Tuesday, July 19, 2011

THE ROAD LESS TRAVELLED BY

Two roads diverged in the woods, and I --
I took the one less travelled by,
And that has made all the difference.
                                              - Robert Frost

My birthday spurred several dinner gatherings over the last few nights.  Not surprisingly, conversations revolved around paths in life and the unexpected, yet rewarding, turns one sometimes takes.  Much like Robert Frost's roads in the woods.

This triggered memories of our delightful hike early this summer in the Sequoia National Forest.  The dappled path below was peacefully untrodden for long stretches. Despite being in a large traveling party, my frequent detours and stops with the camera left me in solitude for extended periods.

Dappled path to Tokopah Falls
Sequoia National Forest
Photo: The Foolish Aesthete

I hopped from rock to rock to dodge creeks of melting snow on the path. (Thoughts of Lewis & Clark and their expeditions out West energized my trek.)  Ah, the road less traveled by!


"Creek" from melting snow
on the path to Tokopah Falls
Sequoia National Forest
Photo: The Foolish Aesthete

The real creek parallel to the path was barely visible here, but its rush and spray against the rocks signaled the proximity of the Falls.

The real creek below, fed by Tokopah Falls
Sequoia National Forest
Photo: The Foolish Aesthete

Finally - Tokopah Falls!  You can see the scale of the Falls relative to our (tiny) picnic party on the lower left.

Tokopah Falls
Sequoia National Forest
Photo: The Foolish Aesthete



Trite and cliche, but it truly is as much about the journey as it is the destination.

Have you taken a few detours in life that surprised you?




15 comments:

  1. Firstly, thank you SO much for my blogger award - it is much, much appreciated.
    Secondly, I'm enjoying catching up after being away and your 'Ministry of Silly Walks' post below is utterly inspired. My younger brother has a John Cleese Ministry of Silly Walks poster in his bedroom and we can spend an unhealthy amount of time quoting Python sketches to each other...
    Finally, I love how, in this sequence of photos the dappled light of the first image seems to wash over the path in a sort of mirror image of the melt-water of the subsequent images. As for detours: the whole last year for me has been an unexpected diversion, and one I now wouldn't change for anything.

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  2. You always took some great photos! Congrats :)

    http://theeyesofmara.blogspot.com/

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  3. what beautiful scenery. sometimes you just have to take a detour to find the most exciting stuff.

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  4. Gorgeous nature photos. I'm obsessed w. waterfalls!

    Xx

    http://chelseasgirl.wordpress.com/

    http://theidea-generator.com/

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  5. I LOVE that park! been there several times.
    xx
    http://dontcallmefashionblogger.blogspot.com

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  6. kudos to you for these stunning photos..i haven't been as adventurous ever but i would love to!

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  7. Wow, this scenary is magic!!!Amazing shots,thanks for sharing!
    http://chiccastyle.blogspot.com/

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  8. these are beautiful, I love the tones!

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  9. Yes it is the journey you have to remember to enjoy. My childhood came flooding back with the Robert Frost quote. Wonderful images to illustrate your post too. Xxxx

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  10. So nice pics !
    http://mesconfessionsparisiennes.wordpress.com :)

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  11. What beautiful photos! I think perhaps my whole college time was a detour i wasn't expecting to take. I had a great college package and somehow didn't get in anywhere i wanted to go. I ended up staying at the college in my home town. It was an interesting detour. But def where i ended up needing to be.

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  12. these black and white shots in natural landscapes are really interesting. I love this impression of light...

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  13. to answer your question, I fell in love with a french town called Le Puy en Velay as I saw it during a long car trip.

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Dear Fellow Aesthetes, I love hearing your thoughts. I think the other readers find them valuable too! Much love xxx

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