Second Highest Bridge In The World

It was another busy day searching for a destination to visit. Spend an hour and planned 3 places to visit. Royal Gorge was the first one in the sequence. 

The main reason to visit this place? This bridge was the highest bridge in the WORLD till 2001, when it's position was replaced by the Liuguanghe Bridge in China.

I was amazed at this creation for all through the journey. A construction masterpiece by itself. Unlike the bridge in China, this isn't made of concrete, but with big chunks of metal, all over the place.

And can you believe the fact that this bridge was built in just six months. That was an amazing fact for me.

The sad part - in June 2013, the areas was destroyed by a severe wild fire. Almost the entire park and the facilities were burned to flames. Only the bridge stood the ground. 

The entire place looked deserted due to this event. Hope they will rebuild the old glorious day of this park.

Dallas Farmers Market Walk

This place was great to spent time

It was another weekend and while planing for the place to visit, Dallas Farmers Market popped out from one of the travel catalog. Decided to visit the place for one another reason - cooking.

Wanted to cook chicken curry that needed some fresh vegetable. Can see the place and get some veggies too. That was the real intention :)

That was a fantastic place to spent time. Clean and vibrant place. Spent almost three hours, visiting the stalls at the market, trying out the food and clicking the pictures around. 

The market consist of 4 huge sheds.

Shed 1

Local Farmers: sell their own produce grown within a 150-mile radius of Dallas. Farmers display a "Verified Local Farmer" designation.

Produce Dealers: resell refrigerated produce, including food shipped from out of state

Shed 2

Eateries, specialty foods, and food related products

Shed 3

Produce Dealers: resell refrigerated produce, including food shipped from out of state

Shed 4

Wholesale Produce Dealers: sell large quantities of fresh vegetables and fruit

Just got out of the farm - fresh :)

Home made vinegar

Tempting and yummy veggies called me to pick them up. However I controlled myself because of the limited travel budget :)

Those were so cute to watch. They shied in the afteroon sun light

Veggie varieties...

Deal of the day

Creative minded vendor with her stall

Yummy juicy Caribbean honey covered grilled chicken...Heavenly...

After almost 3 hours, got out from the market and took a stroll around the place.

The neighborhood 

The signature gate 

Tractor prototype

A nursery next to the market. Well maintained, clean and extremely beautiful

More details: http://dallasfarmersmarket.org/visit/plan-a-visit/

Meeting Paul and Nancy

Houston wasn't in my travel list, until I met Paul . 

Paul got transferred from Seattle to Texas, based on his location preference, as he was staying out of Houston.

We used to go pick lunch for the team together from Chipotle and I loved that ride always. When I speak about the facts of India, it will be closely correlated from Paul's experience from Hongkong.

It was during one of those journey, Paul asked about visiting him and Nancy at Houston. Houston got added to the weekend trip list as I was excited to meet them over a weekend. And it happened. 

This trip will be one of those moments that I will cherish for sure. There was no ice breaking needed, no formalities. They were so easy to get along. 

We went out for dinner at a Thai place together followed by a Houston city ride. In between the ride, we hopped in for a dessert from their favorite store. Coconut milk & bamboo based desserts, DrinkBamboo, but it was so tastey and yummy.

Paul and Nancy became the best Houston guides, showing around the places and explaining about the city and the culture.

After spending time with them for a day, I headed towards the Lake Wood church the next day for the Sunday service.

If I am visiting Houston again, they will be in my visiting list for sure...Thanks a ton for the wonderful moments!

I Can't Ignore The BBQ Boards

If it is written BBQ somewhere along the way I drive, I could never resist stopping by. Frankly speaking, I never liked the BBQ food till I joined the team for lunch at a wonderful BBQ restaurant. 

Since then that became my favorite cuisine. Specially the smoked baby ribs :) If I miss a cuisine in US, it will be the slow smoked baby BBQ ribs. It's yummy.

