seen (must be the widest after Niagara would be my guess) then drove our way in the darkness to Jackson, Wy. Now on many of US highways, I have and I am sure most of you would have seen signs for Deer Crossing but really not many deers visible. But as we hit the back highway to reach Jackson off the Interstate from Idaho falls, we saw countless number of deers right off the road. We had to be careful and drive slow least we hit one. By the time we arrived in Jackson, it was well dark and way past 10pm again. Long day full of driving but after this we dont forsee much driving around, except in the parks.
Sunday, December 06, 2009
No.1 in Test Cricket
After a brilliant 2-0 series win against the Lankans in India (who have never so much as even won a test match in India), the Indian cricket team is now officially No.1 in Test Cricket Rankings. Its been a long arduous climb to the top and especially the generation (my generation and my father's generation) who grew up watching.... nawww religiously following the Indian Cricket Team, this has been quite a feat to savour!
I remembered generations of fans/followers getting frustrated with the match fixing scandal that rocked the cricket world and in particular India. People were shocked and suspended in sheer disbelief, not to mention millions lost faith in the game in India and stopped watching. Getting them back to cricket and making them believe took quite a task one that the current crop and previous elite players and coaches achieved with sheer commitment, hardwork, not to mention abundant talent (primary reason for a change- proper selection, not region biased selections).
It all started with the selection of Saurav Ganguly (yes the guy you either love or totally hate, no in between) as the captain. The man who wasn't even expected to crack into the team after one of the most unforgettable debut in Australia in 1992 but who stamped his arrival with a majestic and sublime century on Debut in Lord's Test in 1996 after 4 years in oblivion, in total wilderness. This man brought about a ferocity and toughness to the Indian team, that was sorely lacking all the way back to the days of Pataudi.Jr's captaincy (caveat- Of course I never have seen this, only can recount the thoughts of my father, who if possible is even more of a bigger cricket fan than me). The Indian team were often called soft, mild and apprent gentlemen (in other words pussycats on the field- which I find a funny description because a cat will defend its turf in a very ferocious manner. It may be small, but by jove, it will put up a dreadfully frightening fight- there I digressed, you waited long for it didn't ya? :D). But with the arrival of Ganguly's captaincy, he brought about a new edge, a welcome change (for us fans especially) in attitude. Gone were the days of turning the other cheek. A stare was met with a unflinching glare. Mind games were answered with more frustrating mind games and suddenly teams started grudgingly respecting the Indian team and got quieter.
That was not all, though Ganguly was ridiculed often, he has shown steely resolve to perform his best ability, especially in times of dire need. Before recent series, Tendulkar was often mention of not performing on the big stage and seeing through, but that was an accusation, that could never be levied upon Ganguly. His excellent knowledge of upcoming talent and unfaltering support by backing them to hilt built the team, and ensured strong success continue and carry-on beyond his time. While Dravid was an efficient leader after Ganguly, Dhoni can truly be acclaimed as Ganguly's true successor. His no-nonsense attitude and exceptional treatment of newcomers and seniors alike along with his uncanny sense of timing and direction of the game, along with inspiring changes on the field, kept the opponents guessing and giving India a consistent edge. Success started with the 2001 'Series of the Century' win against Australia at home, and steadily improved with a drawn series in England and in 2004 in Australia, by beating them into stunning submission. The first series win in Pakistan set the ball rolling further, closely contested series in SA and Aussie land further down the road along with series wins in WI, England, NZ built strong credentials, along with banishing the notion that India were poor travellers. They additionally built up their traditional strong hold too, by maintaining consisten series wins against top teams in home and suddenly it was obvious that this team is a top team for a long time, and will probably stay at or very near the top for years to come. With a core group of players in test team, along with test specialists and also a strong ODI squad, the hope and expectation is sky high (not that there was never a time when expectation was never high-more like a burden).
Only two things remain- Series wins in Australia and SA and hopefully another World Cup win in ODIs. For Sachin, it will complete his impressive resumes, that billions in the world can only dream about! It will complete his long cherished dream of winning a WC.
