Conquering Old Rag Trail, Shenandoah National Park, VA

I went on a hike along Old Rag Circuit at Shenandoah National Park, VA with a group of Singaporeans on Aug 16. This was a physically demanding hike which required climbing, stretching, hopping and balancing to get to the summit of Old Rag Mountain (3291 ft/1003 m). People suffering from acrophobia should be aware that part of the trail runs along cliff edges.

We decided to tackle the challenging part of the hike first, taking Ridge Trail by following the blue markers and returning along Weakley Hollow Fire Road to the Old Rag parking area.

An average of 5.5 hours with half an hour lunch along a 8.8-mile trail took us about 7.5 hours instead as we were busy taking pictures of us scrambling up large boulders and squeezing through crevices, tunnels and caves. I had a good laugh at the poses we did at various parts of the hike. There were crane pose, crouching tiger pose, and Charlie's Angels pose by three guys among others.

We were fortunate to see a black bear on the trail. It looked skinny and I hope it would be fatter in time for its hibernation during winter.

The panoramic views at the summit was well worth the muscle aches and blister I endured. Eagles were hovering high in the sky, catching the wind beneath their wings. I could see rolling mountains touching the horizon. It was very peaceful to sit on the precipice with cool, soothing wind blowing and admiring at the picturesque landscape.

Pictures along Old Rag Circuit Hike.

Starting a new blog on career development

As I embark on my journey of searching for a job, I realized I had not truly reflected on what I like to do and how I want to see myself five or ten years down the road.

I also observe that many youngsters are at a loss after schooling. Education prepares us to read, calculate, and expand our knowledge etc. but it does not teach us job interviewing, networking, nor communication skills. We have to learn these skills as we go along.

I had been reading books related to career development and would like to share with you what I had learned.

Do visit and share your experience on career development: http://developing-your-career.blogspot.com/

Indomitable human spirit

While watching world-class athletics compete at the 29th Olympics in China, I often get inspired by the determination and strength of the human spirit. Athletics trained long and hard, pushing themselves to the limits.

I am now mentally tired, hoping to get over it soon. I want to share this beautiful poem which my best friend shared with me during this anguish period.


Invictus by British poet William Ernest Henley

Out of the night that covers me,
Black as the Pit from pole to pole,
I thank whatever gods may be
For my unconquerable soul.

In the fell clutch of Circumstance
I have not winced nor cried aloud.
Under the bludgeonings of Chance
My head is bloody, but unbowed.

Beyond this place of wrath and tears
Looms but the Horror of the shade,
And yet the menace of the years
Finds, and shall find me, unafraid.

It matters not how strait the gate,
How charged with punishments the scroll,
I am the master of my fate:
I am the captain of my soul.

Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Parks

Travelers intending to visit Yellowstone National Park during summer should plan at least half a year ahead since accommodations within the park were snapped up by the time we reserved ours in January 2008.

The one-week trip, beginning from Jun 7 -14, was joined by WenMin and Michele. We flew from Baltimore-Washington International Airport to Jackson Hole Airport, transiting at Atlanta, GA. As we approached Wyoming, we could see mountainous ranges with snow-capped peaks.

The sight of Teton range inspired awe and humility. As we entered the small Jackson Hole Airport, there was an arch of elk antlers to welcome us. There are four such arches at Jackson Hole Town Square, where many more antlers were used to make each arch than the one at the airport.


After picking up our rental car, we drove north, towards Yellowstone, passing by Grand Teton. The landscape was still blanketed with snow in June, in contrast to my mental picture of wild flowers blooming. In fact, we were hit by snowstorms and cold weather which might had affected my impression of Yellowstone. We were wise to check the weather forecast for the week and brought along winter gear.

Depending on your schedule and plan, I found that we could complete the highlights of Yellowstone within three days, provided that you leave early in the morning and return around 9 plus at night.

The highlights were Norris Geyser Basin, Mammoth Hot Springs, Tower Fall, Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone, Mud Volcano Area, Yellowstone Lake, Old Faithful, and Midway Geyser Basin.

At Mud Volcano Area, the air was reeked with a malodorous odor of sulfur dioxide. I wondered if the mud here could be used to make beauty products such as face masque.

