The Most Beautiful Lake in America

Man!  I can't believe I get to come to Lake Tahoe!  I came here to work, but, I am definitely squeezing as much fun time out of it as possible. 

When you start driving up here, you can definitely tell when the city starts to peel off your car wheels and the mountain starts to creep into your nostrils.  The smell of a perfect mixture of mountain dirt mixed with the scent of the giant pine trees is so refreshing.  Besides, how often you feel so dwarfed by giant living creatures?  I often want to feel dwarfed if I can see dinosaurs again.  Yet, driving in these thinly paved roads in the midst of all these living giants, it certainly impress a sense of awe!

Yesterday, I went to the beach on the lake and frolicked for about 1 hour before my pager went off.  I enjoyed the gentle sun, beaming on my head, gentle breeze cooling off my skin, and site of big goose waddling on the beach amongst the little kids... unafraid and friendly.  It was a serene scene of vacationers and the beauty of a vast clear blue pool called Tahoe.

Some one once said, Lake Tahoe has enough water to cover the entire California with 14 inches of water.  It is about 1,600 feet deep and on the clear day, the water is so clear, you can see directly almost 70 feet down without difficulty!  It is so blue and emerald... so calm... no waves... beautiful.

Today, I took off for an hour and went to the Renaissance Fair.  It was so fun and goofy!  People dress up in medieval clothing... some people are even in-character, talking in old-English and asking where people are from... clearly, all the locations he talked about were in medieval England somewhere.  It was so fun!  There were sword fights, lots of drinking, clay pot smashes, archery, vulgar plays, vendors of various medieval art, clothing, incense, food, weapons...

After work around 7:30pm, I drove to the trail head of the Vikingsholm off the stunning Emerald Bay.  I did the 2.2 mile hike down and back up.  I spent 30 min sitting at the lake side.  There were even 3 beavers that were playing in the lake by themselves.  They noticed me and started to swim toward me, but dare not to get too close.  Then I see a big bunch of pine needles and green bulky leaves floating purposefully from the shore off in to the middle of the bay... I was like... that's odd!  Why would a bulk of debride be floating purposefully?  Beaver!

Other than beavers, did see the Vikingsholm Castle.  I spent time enjoying what God had made.  I appreciated and thank God for His beauty that is displayed in creation.

And... oh... there is a really awesome stretch of road off the 89 highway next to Emerald Bay when you literally see huge body of water on both sides of the road!!!!  Emerald Bay on the right, and Cascades Lake on the left.  It almost feel like you are driving on the dinosaur's back while the dinosaur is flying above the lake!  So awesome!  I wanted to take pictures so bad, but there's no where I can stop... no shoulders on the road... cliffs on both sides, you know what I mean?!  Awesome!

What a day?!  God even gave me time to go to church today, uninterrupted, while being on call.  I really like the place and the message was really good.  It gave me a lot to think about.  I'll process that in a little bit... I will process it.  It is so good!

I took a lot of picture, but can't get it off my phone... I'll add it soon.  Next time, I am bring my camera!

Moab, Utah

Wow, has it really been 3 months since my last blog?! I must be having too much fun in residency! This year has really flew by fast! I only have 5 more weeks left. I have 2 vacations during these last few weeks, and the first one is to Moab... here is my story:

Far far away from residency and the beach and home, I have found myself in the midst of a ton of red rock formations. The stress and fast pace of residency seemed to be a million mile away, 783 miles to be exact. Why did I come? AWLS! Advanced Wilderness Life Support course. This course taught me how to do wilderness patient assessment, treatment, and rescue. A short list of topics are: avalanche, climbing, altitude sickness, infections, burns, lighting, drowning, fractures/dislocations, bites and stings, water disinfection, hypo/hyperthermia, frostbites, ENT, and lots of hands on wilderness scenarios...

