Tallest Fountain in the World - Fountain Hills, AZ - Mar 2013

Here is a town that likes their fountains so much that they named their beloved town Fountain Hills and not to mention the town also boasts of being home to world's tallest fountain. I admit the fountain was impressive but getting there was half the fun for me.

I don't quite remember how I heard about Fountain Hills but I do remember that Saturday had been cloudy as we were ascending up the mountains in Tonto National Forest shortly after noon with no particular destination in mind. Earlier that day we drove through Tempe on Highway 202 and turned up north on Highway 87 into the mountains.

The weather up the higher elevation was lot cooler and terrain was lot greener than the Phoenix metro valley. I saw giant Seguaro cactuses that dotted the landscape across the rugged ancient meadow-like land that was covered in thick tiny bushes and mud-colored houses were perched atop the mountain. I am sure they have an amazing view from their homes but what do you do if you run out of milk. 

Further up the highway we saw the signs for the town of Fountain Hills and we decided to check it out. It was a brand new community carved out of the hills on the edges of National Forest. Everything looked freshly minted - the houses, civic center, fire station, roads etc. I would have to say we never set out to come to this city, we just chanced up on it I might add. 

Right in the center of the town is where all the fun is and it is where everybody makes a beeline to like a moth drawn to the light - for a valid reason though. Here you will get to see the world's tallest fountain.

Don't be alarmed if the fountain doesn't seem very tall when you first see it. They only activate the special pump at the top of every hour and the fountain shoots up to the skies and the show lasts for 15 minutes -- if you ever been to Vegas you know what I am talking about -- rest of the time the fountain just looks like a normal fountain but it still very high compared to lot of fountains. At its highest the fountain rises up to impressive 550 feet. I did not know this at the time but I came to find out the fountain was the tallest in the world when it was installed in 1970 and remained the tallest for a decade and now it is the fourth tallest in the world. Where are the other three? I prefer not to know - or I will be tempted to go see them. 

When the clock marks the top of the hour, fountain starts sprouting, there is a stir in the crowds, you can sense the anticipation among the throngs that are gathered there and they get up from where they were sitting on the grounds and walk towards the fountain with their cameras that looked the size of a bazooka hung over their shoulders all ready to go. Not to look out of place, I discreetly hid my pocket camera out of public view.

If you are lucky you might get to see a live free music concert that normally takes place up the banks of the lake on Saturday afternoons. Kids can keep themselves busy by chasing the geese around on the slopes of the embankment. Fountain Hills sure was one of the unique towns that I ever visited. Thank You!

Who Do I Root For? AZ, NC, MA, CO?

In National Football League(NFL) all 32 teams start the season in September with a clean slate and four weeks into the season it becomes obvious half the teams would have no chance of making the playoffs. 

The Thanksgiving Day marks the beginning of a final quarter of the regular season. The contenders are separated from pretenders by now. At this point the competition would be just heating up and top teams would be trying to make a statement of dominance by trying to finish with the best winning record possible and land the home field advantage in the process. Sometimes the teams even dream of going 16-0 which happened only a couple of times in NFL history. 
As the holidays in December get underway the last few playoff spots may still be up for grabs and teams would make a desperate run to make the cut. By the time Christmas rolls around the playoff field is pretty much set. Six teams from AFC and six teams from NFC boast the bragging rights of making it to the promised land. Out of the six teams two teams from each conference get a first round bye in other words they don't play the wild-card round of the playoffs. 
The winners of the wild-card week play the top dogs who sat out the first round in a week called divisional round. The 3rd week of January brings up the conference championship round that pits 2 teams in AFC and 2 teams in NFC. The two teams in each conference battle it out for a berth in the greatest spectacle in sports i.e., Superbowl. This year the SB will be played on February 7th at brand new state-of-the-art arena Levi Stadium in San Francisco Bay Area. 
Today is the Final Four of NFL - the Conference Championship Round. The four teams vying for the big game are : NFC - Arizona Cardinals at Carolina Panthers & AFC - New England Patriots at Denver Broncos.