The picture of me, standing at 5-foot-10-inch (1.78-m), 'capping' The Liberty Cap, a 37-foot (11-m) travertine was taken at Mammoth Hot spring. Here, nature has created an amazing staircase of hot spring pools or terraces. Sadly, many of the hot springs like the one which had created Liberty Cap had ceased flowing, leaving terraces of white, porous deposits.



During this trip, I had lost count of the number of hot springs and geysers in the park, which had different colors, shapes, and sizes. Colors of hot springs included emerald green, cyan, blue, orange, and brown. I only remembered some of their names because they were aptly named e.g. Ear Hot Spring which has the shape of an ear. One reminded me of Edvard Munch's "The Scream". The largest hot spring in Yellowstone is The Grand Prismatic Spring which I had no way of taking it since it is approximately 250 by 300 feet (75 by 91 m). I had to be contended with buying postcards of it taken from an aerial view.

Taking pictures of hot springs meant waiting for wind to blow away rising steam from the water surface and longer waiting time for geysers to erupt. The famous Old Faithful erupts every 90 minutes plus/minus 10 minutes. You can check out the time from the front desks of The Visitor Center, Old Faithful Inn or Old Faithful Lodge. I was particularly impressed by the architecture of Old Faithful Inn which is the largest log cabin in the world. The main lobby has a huge fireplace, giving me a warm and cozy feeling.



Another attraction in the park, besides the hot springs and the geysers, was wildlife animals roaming freely. A telltale sign of animal sighting was parked car(s) along the road. We caught sight of our first animal, bison or buffalo, grazing in the fields. They were huge animals with scraggy fur. By the end of our trip, we were 'bored' of taking pictures of bison since they were ubiquitous in the park.

We saw grizzly bears four times in the park. One sighting was really close, where we were separated from a grizzly by a 20-foot wide river. It was standing on its meal at the opposite bank, occasionally looking up to see a crowd of humans snapping pictures of it. How to differentiate a grizzly from a black bear is by identifying a thick, muscular hump on its shoulder.

While driving one evening for animal sighting, a wolf or a coyote leaped in front of our car. It crossed the road unscathed because we did an emergency brake! I could not tell which animal it was since I had never seen the adult size of a wolf compared to that of a coyote before.

Other animals sighted included two curious chipmunks, an evasive marmot, several greedy ground squirrels, shy deers, and three long-faced moose. I could recognize Canadian geese and magpies, although there were other avian species to be sighted by bird watchers.

After completing our tour of Yellowstone, we headed towards Grand Teton National Park. A two-day tour was sufficient. The ever present Teton range could be seen anywhere in the park. I took so many pictures of the mountains that upon editing them, most looked the same to me. This is the advantage of a digital camera; take first, edit later.

We also took a ferry across Jenny Lake where we hiked up to Inspiration Point. At 7200-foot elevation, we marveled at the picturesque landscape of lake, open fields and mountain ranges.


We spent our last few hours at touristy Jackson Hole where merchandise were more expensive than in Yellowstone. Shopaholics can indulge themselves with a wide variety of shops.

For this trip, I broke my record for getting in and out of a car so frequently during one week to take pictures of animals, geysers, hot springs, and mountains. I could also strike off Yellowstone from my list of places-I-want-to-visit.












Yellowstone National Park pictures.

Grand Teton National Park pictures.

Pick-your-own fruits and a trip back to Sep 1862

On Jun 28, a group of us went to a pick-your-own (PYO) fruit farm in Maryland. It was the beginning of blueberry and raspberry seasons.

When we arrived at the farm around 10am, some early birds had already finished picking tray loads of fruits. Most pickers sampled the fruits while picking them.

Picking blueberries and raspberries was an experience since I had not picked them before and I did not know how the bearing plants look like. I was told to tickle a bunch of blueberries where the ripe blue fruits would simply drop, leaving the green and red unripe fruits on the branch. I found this method not working for me. Instead, I picked only the bigger berries among the ripe fruits as I found that they were sweeter upon sampling different sizes of ripe ones. Blueberries are a good source of anti-oxidants.

