Monday, July 16, 2007

Yellowstone National Park/Grand Tetons

Yellowstone & Grand Tetons was my last trip on this particular stint in the US. Yellowstone National Park is the world's first National Park and is the largest single piece of wilderness in the US (not considering Alaska). It spreads over three states - Wyoming, Idaho and Montana. Grand Teton National Park lies right next to it, near the town of Jackson Hole, Wyoming.

I won't try to describe what I saw or how I felt in this trip, because I can't. This was Nature at its purest, at its wildest and its most dramatic self. Be it geothermal features (geysers, hot springs, mud pots), mountains, waterfalls or wildlife - Yellowstone has it all.

Yellowstone National Park is like a psychedelic whirl of vivid colors - something which needs to be seen to be believed. Note that none of the photos here are digitally modified or enhanced, except exposure corrections in some cases. This is exactly how the colors appear naturally at Yellowstone.

So without any further ado, here goes -

This is the collection of my favourite photos from this trip. This is what you must see, if you really don't have much time or patience to see my photos :-)

The Best of Yellowstone/Grand Teton


On the other hand, if you do have some more time to spare check out the links below -

Grand TetonOld Faithful Area - Geothermal FeaturesMidway Geyser Basin - Geothermal feautures


Mammoth Hot Springs - Geothermal featuresWest Thumb - Geothermal featuresYellowstone - Mountains, Canyons & Waterfalls


Yellowstone Wildlife

Monday, July 02, 2007

Dark Side of the Moon

Allow me to be sentimental and a bit over the top.

No, in my life I have never driven a Ferrari.
No, in my life I have not seen Maradona weave his magic in person.
No, in my life I have not been to the moon.

But yes, I have seen a Roger Waters concert in person. Waa Waa Wee Wah !!!!


This was a magical and mind blowing experience - an experience and a privilege that I have never ever had before, and perhaps never ever will have in the future (unless I get to see a Roger Waters concert again).

This was yesterday (June 30, 2007), at the Xcel Energy Center in St Paul city. This was part of Water's Dark Side of the Moon tour.


Pink Floyd's music is something generations have grown up with. It is a cult, a way of life, a philosophy - it is something which I am entirely incapable of describing in words.

So when I first saw the ad for the concert and found tickets available, I could hardly believe my luck. The feeling of disbelief, elation and over the top emotions really sunk in when Waters first stepped out onto the stage and started performing.

The songs were sung in three sets. In the first set, 'Mother', 'The Fletcher Memorial Home' and of course 'Wish You Were Here' stood out. In this section, there was song called 'Leaving Beirut' which I had not heard before - it's a beautiful & poignant anti-war song, especially in light of US' current 'war on terror' in the Middle-East.

Here is a a recording of the Wish You Were Here performance - LINK

In the second set, songs from the Dark Side of the Moon album were played. And at the end, there was a 'Encore' set where 'Another Brick in the Wall', 'Vera' and 'Comfortably numb' were sung.

Here is a recording of the Another Brick in the Wall performance - LINK

Here is a recording of the Comfortably Numb performance - LINK

All in all, I would rate this as by far the best experience I have had in my life - THE best!!

Complete set of photos is here - LINK


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