Blue Ridge GA

Nestled amidst Mountains of Appalachian Range, this town is a quaint Mountain escape for every kind of traveler. The city is small but offers a large outdoor playground for the adventurous traveler.

From white water rafting to helicopter tours and hiking to Zip lines, Blue Ridge, GA offers it all.

Ray Roberts Lake - Johnson Branch

Ray Roberts Lake in North Texas region is one of my favorite locations to visit. The vast expanse of fresh, clear water surrounded by wilderness and trees makes it an ideal place to spend a quiet evening at. To facilitate recreation the state government's arm Parks and Wildlife department has created many state parks around the lake and I recently discovered the Johnson Branch on the far side of the lake from my perspective. I visited this park last week and walked along the shoreline for a few miles enjoying the sounds and sights of water as it created ripples and occasional waves in the wind.

380 Greenbelt Park - Actually Green

The 380 Greenbelt park is one of the precious green spaces in the city of Denton, TX. The park is the starting or ending point of a 10 mile trail that meanders through the Ray Robert's Lake green belt/ watershed area. Most of the trail is surrounded by trees which makes it very beautiful during the spring months. This place is thronged by everyone that loves outdoors - runners, hikers, walkers, photographers, cyclists, even kayaking and fishing enthusiasts. The elm fork of trinity river runs along the trail making it an ideal spot for Kayaking.

I was at the trail on Monday and I was able to sight a Possom, a fox probably or coyote... both the animals were so quick that they scampered into the bushes as soon as I neared their location. I will be visiting this park often and will post updates as I visit.

 

Lake Grapevine - another beautiful summer getaway

Grapevine Lake (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Dallas is in the heart of the Prairies and Lakes region of Texas. Popularly known as the DFW Metro area (Dallas-Fort Worth) this area is replete with large lakes in almost every small town and large city. These lakes span thousands of acres of water surface and are deep enough to launch medium sized cruise boats. Then of course the waters are full of catfish, bass, and crappies which are an anglers delight. For people like me the azure waters of the lake are a delight in itself.

I simply feel happy looking at the vast expanse of aqua or wading the shallow waters near the sandy banks or swimming in the deeper parts of the safe areas. I like adventure but I am not the reckless youngster I was so I now swim in designated areas only.

One of the lakes I have visited few times in this area is the Lake Grapevine. Sited in the southern part of the metroplex this is a medium sized reservoir famous for adventure sports activities among kite boarders, stand up paddle boarders, sailors etc.

Images from Indiahoma, OK

I visited Indiahoma several months ago and here are some pictures I had not posted on my blog. So today for lack of new stuff to blog about I decided to post some of these pictures that I hadn't. Each picture has a caption below it for further information.

This picture shows the board/ plaque of construction inscribed into the rock. Similar to the ones we see everywhere British engineers built anything

A view of the Lost Lake in Indiahoma. This body of water appears small but in reality is quite large and spread out. Definitely worth Kayaking in...

A Chameleon changing colors even as I capture its image

Lake Tawakoni State Park

English: Seal of the City of Dallas (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Yesterday was a rare summer day when it didn't hit triple digit temperatures. So me and few friends decided to hit the outdoors and visit Lake Tawakoni State Park which is sited within a stones throw away from Dallas. Just under an hours drive is this vast aqua forte that is a pleasure to behold.

Like all other state parks Lake Tawakoni State Park also offers walking trails, boat ramp, swimming beach, hiking, woods, and picnic tables with grills. These features make it family friendly and an amazing weekend getaway throughout the year.

Of course during the ice cold winter months the attendance to the park drops a little, but the summer crowds are more than enough make up for it. Anyway Yesterday we didn't do much at the state park except for swimming in the public swimming beach. It was good to spend time out of the four walls and feel the free wind blowing around.

The Lake Tawakoni State park is also home to the world's largest spider web. We didn't visit it this time, maybe next time around.

Photos of the 200 yard spider web found in Lake Tawakoni State Park, East Texas (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

The Beach at Galveston, TX

The ocean is perhaps one of the most beautiful sights human eyes could behold. It presents the picture of unlimited life, challenging depths, amazing beauty of azure waters, and of course the power of nature that makes us humans so minute and weak. Yet we tend to think we are the masters of this universe and the lords of the sea. Here are some pictures of Galveston's boardwalk which is thronged by thousands of tourists day in and day out.

Sheldon Lake State Park, Texas

I visited Sheldon Lake State Park located in Houston, TX over the spring break. This is one of the smallest state parks I have visited and of course the only one that has no entry fees. The park is more of a research facility than a recreation area and hence lots of students visit the place. Families do visit the place for fishing and enjoying the nature.


