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Entries from December 1, 2020 - December 31, 2020
Rural Thai Temple Loi Kratong Celebration
Saturday, December 26, 2020 at 2:05PM 
A young couple setting their kratong to float into Klong Ha (canal 5). Loi Kratong is a wonderful occasion in Thailand . . . everyone participates.
Driving home from an evening of testing at my local drag strip, I noticed many cars parked near the rural canalside Buddhist temple. So I stopped to take a look.
I parked and walked across a narrow bridge toward the lights in the distance.
I entered the temple grounds through a 'side entrance' . . . lots of motorcycles parked.
Although it was a festival, a trampoline was the only amusement here for the kids in this rural location.
Once inside, I joined the crowd of rural Thai folks enjoying the evening out.
And what the people had come for was to stroll about the temple grounds eating various Thai treats, watching presentations and dancing on a stage, meet with the Buddhist monks for blessings, make a donation to the temple, to purchase or make their own kratong, and to launch their kratong into the klong (canal).
There were rows and rows of food stalls set up for the evening.
As always in Thailand, were was every imaginable delicious thing to eat on sale . . . readymade dinner packs . . . .
What would a festival be without deep fried frog?
The deep-fried bug snack stall was doing a brisk business.
The fried bug stall had two kinds of grasshoppers: these 'type A' grasshoppers, and . . .
. . . and these 'type B' grasshoppers. Take your pick.
If you were looking to munch on something a little more crunchy, there were the deep-fried june bugs on offer in green and black.
If crispy bugs weren't to your liking, there was also the chewy option: deep-fried and highly spiced grubs. Mmmmmmm!
For this festival, the food stalls had been erected in and among the temple buildings and large Buddha statuary.
At the base of this Buddha statue many local ladies were crafting kratongs for purchase to benefit the temple.
An onsite workshop of kratong production.
I purchased one of these kratongs made with a banana stalk base. "A krathong is traditionally a small floating container fashioned of leaves which is made to hold a small portion of goods like a traditional Thai dish (such as hor mok) or dessert. The traditional krathong used for floating at the festival are made from a slice of a banana tree trunk or a spider lilly plant. Modern krathongs are more often made of bread or Styrofoam. A bread krathong will disintegrate after a few days and can be eaten by fish. Banana stalk krathongs are also biodegradable, but Styrofoam krathongs are increasingly banned, as they pollute rivers and oceans." (**) There were NO kratongs for sale at this temple with Styrofoam bases . . . I was very happy to see that.
In addition to having kratongs for sale, there was a "Best Kratong" contest! Here are a few of the entrants:
This entry in the "Best Kratong Contest" was very beautiful.
My favorite to win the contest: the COVID-19-themed kratong. Yes, let's send the virus down the river along with our best wishes for a better life in the future.
The families would eventually wait their turn to enter a temple structure to pay respect to the Buddha.
Buddhism is a living "religion" in Thailand. Families carry out ancient rituals still today.
Small donations are placed on these bushes like leaves. Sweet.
Just wandering around the wat to enjoy the Buddha imagery.
The 'Wat festival' is not only a celebration of Loi Krathong and a fund raising event for the temple, it is also a community event. A stage is set up for local rural folk to share cultural and artistic expression, like this troupe of elderly traditional Thai dancers.
The traditional Thai dance group being publicly acknowledged and praised. 
Community leaders and event organizers acknowledged by the area political leader.
I took my new kratong (float) toward the canal to launch it and was met with throngs of people now entering the Wat for the festival and launching their own kratongs. Notice everybody eating some delicious Thai snack or other.
I arrived at the canal as the crowds poured in across the bridge.
A nice family photo just before launching their individual krathongs.
I pressed myself into this human mass to launch my own kratong, express my hopes for the coming year, and send respect to the Buddha.
Such a wonderful sight: a whole community collectively floating away the bad from last year and the hopes for the coming year.
And one giant krathong for the entire community and Wat.
The whole scene brightly lit up in fantastic colorful neon arrays.
Reflect light on Klong 5. Magic.
Extraordinary reflection!
When I left I crossed back over the bridge and saw this amazing scene!
Looking across the canal to the other side, I noticed just as many people there crowding to float their kratongs.
Looking back under the bridge to the Wat side of the canal . . . many, many people out joining in an ancient Thai cultural tradition.
My last look back at the the rural Loi Krathong festival . . . way out in a dark Thai farmland night.USA Road Trip: Carlsbad Caverns National Park, NM
Friday, December 25, 2020 at 10:38AM 
On my early October drive from Sante Fe, New Mexico to the Formula One race in Austin, Texas, I stopped to visit the famous Carlsbad Caverns National Park in southern New Mexico.
During my childhood my family moved throughout the western states of the USA. I remembering seeing signs along Route 66 imploring passers-by to visit Carlsbad Caverns. I finally made it 50 years later!!!
I was not disappointed! I paid the entry fee and took the elevator to the depths of earth.