I have lived in all four states North Carolina, Arizona, Massachusetts and Colorado and it is hard to pick sides while deciding which team to root for. Now that I live in Boston, I would love to see the defending world champions Patriots back in Superbowl and winning it all so I can go see them in a parade for the second time in a row. But in reality I am rooting for all four teams and I hope to see some good football action today. All I wish for is some closely contested games that go to the wire.

Wichita Falls, Texas : Don't speed

Dallas TX
January 2007

Was there a good reason for my trip to Wichita Falls? None. Absolutely none. I woke up on the first Saturday of January in "Big D" Dallas and decided I was going to drive to Wichita Falls. Who would do something like that? Nobody. It defies any logic and any rationale. What did we do in Wichita Falls? Nothing. Absolutely nothing. Like driving to Wichita Falls was not crazy enough I did not turn around when it got late in the day, instead we kept driving further north and crossed the Texas border and drove in to Oklahoma state and got on the interstate I-44 north bound and set my sights on Oklahoma City until the signs indicating the highway was turning into a tollway stopped me in my tracks.

"I am not paying toll for a trip I had no business doing in the first place", is what I remember admonishing myself. My good senses finally prevailed on me and it was time to go back home. But there was no way I was going to drive back on the highway that I came up on : the highway 114/287 that meanders through the towns in the region that is to the north west of Dallas namely Grapevine, Decatur, Bowie, Wichita Falls. The round trip had to be done in a loop. You are now in Oklahoma, you didn't want to go back the way you came, you didn't want to pay toll go up to Oklahoma City and going west could mean you could end up in Amarillo Texas for Pete's sake and you would never be able to make it home that night. Now what?

My only other option was to go east and that is what we ended up doing. I did not drive for 5 miles on Route 70 going east before I noticed a car that drove past me going in the opposite direction, and saw the driver in my rear view mirror making a U turn and was barreling fast towards me, he pulled close right behind me and before I knew I was being entertained to disco lights. He was a State Trouper in an unmarked car. So I pulled over. He stopped, got out of his car walked up to me and asks me "Do you know how fast you were going?" The angst in his tone was unmistakable. I said "No Sir!" He took my license, walks to his car, runs my license and walks back to my car and tells me "Slow down, drive safe" in an agitated voice and left in a hurry faster than a prairie dog retreats into a burrow at the sight of a hyena. I got out of the jam without a ticket.

The traffic stop kinda soured my mood. I kept driving east through barren fields and we stopped at "Ardmore, OK" the junction of Route 70 interstate I-35 and ate our dinner at a restaurant and we got on I-35 south bound to go back to Dallas. I was cruising along as I kept thinking about my day. "I just bought my brand new shiny Jeep and I wanted to take it for a spin and I got pulled over for speeding on the very first day. " So much for a joy ride on your freshly minted wheels...

El Segundo California : Anything But Second

Los Angeles, CA
Jan 2012

This little suburb in Los Angeles has the famous airport LAX as its neighbor to the north and to the east just across Route 1 some of biggest defense aerospace companies in US call this town their home. The popular Manhattan Beach sits pretty on the south side. The city boasts of a power plant that brings light to the metropolis. This place even has an oil refinery.

The town goes by the name "The Second" in Spanish is anything but second when it comes to shopping. The hordes of people from across the LA region come here to do their shopping and after a long day of shopping the tired patrons head towards the ocean only to turn on to Sepulveda Blvd to go north or south and they never get a chance to see the real El Segundo.

The quaint main street, the quiet beachfront and the upscale communities stay out of the limelight for the most part. It is just the way the locals like it, I guess. It was astonishing to me as how the town has managed to pack so many things in just a few square miles. The town El Segundo may be second for namesake but among the towns that overachieve it is no doubt numero uno.

Pittsburgh Pennsylvania - Perfect Place for Holidays

Pittsburgh Pennsylvania - Perfect Place for Holidays 
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December 2013 

We drove from Chicago to Cleveland to visit my younger brother and his family for Holiday, and the day after Christmas, he proposed we go to Pittsburgh to spend the rest of the Holidays in Steel City and I thought it was a great idea. We ended up having a fabulous time there.

