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Sunday, March 21, 2021 at 11:16AM The first Khao Yai week-end . . . . small roads and beautiful temples.
As my university has called off live, in-person instruction, I have been making my lessons at home and posting them online. This has had the hidden benefit of allowing me to physically be wherever I want to be, as long as I have a computer and a good internet connection. So twice in the last month my wonderful wife and I have gone up to the mountains of Khao Yai, 2 1/2 hours northeast of Bangkok.
We visited friends at Toscana Valley in Khao Yai.
Khao Yai is a region at the western end of Sankamphaeng Mountain Range and is a heavily wooded area with a fair amount of natural environment still with wild animals, such as elephant and tigers, in the Khao Yai National Park.
Although Khao Yai is known for the National Park, much of the region is developed for weekenders from Bangkok to escape the city hear (especially in the 'cool season'). There are many, many small resorts and tourist activities sprinkled around the beautiful countryside . . . as well as an interesting assortment of Buddhist Wats.
So, while my wife played golf at the beautiful courses in the area, I explored the small roads to see what I could see. . . .
I had fun following 'points of interest' signs . . . and seeing if I could get to the hilltop temples I could see here and there in the landscape.
Wat Sanaamsai is a giant white Buddha statue on top of a hill. To get there you have to climb up hundreds of stairs.
Hundreds of stairs and hundreds of bells to be rung.
I am often amused by the cartoonish monks who adorn Buddhist shrines and altars in Thailand. I decided to light some incense and candles before I embarked on the hundreds of steps. Fortunately, some nice people pointed out that I could drive all the way to the top if I wanted to. So I drove up.
In addition to a fine mandala, there was a wonderful view across Khao Yai from the top of the stairs.
I was glad that I hadn't walked up the stairs!
A fantastic giant Buddha image looking out over the valley.
I loved this row of Buddha statues in the many symbolic poses.
So many beautiful Wats in rural Thailand, and it seemed like there were more than the average number here in Khao Yai.
Such a pretty setting for this hilltop Wat.
Back out driving on the small farm roads through a great variety of agricultural crops. These were planted in quite a few fields . . . but I have no idea what they were for.
Even out on the smallest rural roads there are little stalls for Thai street food.
I saw a temple on a hill top and drove along very small rural lanes until I found the entrance.
I eventually found the Wat entry . . . and drove up the steep hill.
The road did not go all the way to the top. I parked and found the steep steps to the top. I opted to take a service path that wound along the side of the steep hill.
The walk up to the temple had wonderful views out over the surrounding farm land. Some say this area looks like the Italian countryside around Tuscany.
I arrived at last on top to discover a very fine, new Wat.
Magnificent. Wat Pa Phu Hai Long.
Buddhas of all kinds atop the hill.
A grand view.
I love these stone balls that have been covered in gold leaf by pilgrims.
Such an interesting contrast of shapes and textures . . .
I left a donation at the beautiful altar.
I was sorry I had to leave this wat . . . it was so beautiful up on the hilltop.
I enjoyed my walk back down the hill from the temple . . . and admired the view. Many people say this region of Thailand reminds them of Tuscany in Italy . . . yes, it does.
I saw this little fellow near the car park.
We stayed at the guest house at the Tuscana Resort, an Italian-themed development for mostly Bangkok week-enders. Beautiful.
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A Second Week-end Trip to Khao Yai: A Buddha Cave and a Floating Market Garden
Another week-end out and about on the country roads of Khao Yai while my wife played golf.
Just a village Wat along a country road.
Such a wonderful, and brand new temple. So new, in fact, there was no sign and no marking on GoogleMaps.
There are an abundance of Wats to see in Khao Yai. This one on the way to the Magic Caves.
A beautiful multi-roofed staircase leading to a hilltop Chedi and temple . . .
I opted not to walk up the hundreds of steps to the top of the hill. The caves beckoned.
My GPS took me to this place.
My GPS makes perfect artistic decisions sometimes, for next to the hill was this fantastic corrugated building hung with an aging banner of some long forgotten festival. Textures to dream about!
Road dust obscuring a sitting monk image . . . and corrugation . . .
The other end of the banner held another fabulous image.
MAGIC CAVE LAND
After snooping around for a while I found the cave entrance located inside Wat Tham Trai Rat, a woman approached me and showed me a card that said she was an official guide for the Magic Cave Land. I asked how much it cost (in Thai)" and she answered in English, "Something or nothing." She took out her keys and we walked in the cave.
And down we went under the Earth into a colorful and wondrous world.
Not long after the Buddha altar grottos began to appear. Magnificent!
Ad on in to the cave we walked. Of course there were colored psychedelic lighting throughout!
Buddhas, monks, and hermit statuary throughout.
Some of the Buddha altars were more formal . . .