I was surprised that a raspberry shrub has thorns. Having no clue to how a ripe raspberry looks like, I took a peek at someone's harvest and noticed the harvest consisted only of maroon fruits and not the bright red ones.

Thereafter, we headed towards Antietam National Park and managed to join the last conducted tour. A park ranger recounted the single bloodiest day of the American Civil War at different sites, dotted by cannons and monuments to the dead. Seeing pictures of dead bodies piled high up was disheartening. I also revisited Burnside's Bridge, rather than kayaking under it.

A visit to the sunshine state, Florida

Initially, I was apathetic to go on a road trip to Florida as I was writing up my experiments and driving at least 16 hours at night put me off.

Finally, I went since I promised Greg that I would go at the beginning of 2008 and I needed a break too.

We left on Friday night, May 16 and drove along I95, passing through D.C., Virginia, North and South Carolina, and Georgia. We took turns to drive and stopped to sleep for two hours since we were drowsy.

We reached Florida on Saturday morning where I picked up some brochures and had complimentary orange and grapefruit juices at the visitor center.

Before going to Tampa, we en routed to University of Florida (UF) where Greg showed me around his alma mater.

I was impressed by the sheer size of the football stadium for a university. There were at least five more stadiums for baseball, track-and-field, basketball, softball etc. Among the sports facilities on campus, I liked the Olympic-sized swimming pool the most. I was fortunate to see the real mascot of UF not once but thrice around edges of Lake Alice, gator as Floridians will call an alligator.

On Sunday, we went to Clearwater Beach, ranked eighth in Florida where the sand was soft and white, and the seawater was literally clear. There were a lot of sunbathers basking under the summer sun.

Thinking that I came from sunny Singapore, my skin should be used to the sun and I applied suntan lotion instead of sunblock. But I had forgotten that I had covered my body for half a year from the cold weather. I strolled along the beach for two hours. After that, I went under Pier Six for shade and felt that my body was hot literally. It was irradiating heat. I was burnt on the second day and wondered how I was going to 'survive' in sunny Florida.

The next day, I was red like a lobster and sensitive to touch. On this day (May 19), Greg accompanied me to Busch Gardens, Africa where I enjoyed the 90 degree plunge from 200 feet in the air on the new ride, Sheikra. There were also other hair-raising and scream-inducing rides like Gwazi and Kumba. One commendable show was KaTonga, an African theme musical with energetic dance moves, lively music and great performances by the actors. The theme park also has a safari where gentle animals such as giraffes, zebras, antelopes roam freely in an enclosed area and visitors can go on the Serengeti Express, a truck or a jeep.

We parted in the evening where I picked up my one-way rental car from Tampa Airport and headed towards Orlando where I checked into backpackers' inn. To save on gas and parking fee, I parked the car at my lodging and took Orlando public transport.

I liked the public transport with buses arriving on time and they were cleaned. There were TVs on board which reminded me of Singapore's Mobile TV. At least, the volume in Orlando was not deafening.

As I was going on a tight schedule and not willing to spend a lot on theme parks, I had to choose two of four parks I wanted to visit at Walt Disney World. I bought tickets to Epcot and Disney's Hollywood Studios. I gave Magic Kingdom a miss since I went to Disneyland, LA when I was still in my teens. I was uninterested in the animal theme at Animal Kingdom.

At EPCOT (Experimental Prototype Community of Tomorrow), the theme revolves around creative technologies gear towards the future. I love the icon of Epcot, The Spaceship Earth which is like a gigantic golf ball where visitors were taken on a ride in the 18-story dome. We were shown how human communication had helped shaped the future, one step at a time. I was impressed by how Disney showcased the message of conserving energy for a large audience where we were seated liked at a movie theater but moved around in The Universe of Energy pavilion. I had my adrenaline rush going on Test Track where the ride went at 60 mph and 45-degree inclination with winds blowing through my hair.

By Tuesday evening, I only managed to finished taking all the rides but had not seen the World Showcase of 11 countries: Canada, China, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Morocco, Norway, United Kingdom and United States of America. Each country pavilion displays its culture and sells products made in each country. With only two hours left before my designated schedule, I zipped through majority of the pavilions.

