Pictures of Great Falls, McLean

Great Falls is just a few minutes drive from Falls Church, VA and offers some pretty sweet sights.







http://www.flickr.com/photos/nonovyas/ for the full set of pictures.

DC's Folklife Festival 2008

I went to DC this weekend to check out Amnesty International's Guantanamo exhibit. I didn't know that the Smithsonian folklife festival was going on as well, but it ended up being the more interesting of the two activities of the day.

Anyways, the AI exhibit had very few visitors and a lot of AI staffers. I hesitated because I'm always apprehensive about such situations (where the organizers of an event significantly outnumber visitors), but I decided to take a look at the cell since I had made the trip. I don't really know what I was expecting, but it was underwhelming. The exhibit was just a re-created jail cell with a staffer explaining the plight of those held at Guantanamo.

This year's folk life festival centered on Texas, NASA, and Bhutan. An eclectic mix to be sure; Bhutan ended up being the only part of interest to me. The NASA exhibit seemed to be more geared toward kids, and the Texas exhibit was boring.

Bhutan: Land of the Thunder Dragon

I started of by listening to a lecture on traditional Bhutanese archery. A few members of the royal family were on hand to demonstrate:



The lecturer waxed poetic about the finer points of archery, and how he believed bow-making to be one of the more skilled arts in the world. I listened for a while before moving on to the cuisine exhibit. There a crowd was listening to a mother/son pair discuss the food culture of Bhutan.



Chili and cheese, the national dish of Bhutan. Apparently, a New York food critic, Ruth Reichl, had declared that Bhutanese cuisine was the worst in the entire world. The son, a former monk, explained that Bhutan had many regions, and thus, many different regional cuisines, so it wasn't fair to lump all the regions together. But they wanted to show this one dish in particular because it was the one universal dish that was eaten across the country. Note that those are actually red hot chili peppers - the dish doesn't contain meat, as one might think based on the name. When asked if eating chili peppers would be very spicy, the mother replied that the cheese and spinach made the extreme spiciness bearable!

So the son began to speak again, and explained that meat was eaten very sparingly in Bhutan. It's a predominantly Buddhist country, and if meat is eaten at all, it would only come from an animal that died of natural causes - animals are not generally raised as food and slaughtered in Bhutan.



Congressman Brian Baird (flanked by the Bhutanese ambassador to the US and a member of the Bhutanese cabinet) was on hand to sample the dish -"it's like a red bell pepper, but with a thicker skin", and declared that Ruth Reichl was wrong in her assessment of Bhutanese cuisine. He even seemed to be right at home eating the rice (red rice is a prestige food) and chili with his hands - the preferred way of eating in Bhutan. I'd have tried it myself but the price tag of $9 for four chili peppers and a lump of simulation Bhutanese cheese (made from brie and cream cheese) seemed a bit exorbitant :p.

Las Vegas - Day Three: Red Rock Canyon Pictures

Red Rock Canyon was an easy 20-minute drive out of Las Vegas. We just took Route 159 West straight down; it's got a lot of traffic lights while you're still in the city itself, but it's the most direct route. Getting in is $5 per car.

As always, click the image to see it full-size.


Not surprisingly, the canyon is named for red rocks.

Red Rock has a bunch of hiking trails (list available here) dotted along the canyon range. To get to the various parking points, visitors drive along the one-way 14-mile scenic trail (shared by joggers and bikers) - maps are provided at the visitors center.


Places for rock scrambling are plentiful along the various trails.

The first stop we came to, Calico 1, along the scenic loop seemed to have the most visitors looking for photo-ops. There was a rather steep hill leading to some rocks which about a quarter of the people scrambled up. Shoes with better traction would probably be a good idea here (as in any other canyon). After getting our pictures, we descended the rocks and walked back up to the parking area...to be honest, after that, my friend and I were already winded, so we probably shouldn't have run up that rock with such gusto!



The entire scenic route was well-paved, but there were certain hiking trails accessible only through dirt roads. We decided to go on Keystone Thrust, which entailed a short 5-minute drive up a bumpy dirt road. After parking, we first took the .15 mile walk to see a spring, and, man, after walking back up to the parking area, we were just completely drained (yeah, I need to start going to the gym more often!). I really wanted to see the Keystone, described as the most significant geological formation of the park, but...