Then the return from the Nadirs of match fixing and disappointments of the time of Mohd. Azharuddin would be long forgotten. It remains in the rear view mirror far behind, and with matter of few more successes, it will certainly be firmly in the past!!
GO India!!!
Monday, November 09, 2009
1 year to blog again
Co-incidentally I blogged today. I had no idea that my last blog was exactly 1year ago until I checked on the post. Gosh, I guess I should at least blog my travels so that I might have something to write about. Hence I am going to try and convert this as at least a semi-travel blog.
What a pathetic attempt in blogging.
What a pathetic attempt in blogging.
Our 10 day trip-2
Day 3, Night 3
So it ended with us spending the second night of trip in East Glacier. As a regular recurrence and a regular theme of this trip everyday morning, it was Sriram who got up first bright and early and thus getting ready. Poorni followed next, then it used to be either Preethi or me, whoever was up by then.
Next day was the scheduled and much awaited hike to Grinell Glacier. One of the few glacier in 48 contiguous states which did not melt completely even in summer, but with the advent of global warming, this along with other glaciers in Glacier NP was supposed to disappear in the next 10-15years time. I for whatever silly reason, was hell bent on going to Grinell Glacier. Only glitch was it was no way an easy hike. Made moderately easier by taking a boat ride along Lake Swiftcurrent and Lake Josephine which reduced the hike by 2miles one way, it was still a 8miles hike with a steep 1800ft elevation gain going towards the glacier. Needless to say it was touch tiring, and even more so for the ladies. But they somehow labored through and we got treated to some beautiful vistas including a nice view of Grinell lake from the top.
The descent was absolutely swift. 4miles in 40mins flat. Unbelievable fast by everyone and we made it to the point where the boat picks people off and well in time, for even the earlier boat to take us back. It was at that time, I made a drastic mistake of relying on time printed in the tickets instead of checking the timing at the lake shore. You see the ticket had a time for another boat leaving the shore in 1hr and 10mins time, while the last one was further two hours after. Considering that the walk to Grinell lake was an easy flat walk not too far, we decided to skip the one that was standing in front of us and go check out the beautiful turquoise blue colored lake that was fed by the melting glaciers.
But that turned out to be a disaster. Either the distance was much more than what was mentioned, or it was because we were too tired from the prev hike to the glacier, we walked for a substantial distance only to never find the lake. After quite a distance, we evaluated the time, and thought it would be best to return back now so as to make the boat back to Many Glacier Lodge. Another quirk of fate and we observed that the time mentioned in the ticket was not mentioned in the lake shore which meant, we sat there till 5:30pm doing nothing just waiting for the boat to arrive. Total disaster wasnt it? We did spot a marmot that lived very close to the shed built near the dock and that guy was eyeing the cookies which totally freaked out the ladies.
After that time, there wasnt much else to do and we started driving around the GNP since the logan pass was closed so as to reach the West Glacier where our stay for the night was. Surprisingly this drive was actually faster than going straight through the GNP itself. We ultimately reached Tamarack Inn on the western side of GNP (town of Hungry Horse) well after it was dark, which means it was quite late. That's because you see in summer, up in Montana, there was light well upto 10pm.
Sri drove brilliantly fast and well controlled and we shacked up in nice looking Tamarack for the night.
So it ended with us spending the second night of trip in East Glacier. As a regular recurrence and a regular theme of this trip everyday morning, it was Sriram who got up first bright and early and thus getting ready. Poorni followed next, then it used to be either Preethi or me, whoever was up by then.
Next day was the scheduled and much awaited hike to Grinell Glacier. One of the few glacier in 48 contiguous states which did not melt completely even in summer, but with the advent of global warming, this along with other glaciers in Glacier NP was supposed to disappear in the next 10-15years time. I for whatever silly reason, was hell bent on going to Grinell Glacier. Only glitch was it was no way an easy hike. Made moderately easier by taking a boat ride along Lake Swiftcurrent and Lake Josephine which reduced the hike by 2miles one way, it was still a 8miles hike with a steep 1800ft elevation gain going towards the glacier. Needless to say it was touch tiring, and even more so for the ladies. But they somehow labored through and we got treated to some beautiful vistas including a nice view of Grinell lake from the top.
