Donner Lake

Donner Lake

Big blue, bluer and azure! Donner lake, blue gold by sunlight, turns silver by moonlight. A treat lay in store for the youth attending the DS USA event. Promises of chances to experience this magnificent lake at close hand. The 3 mile long lake lies on the edge of the Sierra Nevada Range near the town of Truckee.

The experience was just way way beyond expectations. Ie: I was in seventh heaven cubed. My favorite had to be the Jet Ski ride, which I did 5 times around the lake!! The Jet Ski just cleanly slices through the shimmering wavy sheet-like water and sends out streams of spray on either side. Houses on the other side of the lake - 3/4 mile away - are visible - mere toys to the eye. Little toy people stand on piers and grow lifelike as you get closer to the other shore. The steep turns and the tilts of the Jet Ski provide extra bonus thrills. I first tried Jet Sking during my vacation to the Bahamas laat year with Mom and Dad. The volunteers go faster than Mom and Dad, so this was more fun.

I would love to be able to drive a Jet Ski on my own!

I also tried tubing for the first time. It was fun to be dragged around the lake on the tube, but it was somewhat bumpy, compared to the Jet Ski. But still, not an activity to be missed - so went not once but three times. And of course a leisurely canoe ride was sandwiched there, somewhere in between.

We had spent the night at the Donner Village Resort. From the floating pier in front of our hotel, we watched others out on lake and the changing color of the alpine waters and the surrounding trees as the sun set. It was just delicious to the senses. (Kind of really over stimulating too!)

What a lovely mini-vacation!

Summer 2011 Vacation Travelouges
(A Mini Vacation 7/31/11)

Grand Canyon and Las Vegas Trip

Las Vegas is a city on the go. The best part of Las Vegas are its row after row of spectacular buildings, with the majority on Las Vegas Blvd or The Strip. The especially striking ones were the Luxor with the Spinx, the Eiffel Tower, the Statue of Liberty in front of New York New York and the Stratosphere. At night, the casinos dazzle the eye with brilliant neon lights. Satellite images show Las Vegas to be one of the brightest places on the US map by night.

But the downside is that all the lights were really an assault on the sensory system and quite hard to handle. One wonders if it is worth wasting so much electricity and resources especially since there is 50% unemployment in Las Vegas. The Colorado River is showing the effects of the explosive expansion and resource usage by the Las Vegas and surrounding suburbs - the water levels are down as are the number of fish species. And really, the main casino area of Las Vegas, was a little too risque and adult-themed for my liking.

The road led us over the Hoover Dam, on the Nevada-Arizona border. It was an engineering marvel when built in 1936, and the largest power generator of its time (currently the 35th). The water from the Hoover Dam forms the lovely Lake Mead, the largest reservoir in the US. Nonwithstanding the dam's use in much needed power generation, massive constructions such as these, severely impact the environment. Hoover Dam's construction has played havoc with the estuarine ecosytem of the Colorado River Delta. This has resulted in the decline of many native fish species. 

The bus ride to the Grand Canyon through Arizona was a sea of the anhydrous landspace of the Mojave Desert. Soon the inimitable Joshua Tree (Yucca brevifolia) started to dominate the landscape. The Joshua Tree grows only at elevations of 2000-6000ft and endemic to the southwestern United States. 

The Joshua Tree

Amidst the arid landscape

the Joshua tree grows

In the Mohave Desert, 

Roots spread deep and wide

Arms spread wide

The Yucca brevifolia grows

Jubilent Prophet Joshua 

Pointing to the City of Ai 

The Grand Canyon towers in its sheer magnificence. The gorge seems to extend to the very edge of the horizon. The colors on the walls of the canyon change and glow as the light changes and reflects upon them. The Colorado river is but a narrow brown ribbon way down below.

The ride on the helicopter down to the Colorado River provided some truly spectacular views of this regal royalty. A leisurely boat ride on the Colorado River followed. It was however dispriting to see and hear that the river levels have dropped. The local Hualapai Native Indians have now restricted fishing as there has been a such a drastic decline in the fish species, some of which are on the endangered list.

The Grand Canyon

Limestone walls glint

A sun ray lights the sheen

Layers of colors line the walls

Grand Canyon, a Regal Royalty

Shadows dance 

Brown, Red and green

Lone eagle soars above

Chikadees perch on the trees

Forces of nature

Water, ice and wind

Erosion and flash flood

Sheer limestone walls form

Rush of a concrete water wall

Continental drifts

Tectonic plates slide

Sandstone and shale in the mix

Colorado River, a curving ribbon

Serpentine, a mile below

Canyon, a tantalizing backdrop

Grand Canyon, a moving majesty

It is easy to understand why the Grand Canyon is one of the seven natural wonders of the world.