I'll bet this place was on the Hippie 'must see' list!
It seemed like wherever you looked there would be a Buddha statue in a nitch in the rocks. Wonderful.
Although the cave is not completely full of amazing rock formations, there are enough to make anyone with an interest in geology interested.
There were some fascinating flowing rock formations.
After about 39 minutes of walking and stooping through narrow and low passages, a sign in the dim shadows appeared . . . I thought, "this is going to be interesting" . . .
"Interesting" is an understatement. Truly a wondrous thing to see deep in a cave in Thailand.
Not only 'cave man bones' but the bones of animals and perhaps other humans were embedded in the stone display.
We caught up with a big family here . . . they were rubbing the bones and then spreading the 'bone spirits' around their heads . . . so, of course, I did the same. Very therapeutic.
As there always are, pots for making donations to the upkeep of the caves and nearby wat. I left coins in each.
At one point there was an opening in the cave ceiling and a perfect light shaft shown through . . . I wished it had fallen on a golden Buddha . . . but it didn't.
My favorite Buddha altar in the cave. Magnificent.
Astonishingly beautiful cave Buddha altar.
Colorfully lit passages . . .
Passing from underground room to room and 'discovering' new vistas and Buddha altars. Extraordinary!
After a 90 minute 'tour' underground we at last came to the stairs leading out. It was a very interesting experience in a low key kind of way. The cave was very low key, not at all an over-developed tourist attraction. It is, after all a Buddhist temple.
The Khao Yai Floating Market
I stopped in at the Khao Yai Floating Market and was greeted by this old Chevy pick-up. Nice.
Another nice, funky old Vespa with a side-car at the entrance.
Although it would be fair to say that the Khao Yai Floating Market is a bit of a 'tourist trap' . . . it is not without its charms, beauty, interest, pretty gardens, and photo opportunities.
You enter the 'floating market' through pleasant gardens before walking 100 meters down a hill to the pond (not a river) they dug for the water feature.
I didn't have a map of the layout, so I followed the signs . . . OH! COFFEE! I'll have to check it out . . . but first . . .
I started along this wooden boardwalk to explore the old buildings. Very pretty.
The actual 'floating market' does not actually float. It is a manufactured replica of a traditional Thai floating market [my photos of a real floating market can be found here]. It looks nice, but is not authentic.
Before the pandemic, one assumes, Bangkok week-enders would flock here for food, a little shopping, and to enjoy the gardens.
At 10:00am on the morning I visited the Khao Yai Floating Market I was the only patron.
Fortunately there was ONE little food stand open selling my favorite papaya salad (sum-tam).
A side order of sticky rice and puffed rice cakes (and a CokeZero) made a nice snack. It was delicious.
I cold see that it would be nice to while away a hot afternoon in a hammock here . . .
There were a few antique items setting around to create an old-timey feel.
The wooden boardwalk was a thing of beauty (to me!). It was a little strange to be in this place all alone . . .
I was fascinated by this old barber shop . . . I wondered if a real barber occupied it as a business during more touristy times.
All the little shops along the boardwalk were closed . . . on to the gardens.
This is good. I love flower gardens.
A vast and wonderful hillside garden greeted me!
They had a good eye for color.
I followed a black butterfly around for a while . . .
Sunflowers are such a happy sight . . . always.
A sunflower is an amazingly complex thing.
A sunflower is one big flower filled with many, many smaller flowers opening up in rings around the center. WOW!
Each sunflower is quite unique.
Someone thought it was a good idea to plant sunflowers in the rose garden . . . it sorta worked . . .
Many different flower beds winding up the hill to what I hoped was an open coffee stand.
Beautiful colored whispy fronds.
The flower gardens were quite extensive and well-maintained, considering the wet season had yet to begin.
Up on the hill were a row of lounging huts . . . places to spend the day.
The coffee shop was open . . . and the coffee was delicious. There were pleasant places to relax while enjoying the coffee (and a brownie) too.
Two couples in their 20s showed up and took photos of each other in this heart-shaped 'frame.'
It was hot, and it was time to leave. I walked back down the hill under the cover on these wonderful stairs.
Shadow and pattern . . . on the stairs down . . .
I passed this along the way . . . I have no idea what the plan was for it . . . but it was very interesting.
And back along the pond . . .
. . . and across a very rickety bamboo bridge . . .
For some reason, there was an old fashioned schoolroom set up. I suspect the developers were collectors of all kinds of old stuff, and this project was a good place to display it.
And at last I was back to the Strawberry People and the park exit. It was worth the nominal entry fee for a nice morning of photography and coffee.
And we finished the day at our friends house for a magnificent BBQ in Toscana.
Thursday, July 5, 2018 at 2:21AM 
I spent a fine afternoon in the forest, fields, mud flats, and estuary of the Billy Frank Jr. Nisqually National Wildlife Reserve, near Olympia, Washington.