The descent was absolutely swift. 4miles in 40mins flat. Unbelievable fast by everyone and we made it to the point where the boat picks people off and well in time, for even the earlier boat to take us back. It was at that time, I made a drastic mistake of relying on time printed in the tickets instead of checking the timing at the lake shore. You see the ticket had a time for another boat leaving the shore in 1hr and 10mins time, while the last one was further two hours after. Considering that the walk to Grinell lake was an easy flat walk not too far, we decided to skip the one that was standing in front of us and go check out the beautiful turquoise blue colored lake that was fed by the melting glaciers.
But that turned out to be a disaster. Either the distance was much more than what was mentioned, or it was because we were too tired from the prev hike to the glacier, we walked for a substantial distance only to never find the lake. After quite a distance, we evaluated the time, and thought it would be best to return back now so as to make the boat back to Many Glacier Lodge. Another quirk of fate and we observed that the time mentioned in the ticket was not mentioned in the lake shore which meant, we sat there till 5:30pm doing nothing just waiting for the boat to arrive. Total disaster wasnt it? We did spot a marmot that lived very close to the shed built near the dock and that guy was eyeing the cookies which totally freaked out the ladies.
After that time, there wasnt much else to do and we started driving around the GNP since the logan pass was closed so as to reach the West Glacier where our stay for the night was. Surprisingly this drive was actually faster than going straight through the GNP itself. We ultimately reached Tamarack Inn on the western side of GNP (town of Hungry Horse) well after it was dark, which means it was quite late. That's because you see in summer, up in Montana, there was light well upto 10pm.
Sri drove brilliantly fast and well controlled and we shacked up in nice looking Tamarack for the night.
Our 10 day trip
My wife started this blog to describe our trip to Yellowstone/Glacier NP and Grand Tetons and kinda create like a semi-travel blog. But given that it does not look to be about to be finished, here is my attempt to start off with what she blogged out and then carry it forward in subsequent posts
As narrated by Poornima-----------------
Yayyy! We (to be more precise, my husband & his friend Sriram) have been planning on this trip to Yellowstone, Glacier and Grand Tetons National Park for more than 4 months. The week from June 15-June 19 was hectic. We have been ironing, packing and shopping the entire week and were finally happy to leave on June 19. We packed a whole lot of frozen food since after googling we found there were absolutely no indian restaurants in the vicinity of these National Parks and were doubtful if we would even get any veggie options. We packed rice, hot plate, rice cooker, all the required seasonings and puliogare powder just in case we don't find anything green, thats edible :-(. That left us with 2 big suitcases, my carry-on and his large 500mm bazooka lens with case, which by the way was his carry-on.
Itinerary:
June 19: Leave San Jose @ 5:30 p.m and reach Bozeman @ 11:30 p.m - Stay @ Holiday Inn
June 20: Reach East Glacier - Stay @ East Glacier Motel
June 21: Grinnell Glacier Hike, roam around Many Glacier - Stay @ Historic
Tamarack Lodge on the Westside Glacier NP.
June 22: Visit West GlacierNP, Drive to Grand Tetons - Stay @ Anglers
Inn, near Teton Village.
June 23: Visit Grand Tetons, Drive to South of Yellow stone - Stay @ Grant Village
June 24: Visit Yellowstone, Stay @ Alpine Motel - West Yellowstone NP
June 25: Visit Yellowstone, Stay @ Days Inn - West Yellowstone NP
June 26: Visit Yellowstone, Stay @ Travelodge
June 27: Visit Yellowstone, Stay @ Travelodge
June 28: Drive back to Bozeman, Leave @ 1:30 p.m and reach SanJose @ 6:30 p.m.