1. Wyndham Grand
You need a luxurious hotel right in Pittsburgh downtown to get you in the right mood for Holidays and to start things off in a new city. A corner suite on the 10th floor with a sweeping view of North Shore would not hurt. I have to admit I would have never stayed at Wyndham if my brother had not paid for the room. He can afford it and I can't and I try to get by cheap.

2. Pittsburgh Steelers
Attending Pittsburgh Steelers game is a religious experience I was told by my brother. He had bought the tickets in advance for himself, his wife and his kids to watch his hometown NFL team Cleveland browns play Steelers in Pittsburgh. I didn't want to pay steep premium on the last minute tickets but I still wanted to get some pre-game action and see the diehard fans of Steelers. So we walked my brother and gang to the Steelers stadium at Heinz Field. We had to hop on a metro train and we got off at Allegheny stop and the stadium was right by the station. While my brother and his family were causing some ruckus at the football game we went to go see where Primanti's was located. Speaking of which..

3. Primanti Brothers
It is a local institution that was featured on pretty much every food show on TV and had to try their world famous Pastrami sandwich while we were here. So we had our dinner there that night. How was the sandwich? It was underwhelming and not as great as it was professed to be but it was still pretty good I might add. The locals swear by this place and the ambiance inside was awesome. The staff were friendly and their service was amazing.

4. Downtown 
The following day we went for a walk around the beautiful downtown. The temperature got frigid by the minute and kids could not cope with the weather and as we turned around to go back to hotel, the snow flakes started falling. We officially kicked off the snow season in "The Golden Triangle." I guess we brought Chicago weather with us.

                                     

Coming To Las Vegas : A True Christmas Story of Adventure

Middle Of Somewhere In Nevada Dec 2012
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When "Las Vegas, Nevada" hosted GOP presidential debate on 15th Dec the live pictures of the city on TV reminded me of a personal winter tale steeped in foolhardiness. It had been playing on my mind ever since and that could mean only one thing. The thoughts would not go away until I put them on paper, well on blog I mean.

I had been to Las Vegas many times and I had a great time every time but this story is not about how dazzling Vegas is and for that matter this story has very little to do with Vegas. All the times that I went to Vegas it was a smooth sailing except this time I arrived in Vegas like a sailor who crashes onto the shore after getting lost at the sea for many weeks.

The day before Christmas Eve in 2012 we dropped off the keys to our apartment in "Seattle Washington" and we were moving to "Phoenix Arizona" in search of a fresh start. The weather in Seattle was perfect that afternoon at least by Seattle standards but the weather down the Pacific Coast was a different story. A winter storm was approaching and expected to hit Oregon and Northern California later that night. So the drive down the interstate I-5 through California was ruled out. So we decided on an alternate route. We hit the interstate I-90 and headed east, as we got near "Ellensburg, Washington" I noticed some snow flurries but didn't think much of it and I turned south on interstate I-82 not knowing what lay ahead. It started snowing heavily and before we knew it, we were caught in a major snow storm and highway signs warned the drivers that the snow chains were required in order to proceed. For the life of me I had no clue how to use chains not to mention I never owned a set of chains. The highway was not plowed. It was not like you are in Chicago you know - the crews were not going to come out as soon as it started snowing and clean the roads. We were in the middle of Cascade Mountains; around here they warn you about dangerous road conditions and wish you luck and that's it. It was not 3pm yet but could have been 10pm for all I knew, it felt like it at least. We were not going to spend the night by the roadside in the blizzard, so we decided to drive up to "Yakima, Washington" and check into a hotel. Never mind the 50 mile drive from Ellensburg to Yakima took us an eternity.

When we woke up early next day in Yakima the town looked like it had seen a bad nightmare and was buried under several feet of snow. The hotel was owned by a friendly old couple who heard our story and took pity on us and the guy advised me to go buy chains for the tires and he would show me how to fix the chains. We lost some precious time shopping for chains and we didn't even need them right away since it had stopped snowing now. Armed with chains we thanked the couple and hit the road. Ironically we never had to use the chains rest of the way. Surprisingly the drive down the interstate I-84 in Eastern Oregon was good since the road conditions were fairly decent. I think Mt Hood stood guard for us and blocked the storm in its track and felt like it was looking out for us. By the time we entered Idaho it was already beginning to get dark and roads began to get slicker by the mile. Any sane driver would have been content to take a shelter in the cozy confines of "Boise, Idaho" but in a stupid display of bravado I decided to keep going.

