Indian Rock 印第安石

Indian Rock in Yosemite National Park, USA
We often amaze at how few people we see on our hikes, even in a popular park like Yosemite.  I think we encountered no more than 5 people on this particular hike. It was awesome having the whole place to ourselves.
即使像優勝美地那麼熱門的國家公園仍是很容易避開人群獨享如此美麗的地方。

台灣常見的角落 Little Corner in Taiwan

小小的巷子，明明連走路都得像螃蟹一樣，路的兩邊還是得跟摩托車搶位置，放一堆盆栽。我想台灣人喜歡花草已經到了神經錯亂的程度。這裡隨性拍下的是很普通的台灣景觀。只要出門就看得到的。讓人看了不開心都難，您說是不是？
Taiwanese people really love their plants. On the narrow streets, there are bazillions of motorcycles park on both sides. People still manage to fill in any remaining space with plants. I notice I smile a lot when I see the plants. Perhaps this is why Taiwanese plant like crazy.

Somebody Hitched a Ride??

Click on the picture to see it full size. Apparently, our friend Theresa had a passenger on a recent climb in Yosemite. (I guess riding on her left shoulder was easier than climbing all that vertical yourself, eh, Tom?)

Mysterious Corner 神秘的角落

(Click picture to enlarge 請點圖片放大）

Off the beaten path whiling finding our way to a waterfall, we found this stone "creature". Imagination took off!  My story has tiny fairies living inside it. What's yours?
在尋找瀑布的途中，不經意地發覺這麼一個神秘的角落。
它為什麼會被廢棄在這裡呢？
也許曾經有許多的小精靈住在裡頭呢？我不免胡思亂想起來。
你的故事一定也很精彩吧？

奉茶 Water Offering

It was a very hot and humid day when we hiked the so-called "Tough Guy Peak". One cannot be too picky about weather in the summer here in Taiwan. It was such a welcoming sight when we saw the poster and the big water container below it.  There're two other containers nearby. The poster says "Tea Offering".  Here "Tea" means water.  Volunteers, such as individuals, hiking clubs, students, co-workers, organized by the "Guan Yin Shan Water Carrying Team" organization, hike the tough trail providing 10 liters of filtered water for the hikers every day. What a tremendous service! What a blessing to all!

走在硬漢嶺的石階上，從頭頂流下來的汗彷彿像淋浴一般。台灣的夏天是天天熱。想出門接觸大自然的話就不能挑剔。我們一階一階的往上走，心中的“硬漢"卻一點一點的萎縮。管他硬不硬漢，7-11 在那裡？ 好不容易走到快接近山頂時很驚喜地看到裝水的大筒子和這個“奉茶”的海報。好感動哦！多謝那些辛苦抗水上山的大哥，大姐們。

Iguazu Falls 伊瓜蘇瀑布

(Please click picture to enlarge. 按圖片可放大。）
This was taken from the Brazil side. It is indeed Big Water. Our guide was a graduate student studying environmental laws. We had an interesting exchange on "Child Labor". I remember thinking how much we were alike in the sense that we all wanted better things for the world; we also held very different views in the definition of Child and Child Labor. We were all curious in learning others' viewpoint. It's not right or wrong, better or worse, it's simply different. I remember thinking "I've learned so much!" It was a memorable experience.
這個瀑布跨越三國，這是從巴西邊界照的。伊瓜蘇瀑布的原意是“大水”的意思。導引我們的是個當地法律系的研究生。我記得我們當天對於“童工”的討論相當的深入。因為國情，文化，個人經驗的差別，我們的看法不盡相同。但是大家都存著希望世界會更好的心態，聆聽他人的意見。不論對錯，不評高下，放開心胸，那次的談話讓我學習到了不少！

A Room With A View 那拉提，新疆

This picture was taken from the hotel window. What a stroke of luck that the clouds put on a good show for us just when we walked into the room! Like many beautiful places in China, we saw the natural beauty and native culture disappearing fast as tourism blossoming. How can we learn to "play well"?
一走進旅館房間馬上拿起相機照下這一景。中國美麗的風景和民俗隨著觀光的發展似乎在快速的消失中。想到這裡，心中難免隱憂！