http://www.travelblog.org/Bloggers/Stephen-Paul/ Travel adventures in journals and photos from Stephen Paul en-us Mon, 09 Nov 2009 05:04:21 +0000 Mon, 09 Nov 2009 05:04:21 +0000 Another epic July 4 SCUBA trip to the Southern Channel Islands This year all of my friends were on board much to my surprise. We saw more critters this year than any other years I've gone Over 18 Giant Sea Bass Tuna Dolphins Sharks... The diving was great in fact this is the best SCUBA diving California has to offer. We even stopped by the little visited Santa Barbara Island This wa http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/United-States/California/Channel-Islands-National-Park/blog-420467.html One of my favorite pages on TravelBlog to explore is the Travel Photos tab. It's a temporary escape from my stationary life and the stresses of work. The pictures transport me to far off places through breathtaking photographs rated highly by other travelers on the site. Essentially they make me lust for the next big trip Please take the time to explore the specific entries I think they are http://www.travelblog.org/Oceans-and-Seas/blog-426489.html One of my favorite pages on TravelBlog to explore is the Travel Photos tab. Its a temporary escape from my stationary life and the stresses of work. The pictures transport me to far off places through breathtaking photographs rated highly by other travelers on the site. Essentially they make me lust for the next big trip Please take the time to explore the specific entries I think they are http://www.travelblog.org/Oceans-and-Seas/blog-425743.html One of my favorite pages on TravelBlog to explore is the Travel Photos tab. It's a temporary escape from my stationary life and the stresses of work. The pictures transport me to far off places through breathtaking photographs rated highly by other travelers on the site. Essentially they make me lust for the next big trip Please take the time to explore the specific entries I think they are http://www.travelblog.org/Oceans-and-Seas/blog-425678.html In 2006 a team of intrepid researchers in California discovered 3 trees taller than the Stratosphere Giant of Humboldt Redwoods State Park. The tallest living thing in the world is now a Coast Redwood called Hyperion and it stands an incredible 115.2 meters 378.1 feet tallRedwoods have grown and prospered in many areas of Europe Asia and North America since the warm Paleozoic Era over 160 m http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/United-States/California/Humboldt-Redwoods-State-Park/blog-421609.html I arrived into Groveland at 7am after a 3 hour drive meeting the lead guide and arranging my gear. It was moist and overcast as the driver arrived and after striking up a conversation with me it soon turned to his family. His niece was in Sweden tagging and tracking wolverines. He couldn't seem to understand why though saying Why don't they spend that money to track people instead Its a http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/United-States/California/Yosemite-National-Park/blog-413128.html Edward Abbey There is science logic reason there is thought verified by experience. And then there is California.Jimmy CarterldquoWhatever starts in Californiaunfortunately has an inclination to spread.rdquoHenry MillerldquoBig Sur is the California that men dreamed of years ago this is the Pacific that Balboa looked at from the Peak of Darien this is the face of the earth as the C http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/United-States/California/blog-386744.html After being at Pt. Lobos for only a short period of time one quickly realizes the beauty and character of this place is found nowhere else on earth. Endemic species abound in California and Pt. Lobos is no exception. Like a microcosm of the unique character that comprises the California Floristic Province this biological hotspot is teeming with diversity. Speckeled Granite cliffs inhabited b http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/United-States/California/Monterey/blog-372856.html Once you go on one liveaboard SCUBA trip to the Channel Islands you will make sure that you don't miss another It's been for 3 years in a row now that on July 4 myself and 25 others embark on a journey across the great expanse of ocean wilderness off the coast of Southern California. Next to the Sierra Nevada the Channel Islands are the next best experience of the Wilderness of Calfiornia. http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/United-States/California/Channel-Islands-National-Park/blog-364607.html Yule time is a special time of Christmas trees carols cheer church family friends gifts candy and Santa Claus. Nearly anyone who lives in the Northern Hemisphere can relate December 21 is the death of darkness when the days only get longer. Others can relate to the birth of Jesus on December 25. We welcome the light of the world by bringing a conifer tree into the home singing songs an