The night fell hard and fast and the mountain pass by the "Boise Saw Tooth National Forest" was a tough stretch. The drive came to a crawl with the road covered in 2 inches of snow and it was still falling; To make matters worse, the tires on my Jeep were not in the best shape to handle the icy conditions. We were inching along and when I set my sights on the town of "Twin Falls, Idaho" the weather was much better and that meant improved road conditions. My mood had lifted and I thought our troubles were over. My wife was weary at this point and she was begging me to get a hotel room. The kids in the back were oblivious to all the drama that was unfolding on the road, they spent their time chatting, playing, fighting, pouting, crying, screaming, munching, fussing, napping, befriending, laughing etc...I pulled into a gas station and filled up gas and as soon as I got back in my Jeep, a wicked idea came to my mind. I announced to my wife "Honey we are not stopping for the night. I am going to drive through the night to take advantage of the kids' sleep hours and I can put some serious dent in drive time." She gave me a glaring vicious look and reluctantly agreed. I could not tell her this was for her own good. The longer the trip goes the worse she feels. I pushed those thoughts aside and I quickly pulled out my Atlas and studied the maps for a minute.

I quickly made some mental notes :
a. Head south on I-84 > Salt Lake City, UT
b. Get on south bound I-15 > Las Vegas NV
c. Easy ride to Phoenix AZ
The problem with this route though it is a bit round about.
-- Or there is shorter way --
I can get on Federal Highway Route 93 and drive south right through the middle of Nevada and if we are lucky and perhaps with some luck we will be hitting slots in Vegas by the crack of dawn on Christmas Day.

We were extremely exhausted and in an attempt to make major headway we neglected to make stops for our meals and now it was Christmas Eve and everything was closed in Twin Falls. Kids dozed off and they had no dinner. I felt terrible for putting them through this. I was hungry, angry, spiteful, frustrated, tired, drowsy among many other emotions I was dealing with. In a stubborn state of mind I drove past Twin Falls, got on Route 93 and drove towards Nevada border. You can't miss the sign at the border that says road is not maintained during winter months - the sign totally spooked the heck out of me and I was seriously contemplating to turn around and go back to Twin Falls and get a room. But in dogged determination I decided to plunge into the unknown remote wilderness. I was thankful it was not snowing at the time and I was grateful the traffic during the day kept the surface clean. It was a narrow two lane country road, very tight lanes with little room on either side, some stretches melted during the day iced over in the evening posing a big hazard. All I could sense in the pitch dark was miles of open country on either side of the highway blanketed in snow. I could see nothing but I could see everything at the same time. The traffic was light may be just a handful of cars. I was convinced I was not the only fool on the road but soon I would find out that I was the only real fool in the whole state of Nevada. It was probably about 10 pm when I reached "Wells, Nevada" at the junction of I-80 and Rt 93, the kids and my wife were fast asleep in the back seat when I pulled into a gas station to fill up. I was toying with a big temptation at that point. Here is my escape out of my misery. Why don't I get on I-80 and drive east to Salt Lake City, check into a hotel and sleep all my troubles away for a few hours. I caved in so I got on I-80 and drove for about 15 miles towards before my stupidity had the better of me and I told myself "I was going to complete my adventure." I tried to reason with myself "I got a tankful of gas that would last me 350 miles, keep faith in your Jeep and hope for the best." I turned around and got on Rt 93 and so my misadventure within misadventure thus began. I might have been at a Casino in Vegas and I went all in.

