Was this place in a movie?

When I saw this view I had the thought "It looks like a scene from a movie". Even now, when I look at this photograph I have that same thought going through my head.

Such a picturesque road.

 If only the weather was always like this and I had all day to sit at that picnic table...

A tree's vantage point

On the edge

A lighthouse, a rock and a bench

The lighthouse...can you see it?

 The rock....I hope you can see this!

The bench....with my beautiful friend, Kumi. Who wouldn't want to sit here and enjoy the view?

Let's go for a drive

We kept wanting to stop along the road, but it was hard to find places wide enough for a car. Also, it was difficult to drive 5 minutes without another view that you would want to stop and admire.

Which directions would you go in?

 Perfect day, perfect view....just perfect.

Specialties of the Island

Nature, nature and nature! I couldn't get enough of the island. Trees and hill sides shaped by the winds. 

Unexpected pops of color.

A Little Town Called Chimayo

 My friends were kind enough to take me to a little town called Chimayo. This town sells some amazing chili! I bought some and brought it home with me. I haven't tried making the chili "sauce" (apparently, it is blasphemous to say chili sauce. It looks like a sauce, has the consistency of a sauce, but we must NOT call it a sauce, or forever be labeled a tourist. Thank you Cynthia for saving me from that embarrassment. lol) All I can say is the chili in Santa Fe is delicious and make sure to order Christmas (red and green chili) with every meal you can!

 This little town also had a few chapels. It is a very quiet town, but people mainly come here for the chili and maybe for some healing.

Museum Hill Botanical Garden of Santa Fe

 This botanical garden was beautiful and the weather in Santa Fe helped to increase the visual effects. During my stay I kept saying "Wow, these are some amazing cloud formations!" My friends probably thought I had been living under a rock or something. I mean who is blown away by clouds, but that is what happened. The clouds in Santa Fe were massive! These are the type of clouds that people would stare at and see different animals floating in the sky. Also, I should mention that there was a lightning storm dancing in the mountains during my night drive from Albuquerque airport to Santa Fe. That was a pretty spectacular show. It wasn't scary since it was off in the distance, but I had to keep reminding myself to look at the road and to stop gaping.

Native Flora and Fauna of Santa Fe

If you are interested in visiting this botanical garden you can visit their website for their location.

Kyoto, Japan: Daigo-ji Inside One of Many Walls

The building of Daigoji began in 874 on the mountain top and over time with help from the temples devoted followers (a few emperors, mainly) the temple was able to expand build the other important buildings you will find today.

Imagine these leaves in Red, Orange and Yellow. Can you imagine it? If you can't then that means you need to come here in Autumn, because this whole wooded area would be Red, Orange and Yellow.

This pagoda is one of the oldest buildings left in Kyoto.

For those of you who enjoy hiking you will like this temple. If you continue along this path to the back gate you will come to the base of the mountain. From there (you have to pay a fee) you can climb to the top to visit Kami Daigo area where the first temple was built. From what I have heard and read it is a steep climb and it takes time, but the view is worth it. I didn't know about this before visiting and so was not wearing appropriate clothing or footwear for such a climb. So, my mother and I decided not to take part in this part of the temple grounds.

This is the Kondo Hall built around 926 in the Shimo Daigo area. Inside you will find many Buddhist statues and you can donate a coin (or two) into the prayer box and say a prayer to them.

Just some random fungi. Just to show how close to nature you will be at this temple. Also a forewarning, for those of you who have a fear of spiders there were lots of spiders in the trees. I personally was a little freaked out by the sheer size of some of them (okay, I may be exaggerating, but for people with a fear of spiders they will seem enormous). I'm just saying don't go walking through the branches and to shake off your clothes after climbing the mountain in case you accidentally take a new friend home. (Happy Hiking!)

The Biggest Tree in the Woods?: Shinshiro, Japan

No end in sight

I keep walking further away, but the tree does not get any smaller.

Walking Through a Village: Shinshiro, Japan

 

 Yes, people live here. It seems like the people who live in this area are elderly. I only saw one young boy and he was visiting with his grandparents to catch bugs. 

I don't think I would want to live in this area, it's peaceful and beautiful, but it's far from any supermarket. Plus, I saw a lot of signs of previous mudslides. There was a street sign that was covered in mud from the last mudslide in the area (the sign reached above my head and I'm about 167cm tall or 5'6"). Then again, there are pros and cons to where ever you choose to live.

 The stones are to help with traction for cars when it is raining...or I'm making things up and it is just to make the road look pretty.

I have to say it is awesome how hikers dress in Japan. They are very colorful!

I, on the other hand, was NOT prepared for a hike. I was wearing sandals, shorts and a tank top. Definitely not an attire I recommend for this trip. I didn't realize until too late that I would be hiking. I thought this trip to the shrine would be like any other trip where it was a fairly simple walk up, maybe 15 steps, and then see the shrine....yeah, you need your hiking gear and possibly a raincoat since it started pouring when we reached the half way point on this trip. Luckily, I did have my mini umbrella! I was prepared on that count! (Failed on every other count though, I could take a lesson or two from a boy scout)

At the Bottom of Horaiji in Shinshiro, Japan

 

 

 

This was only the beginning of our walk  up the mountain. The mountain has steps to help you along. Some of them are slippery so be careful! We took over a 1,000 steps just to get to Horaiji.