I have wanted to go to the Nisqually Wildlife Reserve since I arrived in Washington a few months ago . . . and today was my chance: perfect weather. I passed Woodland Creek, an estuarial creek, several times before and stopped this time . . . it was on the way.
The wetlands grasses were in full mid-summer lushness.
The blackberry vines grew among the horsetail ferns everywhere.
Someone hung a large birdhouse along the path.
Beautiful summer wildflowers . . . and then a moving distraction along the creek . . .
A wonderful surprise . . . . I sat very quietly, not 20 yards away.
I watched, and photographed, for over a half hour . . . 
They finally moved on along, walking in the Woodland Creek streambed. I followed, but lost sight of them in the dense forest.
I wandered back to my camper along a horsetail fern-lined trail, and drove out to the Nisqually estuary.
The Nisqually National Wildlife Reserve is comprised of four distinct natural ecological settings: freshwater ponds, wet forests, former farm fields, and estuarial mud flats (I visited during extreme low tide). All areas were fantastic! Here, diving ducks in a freshwater pond.
Elevated wooden walkways took visitors out into, and above the delicate ecology of the wet forest.
The elevated walkways afforded wonderful views of the freshwater wetlands.
At the edge of the forest were the barns of an old settlement farm.
Early settlers expended a huge amount of labor and resources building a system of dykes to drain some of the Nisqually Estuary for farmland. The land now stands uncultivated . . . for the benefit of wildlife habitat.
The huge barn, now a part of the National Wildlife Reserve.
The colors of the fields and surrounding hills were breathtaking!
All the paths were well marked with informational signage about the indigenous flora, fauna, and local geology.
A wonderful angle from which to view the mammoth barns!
I wandered around some more on the elevated walkways, stopping here and there to take flower photos.
Busy bees . . . and . . .
Busy butterflies too!
This one seemed to stay around just so I could photograph it!
I left the cool shade of the forest for the dry gravel path through the fields and onward toward the estuary . . .
The old field drainage canals astride the dyke was full of thick bull rushes.
Many birds on the forest edge.
The grassy fields gradually gave way to estuarial flats.
I knew the tide was going to be out when I saw these small bay arterial channels.
My first view across the wetlands toward the elevated observation walkway.
I climbed the ramp up onto the observation walkway . . . an incredible piece wooden construction in its own right.
The view back up the Nisqually River across dry sand bars.
Looking back toward the tree line and the old ban from the walkway.
The sights from the walkway were both strange and captivating. You cannot visit these low tide estuarial landscapes any other way.
A mega-walkway!
The further out I went the more it became an exposed bay floor.
On one side of the walkway was the Nisqually River . . . with evidence of the pilings of old commercial structures.
Some commercial project lost to time.
On the other side of the walkway was a vista across vast mud flats . . . loaded with very interesting objects!
Strange things . . . . and, unfortunately all too many plastic bags!
There were not as many birds as I somehow had expected . . . but there were birds.
A gull loitering in the muddy estuary . . . 
A friendly little fellow!
Evidence of sea level rise: the old level of the fields and 'dry' flats are eroding away with only a few small 'islands' of the old land level left. Only a few inches of sea level rise can cause this kind of erosion of wetlands.
Sea water inundation into previously 'dry' areas.
A new ecology is beginning to develop.
Altogether too much plastic. The Human Being!!!
Here and there were sand bag earthworks to direct the drainage flow under the walkway to the Nisqually River.
I imagine this water redirection effort to save the walkway is a never-ending chore.
Stumps washed down the river when it raged in winter.
My ultimate goal, and the terminus of the walkway, was several miles from dry land!
The final observation pavilion was not too far from the actual Puget Sound.
Puget Sound in the background.
It was a beautiful day to be out in the world . . . making the most of the supramundane.Wednesday, May 23, 2018 at 7:15AM 
Out n the farm, just north of Keizer, Oregon, a storm approaches.
Western Oregon in mid-Spring . . . breathtaking beauty.
I am staying with a friend who keeps bees on his 'hobby' filbert farm.
A large puff of flowers being pollinated . . .
Busy bees from the farm's bee hives.
Bees are not the only insects that carry out pollination duties . . . flies do to.
Wild clover growing at the fringes of the orchard and gardens.
Late in the afternoon . . . one small shaft of light found it's way through the bushes to find this one hidden flower. WOW!
Such a lovely variety of magnificent flowers all around the farm.
A whole world in one flower . . .
Ravishingly beautiful . . .
So many flowers . . . I wish I knew the names of all of them.
Many flowers showed signs of flowering for a long time . . . as there were many stages of development all on the same stalk.
Deep red . . .
And a salmon rose . . .
A yellow marvel hidden deep in the reeds . . .
