The first time I heard about Yellow Mountain (“Huangshan”) was when my dad showed me an old black-and-white photo in which he, a then-7-year-old boy, stood in front of a gray mountain and grinned widely. He pointed at the mountain in the background, which was more like a blurry outline in the dusk, telling me it was the most beautiful mountain in China and was located right in the south of his hometown.
Born in the U.S. and speaking English more fluently than Chinese, I could not understand everything he described about the mountain, but I saw the sparks in his eyes and sensed the joy in his voice. I was curious what kind of mountain could be so deeply etched in his memory and make him smile like a child.
Last summer, I attended a two-week summer camp traveling to China. One activity on our schedule to visit Yellow Mountain. As I saw the jagged mountain looming up in the horizon from the bus window, the image of blurry outline in my dad’s photo ran through my head, filling me with a sense of excitement.
We first took a cable car that slowly elevated to a highland of approximately 1,600-meter altitude, where we entered a gate entrance of White Goose Ridge (“Bai’e Ling”) and started ascending the steps leading to one of the peaks for a mountain view.
We raced up a stone-step trail that wound up the mountain, burning the energy that would usually be spent on Fortnite or other video games. The slope was gentle at first, but as the mountain became steeper, the trail pitched up and our strides turned slower and more laborious. As we tromped up the steps that seemed endless, our breath became gulps and our faces sweaty and ruddy. Then I remembered my dad told me that one had to reach a peak to get the best view of the mountain, so I gathered my strength and continued the journey.
The moment we reached Shixin Peak (“Shixin Feng”), one of the many peaks of Yellow Mountain, I realize what my dad meant by the best view of the mountain. The distant mountain peaks in varied shades of smoky blue overlapped and jutted into the solemn sky, appearing and vanishing in the haze that hovered and swirled around them. Dark basalt cliffs were gently brushed by clouds suspended in an ethereal way. The mountain was pristine and mysterious, so different than the grassy rolling foothills that I used to see.
In the crevices of cliffs, there were pine trees in different odd shapes, such as dragons, flutes, and tough yoga poses. The soil on the mountain was extremely barren and rocky, so those trees had to use all the possible resources to survive. Their leaves were as sharp and hard like needles, roots long and tangled to absorb every drop of dew, branches crooked and twisted to search for light. In contrast to the well-manicured grass and the neatly-trimmed trees along city streets, those pine trees hanging on the cliffs were wild lives sculptured by wind, rain and gravity and toughened by years of weathering and erosion.
In front of my eyes was a vast canvas, where nature revealed a painting of beauty and grace, strength and tenacity. I took a deep breath of the fresh mountain air, immersed in the serene and unruffled surroundings.
At that moment, the fading photo that my dad had showed me flashed with vivid colors in my mind.
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Grt place to visit.. This place is located after entering the Ranthambore National Park.. However, to visit this place u can evn get your own vehicle…
John, glad you liked the story. This park is in Ohio where the weather can be unpredictable! It’s warmest between late April and November, but even April has the risk of some snow. If you’re camping with kids, the safest bet is June to August, because it’s warmer and there’s little rain. Enjoy your trip.
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It’s truly magical being there. I love the art this country offers. Their wall arts and crafts are just lovely.
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The history of Cuhahoga valley national park seems interesting and must be a new experience when we observe scenes of National park from their scenic campgrounds.
which season do you think is the best time to visit this national park?
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Wow, what a nice article. Makes you feel like you should pack up and go immediately. It seems Linblad runs a good operation and trips are kid friendly. Is there a list of particular dates that are family friendly or are there kid activities year round on board the boats. Any other advice on travling with kids to Ecuador and Galapagos would be really welcome.
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Hello Michael, glad to hear your family is interested in a dude ranch holiday.
Since your kids are older and, hopefully, everyone in the family rides, you have lots of options. The Dude Ranchers Association is a really helpful resource in sorting through the many types of ranch vacations. For example, you can go here: https://duderanch.org/by-activity-amenity and search for ‘Advanced Rides’ and “Cattle Drives’ and that would get you some real working ranches that would have more of the lifestyle you seem to be looking for. One of our authors recommends the Hideout in Shell, Wyoming for this type of trip.
Looking for a real ranch experience with horseback riding (lots of it) and time in the open air with my son (15) and daughter (12) and my wife (49). I am 62. We live in NJ, my children have been sheltered but I grew up in a small coal mining town in Pennsylvania. I want my children to see another side of life.
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Of course, you can do travel freely and easily through these two countries yourself, but I enjoyed having the trip curated for me, including well-chosen local guides, comfortable transportation on call and some superb private tours, such as a Khmer cooking class or historic walking tour of Saigon, with flexibility in the itinerary for our group of five to follow their own paths, such as making an emotional detour to the moving Genocide Museum housed in the old S-21 jail in Phnom Penh.
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For Richard re: dual citizenship US-Nicaragua… can I use the same to travel back to Nicaragua with the same Power of Attorney (Specific to Minors) since wife is staying back in Nicaragua to keep eyes on the house.
Hi Richard, In our travel experience, this type of document should work well for your travels, but if your wife is available, it can’t hurt to download the sample forms we have online and also have her fill out and notarize one for your trip with your child. The agency responsible in your case will be the carrier — we assume an airline — and if they can make a note in your travel record that they have approved the Nicaraguan documents you should be fine on both departing and entering.
Safe Travels!
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As a signal parent, your life, world, actions are based on your childs well fair. Not your happiness or anything that has to do with you.
It should list where they are going, the dates that they are allowed to go and grant your permission for that trip. You want to include your address and phone number and probably the contact info for the adult traveling as well.
The grand archways and the paintings of Lord Krishna and his cows are a visual treat. Wander through areas opened for tourists and you shall witness the impressive aura and architecture of the Royal state of Rajasthan.
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Hello guys my wife and I have dual citizenship US-Nicaragua, I’m planning to travel to the US with our son also dual citizenship for 3 weeks, with a Power of Attorney (Specific to Minors) from Nicaragua, can I use the same to travel back to Nicaragua with the same Power of Attorney (Specific to Minors) since wife is staying back in Nicaragua to keep eyes on the house.
Congratulations to the winners! A question to all the professional travelers here, how are you planning the route ant the places to see while visiting a new country? As for me I just google the most touristic and popular places. It works mostly, but there were a few times when I realized that I have seen only some the places this country or city is famous for, and that’s sad. On my last trip to Armenia, I decided to take a tour and it was quite productive. It’s much more informative when somebody is telling you history and some interesting facts. If someone wants to save their time – make sure to ask them to help if you’ll ever be there.
Curitiba é uma lugar lindo, além de ser considerada uma das melhores cidades para se morar em Brasil.
Realmente a muito o que conhecer por lá, como também diversas outras belezas do nosso brasil.
Principalmente as praias do Brasil que são muito procurada por inúmeros turistas internacionais e nacionais.
As Praias do Litoral Paulista, divididos entre Praias do Litoral Norte e Litoral Sul.
As mais conhecidas são as Praias de Ubatuba com mais de 100 belas praias no litoral norte paulista.
Já no litoral sul, a região mais procurada são as Praias de Guarujá, a região conta com 23 praias de pura beleza e preservação ambiental.
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Was an honour and pleasure to host you both in the Maori Whakata/Welcome to Wanaka. Welcome back anytime to this wonderful part of the world.
Kia Kaha/Stay strong
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