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© 2010 Amit Basu

A day at the Tonto National Monument, Arizona

Some days are lessons in history.

When we arrived at Tonto National Monument, tucked far away from Phoenix in a bowl of red rocks and clay, the sun was high up in the sky. It was nice and mild though, with cool air blowing, befitting the early spring atmosphere. We were on the Apache Trail, a route that goes around, and sometimes, through, the Superstition Mountains to the east of Phoenix. Its wild, rugged country, desert-like, and largely empty; stone’s throw away from some Indian reservations.

So, there we were, R and I, having driven the Apache Trail halfway around the Superstition mountains, making it a day with no specific agenda, but only to see what Arizona has to bring. The Apache Trail is, to put it using cliched words, simply beautiful. It goes through mountain passes, and continuously changing landscape. And yes, lakes! in Arizona.

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Published on: 19 Feb 2010 By: Amit Basu Categories: Arizona Comments: (0)
© 2010 Amit Basu

Saguaro National Park: the last stand of the Wild West Cactus

Anyone who has grown up with some exposure to western movies (and who hasn’t?) would remember the inevitable scene where the macho hero rides away into the gloriously technicolor desert sunset. In a large number of those sunsets, you would possibly have seen the unmistakable silhouette of a Suguaro cactus, standing tall and proud. This was going to be my first encounter with this mythical cactus, so with a lot of expectation I drove from Phoenix to Tucson on a bright and beautiful February morning.

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Published on: 18 Feb 2010 By: Amit Basu Categories: Arizona Comments: (0)
© 2010 Amit Basu

Sedona, Arizona: In search of the Unified Vortex Theory

Sedona is a colorful place. Its earth is red, the sky is blue, and the trees are a dark shade of green. During the sunset, the sky is a riot of orange. How can you not fall in love with Sedona? Especially when you are there only for a day and half.

We drove in from Grand Canyon to Sedona, through some winding roads, from a land of snow to a land of lush green, and beautiful, blinding red. As you come down the mountains into a gorge, and then the hills open up to reveal Sedona, it literally takes your breath away. Its a jewel of a town, tucked into a Red Rock bowl.

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Published on: 17 Feb 2010 By: Amit Basu Categories: Arizona Comments: (0)
© 2009 Amit Basu

Hawaii! Oh, what a feeling!

I spent an exhilarating week on Big Island, Hawaii, a few days back, and it has changed my worldview altogether …

Hawaii has that effect on you. Its truly a paradise on earth. Far from most other landmasses, it has its own species of plants and animals that you cannot find anywhere else in the world. It has its own volcanoes, its rain-forests, its ocean, its fabulous beaches, its deserts (yes, even that!), its mountains. What Hawaii does not have is that incredible sense of hurry and purpose that characterize the people over most of the civilized world. May be that’s what I liked about Hawaii. There is a sense of being away. In your little big island.

Enough said.

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Published on: 25 Feb 2009 By: Amit Basu Categories: Hawaii Comments: (0)
© 2009 Amit Basu

At the ‘Kona Joe’s Coffee, Hawaii

We had time to kill. Our flight out of Big Island (sob! sob!) was some eight hours away. We decided to drive along the cliff-hugging road that goes from Kona to South Point on Big Island.

And, then, quite accidentally, we found Kona Joe.

Glad we did. It definitely was one of the most beautiful coffee estates I have ever seen. What a view from the verandah of the coffee tasting room.

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Published on: 22 Feb 2009 By: Amit Basu Categories: Hawaii Comments: (2)