Our teachers consist of 3 ER docs in the special forces in the Army, a couple of docs who are professional rescuers, and other Wilderness Medical Society members. We learned in the classroom and out in the field. We also had a few evening sessions taught by various experts... one of note is Greg Child, who is a world expert climber and mountaineer. He did a presentation of his climb on K2 in 1990. Imagine being on 28000 feet climbing without ropes or oxygen! He is definitely of a different genetic make up than I.


A picture of K2, bordering Pakistan and China... the 2nd tallest peak in the world.

Pictures of Arches National Park:
So, of course, when I am not in class, this is where I am... I hiked 12.5 miles in Arches the first day and then few more the other days, and end with 3 hours of hike in the Fiery Furnance on my last day there. Here are some pictures...

The Landscape Arch, longest one, longer than the football field and only about 6 feet thick at the thinnest spot. Kept going on this hike took me to the Partition Arch that gave me 2 beautiful window views to the vally below.

Walking on top of a 'fin'... these verticle sheet of red rock are called fins... the tops of these fins are made of sand stone and the base layer is something harder and less water penetrable. So, as water travel from top to bottom through the middle of the sand stone, it gets collected at the bottom and eventually erode away a 'puddle' of sand stone forming an Arch.

The Delicate Arch: unofficial symbol of Utah. It is very tall!

Driving around, I found and will name this one the Whale Rock! And my camp.

Petroglyphs, or rock art, are found in various places on the canyon walls. Some are of styles that are consistant with time periods between 5,500 BC to 1,880 AD. Here I am point to a picture of a woman giving birth...

More rock art and a pair of dinosaur foot tracks... interesting?!

Continue on... here is a Mesa Arch at Canyonlands, and Double Arch at Arches.

"Islands in the Sky" at Canyonlands National Park.

Biking at Slickrock Trail:

In between, I did at 12.7 mile bike ride in Slickrock Trail... This is what is posted at the trailhead: "The Slickrock Trail is physically demanding and technically difficult. Although the main trail is 'only' about 12.7 miles long (out and back to the trailhead), you should allow 4 to 5 hours to complete the trail. Riders should also be aware that there is no bike route more challenging in the entire Moab area. Injuries are fairly common here; unfortunately, some of them have been quite serious. The Slickrock Trail is to be approached with respect."

Coolest offroad vehicle! Ever!

Me and the snowcapped LaSal mountains behind me; also the Colorado River...

My Action Shots...

Hiking inside the Fiery Furnace at Arches. I named this the "Thumb Up" rock... you see it?

Wedged in the crack...

Surprise Arch and the Goggle Arch... just right around the corner of this hike...

Lastly, we cannot leave without talking about this Cryptobiotic Soil... These little bumps are made up of cyanobacteria, fungus and other micro-organisms. It creates a structure to hold water and moister and produces nitrogen fixation so the plants can grow in the desert sand. Without it, there would be no obvious life. So, don't step on it! This patch probably is about 250 years old!

So, I hope you've enjoyed my pictures... I am determined to learn more about wilderness rescue and my role as the medical provider. Stay tuned...

(*) Sunday on the Mountain Top

So, I've decided to go another hike again today and spend some quiet time with our LORD on the mountain top. The hike was about 2 miles round trip, ascendning about 300ft. The view was gorgeous. With the sun gently caressing my face, and the wind pushing behind me to help me up the mountain, the feeling at the top was breath taking. As I sat at the edge of the clift, on a 'rock chair' designed for me long ago, my spirit desired to soar like the ravens and hawks before me all over the immensity and expanse of the sky. The air was crystal (not the crystal in the 'castle') as I take a few deep breath to fill my lungs. The crispy morning air brushes over my skin as they rush by as if they were in a hurry to get somewhere. The expanding horizon allowed my eyes to relax. The gentleness of the warm sun rays made me feel as if I am in the forever warm and secure embrace of my heavenly love. In the presence of such stillness and clarity, I cannot help but to think that God so loved us that He had created all this long ago to satisfy the heart of a little creature like me at such a time as this.

A panoramic tour

COME ON, WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR?

