Of games and travels...

Hey!

Been a while, eh? This time, my excuses are travel and then the launch of multiple amazing games such as Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom and Baldur’s Gate 3. Along with these, I had gone back to exploring Ancient Greece as well in Assassin’s Creed: Odyssey. I do occasionally consider writing this newsletter again. But the motivation fails to show up. Plus the monkey in my brain keeps putting it off with the laziest of excuses - “I’ll do it later”.

Till this weekend, when I suddenly got motivated to write this. And so, here we are. Also, it’s to be noted that this motivation was not because I finished editing my recent set of photos. It just randomly materialized from thin air.

Since we’re on the topic of air, let me start with that of Death Valley National Park in California - the site of the hottest recorded air temperature on Earth. While this record of 56.7°C (134.1°F) was way back in July of 1913, it hasn't gotten much cooler since. The average summer temperatures still hover around 45°C (113°F). When we were there this July, the temperature was 52.2°C (126°F). Thankfully, we were driving through, so we stopped only at three viewpoints, all stops with the AC and engine running. This description does paint a hellish picture, but if you ignore the blistering heat, it’s actually a very picturesque National Park.

Not just Death Valley though, this sense of awe and beauty is basically a given for any National Park here as they’re built around some of the best sights Planet Earth has to offer. And the scale of these natural features is humbling to be honest. My first National Park was the Grand Canyon and huge is an understatement when describing it. It’s 446 km (277 mi) long, and 29 km (18mi) across at its widest, with a depth of over 1.8 km (6000ft). To hike across, it takes anywhere from 12 to 15 hours with challenges including a river crossing, elevation changes, and temperature drops. But these numbers don’t do justice to the massive scale of the Grand Canyon. You have to see it in person to fully appreciate it - which I admit, I am lucky enough to do. And I’m thankful for that.

Equally pretty are Zion with its majestic cliffs, Sequoia with its towering trees, Saguaro with its endless cacti and Yosemite with its mesmerizing waterfalls. There are more parks (63 in total) but these are the ones I’ve been to and at each place, I’ve been well and truly awed. My favorite though would have to be Yosemite with its towering Half-Dome rock formation, the El Capitan mountain, and massive waterfalls like Yosemite Falls, Vernal Falls, etc. It’s so vibrant and peaceful that it’s a welcome relief from the hustle and bustle of life.

Right now I’m sitting comfortably at my table writing this. My daily routine is monotonous - work, game, sleep, repeat. There’s nothing exciting about it, nothing that makes you go “Woah”. And in a way, I think this boredom is required so that you appreciate the trips you take even more. The longer I’m not traveling, the more I yearn for it. It’s like a magnetic pull towards the great outdoors. Like John Muir, the “Father of the National Parks” said:

The mountains are calling and I must go.

Thanks for reading and see you all next time!

Cheers!