August absence.

August happens to be one of my favorite months of the year, the others being the months from September to July :P August has an auspicious touch to it since it usually coincides with the holy month of Shravan in Hindu calendar. For us ordinary mortals, this means puja and 'pet puja' or in other words, festivals, fasts and feasts. Also August coincides with summer here in the US and this translates to outdoor activities and travel. S and me have been soaking ourselves in the festive spirit of August and so my blogging has taken a small sabbatical. I'll be back to babbling by September.

Clear

Fervent pleas unheard,

forecast thunders clear skies, 

farmer sheds dry tears.

Farmer sheds dry tears,

drought, deluge pile misery;

mounting debts to clear.

This post is shared with Haikuhorizons and this week's prompt is CLEAR

Content.

Eyes closed and neck craned;

drinking to its heart's content-

doe suckles her fawn.

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Ouch!! slurp-fest begins,

drinking to their hearts' content-

merry mosquitoes.

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Glances turn to gaze,

drinking to their hearts' content-

eyes thirsting for love.

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This post is shared with Haikuhorizons and this week's prompt is CONTENT

Yellowstone trip- Part 1

The Drive -

John Day Dam, Oregon, windmills on the hillside

Camping trip is exciting enough by itself and if the location happens to be the first National park not just in USA but in the world, then excitement just multiplies. S and me had planned to drive to Yellowstone National Park for our camping trip for the fourth of July Weekend. Our campground reservation in the Grant Village area of Yellowstone meant we had to drive a little under 900 miles to get there. S had taken a day off from work so that we could get two full days at the park apart from the two plus days of travel. So we set off on wednesday afternoon, having loaded our car with tent, sleeping bags and other camping gear, not to mention food supplies and water. 

 

Haystacks and farms, Idaho

With both of us driving in shifts, the long drive would not be strenuous we thought. Our plan was to check into a motel by midnight, catch some sleep and hit the road after breakfast.  While Portland is green and dotted with trees, as we headed towards South-east Oregon, the landscape gradually turned dry and grassy. The zig-zag roads with hairpin curves through the Columbia Gorge soon made way for roads along the dry scrubland of Oregon high desert. 

Potato fields with sprinklers turned on, Idaho

Before midnight we had crossed state lines, and entered the Mountain Time Zone. It was time for a night-stop in Boise which we later realized was the state capital of Idaho. Rejuvenated, we headed toward the western entrance of Yellowstone in Montana. This final stretch was long, straight roads endlessly for as long as our eyes could see. On either side of the roads of 'Potato State' were potato fields. Vast stretches of green fields that were covered with tiny white/purple flowers being watered by huge sprinklers was what we kept seeing for a long time. Finally around 5pm in the evening nearly 26 hours after we had left our home, we entered Yellowstone National Park. Shelling out the entry fee and collecting a complimentary map, we began our drive through Bison/Bear country. Animal crossing signboards greeted us at regular intervals, and before long, we spotted a bunch of cars pulled over and parked off the road.

Day-1 at Yellowstone-

Entered the bison territory aka Yellowstone

It was time for us to follow suit with camera and binoculars. It was like a tea-party on the riverbank for a bison herd, a couple of them  grazing, a couple rolling around in the sand. The brown ones are the calves. A few clicks and closer look later, we were ready to head towards our campground.

First Sighting, Bison herd by the river

Hardly a mile later, we pulled over again, this time for an elk that had stopped by to welcome us.

(w)elk(ome)!! 

Further along the drive,  white mist seemed to be rising from the ground, sure enough the next board read "Fountain Paint Pot". With a name so inviting, we had to take a look. There was a loop trail of around half a mile. So we sauntered along the boardwalk, clicking pictures of colorful geo-thermal features. The odor of sulphur was a constant feature all through the geyser basin.

Lodgepole pines

Silex spring

Morning Geyser

Bacteria mat

Fumaroles

Leather Pool

Our tent nestled behind trees

After a quick stop at the old faithful geyser just in time to see it erupt, we drove to the campground to register ourselves. Grant Village Campground is nestled in a partly wooded area near the southwest shore of Yellowstone Lake. It has over 400 sites on offer including tent, RV and group campsites. Stepping out of the car at the Grant Village Campground, we were greeted by a bunch of over-friendly mosquitoes :P. We picked up firewood and kindle at the registration desk before driving to our campsite. Our campsite had a fire-grate and picnic table while a public restroom was a short walk away. S and me then set up our tent, before settling down to a hearty dinner of a desi style taco, puri in place of the tortillas. The wolves howling in the far-off distance as we snuggled into the sleeping bags was the perfect sign-off for Day-1 at Yellowstone.

To be continued...

Note- Click on the photos to see enlarged images.

Driver's license

A battle of nerves,

wield double-edged sword called mind,

drive away your fear.

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The end or onset,

starring rosy dreams, real life

drive into sunset.

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You have the power,

driver's license for lifetime,

steer safe through life's roads.

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This post is shared with Haikuhorizons and this week's prompt is DRIVE

4th of July weekend

It is summer here in the US of A. And that has meant a wide range of activities to indulge in. In fact, this has been the story since spring but a lazy bug that I'm, I have been putting off posting about them. Since early spring, S and me had been planning for a trip to the Yellowstone National Park. We decided to make it a road trip and that meant it would be a 4-5 day trip with a minimum of 2 days on the road. S felt that we could have a camping trip this time around,  and accordingly 4th of July weekend seemed to fit well in our calendars. S had already savored quite a few camping trips while this would be a first camping for me.

The excitement of living in a tent put me on overdrive, what all food could we munch on while we camped? We could finally sit around an actual camp-fire on our camping chairs, roast buns in the campfire and chatter idly under the starlit sky surrounded by trees. Oh I was planning and dreaming on and off about it. Internet searches about things to do in and around Yellowstone became my favorite afternoon activity. With night temperatures in Yellowstone expected to fall below 40F even though it was summer, we decided to purchase heavy duty sleeping bags.  We even bought a good pair of binoculars on a friend's advice and it was worth every dollar, we got to observe wildlife from a safe distance. 

And so July has been all about Yellowstone, the run-up to it with the planning and packing, the actual trip and then the unpacking and returning to routine. I have been trying to catch up with the posts of my fellow bloggers and haven't posted any of my own, will surely get back to blogging soon. I will certainly do a detailed post on Yellowstone shortly complete with geysers,  canyon,  elk herds, the ever-so-visible passive looking bisons and even the loving mosquito welcome we got at the campground. 

Picture is from Yellowstone 's photo collection

Comfort

Stone soup served with love,

comfort food for hungry soul,

outdoes lavish spread.

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Broken heart, bruised knee,

mother's touch is panacea,

her voice, an elixir.

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This post is shared with Haikuhorizons and this week's prompt is COMFORT