As I needed to catch the last bus and I wanted to watch IllumiNations: Reflections of Earth at World Showcase Lagoon, I had to walk towards the entrance while watching a display of fireworks, lasers, fire and water fountains. After the 13-minute show, I dashed through crowds and managed to catch the last bus.

On Wednesday, I visited Disney's Hollywood Studio. It was smaller in scale than Epcot. I caught several live shows including Lights, Motors, Action! Extreme Stunt Show and Indiana Jones Epic Stunt Spectacular. I admired how the daredevils maneuvered cars and motorbikes in the tight stage space.

I was surprised that I enjoyed Voyage of The Little Mermaid and Beauty and the Beast Live on Stage. This is the magic of Disney which kinder one's childhood imaginations and dreams. I even went for an animation class where I was taught how to draw Winnie the Pooh. Inside The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror, I was lifted off my seat because of the 'free falling' effect of the elevator, with camera in one hand and holding on to dear life with the other.

My head was hurting and my body was aching by evening. I did not enjoyed my last ride on Rock & Roller Coaster since I felt my brain hitting against my skull with every twist and turn. I had to give up Fantasmic, a fireworks and visual hydrotechnic show since I needed a rest and I had watched a similar show at Disneyland.

By Thursday, after another bad night of sleep, I felt better. It was the searing temperature yesterday, lack of hydration and exhaustion. Since my departure from Greg's parents' place on Sunday, I had been catching at most five hours of sleep because I was sleeping at a six-bed dorm where strangers come in at weird hours and I got up early to travel.

After checking out from the dorm, I went to Disney's Blizzard Beach, a water park. I rejoiced at the overcast since I was sunburn and I was wet anyway. The first slide I went was Summit Plummet which is the world's tallest and fastest free-fall body slide. It stands at 120 feet (36 m) tall where riders can reach speeds of up to 55 miles per hour. My bums hurt after going down a couple of times at breakneck speed. As I was alone, I asked a father and a son if I could join them in a family ride called Teamboat Springs. After I had enough of slides, I took out my camera and stood in line for Summit Plummet. People thought I was going down with my Nikon D70S but I wanted a bird's eye view of the water park.

I had never went to four theme parks for four consecutive days. It was fun but tiring. I bid farewell to Orlando and drove along Route 4 towards Daytona Beach.

After checking into my motel room which overlooked the sea, I asked the front desk to recommend a good seafood restaurant nearby. I proceeded to Aunt Catfish's on the River. I loved the ambience and the food. A lot of locals were dining there. After a hearty dinner, I bought some fruits, mineral bottled water and a bodyboard at Publix supermarket for tomorrow.

On Friday, I woke up to the rising sun and strolled on the beach. I was surprised that cyclists could cycle on the beach. The sand was coarse and compact. Then, I went bodyboarding where I saw a family of sting rays, two parents and three kids. The waves were not fantastic compared to those at Barnegat Light, NJ. There was also a school of fish caught in a wave and heading towards me. That night, I had dinner at Down the Hatch, another great seafood restaurant.

On my last day in Florida, I headed towards St Augustine, USA's oldest
continuously settled city established by Europeans. It was founded by Pedro Menéndez on September 8, 1565. The city has a Spanish charm with intricate facades and designs. I did not felt I was in USA. There were many museums to visit e.g. the Fountain of Youth, San Sebastian Winery and the Castillo de San Marcos. There is free wine tasting at San Sebastian Winery. To get around the city, you can go on a sightseeing train with detailed narrations at historical attractions.

I returned the car at Jacksonville Airport in the evening of May 25 and met up with Greg where we took the arduous 16 hours night driving back to Baltimore.

Look for eight Florida picture folders here.

Out of shooting action for now

After waiting almost a year for a camera lens that has long focal length and image stabilizer, I ordered the Nikon 18-200mm f/3.5-5.6G ED-IF AF-S VR DX Nikkor Lens from US1Camera. This was to prepare for my Yellowstone trip.

I had been frustrated at not being able to zoom up close with my 18-70mm lens, especially when the subjects are at great distances. I love details.