The trail head... it was actually kinda cold. It stormed last night, so there's even patches of icy snow on the trail.

The red trail, revisited.

Remember this picture? Last time I had my crossbike on this trail and about scare my pants off. I said I'll be back... well, here I am :) Today, I actually finished the 3.3mile Airport loop. The trail is pretty narrow and often made up of slide rocks such as below.

Yikes...

Courthouse Butte and Bell Rock behind the tree...; don't fall!

Where I came from... where I am going to...

It was amazing the wind and the quietness on top of the mountain. I had an Mountain Top experience today. Spent some quiet times with the Lord up on the top. Psalm 19: May the words of my mouth and the meditations of my heart be pleasing to you, LORD. His creations are waiting for the Sons of God to be revealed. Look at them wait...

Beauty of Red

So, for the past 2 days I have been working over night shifts at the ER, which gave me time to be up in the morning for some very nice hikes and bike rides in Sedona, AZ... land of beautiful red rocks and weird spiritual things, such as vortex, aliens, and crystals... and also an pretty cool looking church. Sedona is a place I reminesce about. This trip back is some what bitter and sweet. Bitter part is letting go, sweet part is enjoyment of beauty unmatched. If that doesn't make sense, don't ask.


A catholic church build on the side of the red rocks. Sitting quietly in the pews listening to sounds of monks chanting hymns almost took me back to the dark-age France. I remember myself in the monestery of Southern France a few years back, sitting in the old 12th century monestery off of the beaten path... walking by rolls of lavender and grapes... Times of solitude and peace.

A 6 mile hike around Bell Rock and Courthouse Butte . Bell Rock was the center of the universe as thought by some New Agies that the Commet was going to fly by and pick them up. No joke.

WHAT!? No bike... you've got to be kidding me... I can't believe this! This is an out rage! Fines! What! I can't believe this! .... ok, I better simmer down...

Look at those red sand... aww, such a beautiful and serene hike.

Memories... Now looking back... shadows... and a stallion with a small package. Don't ask.

My favorite rock... SNOOPY! A picture of Yours Truly at my favorite dig "The Wildflower Bread Company"... if you are good, you can see Snoopy behind me.

Ahhh... my bike and I and some red dirt makes great romance... or some pain in the crotch from all the rough ridin'

That was scary! See that slick rock path? That was what I had to ride on. I was scared. You see, I am no world class mountain biker and I don't have guts to fall 60 feet... so, I went about 10 minutes on this trail and I had to turn back. NO, I can't do it. Perhaps another day. The view was good though. I will be back!

Hey look... my alien friend! I can't believe that he/or she has been in that tin-can all these years. I can't believe I got to take a picture with 'it' or he or she or ... um... let's go find some aliens.

So, adding on to all the wack jobs that I saw... here is a crystal castle. First of all, it just looks like a broken down house. Then, I heard about these 'awesome vortexes' around Sedona... well, you see many people don't know about these vortexes, they literally will change your life! So, I've decided to interview a few experts... including my green friend above.... here is what transpired, you also have note the nervousness in their voice and the twirling of the hair and head and the inability to look you in the eyes:

• Me: So, what are vortexes?
• Them: Well, they are 'scientifically studied' areas that have 'positive or negative' electromagnetic energies beaming from the earth because of the rich iron or spiritual deposits.
• Me: So, are they marked that I can experience and see it for myself?
• Them: No, they are not, but if you happen to pass through one, you will feel it.
• Me: So, what do you feel?
• Them: Well, one time I was hiking in through the vortex and I decided to take a rest, and when I sat down, I noticed that everything around me and the earth beneath me was sort of humming and vibrating. And, you feel somewhat renewed. It was sort of different for everyone... it was awesome!

Alright, enough of that... if that make sense to you, I don't know what else to say. So, other than all the 'interesting' things I saw in Sedona, I still love the red rocks. I still love the hikes and the biking trails. I love that this environment encourages stillness and quietness. Peace and beamed out.