Here are some pictures of the park:

Dune Bashing and Nautch Gana

Few years ago I visited United Arab Emirates for a vacation and one of the highlights of the trip was to go on a desert drive or Dune Bashing outing. We started the drive seated comfortable in air conditioned Toyota Land Cruisers. Of course we had an experienced driver controlling the steering wheel and navigating the slippery desert sands. The drive took about 4-5 hours and took us deep into the desert where there are no roads, no civilization, no signs of life, except the occasional tourist who arrives here like we did. I still have some adrenaline-pumping memories of the drive when the car was negotiating the dunes throwing up swirls of sand on both sides. Here are some pictures for you all to enjoy:

Our convoy of Land Cruisers full of tourists

Land Cruiser negotiating the dunes - a sight to watch

And of course at the end of the evening, like Arab Sheiks enjoying the beauty of dancing girls performance

Lake Mineral Wells Vistas

I visited Lake Mineral Wells State Park over a year ago, but the vast expanse of water, seemingly unending hiking/ biking trails, the small patch of rock formations continue to invite me to visit the place again. The lake offers numerous opportunities of adventure sports, outdoor activities, camping, and picnicking. It is a complete family friendly location. Now with school, full time job and other engagements I don't know when I will be able to go there again... let us hope soon in the near future.

Lake Mineral Wells, Texas

Lake Mineral Wells, Texas is a popular tourist spot even to this date. The state park is a good hiking, rock climbing, fishing, camping and picnic spot. This was the lake which attracted thousands of Americans during the past century. They believed that a bath in the waters of this lake would rid them of all ailments.

Some Memories of Mineral Wells

It has been over 3 weeks since I visited Mineral Wells State Park, but the memories of its vast green acres continues to haunt me. The rugged rock formations, myriad flora and fauna, vast lake and interesting landscapes beckon me to return and explore further. Here are some of the pictures that I have not posted earlier.

Liberty Fest, Farmers Branch, Texas

Today was the second day of the annual three-day Liberty Fest held at Farmers Branch, Texas. I came to know about the fest through some posters and decided to participate. Today's highlights were an outdoor expo which featured a lot of recreational vehicle marketers, two artificial outdoor rock climbing walls, a micro-mini petting zoo with all the farm animals, such as chicken, rabbits, pigs, calf, and a llama. These animals are so common in small towns and some areas of Indian cities but very very rare in US cities. The only place American-born children get to see live animals other than dogs, cats and fish.
My favorite section of the event was of course the car and motorcycle show featuring a wide array of metal steeds and monsters. I have personally almost given up the hope of ever riding a motorcycle again, but when I see a beautiful set of wheels I can't help but take a closer look and oogle at it.
Anyway enough of my chatter... here are some pictures of the Liberty fest.

More pictures of Mineral Wells Lake

Some common but difficult to capture (at least for me) sights from Lake Mineral Wells State Park. I shot these pictures as we traversed across the hiking trail that led to the Penitentiary Hollow, the name given to the rock formations deep inside park where amateur and professional rock climbers come to hone their skills and learn new techniques.

Dragon Fly resting

Beautiful wild flowers in the state park

The Lake

Lake Mineral Wells Vistas

Last Sunday we visited Lake Mineral Wells, about 100 miles from Plano, TX where yours truly lives. Like most other lakes in Texas this one is also huge and has muddy looking water. There were several families, groups, and individuals out there fishing, hiking, rock climbing and generally enjoying the day outdoors. Once summer sets in this will be out of question. Here are some pictures of the state park...

Kayaking at White Rock Lake

Yesterday we went Kayaking at the White Rock Lake, Dallas. It was a free marketing event organized by REI, the adventure & outdoor sports gear store. There were all kinds of kayaks and all visitors were allowed to get into them and try their hand at it. Being mildly windy it was a little challenging to kayak in the area, but nevertheless it was a lot of fun. Here are some pictures...

India-Homa an interesting locale...

Rocky Boulders of India-homa

Continuing my report on the short but eventful visit to Wichita Mountains Wildlife Refuge, India-homa, I would simply say that our hike turned into a mini adventure after I coaxed everyone into climbing down the rock face into the depths of the valley rather than follow the trail that snaked around the hills to form a natural slope. Once down at the water level we crossed the shallow stream via a trail of rocky outcrops and started retracing our steps around the lost lake.

Here are some pictures:

View of the waterfalls from the base of the hill

The world is full of insensitive people who will litter even the most pristine natural spots.....

Sweeping view of the valley and rock face we just descended