After switching my lens, some dust particles got inside the camera body. I managed to get rid of a brush hair from the matte focusing screen. However, some dust stains were left inside somewhere no matter how hard I cleaned with my cleaning kit.

All of the Yellowstone pictures have spots, especially against the blue sky or snowscape. I am irritated by the spots but have to accept it.

I had sent the body to Nikon Photo Service Center in Melville, NY on last Friday and just got a quote of $25 for cleaning, $12.50 for shipping and $1.50 of tax. Hopefully, I will get it back soon and no more specks on my pictures!

I am not alone

In the midst of my traveling stint, I am writing up my experiments on flu vaccine. This partially explains why I have not been posting as I am sick of writing.

Writing a paper is a different ball game compared to posting on a blog. For me, I take it to share my traveling and experiences overseas with my love ones. Of course, there are people who take their blog seriously and write stupendous articles that keep fans coming back.

In research field, there is an infamous phrase 'Publish or perish'. Many researchers enjoy doing experiments but when it comes to publishing their works, many struggle to write or present.

Trained to be detailed, critical and creative etc., I have to think of how best to present my results after interpreting experimental data and give a thorough discussion as to how my results can contribute to the global view of my field. I have to write in an objective and logical manner instead of basing on my moods and feelings.

It becomes an obstacle when you know your experiments inside out and you take for granted that others will know them well too.

Letting fellow colleagues proof-read and critique the drafts helps tremendously. I got over my mental block and started revising tables and figures after constructive criticism and discussion. I totally agree with the old saying 'Two heads are better than one'.

Seven more US quaters to a full set

I have been collecting US quarters since 2006 after noticing there were different images representing the 50 states of North America.

The 50 State Quarters® Program began in 1999 and ends in 2008 where every 10 weeks, a new state's quarter will be released in the order states were admitted into the Union.

I found it interesting to see what each state choose to represent itself. The designs included state flora and fauna, state landmarks, landscapes etc.

The state I am residing in chose the familiar dome of the Maryland Statehouse which is the country's oldest state capital building still in legislative use (since 1772).

Presently, I am lacking quarters from Alaska, Arizona, Hawaii, Michigan, Minnesota, Louisiana and Ohio.

Cylburn Arboretum

Located within the city limit of Baltimore is a 207-acre nature reserve and city park, Cylburn Arboretum.

The Cylburn Mansion is Baltimore City's horticultural headquarters and home of the Cylburn Arboretum Association. The association is run by volunteers whose mission include working with the city to
preserve Cylburn's historic grounds and buildings by its horticultural and educational activities.

Cylburn Mansion began as a summer home for Jesse Tyson and his mother. Construction started in 1863 with gneiss quarried from Bare Hills, Maryland.

It became the Cylburn Arboretum Association in 1982. Educational activities conducted by the association are horticultural lectures and demonstrations, and guided tours of the Mansion and the gardens.

There is a small museum which houses Maryland fauna. This was where I learned of Blue Bunting which I spotted while cycling along the Northern Railroad Trail.

Plant lovers can see a variety of trees, shrubs and wild flowers. Many avid bird watchers also headed towards the nature trails, equipped with binoculars and water bottles.



Cylburn Arboretum pictures.

Cycled all the way to Pennsylvania from Monkton, Maryland

I could finally strike off one of my resolutions this year when a bunch of Singaporeans cycled crossed the Maryland-Pennsylvania state line in New Freedom, PA on May 3 (Sat).

We started the day with a big American breakfast at Pete's Grille at Greenmount and 31st. I could not finished my third big hotcake, served with turkey ham and scrapple.

Then, we proceeded towards Monkton, located near the 8-mile marker of the Northern Central Railroad Trail since the bike rental shop at the beginning of the trail was closed.

We rented five bikes from a bike shop located at Monkton Village Center. We began cycling at 12.30pm. The scenery from the 8-mile marker was more picturesque than between the zero- and eight-mile markers. There was more open space with big houses on huge yards, equine farms with grazing horses and vast fields. Adding to the scenery was the meandering of The Gunpowder River along the trail, where one could hear the river gushing over boulders, forming rapids. Large boulders also dotted the trail. For those interested in bird watching, I could recognize cardinals, blue buntings and hawks, among other bird species sighted.