June 19:- Subash, Shiva's cousin dropped us in the airport and we found ourselves standing in the United Airlines counter, excited and ready for adventure. Hmm, but who knew the adventure would start this early. When we tried to print our boarding pass, the climax unfolded. Our flight got cancelled due to some mechanical problems. We were automatically re booked to the next day's flight which leaves at 7:30 a.m and reaches Bozeman at 4:30 p.m. Wonderful, our glacier trip would have totally messed up. Moreover our friends Preethi and Sriram(in short P&S) who were supposed to join us in Bozeman that night would be left stranded since all the hotel reservations were in Shiva's name. P&S had already boarded their flight in chicago and were waiting for takeoff which was delayed due to bad weather. So here we were at the mercy of the UAL guy at the counter. Fortunately, he found us a delta flight which departed at 6:30 a.m next day and reaches Bozeman at 11:30 am and printed the tickets, explaining they were the last 2 tickets available and he had to convince the delta guys to allocate it. In the meantime i was frantically checking out expedia & orbitz to find out if there were any alternate flights. Luckily, we found a delta flight that was flying the same day @ 6:10 p.m and reaches Bozeman @ 10:30 p.m i.e even earlier than our schedule flight with just 2 tickets available. We ran to the delta counter, literally begged to book us in the 6:10 p.m flight and fortunately the good man at the counter, printed our boarding passes and checked in our baggage at no extra cost. So after all the initial mess-up ultimately we got in to our flight and landed in Bozeman @10:30 p.m. But, P&S got stuck due to bad weather in chicago and missed their connecting flight in Denver. Sriram had to stand in the customer care line for more than 4 hours to get re-booked in the next day's flight to Bozeman and were totally exhausted.
June 20: We checked out of Holiday Inn, and left for Bozeman airport in our rented Toyota 4Runner. P&S eventually made it to BZN at 9:45 a.m but the stupid UAL guys missed their luggage. So we had to wait till the next flight @1:30 p.m. We shopped a bit at walmart, stocked up on water bottles, plates etc. and grabbed our lunch in the meantime. We reached Glacier around dusk and checked in to East Glacier Motel. But to our disappointment Going to the Sun Road was open only till Jackson Glacier overlook, this meant we would miss logan pass and we'll have to drive around the Glacier NP to reach to the west side. We visited Many Glacier during dusk and spotted a bear cub and a coyote that day. We reached our motel at around 10:30 p.m, had our frozen parathas and subzi for dinner and slept tight.
The journey continues......
As narrated by Poornima-----------------
Yayyy! We (to be more precise, my husband & his friend Sriram) have been planning on this trip to Yellowstone, Glacier and Grand Tetons National Park for more than 4 months. The week from June 15-June 19 was hectic. We have been ironing, packing and shopping the entire week and were finally happy to leave on June 19. We packed a whole lot of frozen food since after googling we found there were absolutely no indian restaurants in the vicinity of these National Parks and were doubtful if we would even get any veggie options. We packed rice, hot plate, rice cooker, all the required seasonings and puliogare powder just in case we don't find anything green, thats edible :-(. That left us with 2 big suitcases, my carry-on and his large 500mm bazooka lens with case, which by the way was his carry-on.
Itinerary:
June 19: Leave San Jose @ 5:30 p.m and reach Bozeman @ 11:30 p.m - Stay @ Holiday Inn
June 20: Reach East Glacier - Stay @ East Glacier Motel
June 21: Grinnell Glacier Hike, roam around Many Glacier - Stay @ Historic
Tamarack Lodge on the Westside Glacier NP.
June 22: Visit West GlacierNP, Drive to Grand Tetons - Stay @ Anglers
Inn, near Teton Village.
June 23: Visit Grand Tetons, Drive to South of Yellow stone - Stay @ Grant Village
June 24: Visit Yellowstone, Stay @ Alpine Motel - West Yellowstone NP
June 25: Visit Yellowstone, Stay @ Days Inn - West Yellowstone NP
June 26: Visit Yellowstone, Stay @ Travelodge
June 27: Visit Yellowstone, Stay @ Travelodge
June 28: Drive back to Bozeman, Leave @ 1:30 p.m and reach SanJose @ 6:30 p.m.