On the way back from the Oasis restaurant, the above hoarding caught my attention. No second thought, parked in the premise and headed towards the counter. 

A small outlet, then menu was outstanding. Quickly ordered the brisket and waited impatiently for my call.

Waiting can be sweet when it is for something worth and there it was my favorites in front. Still my mouth waters at this yummy pack.

The Oasis On Lake Travis

One of the largest restaurant in the world with a seating capacity of 2800 people. The biggest restaurant in Texas situated in 500 acres of land. 

When Paul mentioned about this place, I didn't have the doubt of visiting this place. That was the first destination I visited in Houston. 

But this restaurant had a bad fate in 2005 when it was devastated by fire. The OASIS remained open during the two years that followed, using only the remaining outdoor entertainment venue and served food out of a trailer. 

When I reached the restaurant it was already crowded by the people. Everyone was requesting for a seat facing the Lake Travis. I too requested the same :)

It was almost the lunch time. Thought of having the lunch from this fantastic place. 

This was the view from my seat while flipping through the menu. I am a big fan of budget travel and it took sometime to find an item which matched my budget :)

Finally after 15 minutes or so, finalized Chipotle Baby Back Ribs. Slow smoked ribs and sweet potato fries - that was a yummy treat.

Lunch wasn't the only thing which I enjoyed at that moment. The clean fresh breeze and the water race that was happening in the lake. What a view that was.

This is not the picture that I clicked. But I wanted to show how the restaurant looked from a birds eye view.

Must recommended place to visit in Houston. Leave your senses and indulge in the beauty of the nature.

Let's Go Houston!

An awaited trip to the famous NASA home town. 

3 hours from Arlington, Houston had surprising stuffs for me in the shelf. The actual plan to visit NASA and Galveston island did happen, however the main highlight was the moments with Paul/Nancy and the meet up with Joel Osteen at the Lakewood Church (a cherishing moment indeed).

It was a long drive and I wanted that drive to be a special one. So took the muscle machine for the journey. 

It wasn't like a normal drive though. I enjoyed the outstanding power the car delivered during the entire stretch. Smooth and steady, piercing the air in the front, it took me to Houston in two and half hours. 

Once reached Houston, wanted a short break. Then took out the planner which Ani shared to go through the locations in the wonderful state.

The horse is full and ready to dash. Houston was less than 300 miles and used the rest for a small town trip before re-fueling.

More trip memories coming soon...

Red Rocks Park Amphitheatre

I heard a lot about this place from my colleague, couple of weeks before the Colorado trip. I didn't know much about this place then. 

Once the trekking through the Red Rock Mountain Park trail was over, I sat for sometime to read about the amphitheater. Learned this research and preparation from Ani. She collects all the information about the place to visit much ahead of the trip that we could really understand the significance of the place we were in.

The best part I loved about this amphitheater - no one built it. It is a naturally formed venue, a perfect architecture for an amphitheater. You can enjoy the concerts, enjoying the music and staring at the star studded night and mystical natural ambiance embracing your heart and mind. One step closer to heaven is what I can say about that feeling.

The entrance of the amphitheater. There wasn't much visitors around when I reached this place. There was preparations going on for a concert that night. Logistics teams were busy ferrying the equipments to this place.

Towards the amphitheater is the visitor center. Past to this is where the back row of the theater begins. Its like a slope towards the stage.

The gathering area outside the theater.

And I am viewing a natural marvel. The best amphitheater in the world. Goosebumps!

The venue getting ready for a big concert of the evening.

A concert at Red Rock Amphitheater

Everything Is Big In Texas

And the storms too :) I faced couple of storm warnings while in Texas and to be frank, I was happy to meet the below ones younger brother.

Dinosaur Ridge - The Old Ocean Base

That was an another beautiful day at Colorado. Got up in the morning and flipped through the list I had for the next destination. Rocky Mountains - topped the list. But it was too early to reach that place. So decided to pick once more destination to fill the gap. TripAdvisor picked up the Dinosaur Ridge and I headed to visit the same.