It did not take me long to realize I was driving deeper into the heart of Nevada, the road was not maintained during winter let alone cleaning, you are on your own. There were still some cars on the road and I hoped and prayed they would go all the way with me to Vegas to keep me company. It was slow going at best. I suspected if the fellow drivers were just as scared as I was by the remoteness, wretched road conditions, stillness of the night as the darkness was tightening its grip around us. It was just an eerie feeling that was making my heart pound faster and faster. I was finally convinced it was a mistake to take this road. I accepted the defeat. Now what? What choice do I have? Once I got to "Ely, Nevada" it was too late to turn around. No other way but to keep going. By the way "Ely" was the starting point for "The Loneliest Road in America" if you heading west. By midnight I was in the vicinity of the Loneliest Road in America. All my fellow drivers that I was counting on fell by the wayside probably given up or they went home perhaps in their warm beds by now, snoozing with belly full of hot food. It was bitter cold outside and the heating inside Jeep was barely adequate to keep us warm. Every time we passed a mountainside the unbearable cold dropped to unimaginable cold. I handed Sri and my kids a couple of thick comforters to make themselves comfortable and stay somewhat warm. Further down and to my utter horror the temperatures suddenly dropped. If I had thought the -4 degrees F was cold a hundred miles ago the dashboard showed -26 F now and dropping even further. The windchill may have been in the excess of 40 below.

At 2'o clock in the morning I was the only driver in the entire Nevada who was still on the road battling the elements. The only thing that stood between us and being frozen was my dependable Jeep which was saying to me "Keep trust in me. You will be fine." Blissfully for me, Sri and kids were not awake to watch me fall apart mentally but somehow I pooled all my energy and gathered some mental strength to press on. The highway signs were non existent and I had no idea if I was on the right highway. I did not want to end up in the wrong part of the the state with no gas to correct my mistakes. The fear had been my companion for so long that at four in the morning I actually got comfortable with the fear itself. I loosened up a little. I started paying attention to the landscape around me in the pre-dawn glimmer of light. It felt peaceful and utterly quiet. I found a gas station in a sleepy little town and I eagerly filled up(My fingers froze, my breath condensed mid-air as I filled) out of a need to feel secure more than anything but those extra gallons came handy later on. At 5:00 in the wee hours the faint rays of sun filled the horizon in the East and painted it red. My fear was all but gone but felt more groggy as the each minute passed. I guess the adrenaline wore off causing me feel drowsy. Every 15 minutes I would pull over to the side of the road and steal a few winks of nap and get on with the driving. I was now driving through "Great Basin National Park" area and I wished I were not as tired so I could have admired the rugged beauty of the back country. At 7 in the morning I was still 100 miles away from Las Vegas but I was too tired to sleep now and some manic energy had set in. Sri woke up tired looked raving mad and I dared not to make eye contact with her.

My spirits rose when I saw the Vegas skyline and It was 9 in the morning when we finally descended on the "The Strip" and drove up and down on the empty Las Vegas Blvd like it was our victory lap. The Most Valuable Players were my wife and kids. I was incredibly proud of them. I was operating like a zombie at this point and I could not wait to find a local McDonald's so kids can grab some breakfast and a drink. I got on the internet at McDonald's and made some hotel reservations and when we got to the reception the lady at the desk said we could not check in until 2pm. I thought to myself this drama that started out in Seattle two days just would not end and it just keeps going. Luckily another staff member looked at our kids and felt sorry for them and found an empty room and handed keys to us. Sooner than we stepped into our room, we showered, changed and crashed in to our beds and did not wake up until the next morning - 24 hours straight up.

==Thank You ## Merry Christmas ## Safe Happy Holidays ==

Lima Montana : Gateway to Splendidness

Lima Montana : Gateway to Splendidness : Nov 2012
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Lima is a tiny little speck in the vast wilderness of Montana, in the middle of nowhere near Idaho border. It was late November of 2012 and I was driving down the interstate I-15, the season was never early for snow storms in these parts, bone freezing temperatures, eerie weather conditions and I was trying to get past the storm in a hurry and in these trying moments an entrance to a ranch caught my eye. Set against the hills of Lima Peaks the gateway seemed like it was inviting you to the splendid skies of Montana and one could walk through the door, up the heights, right into the clouds to saunter among them. Well they don't call Montana "Big Sky Country" for nothing.