Steppesister
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Dec 27, 2013
H is for: Happy in the Himalayas!
The call of the wild, the allure of nature's beasts, the mostly untamed (but sorta cleverly manicured) landscapes of Animal Kingdom easily lures me to Embrace Adventure. Well, okay, it’s actually the siren song of 8 Spoons Mac and Cheese, or my latest new love affair with Satuli Bowls, but regardless, I find myself being drawn to find new ways to tickle my Inner Explorer at this park. And I sure did! Wanna join my one-gal morning of explorations? Here, take my hand, and let’s be off to the High Himalayas!
On my way to sub-continental Asia, I first took part in a death-defying stampede to the mythical land of Pandora, then eased off my pace to a sauntering meander through Africa. But that’s for another chapter on another day.
Today, Companion, we find ourselves in the midst of ancient temple ruins,
colorful shops offering all of life’s necessities,
and reminders that there are yet places in our world that remain full of mystery and unanswered questions. (Like who came up with 81.4 pounds being a max weight for a Sherpa? I have a hard time carrying 10 pounds of groceries up my 3 flights up stairs. And apparently, I need to find an "Expedition Member" who can be responsible my health and safety.)
First stop, because I was feeling cute (
) I did something I NEVER do... stopped for some PP pix. But, there was no line at all and I had loads of time to waste time pretending to be a glamour girl. 
Then I had a brilliant idea and turned this into something actually worthwhile just for kicks and giggles.
Taking plenty of time to stop and admire random flowers,
I headed off in search of the elusive Yeti. There were plenty of warnings on my trek along the way informing me of how I'd be able to identify signs of him should there be some: footprint shapes, fur samples, scratch marks, and ChunkyDumps. (No, really trust me; it's all there in the queue.)
As I began to ascend the rocky, icy crags, the vendors became more selective in their services and wares. I took this photo to prove..... absolutely nothing. But for the sake of filling this chapter with riveting pictures of random bookshelves and only portions of what looks like a scale, there you have it. Only top quality Trip Reporting here, Friends.
Now, in case you do run across a 7-11 that happens to be open at 17,600 ft. (or a Sherpa with nothing better to do than make a few extra rupees at a high altitude card game; ummm... remember Boys and Girls, they are used to hypoxia, you are not. High altitude card games with a Sherpa are probably not a good idea.) there does appear to be a Bank of Anandapur for your convenience. Thank Goodness! I was dying for a Slurpee; I hear the yellow ones are delicious!
Finally outfitted up, it was time for my climb. My bank account had been training for this all year! I present to you, the most expensive 3 minutes on the planet:
Can someone tell me what that cable or rope or whatever it is hanging there is supposed to be? I've never seen rope-y things alongside tracks before.
Careening along, having the time of my life, I came across Mr. ChunkyDump himself. I told you, Folks, it's catching on like wildfire, and you too can join the latest craze by taking a squat and joining the ranks of the CoolCats by posting it here. If Yeti is doo-ing it, you can too!
Yeti and I parted on amiable terms; really, he's just a misunderstood overgrown teddybear. I'd have liked to have stuck around a bit more, but there was other pressing business of the day: namely making my way to my upgraded accomodations and getting settled in there and picking my mom up from MCO. The journey back out of Asia was not without a bit more adventure though, My Friends! As I slowly walked away from the Himalayan Highlands and back out into the lower elevations where tea and Jasmine grow, I met Kelly who was on her way to face the Yeti herself. She had texted me earlier telling me I'd left a battery in the room (story of my life) and she'd bring it to me.
She passed it off, and we thought we'd meet up again after she rode EE. While I waited for her to don her oxygen and make her ascent, I got to enjoy the antics of Kevin for a while. She was in high spirits as she posed at the same PP place I did with a random couple who scored what were probably the best photos of their trip. She walked around the area idly pecking at unsuspecting passersby, peering over the bridge, and squacking up a storm scaring the crap out of more than a few folks.
I was relieved when Kelly made it back with all of her rupees intact (no card games for these RNs!), and we stopped for a quick photo together:
I realized at that point that time was marching along, so we parted ways. I made my way back across the bridge, made the trek out to the buses, and experienced the temperatures of 17,600 ft all over again.
I'll leave you with a random photo of a bird that I took somewhere in Asia that day. If you'll remember, my phone took a swim later on this trip, and I lost an entire 2 1/2 days of photos, so am working at a massive handicap in presenting much in the way of photos for you. My savings account still laments.
This Orange-beaked Checker Butt says, "Have a nice day and thank you for adventuring along with SteppeSister!"
Last edited:
I like to wear it with my bronze antelope necklace or the coffee bean necklace a good friend got for me a few years ago. 
