Mono Lake

A truly breathtaking view of the lake from the visitor center. You can see the volcanic origins of the lake, the tufa towers, the rock that looks like it is moving (because it is full of gulls jostling for space) and the clear blue alkaline waters.

The water that collects in the lake becomes more and more alkaline as it dries off.

That is the reason only the alkali flies, brine shrimp and california gull are the only things that survive in this environment.

I would love to continue uploading pictures, but blogger gives me an error.

Will try to post a flickr link...

Feeling better now after a days rest. Also saw that SS tagged me. Should probably take a month to work on that one!

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Anybody home ?

Follow my logic here.. just humor me..

1. I do not exactly love SUN TV. (I am glad that they were the only Tamizh Channel around, but their programming needs a lot of improvement).

2. I do love everyone who lives at home and would like to see them happy

3. However (there is always a however), their happiness depends on SUN TV programming. As long as Abhi is crying, my wife and mother in law are not. If Abhi (or the other superwomen heroines in the Tamizh soap operas) stop crying, they will make sure I cry instead. So, you could say that I am glad that Abhi's tears are flowing like the Colorado or Cauvery river.

4. SUN TV has to get its act together. The last one week has seen some really pathetic broadcasting.

First it was the double audio. It drove me nuts to watch the heroines work their lachrymal glands with a solid echo. The ladies at home solved that one by watching in a low volume and did not seem to mind the slight(?) inconvenience.

Then it was the video getting stuck at times for a few minutes and jumping frames. You would end up watching a freeze frame of some dude or dudette with their mouth wide open, for a full five minutes. The suspense of what they were going to say next would kill you!

Now it is the delayed video. Yes! The audio is ahead of the video by a solid 45 seconds or so. You get to hear Abhi cry before she actually breaks into tears. This cracks me up, and I am about to roll on the ground laughing, but all I can do is laugh on the inside, because the ladies will crucify me if I show any signs of enjoying this broadcast. They still watch it as though it does not bother them!

I do know that they are in pain, watching SUN TV at its broadcasting worst. If you happen to be a SUN TV broadcaster and are reading this, please, please improve the quality of the video and audio stream. I am saying that because a "painee of your painer is your painee" or vice versa.

ps. I have not been well. Apparently driving for 4 hours with the sun straight on your face, with the AC going full blast in the car, can do wonders to your infection prone sinus! Couldnt even wake up this morning. So, what I am trying to say is, the parnoramic pictures of our trip, will have to wait!

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Kaakaas and Kuruvis..

Kaakaa is crow and Kuruvi is sparrow in Tamizh.

We did not see those, but the local flora and fauna of California and we went to some really scenic places to see them.

Mono Lake and Yosemite.

Travelling with small kids is highly over rated. Especially if not to Disneyland, Lego Land, Sea World etc. If Half dome were to wear a costume or the Tufa towers had a mascot with a DVD franchise, things would have been a lot better.

We learnt a valuable lesson over this weekend. Do not take kids to see nature, especially if it means

1. they sit in a carseat
2. we are driving in 95 degree heat with the AC on full blast
3. We travel for 4 hours, open the doors and say "ta da. Behold Mono Lake!"
4. and the kids go "you dragged me here to see these plants, animals, flies and this lake ?!?! You could have taken me to the local park in Cupertino!!"

So, if you are a parent out there, planning a trip to Mono Lake (which is definitely a star attraction in the top 10, for a nature lover, but is going to be on the bottom 10 list for your kids), go without your kids, if that is possible.

That said, the pictures did turn out nicely..

Finally, this post answers the question "What has physical fitness got to do with Photography ?". The answer is "Everything!! especially if you are trying to take pictures like the one below."

I am way out of shape. I had 10 seconds to run down from the tripod and make it to the group. It was probably 10 meters max including two leaps across wooden barricades. But NO! I could not make it on the first try.

The second lesson that came from this trip is that I should take better care of my health! (I was defending the position that I had misjudged 10 seconds and started towards the camera rather slowly, but the entire group told me that, it was not my problem).

The scenic shots, the panoramas, stitch photos will probably hit this blog tomorrow or day after.

Until then, ta ta..