June 19:- Subash, Shiva's cousin dropped us in the airport and we found ourselves standing in the United Airlines counter, excited and ready for adventure. Hmm, but who knew the adventure would start this early. When we tried to print our boarding pass, the climax unfolded. Our flight got cancelled due to some mechanical problems. We were automatically re booked to the next day's flight which leaves at 7:30 a.m and reaches Bozeman at 4:30 p.m. Wonderful, our glacier trip would have totally messed up. Moreover our friends Preethi and Sriram(in short P&S) who were supposed to join us in Bozeman that night would be left stranded since all the hotel reservations were in Shiva's name. P&S had already boarded their flight in chicago and were waiting for takeoff which was delayed due to bad weather. So here we were at the mercy of the UAL guy at the counter. Fortunately, he found us a delta flight which departed at 6:30 a.m next day and reaches Bozeman at 11:30 am and printed the tickets, explaining they were the last 2 tickets available and he had to convince the delta guys to allocate it. In the meantime i was frantically checking out expedia & orbitz to find out if there were any alternate flights. Luckily, we found a delta flight that was flying the same day @ 6:10 p.m and reaches Bozeman @ 10:30 p.m i.e even earlier than our schedule flight with just 2 tickets available. We ran to the delta counter, literally begged to book us in the 6:10 p.m flight and fortunately the good man at the counter, printed our boarding passes and checked in our baggage at no extra cost. So after all the initial mess-up ultimately we got in to our flight and landed in Bozeman @10:30 p.m. But, P&S got stuck due to bad weather in chicago and missed their connecting flight in Denver. Sriram had to stand in the customer care line for more than 4 hours to get re-booked in the next day's flight to Bozeman and were totally exhausted.
June 20: We checked out of Holiday Inn, and left for Bozeman airport in our rented Toyota 4Runner. P&S eventually made it to BZN at 9:45 a.m but the stupid UAL guys missed their luggage. So we had to wait till the next flight @1:30 p.m. We shopped a bit at walmart, stocked up on water bottles, plates etc. and grabbed our lunch in the meantime. We reached Glacier around dusk and checked in to East Glacier Motel. But to our disappointment Going to the Sun Road was open only till Jackson Glacier overlook, this meant we would miss logan pass and we'll have to drive around the Glacier NP to reach to the west side. We visited Many Glacier during dusk and spotted a bear cub and a coyote that day. We reached our motel at around 10:30 p.m, had our frozen parathas and subzi for dinner and slept tight.
The journey continues......
Monday, November 10, 2008
From Quintuplets to Tripod!!
Following up from my previous blog “My Bleeding 90s cricket”, I have to say, here is more. I briefly spoke about the man they called “Dada”, which means elder brother. ………
Saurav Chandidas Ganguly- debut Lords 1996 retired Nagpur 2008. Stirring start to anti-climatic end and along the way many an up and down. His career and tenure veered so unpredictably, that even the most meandering river would appear to be flowing on properly chartered course.
A man who wore his heart on the sleeve and displayed absolute raw emotions on the field, fired up the cricket team, which up till then, for all the years played, would best be described as a serene or sedate one. His mantra- to hell with politeness, stare the opponent in the face and dare him to blink. If Aussies were bullies, he was not ready to play the part of child kicked around. That, he irritated Steve‘Mr.Iceman’Waugh to no end, and gave a large dose of their sledging without giving an inch speaks volumes. A key aspect, that made Indian team realize that they can answer back their opponents and are capable of playing mind games as well. Along with Laxman’s jewel of an inning, rock stable support of Dravid, mesmerizing spin woven by Harbajan and exquisite essay by Tendulkar, I think this toughness imparted by Ganguly (though not as lucid as other contributions) helped India negate the Aussie winning juggernaut and crash them in Final Frontier. Thus for Steve Waugh, the Final Frontier remained unconquered. Ganguly the captain for some reason would always be remembered over Ganguly the player from that point on, which in some ways was sad because it stole the limelight from his achievements, even when he performed with the bat. It was not just the Aussies that he bothered, remember the emphatic shirt waving at Lord’s which left many a people aghast? Well that’s just paying that back with the same coin.