I stopped at a spot to investigate strange markings on some tree trunks after spotting a dam constructed from branches. I suspected it was the work of beavers since no human would build a small wooden dam in the middle of nowhere. Secondly, the trunks did not show sign of being chopped with an axe. We tried to look for the animal to no avail. Upon researching on beavers, they are mainly nocturnal.

We finally reached the state line around 3pm and I discovered that the trail actually continued for another 20 miles into York, PA.

Going to York would require another trip but for this trip, we cycled for about 25 miles in 4 hours.

Mini-Las Vegas in Atlantic City, New Jersey

I had never heard of Atlantic City in New Jersey until Charlene suggested that we went there for a weekend getaway. After work on Friday evening (Apr 25), we decided to take our dinner before driving to Atlantic City. It was a good decision because we took about 3 hours to reach there around 11pm.

We stayed at the Sheraton Hotel which was located at Miss America Way. We found the street name hilarious till we researched the history of it.

The street got its name from holding The Miss America contest since 1921. Inside the hotel, there were displays of dazzling tiaras, splendid capes and beautiful gowns worn by past winners.

After putting our bags, we headed straight to the casinos. We went to Caesars, Bally's and Trump Plaza. Compared to Las Vegas, the resorts here were less lavished in their designs and glamor. We also checked out the prices of breakfast and lunch buffets which were over $15.

I tried on the slot machines and lost one-eighty. People taught it was one hundred and eighty dollars but it was just cents since I played on the five-cent slot machine. Charlene played the electronic roulette and actually won $5.75. Her strategic was to double the bet upon losing since the chances of winning was 50% each time.

We headed back to our rooms around 2am. I intended to run on the boardwalk early in the morning but skipped it since I had a headache. Instead, I slept in till 9am when we went for breakfast at our hotel.

After being fed, we proceeded to shop at The Atlantic City Mall where I 'lost' $200 to shopping. Then, we went to the boardwalk towards Trump Taj Mahal Casino. There were dilapidated buildings and empty plots along the way which reminded one of its glorious days. We did not stayed long on the boardwalk because the weather was gusty and chilling.

We had late lunch at a Greek restaurant where the walls and every surface conceivable like a football, ceiling fans etc were covered with one dollar bills with messages written on them. We wanted to paste a Singapore $2 bill but the owner said the fire department discouraged them as it could be a fire hazard.

We ended our trip by sitting in the car and sight-see the other end of the boardwalk around the Tropicana Casino before en routing to Baltimore.

More Atlantic City pictures.

White water kayaking along Antietam Creek

Twice in a roll, I had to kayak on raining days. This time, we were on Antietam Creek.

However, the weather did not spoiled my mood since I was confident and relaxed after mastering rolling on Friday.

The drive towards west of Baltimore took about 1.5 hours. Upon reaching our destination, there was no potty except the wilderness.

We did not practiced rolling since that section of the river was shallow. I would not want to roll too as it was muddy and smelly.

Along the two-hour journey towards Potomac River, there was only a section of rapid and a two-foot drop.

I felt a rush of adrenaline going through the rapid. With prior experience, I paddled harder to prevent myself from swirling and take control of my kayak.

Between this rapid and the two-foot drop was a long stretch of calm river. I commented to Rob, one of the instructors, that this was liked a dream come true, kayaking down a river and drinking in the sights.

We passed under the infamous Burnside's Bridge which was the focal point of the Battle of Antietam on September 17, 1862. This was the bloodiest single-day battle with the highest casualties (about 23,000) in the American Civil War. The rain added a more solemn mood to The Antietam National Battlefield.

Going down the two-foot drop was exhilarating and not as scary as it looked. However, ferrying across the rapid was challenging. I flipped and did a wet exit since I could not roll over. I could feel the rocks under my bum and the current was strong.

I succeeded on my second attempt, keeping my kayak tilted downstream. On the opposite bank, I learned to surf on the rapid where my kayak remained 'stationary'. I just had to control the direction.

Our trip was cut short because of lightning. We had to exit from the river quickly.

I am definitely hooked on white water kayaking and will enroll for more trips.