The cave is well-known for its many calcite formations such as this column and array of stalactites. (**)
Although I did not bring a tripod for these long exposure, low light photos, I was able to brace my camera on the guardrailings. Low light photography is my favorite. [These are all ISO bracketed 3-shot captures from a Fuji X-T2 camera, post-processed in the Luminar HDR software. I was happy with the shadow detail and not having the brightly lit areas 'burned out.]
Giant columns of dripping calcite.
A 'waterfall' of stone. Amazing.
The spiky ceilings were captivating.
I would not want to be down here in an earthquake! First, you would be iimpaled by these needles and then crushed by the millions of tons of rock above you.
Some of my photos were dictated by the location of the guardrail. But it didn't matter: there was something interesting in every direction.
It was very dark inside the caverns (possibly to prevent the growth of mold).
Creepy, creepy formations everywhere.
A cascade of flowing rock . . . it seemed to be in motion . . .
The many 'off limits' side passages invited my curiosity . . .
The guardrails in this photo gives you an idea of how huge some of the large caverns were.
Nicely lit coves. I am glad they used the same light tone throughout (The stalactite caves in Gibraltar succumbed to a revolving color wheel light effect . . . horrible!)
And deeper and deeper I went into the caverns . . . The climate of the caverns is described as "humid tropical" . . . I felt like I was back in Bangkok! Nice!
And deeper and deeper I went into the cavern. I visited in early October, so there were very few tourists on the day I visited. Normally, 450,000 people visit the cavern every year.
There was a crystal clear underground stream running through one of the big rooms.
The cavern path is several miles long. At the other end were 2000 feet of stairs to reach the surface. I made the decision to turn back after about a mile so that I could take the elevator back up.
I had a wonderful two hours exploring the Carlsbad caverns. I highly recommend it . . . even if you have to wait 50 years.
USA Road Trip: Zion National Park
Friday, December 4, 2020 at 2:36PM 
Zion National Park is situated in southern Utah.
Remarkably photogenic landscapes around Zion . . . this may be one of the best photos I have ever taken . . .
The geology and topography of Zion National Park is truly fantastic.
We stopped often along the winding road to marvel at the rock formations.
Massive stone mountains.
A lone pine with a geological marvel as a backdrop.
I cannot imagine what geological forces created this formation. AMAZING!
Around every curve in the road was another magnificent geological scene. WOW!
This road!
I love this scenery: pine trees nestled within desert rock formations.
Inexplicable shape and pattern.
Ancient trees among the desert mountain scenery: perfect.
Dry desert stone, a lone lizard . . .
A stack of giant stone pucks . . .
Yes, actual cactus in the desert . . . who knew?
A mix of many different geological formations . . . all overlapping.
Along the road that goes up and out of the park.
Just another grand and gorgeous landscape.
Zion must be a rock climber's dream!
A desert stream falling through a rocky canyon. So beautiful.
Three rocky peaks along the road . . .
Morning wild flowers.
The most popular part of the park are the deep, narrow orange canyons. To access this part of the canyon you have to board a shuttle bus. It's a good idea . . . it keeps the pollution down, and there would have to be huge parking lots in the narrow canyon.
The route to the park visitors center on the bus goes into an ever-deepening canyon.
Into the deep canyon . . .
More photogenic scenes than I had time to capture . . .
Sheer stone cliffs towering above the stream and greenery below.
Beautiful light on these carved cliffs . . .
Giant blocks of stone all around.
The trees contrasted against the backdrop of black and orange cliff faces was a magical sight.
Blackened cliff, greenery.
The Virgin River flows at the bottom of Zion Park canyon.
Many tourists visit Zion National Park every year. The path up into the famous narrow gorges crosses this bridge.
It was a hot day in June, so some of the tourists were cooling off in the Virgin River.
Looking up the Virgin River from the bridge. The path follows the river on the left bank up into the steep valley.
The path up into the park is well-worn by millions of tourists every year.
The path follows the Virgin River, offering wonderful views.
Up we went toward the "waterfall".
Hot tourists stopping to cool off to the steep uphill path.
Massive cliffs overhead at the "waterfall" - if you look closely you can see a trickle of water falling over the cliff.
The path under the "waterfall."
The "Waterfall." The display at the visitors center said it was a massive waterfall in late spring and when sudden summer flash floods made the streams rage. OK.
These squirrels and a few lizards were the only wildlife we saw.
And onward we hiked into the deep cliff-sided Virgin River valley.
The sight of these rapidly forming clouds convinced us not to go any further. We headed back down the trail to the visitors center.
The walk back down was just as beautiful.
Such a pleasant walk in such grand Nature.
We grabbed a bite to eat at the visitors center and sat on the big lawn under a tall tree.
We purchased a bag full of Zion park themed tourist curious at the visitors center and headed for the tourist shuttle bus.
The shuttle system works very well in the park.
The views from the shuttle bus were fantastic too.
Back to the camper and a drive out of the park . . . with a few stops for more scenic grandeur.
Back at our hotel. There was a small tourist town where we found a "cowboy steak house" - expensive, but delicious.
