The best travel books should leave you with a desire to visit the places they describe. Experiencing these journeys vicariously is a wonderful way to discover potential destinations, or to see ones you have already visited through fresh eyes. It is also a great way to see how all of us travel in different ways.
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There’s a temptation when we travel to try to cram everything in. To see every sight, explore every street and alleyway, visit every museum even! We fear we’ll go home and regret having missed something that others say is a must-see. Or worse perhaps, miss seeing that one thing that we could have been the first to discover and share.
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Summer temperatures in Death Valley can reach as high as 47 Celsius / 116 Fahrenheit. Even in mid-October, when we visited, daytime highs were in the mid 30s Celsius / 90s Fahrenheit. Nevertheless visitors want to see as much of this amazing landscape as they can, even if that involves taking some risks.
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Kings Canyon National Park consists of two areas. One is Grant Grove. Detached from this to the north, separated from it by large tracts of forest and wilderness, is Kings Canyon itself. Like Yosemite this was carved by a massive Ice Age glacier and shares much of its grandeur. But it is a little harder to reach, a little less famous and consequently a lot quieter!
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If you have any interest in photography and in the great masters of that art, you will know the work of Ansel Adams. And if you know Ansel Adams you will know Yosemite Valley. His photos of the landscape there are stunning and iconic. And while few if any of us are able to match his creations, we can certainly visit the places that inspired them.
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While Yosemite Valley is very famous and much-photographed, another area of the national park, the Tioga Pass, is rather less so. The Tioga Road runs for nearly fifty scenic miles surrounded by the high Sierra Nevada peaks and domes. The Tuolumne River flows across the sub-alpine meadows of the same name which offer wonderful views and some lovely walks.
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It is said that an early explorer in the region we now call Death Valley led his mule to a spring-fed pool to drink. The mule refused as the water was briny despite being miles from the sea. From this simple event Badwater Basin, the lowest point in North America, earned its name.
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In 1914 a volcano in north eastern California, Lassen Peak, blew its top. Its outbursts continued for three years but it now lies dormant, at the heart of the national park that bears its name. Much of the park is wilderness, but a road runs north to south through its western section, giving access to many trails and vista points.
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Clouds can look beautiful, enhancing any photo of the sky. They can inspire us to see animals, palaces and more hidden in their shapes. And they can give us welcome shade on the hottest of days. But clouds also bring storms, rain and snow. They turn a summer picnic into a dash for shelter, and they hide a view you climbed a mountain to see.
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The Periodic Table tells us that our world is made up of 118 elements. But the elements of nature are different from chemical elements. They were used to simplify the complexity of nature and matter by ancient people.
