We couldn’t read the Japanese script by this closure sign, but a sign further up the path showed a picture of a menacing bear. “I don’t need to read Japanese to understand that sign,” said Julie…

For an hour-long train ride, there’s no way there could be nine more stops so my doubts that kept nagging at me finally became action. Julie asked some employee on the train, “Toyama?”…

The train was about to move and both Julie and I were separated! Julie panicked and my heart started to race. So both of us tried real hard to force the doors open before the train moved…

No one seemed terribly happy in the car from the driver to Donald to Julie who could understand the complaints made between Donald and the driver in Chinese. I could sense the momentary tension…

So we disembarked to a chorus of “Meiguoren (American)” or “Laowai (Old Foreigner; not exactly a kind thing to say)” by some of the more intoxicated guys also wielding cigarettes…

There, we paid our 20 yuan per person admission charge and walked about checking out some of the indoor exhibits and having fun with looking at some of the larger statues, especially the first one…

He straight away asked whether we’ll pay in cash or credit. But we already hesitated. And upon further inspection of the box, I had read that this stuff was Bear Bile Powder…

He said he had never been out this far before and the longest he had driven in any one stretch of time in his 25 years on the job was 1.5 hours. So the 6 hours or so of straight…

Once uncle got home from work, we conversed for a bit. Unfortunately, he had a pretty thick Sichuan accent or dialect going and we really couldn’t understand a word he was saying…

At that point, we embarked on what would turn out to be one of the more dangerous slow boat cruises I’ve taken part of as this boat (as well as others) would routinely crash into the walls while…

Now, it was time to get to sleep, but one thing we learned that was kind of a downer was that this place didn’t have mosquito nets. This was disconcerting considering that malaria and yellow fever…

That relative peace and tranquility was quickly dashed on our way out as large Chinese tour groups with tour guides speaking through bullhorns once again invaded the premises. And it got worse…

The clouds looked dark and threatening, but they hadn’t delivered any precipitation. However, the winds were howling and that made the cable car ride a bit scary as we were swaying in it…

Like many of the hikes we had done in the Southern California area this year, the one we intended to do today was a repeat of what we did a long time ago when we were still…

Before we got deep into the white stuff (without chains), we decided to turn around and call it a defeat. So we wouldn’t see neither Koosah nor Sahalie Falls as I had feared…

…this trip seemed like it wasn’t meant to be because there was predicted bad weather (funny how the forecast gets worse after you make the booking last week) and Julie wasn’t feeling well…

It has been about six years since our last trip to Switzer Falls. Back then, it was during a disappointingly dry winter so the falls itself was disappointing despite it being February…

It was a little before 9am when Mom, Julie, and I left the parents’ place for Sturtevant Falls. In my heart, I wanted to leave earlier, but with a combination of a long week of work…

I was getting a bit tired of stopping at some unknown pullout, getting out of the car, inspecting the scene for Ortega Falls, getting back on Hwy 74 without getting in an accident…

I think it was almost eight or nine years ago since the last time Julie and I spent any bit of time in the Santa Barbara area for Valentine’s Day. Back then, we weren’t waterfallers…