http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/United-States/California/Yosemite-National-Park/Yosemite-Valley/blog-358425.html Would we believe the truth if it came from a squirrel Some believe that Dolphins posses higher intelligence and awareness of their own mortality like humans. They have no hands to create tools and alter their environment. They have no competition for resources to wage Dolphin pod wars. Their ultrasound language of clicks and squeaks might be as complex as our own but there is no translation fo http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/United-States/Utah/blog-348965.html A flight from Ban Lung in Ratanakiri Province to Sen Monoram in Mondulkiri Province then on to Phnom Penh. total time was 1.5 hours Impressive considering it takes 13 hours by bus. These are the aerial pictures from the flight. There's a lot of them but I moved the best ones to the first page. Full disclosure most have been cleaned up in Photoshop it was very hazy that day. I included so http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Cambodia/East/blog-347084.html I took 5 trips to the Sierra Nevada Mountains this past summer partly in preperation to climb Mt. Shasta but mostly to experience their beauty and majesty. Here's about 10 pictures from each trip with blurbs about each picture in the caption. Let's go to the mountains See some full screen versions here My Flickr Sierra Nevada Mountains 2008My Flickr Sierra Nevada MountainsStevehttpw http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/United-States/California/blog-329948.html 2133 vertical meters in height and 15 km in length in 30 hours of time that was the challenge laid out before us. Set in the idyllic mix of pastures and conifer forests of Northern California Shasta is the second largest Cascade Volcano at 14179 feet. According to legend Lemurian aliens are said to live inside. I signed up for the guided trip last April and for the last 5 months I prepared http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/United-States/California/Mount-Shasta/blog-322223.html What I expected was to see a society totally different from Cambodian culture known for their carved totems of deceased family members. What I got was an amazing river trip on a unique boat views of Vietnam a 1.50 ramen meal and also a glimpse at a Chinese village over 100 years old It was hot the river was cool. I bought a hat that barely fit my head. We were exhausted on the drive back http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Cambodia/East/Banlung/blog-306965.html The bus ride from Phnom Penh to Ratanakiri started out simply enough. It was a cool almost chilly morning for the short motodop ride to the bus station near Olympic Stadium. At 6am we were definitely short on sleep considering it was New Years Day and we spent the better part of the night before eating food ice cream and watching fireworks until after midnight. Fortunately we were given the http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Cambodia/East/Banlung/blog-293413.html My tour through the Temples of Angkor ended with a sunrise trip to Ta Phrom. The most photographed and sought after temple next to Angkor Wat I hoped to get there before the other tourists and thanks to my awesome tour guide and Tuk Tuk driver I made it in time Ta Phrom didn't fail to disappoint. The guidebooks say you feel like an Archaeologist from the 19th century when you visit Ta Phrom http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Cambodia/North/Angkor/blog-281239.html After settling down a bit in Phnom Penh the city became familiar. It was more developed than I had imagined and the people were the friendliest I had ever encountered especially if you know a few words of Khmer My vocabulary was expanding numbers 110 Hello Goodbye Little Brother Big Sister Big Man how much I have left right... With the major attractions from my s http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Cambodia/South/Phnom-Penh/blog-274356.html Well not symbolically just literally My sister brother in law and I decided to take a day trip titled the Outlying Adventure. This fantastic tour offered a trip to see some of the most treasured spots of the Angkor complex Banteay Srei nearly pristine intricate carvings in pink sandstone The Roluos Group a collection of temples dated to the 9th century some of the first to be built at http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Cambodia/North/Angkor/blog-254168.html A road trip to the White Mountains is something to be remembered. Its a long drive to a worthy destination and no matter which direction you come from the scenery is like nothing else in the country. 4000 meter peaks sagebrush desert Ponderosa Pine and Juniper forests rivers and canyons lakes lava and glaciers. My friend and I stopped at Hot Creek a pleasant reminder that a boiling chambe http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/United-States/California/blog-260807.html