But that was his captaincy, rewinding the clock all the way back to his debut and there were the dual centuries back-to-back in England (Lords and Trent Bridge-both matches drawn), that heralded his arrival after a rather forgettable debut in ODIs 4yrs earlier, that left him in wilderness all that time. The man after God on the off-side had well and truly arrived. The same year he started opening the ODI batting with a maestro named Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar, and not a soul who has heard of Indian cricket will not know what that combination has achieved. While one had the opponents lauding his performance, other made sure the opposition were tearing their hair from frustration. They both never offered a respite from either end, which is so crucial in the limited overs format. They did start of with a century partnership, in the very first time the came together at the top of the batting charts. The man was particularly brutal against the Lankans. His favorite opponents were the South Africans in ODI, but the Lankans followed close behind (his first ODI century was against the Lankans).
Invariably every cricketer had a favorite hunting ground. If it was Eden Gardens for Azhar, Kotla for Kumble, it had to be Toronto for Ganguly. While the rest of players found the place to produce banana swings that was impossible to handle, Ganguly was soo sublime that it made you wonder in awe whether he was batting on a different surface. Add in his seemingly innocuous medium pace bowling and you have a potent and heady concoction.
His match winning knocks were by a bucketful. If there are some critics (still??) against Tendulkar about his lack of match winning knocks, on a big stage, that is one thing, no one can accuse Ganguly of. Remember the belligerent setup in the mammoth run-chase in Dhaka? Or maybe carrying the bat through against South Africa in ICC Knockout championship? Or better yet the murderous mauling of the Lankans at Taunton (whipping the Lankans again in Singer-Akai Nidahas finals with record opening partnership doesn’t fall behind either). Whatever it was, it was so complete and so dominant that the wind was completely out of the opponent by the time he was done with them.
When people say that Ganguly doesn’t let criticism bother him, I say Hogwash. It does bother him, but the thing is it bothers him in such a manner that it has a positive effect on him. Somehow he has always performed his best when he or his team has been written off or criticized. A simple example being the way he was unceremoniously ‘escorted’ out of the team. It bothered him to the effect that resulted in a leaner, meaner, fitter Ganguly, who made one of the most stirring comebacks into the Test side. He is still way too good to be left out of the one-day squad. But with the team building itself towards to World Cup 2011, the mantra was that youngsters had to get comfortable in the side and form a core. To sum up, an intensely determined man, who takes criticism positively and prefers to answer back with his game. To no surprise, he has invariably come up trumping the critics.
Ganguly the leader has been painted as the villain in many a situation, but if it were not for his method of leading, Indian team might have still been a pushover rather than the brash, we take no-nonsense attitude that is visible today. To those of us mostly in this generation who grew up watching the fag end of prev generation of cricketers and this Fab Five core, it was a welcome change in attitude and not being subjected to nonsense from the opponents. As much as I am a fan of watching Dravid absolutely deaden a super fast bal with straightest of bats, Sachin’s class and Laxman’s sublime wrists, I have enjoyed watching Ganguly drive through the off, sashay down the pitch to deposit the ball way outside the ground and most importantly lead this Indian team to its ferocity and making a force world over. Ganguly the player is great, Ganguly the captain is excellent.
Dada, thank you for your contributions. There are so many things we enjoyed and cherish in our memories. Thanks for making our team a tough nut to crack and thanks for giving it back to the Aussies. You are admirable Admiral, who led from the front.
We will miss you!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Saurav Chandidas Ganguly- debut Lords 1996 retired Nagpur 2008. Stirring start to anti-climatic end and along the way many an up and down. His career and tenure veered so unpredictably, that even the most meandering river would appear to be flowing on properly chartered course.