After the visit and the van tour, I realized one fact. The place was authentic. Not a normal visiting area. It has the world's best dinosaur sightings. Couldn't believe the fact that the land I was standing then was under the ocean for years. Wow, am impressed.

Dinosaur Ridge is part of the Morrison Fossil Area National Natural Landmark located in Morrison, Colorado, just west of Denver.

The Dinosaur Ridge area is one of the world's most famous dinosaur fossil localities. In 1877, some of the best-known dinosaurs were found here, including Apatosaurus, Diplodocus, Stegosaurus, and Allosaurus. In 1973, the area was recognized for its uniqueness as well as its historical and scientific significance when it was designated the Morrison Fossil Area National Natural Landmark by the National Park Service.

Bus tour on every 45 minutes. And I was right on time, so didn't want to wait for long. 5$ trip, but it was worth the journey.

That's the tour bus. The guide was smart and resourceful. And he made the trip so exciting with interesting information about the place.

Life size dinosaur structure at the visitor center. Took this timer picture while waiting for the bus.

I mentioned about this place under the ocean. The ripple marks on the mountain is due to the water movement. Interesting!

One of the few spots of the bus tour. Dinosaur foot prints all over the place.

Million year old rocks. Highly protected and preserved.

So I took some rocks in my hand. I have a deep root history on my palm.

Different type of rock formations over the years made this place looks like an architectural marvel.

Because of the historical significance, I couldn't even collect some rocks. I would have done that as I learned from the Arkansas visit that rock collection is a highly appreciated hobby :)

That was a real dinosaur bone. Real mean real. Wow - I was so happy to touch and feel the remains of my nightmare :)

Kids were the most excited people in the group. I left the group when small kids started asking questions beyond their age. I couldn't take that :)

Someone built a home around this place and it looked fantastic. Blended with the nature, that house had all its beauty in it.

Rocky Mountains - Part Two

What's the driving force which makes the traveler to enjoy his endeavor? For me it's Curiosity & Learning. 

Curiosity is what which made me to drive the car in the first week in USA, without even knowing the Yield, Stop and lane concepts. Hard way of learning. Must say that I improved on that week itself. Thats the learning part. And most important learning - horn is the most useless part of an automobile in US, which is so different from my Indian experience.

Took an hour to reach at the summit of the Rocky Mountains though. 

The climate was so good. The cool air freshened me up from the back pain of the drive. But in few minutes, I felt like being a part of that world. Disconnected from the town beneath and up in the heavens. That was a fantastic feeling.

I was surprised to see the above message on the up way. If there is a restriction for pets, that means, they are pretty serious about the place. Otherwise pets are the kings here.

There is a view point towards the end of this road. The view which will mesmerize everyone. The nature at it's best. Fogs sliding over the mountain ranges, the white patches from the winter ice all over the place - that was a sight worth of a life time.

Those are gigantic mountains. But looks small from the view point. Realized how small I am in this world, compared to these creations...

Few more travelers joined us. All were busy running around enjoying and capturing the beauty. To be frank, I didn't even spare a small stone in my reach. Everything was special, and everything around mesmerized me.

As usual, as Ani is not with me, I had to depend on timer shots.

When I saw this view, I decided to touch the snow on that mountain. And I went. Grabbed a handful of snow, pressed into a ball shape and slapped on to my face. Why did I do that? I don't know. Was I crazy for the first snow encounter in my life? I think so.

My car looked beautiful at this place. Thats the magical effect of this place.

While climbing up the mountains, my face was without any emotions. I didn't want to slip down to the mountain foot from 11000 feet anyway :)

It will attract anyone who comes to this place. You might stand still, forgetting about everything around, until someones comes to you and wake you from the dream...

Proud to tackle the heights. There wasn't much people around. It is fun to do things differently. What say?

The happiness flowed from the mountains to my heart and it reflected on my smile :)

I would really love to go back to this place another time. The magical mountain top experience.