Lassen Volcanic National Park: The most family-friendly park near San Francisco

Ashish on April 11, 2020

Lassen Volcanic Park has a lot to offer for everyone. The park has wide roads, and most tourist spots are easily accessible. Here’s what I would recommend

  1. Subway cave Lava tubes – easy 1/3 mile underground hike

    Lava Tubes Entrance

    Lava Tubes Entrance

  2. Hydrothermal Areas – Hydrothermal areas from where Sulpher escapes regularly. Some right next to the road and some accessible via a short hike.

    Sulpher bubbling in the background

    Sulpher bubbling in the background

  3. Walk and play on snow-covered areas – all along the park

Strenuous hikes

There are three strenuous hikes. I would only recommend one or two of these

  1. Lassen Peak – this one is snow-covered almost year-round
    Taken along the Lassen Peak hike

    Taken along the Lassen Peak hike

    At Lassen Peak

    At Lassen Peak

  2. Cinder Cone Nature Trail – This one is less strenuous compared to the other two. It is still hard due to the gravel-covered surfaceCinder Cone seen from the bottomCinder Cone seen from the bottom

    Cinder cone from the top

    Cinder cone from the top

  3. Brokeoff Mountain Trail – this can be snow-covered hike depending on the time of the year

    Brokeoff Mountain Trail

    Brokeoff Mountain Trail

Things to do in Yosemite National Park

Ashish on March 14, 2020

Strenuous hikes

Half Dome hike

17-miles 12-hours with a breath-taking dangerous climb holding chains on the majestic half dome at the end. This hike requires a permit for the final half dome climb.

Hiking Half Dome

Hiking Half Dome

The Clouds Rest Trail

12-miles 7-hours hike. The trail ends at a point higher than the Half dome. One gets a great view of the park as well as the Half dome from here.

Half Dome as seen from Clouds Rest

Half Dome as seen from Clouds Rest

I would recommend doing only one of these two hikes in a single trip.

Scenic viewpoints and Small hikes

Yosemite falls

The lower falls are easily accessible with a short walk. The upper falls require a 6-mile hike. I only did the former.

Dry Yosemite Lower Falls during off-season

Dry Yosemite Lower Falls during the off-season

Bridalveil Falls

Another gorgeous falls accessible with a short 10-minute walk.

Bridal Veil Falls

Bridal Veil Falls

Glacier Point

Glacier Point provides a great view of the half dome for non-hikers. It is located about an hour away from Yosemite Valley and close to south exit towards Fresno. For hikers, I would recommend doing Sentinel Dome or Taft point; both are one-mile hikes with starting point about 2-miles drive from the Glacier Point.

Sentinel Dome

Sentinel Dome

Mariposa Grove of Giant Sequoias

Mariposa Grove has multiple hikes ranging from short walks to 7-mile hikes where one can see the giant sequoias. Due to time constraints, I only did the short hike here.

Where to stay

If you are doing in the Half Dome, then stay at the Yosemite Valley the previous night to start hiking early morning (4-5 AM). Curry Village has the cheapest lodging, and the camps are located conveniently inside the Yosemite valley. Book well in advance.

The park is huge. Roads wind around mountains and hilly. Driving inside the park can consume significant time, I would recommend planning for that in advance.

Two days in Minneapolis, Minnesota

Ashish on February 15, 2020

Day 1

If you are arriving at MSP airport, then start your journey with the Mall of America. It is the largest shopping mall in the United States and is pretty close to the airport. Next, head to Minnehaha falls. It is the favorite fishing spot for the locals.

Minnehaha Falls

Minnehaha Falls

Hereafter, you can head towards the downtown. There isn’t much to do in downtown during the day time. And I would recommend checking out Sculpture Garden and the Lake of Isles in the evening.

Sculpture Garden

Sculpture Garden

Lake of Isles

Lake of Isles

Day 2

Start your day with Mill City Museum. The museum shows the history of Minnesota. You can see a beautiful view of St. Anthony’s Falls, the only natural waterfall on river Mississippi.  St. Anthony’s Falls provided hydropower and made Minnesota the hub of white flour production in the world. The museum gives a beautiful view of the Stone Arch Bridge as well.

St. Anthony's Waterfall

St. Anthony’s Waterfall

From there on, head to the Weisman Art Museum at the University of Minnesota. It is free and worth a small visit if you have time. Coming back to the downtown, Sidewalk Harp and Sculpture Clock are worth a shortstop.

Sidewalk Harp

Sidewalk Harp – walk below it to see the music play

Sculpture Clock

Sculpture Clock

In the evening, watch a live show at either  Brave New Workshop Comedy Theatre or The Lab Theatre.

Note: Most of the city, including the main airport, MSP, is well-connected via inexpensive public transport. So, you don’t need a rental car to get around.

Barcelona (Spain) in four days

Ashish on January 4, 2020

Barcelona

  1. Public transport is good, get a Metro card with ten tickets, it can even be shared simultaneously.
  2. Beware of pickpockets.
  3. Credit card acceptance is high, but not 100%.
  4. Paella, a rice dish, is famous in Barcelona

Read More

Madrid (Spain) in two days

Ashish on December 7, 2019

Madrid, originally Myrit, was set up by Moors in about 700 AD, to fight against Catholic Spanish stronghold of Toledo which used to be the old capital of the Castile kingdom.

  1. Public transport is good, get a Metro card with ten tickets, it can even be shared simultaneously.
  2. Beware of pickpockets.
  3. Credit card acceptance is high, but not 100%.
  4. Churros + hot chocolate are famous in Madrid.
  5. The city has pedestrianized itself over time, so the city center is entirely car-free.

Read More

Rome (Italy) in three days

Ashish on November 2, 2019

Colosseum

Rome has a rich history pertinent to western civilization. There are three different aspects of roaming in Rome, namely, architecture, history, and religion (Catholic – Christians). I was profoundly interested in history and to some extent, in architecture, and that influenced my itinerary.

Read More

A day in Venice (Italy)

Ashish on October 2, 2019

Venice

A day in Venice

Compared to Prague, Rome, Vienna, and Split, Venice is a tourist trap. The city is made up of a collection of 100+ islands. Bridges connect most of them, and you can walk throughout the city. All the public transport is using water buses called Vaporetto. A single trip costs 8 Euros. If you are planning to use Vaporetto, buy a 24-hour pass worth 20 Euro which covers unlimited trips on Vaporetto.

Read More

Croatia in Four Days

Ashish on September 1, 2019

Croatia is a Balkan country south of Austria. It’s a small country of 4 million inhabitants and cities with medieval architecture. Games of Thrones was shot here.

Read More

Vienna in two days

Ashish on June 18, 2019

Vienna is a historic city. First, a pivotal battle between the Ottoman Empire and Western Europe was fought in 1683, and then, during the second world war, significant support to Hitler came from Vienna.

Some tips for the first-timers

  1. The dominant spoken language is German, but it is not hard to find English speakers.
  2. Public transport is great and a 24-hour pass costs 8 Euros.
  3. Most of the good spots are near the city center, so don’t stay too far away.
  4. Toilets inside shopping malls, big grocery stores, and restaurants are usually free. Outside ones charge 0.5 Euro.

Read More