A man who wore his heart on the sleeve and displayed absolute raw emotions on the field, fired up the cricket team, which up till then, for all the years played, would best be described as a serene or sedate one. His mantra- to hell with politeness, stare the opponent in the face and dare him to blink. If Aussies were bullies, he was not ready to play the part of child kicked around. That, he irritated Steve‘Mr.Iceman’Waugh to no end, and gave a large dose of their sledging without giving an inch speaks volumes. A key aspect, that made Indian team realize that they can answer back their opponents and are capable of playing mind games as well. Along with Laxman’s jewel of an inning, rock stable support of Dravid, mesmerizing spin woven by Harbajan and exquisite essay by Tendulkar, I think this toughness imparted by Ganguly (though not as lucid as other contributions) helped India negate the Aussie winning juggernaut and crash them in Final Frontier. Thus for Steve Waugh, the Final Frontier remained unconquered. Ganguly the captain for some reason would always be remembered over Ganguly the player from that point on, which in some ways was sad because it stole the limelight from his achievements, even when he performed with the bat. It was not just the Aussies that he bothered, remember the emphatic shirt waving at Lord’s which left many a people aghast? Well that’s just paying that back with the same coin.
But that was his captaincy, rewinding the clock all the way back to his debut and there were the dual centuries back-to-back in England (Lords and Trent Bridge-both matches drawn), that heralded his arrival after a rather forgettable debut in ODIs 4yrs earlier, that left him in wilderness all that time. The man after God on the off-side had well and truly arrived. The same year he started opening the ODI batting with a maestro named Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar, and not a soul who has heard of Indian cricket will not know what that combination has achieved. While one had the opponents lauding his performance, other made sure the opposition were tearing their hair from frustration. They both never offered a respite from either end, which is so crucial in the limited overs format. They did start of with a century partnership, in the very first time the came together at the top of the batting charts. The man was particularly brutal against the Lankans. His favorite opponents were the South Africans in ODI, but the Lankans followed close behind (his first ODI century was against the Lankans).
Invariably every cricketer had a favorite hunting ground. If it was Eden Gardens for Azhar, Kotla for Kumble, it had to be Toronto for Ganguly. While the rest of players found the place to produce banana swings that was impossible to handle, Ganguly was soo sublime that it made you wonder in awe whether he was batting on a different surface. Add in his seemingly innocuous medium pace bowling and you have a potent and heady concoction.
His match winning knocks were by a bucketful. If there are some critics (still??) against Tendulkar about his lack of match winning knocks, on a big stage, that is one thing, no one can accuse Ganguly of. Remember the belligerent setup in the mammoth run-chase in Dhaka? Or maybe carrying the bat through against South Africa in ICC Knockout championship? Or better yet the murderous mauling of the Lankans at Taunton (whipping the Lankans again in Singer-Akai Nidahas finals with record opening partnership doesn’t fall behind either). Whatever it was, it was so complete and so dominant that the wind was completely out of the opponent by the time he was done with them.
When people say that Ganguly doesn’t let criticism bother him, I say Hogwash. It does bother him, but the thing is it bothers him in such a manner that it has a positive effect on him. Somehow he has always performed his best when he or his team has been written off or criticized. A simple example being the way he was unceremoniously ‘escorted’ out of the team. It bothered him to the effect that resulted in a leaner, meaner, fitter Ganguly, who made one of the most stirring comebacks into the Test side. He is still way too good to be left out of the one-day squad. But with the team building itself towards to World Cup 2011, the mantra was that youngsters had to get comfortable in the side and form a core. To sum up, an intensely determined man, who takes criticism positively and prefers to answer back with his game. To no surprise, he has invariably come up trumping the critics.
Ganguly the leader has been painted as the villain in many a situation, but if it were not for his method of leading, Indian team might have still been a pushover rather than the brash, we take no-nonsense attitude that is visible today. To those of us mostly in this generation who grew up watching the fag end of prev generation of cricketers and this Fab Five core, it was a welcome change in attitude and not being subjected to nonsense from the opponents. As much as I am a fan of watching Dravid absolutely deaden a super fast bal with straightest of bats, Sachin’s class and Laxman’s sublime wrists, I have enjoyed watching Ganguly drive through the off, sashay down the pitch to deposit the ball way outside the ground and most importantly lead this Indian team to its ferocity and making a force world over. Ganguly the player is great, Ganguly the captain is excellent.
Dada, thank you for your contributions. There are so many things we enjoyed and cherish in our memories. Thanks for making our team a tough nut to crack and thanks for giving it back to the Aussies. You are admirable Admiral, who led from the front.
We will miss you!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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