We decided that soaking up the scenery from the car along the road was just as good. At particularly nice spots, we just parked the car and got out to take pictures. Traffic along the road is light and as it is a one-way road, there is plenty of room for faster cars to pass. Red Rock's Scenic Road is basically free and just a short drive out of Las Vegas proper, so it's definitely something to consider on a trip to Las Vegas.

see also:
Flickr Album - Las Vegas Shenanigans
Las Vegas - A Guide
Las Vegas - Day One: Lake Mead and Hoover Dam
Las Vegas - Day Two: Glass Skywalk at Grand Canyon West
Las Vegas - Day Three: Red Rock Canyon

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Las Vegas - Day Two: the Glass Skywalk at Grand Canyon West

A review with pictures. In short, it was huge rip-off. At every single stage of the trip to the Hualapai glass skywalk (and thus, Grand Canyon West), the operators charged the most eye-popping, exorbitant fees that tested the very limits of shamelessness. If you go, prepare to feel violated!

The trip began with a drive down US-93 (passing the Hoover Dam) for 70 miles from Las Vegas. Then Pierce Ferry Road for 30 miles, and then finally onto the mostly-unpaved Diamond Bar Road for the remainder, 20 or so miles. The directions were easy enough, but we nearly missed both turns because the roads were not really marked until we reached the very intersection we had to turn in to.

As always, click the image to see it full-size.


I hope you like driving through dust clouds.

This dirt "road" spanned 14 miles. It's raked, but it's still just gravel and sand, and is quite bumpy. There are winding, very sharp turns, and two-way traffic. Thankfully, there wasn't much traffic, but at points, tour buses zoomed passed us and at one particularly sharp downhill turn, a speeding bus nearly smashed into us, despite the fact that we had pre-emptively pulled into the ditch on the side. When following cars, as in the above picture, we were enveloped in a thick dust cloud and had lots of little rocks striking our car (I'm glad we got a rental!). In some spots, the gravel was a little looser than usual, which made for moments when my sister-in-law lost control of the rear wheels - a 4x4 would have been good for this drive. This path lasted about 40 minutes.


Joshua Tree Forest on the way.

However, the rest of the drive was scenic, and the 2.5 hours from Vegas passed quickly.

When we got to the visitor's center/helipad/landing strip, we paid $20 to park our car. We also had to pay $29.95 per person (25% off for kids) for the 5 minute bus ride (the driver also expected gratuities!) to the first point of the canyon. This was the spot with the Glass Skywalk, which cost another $29.95 per person (children ages 4 and up have to pay full price) to enter. We had to place all our bags - and cameras - in lockers.


The Skywalk is not really that impressive.

Cameras are prohibited on the Glass Skywalk, ostensibly to prevent damage to the glass floor. This was obviously BS because the skywalk is advertised to be able to withstand the weight of 71 Million Pounds; to demonstrate the strength of the glass to skeptical visitors, one of the attendants jumped up and down on the glass! If you think that I'm merely whining, consider this: would you really be allowed to walk on a structure that would be damaged from the tiny force of a .5 pound camera falling 2-3 feet? Would you want to walk on such a weak thing? I suspect the real reason that cameras are forbidden is so they can sell their own pictures, for the bargain price of $30 for one single print, or $99 for six prints and the pictures on a flash drive. Alas, we gave in and bought one print.

The glass skywalk itself was unremarkable. After slipping on a pair of disposable shoe slippers, we walked onto the glass. It was a weekday afternoon, so there were only about two dozen visitors, and generally, people fell into one of two categories: those who walked on the clear glass (it's clear, but even at one year old, the glass is already slightly scuffed), and those who clung onto the railing and walked along the sides. I was unimpressed by the view, which was not any better than the view from the edge of the cliffs. As for the glass floor, it was also unimpressive. The skywalk itself cast a shadow on the canyon, and in any case, there was nothing particularly interesting to see below the glass - no, the experience didn't make me feel like I was "walking where the eagles soar". The skywalk is also a lot smaller and narrower than you might imagine - I could walk from one end to the other in about 15 seconds at a normal pace. It is also advertised as being able to hold 120 visitors at once - this is extraordinarily unrealistic; the 24 visitors on the bridge with me were already causing some trouble in moving around the bridge. What's more, the attendants trying to take group pictures frequently asked people to stop or to move out of the view of the camera - so I really don't know how 120 people could be on the bridge at once.

After getting off the glass skywalk, my sister-in-law really wanted pictures (besides the few that the "pros" took for us), so she suggested that she and the kids might get back on the glass while I stepped outside to take some pictures. One of the cashiers told us that would not be possible unless we were going to pay for those pictures...so we just plonked down $30 for one of the ones they took: my sister-in-law figured that since she had already paid so much that she might as well pay some more for the memory.