Oh my! The patterns!!!
I have to always keep an eye open for this mean, aggressive rooster. He will attack without eating!
Nature's flower arrangements . . .
Busy bees all across the many flowers in the garden . . .
I love these bursts of life . . .
A never-ending landscape of flowery bouquets . . .
It is hard to believe these waxy flowers are real . . .
Tiny flowers in the deep grasses.
While some plants throw out many, many blossoms, others offer only a few brilliant targets for pollination.
The back garden . . .
Busy bees . . .
A busy bee getting lost in the white folds . . .
Lovely green . . .
Lovely berry blossoms . . .
It has been lovely staying out in the Oregon countryside.
Flowers everywhere . . . down in the bottom of the garden's ground cover too.
A tiny world of flowers.
Afternoon . . . .
Late afternoon puffs of white . . .
Oregon is known for its rhododendrons . . .
The farmhouse.
A nutty farmer . . . er . . . a farmer of nuts.
Some of the filbert orchards.
Specialized filbert harvesting equipment: sweeper (left) and harvester (right)
The last of this kind of early-blossoming flower . . .
I was completely infatuated with these purple beauties!
There were so many of these on one bush.
Fantastic!
So green . . . it becomes purple!!!
The last of these messy orange flowers.
Astonishing beauty!
Ready to burst.
Morning opening . . .
Opening in morning's first light . . . fully open by afternoon!
In all phases . . .
The center exposed.
. . . and fully open!
More pink wonders.
I LOVE these happy little things . . .
A magnificent purple Iris!
Remarkable variety of flowers in the garden.
Many different kinds of rhododendrons all over the garden.
Gorgeous rhodies!
The rhododendron must be the most 'flower-full' of all bushes!
The variety of colors of the rhodies is amazing.
Red rhododendrons too.
Bright salmon-colored rhodies . . .
I sometimes took photos of the same flower at different times of the day . . . in different light.
Small delicate little sprites of color!
A spray of pretty pink flowers.
I was sometimes surprised by new bursts of blossoms . . . where there had been none only a few days before!
These beautiful 'ornamental cherry' flowers came right out of the trunk only a foot off the ground . . . not on the limbs and branches!
I LOVE flowers and am always happy when I am in a garden . . .
Wednesday, March 14, 2018 at 8:31AM A RAMBLE IN FOUR PARTS
Part Three: Thai Farm Museum and Lemon Temple
My friend John Stiles and I set off in my old truck up the road to the rural province of Suphanburi, to the northwest of Bangkok. As usual, we had a vague idea, from a tertiary Google search, of what we wanted to see, but no particular plan: we would ramble. We would eventually see several amazing Buddhist temple complexes, a Buffalo park, and a Farm Museum. We never 'found' the actual town of Suphanburi, but we didn't care: we had a grand adventure rambling about the rural Thai countryside.
Never trust your GPS completely. After a wonderful stop at a river Wat we decided we wanted to see the Farm Museum, so we punched it into the GPS and took off. 20 minutes later we arrived at the spot on the GPS map and found the Lemon Temple instead. Where is the Farm Museum, we thought?
We walked around a little and could not find anything like a Farm Museum. Instead we found an interesting 'spiritual center' - a kind of Buddhist temple - and walked in to ask where the Farm Museum was.
Whoever is making donations to this temple must be expecting large crowds. Beautiful wooden pews. John found someone to ask . . . they said we were about 20K from the Farm Museum. Oops! Wrong place . . . but still interesting.
I walked around a bit and went up some stairs to find a locked door. Fortunately there was a window I could rest my camera on to take this HDR shot of the temple upper floor. The raised platform to the left is where the monks would sit and chant.
We spent 10 minutes at the Lemon Temple, found the lemon bushes, and left for Farm Museum.
The entrance to the Lifestyle and Spirit of Thai Farmers Learning Center looked promising. And we were hungry.
Fortunately they had an eatery where we could get a bowl of noodle soup. They also had a cafe where we had a fine cup of coffee.
The museum had a fine recreated historical rural shop.
Historical store.
A very beautiful space.
Strangely, not all the items on the display shelves were old and antique.
It was a very beautiful place with covered walkways.
There were fields to show different types of rice.
Trimming the rice fields . . . only at the museum.
Flowers in the rice fields.
The center is designed to educate farmers about farming methods, and to educate the public about farming in general. None of the visitors we saw looked like farmers.
A child's teeter-totter made of parts from an old buffalo farm cart. You hate to see these old items repurposed this way.
It was interesting to watch workers reassemble an old Thai style teak house.
There were a few small exhibits of random 'old stuff.' This old Suzuki and bicycle in a grass shack was particularly beautiful. We headed on to our next destination: The Hell Garden (Wat Phai Rong Wua) of Suphanburi.