Walk where the eagles soar...

So really, the Hualapai glass skywalk is mostly a tourist trap and the tagline of "walk the sky" is a fluffy marketing gimmick.

We took the next bus to the second point on the canyon, Guano Point, where the views were much better. Seriously, don't waste your money on the glass skywalk, just skip it, and take the bus right to Guano Point - it doesn't cost extra and the view is gorgeous. Well, you still have to pay for parking and that outrageous bus ride, but I guess after the skywalk, I couldn't complain for someone that wasn't extra. It really is lovely, and the experience of standing atop the mound at Guano Point was, as a fellow visitor uttered, majestic.


Save your money; go directly to Guano Point.

see also:
Flickr Album - Las Vegas Shenanigans
Las Vegas - A Guide
Las Vegas - Day One: Lake Mead and Hoover Dam
Las Vegas - Day Two: Glass Skywalk at Grand Canyon West
Las Vegas - Day Three: Red Rock Canyon

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Las Vegas - Day One: Lake Mead and the Hoover Dam, with Pictures

The Hoover Dam is only about 30 miles down US-93 from Las Vegas, so I thought I'd make a half-day trip out of it. The drive was very scenic: it was a sunny day, the sky was bright and blue and the mountains were dramatic.

As always, click the image to see it full-size.


Heading down US-93 to Hoover Dam.

On the way there we passed by Lake Mead, the man-made lake created as a result of the dam. The water was also very blue, and several other cars stopped along the side of the road to take a look and snap some photos. There were also about a dozen people swimming in the lake. I didn't have my trunks, but I'm not sure if I would have wanted to get into the water in any case because there wasn't really any sand, and the "beach" was filled with sharp little rocks. The view was still gorgeous, however. The warm, dry lake breeze was also surprisingly refreshing.


I'd live here. Lake Mead in the background.


The desert and mountain range behind the beach.


Lake Mead.

There were a good number of people at the dam even though it was a Tuesday. Parking was still plentiful (cost: $5 a car on the parking deck, Nevada Side; free if you can find a spot in the small lot on the Arizona side) and the crowds weren't so thick as to get in the way. The dam and the structures around it are built in the art deco style - including the toilets. I overheard one woman remarking how lovely the bathroom was to her husband.


The power plant intake towers. The white lines along the water line indicate a drought.

I couldn't get a great shot of the dam itself since we didn't go on the tour, which is the only way to get into the visitor center observation tower. Still, the scenery from just walking along the dam, and the easy drive from Las Vegas made this visit very worthwhile. We came to the dam from the strip right after a late breakfast, and made it back to the city in time for lunch.

Update/ Actually, Hoover Dam is directly in the path to the Grand Canyon (my entry on that HERE), so you could even fit both in on the same day. If you head out to the dam early in the morning, you'd still have the entire afternoon for the canyon (not to mention a nice break on the long drive!)



see also:
Flickr Album - Las Vegas Shenanigans
Las Vegas - A Guide
Las Vegas - Day One: Lake Mead and Hoover Dam
Las Vegas - Day Two: Glass Skywalk at Grand Canyon West
Las Vegas - Day Three: Red Rock Canyon

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A Walk in Central Park

Central Park (or any other park) seems to be a good place to start for the amateur photographer. There's a nice mix of people, animals, things, and events going on at any given time, so there's no shortage of photo opportunities.







Bethesda Terrace and Angel Statue in front of The Lake in Central Park. This is a fountain but the water is shut off in the winter. In the warmer months the terrace is filled with tourists and The Lake with boaters, but in January it's a much thinner crowd. However, the fountain itself is still a draw even in the winter.

A little wooden bridge over a dried-up stream just to the side of The Lake, along the trail that wraps around it - I think this area is called The Ramble.

At this time of year, there aren't too many animals around the park except for a few squirrels and pigeons. And of course some people, but I'm not ready to start taking pictures of strangers just yet.





Well, I guess I was ready after all. This (apparently homeless) guy created a flower arrangement on the ground in the shape of a peace sign, with pictures of John Lennon scattered around. I think he wanted tips, but I didn't see where people were leaving him money so I didn't. Where he gets fresh flower petals in the middle of winter I do not know.



Belvedere Castle. The sunset and ominous cloud formations made for a great end to the day.