Unmuddlings!!

Before embarking for the USA, I was happy to note that we had a few days planned at the Yellowstone. Thanks to Bill Bryson, I thought I had a feel of what Yellowstone is all about. The Yellowstone is what the books say, but yet so much more. The breathtaking beauty of the snow, hot springs, canyons, snowcapped mountain peaks, animals, rivers, falls, trails, - all rolled into one, seamlessly merging into each other - for thousands and thousands of unending square miles is something that can be imagined only when seen. One would need to be armed with the power of imagination of the Almighty to be able to conjure the landscape of Yellowstone by simply reading a passage in a book. Yellowstone has been a geological hotbed for millions of years. It has an extensive history of volcanic activity, which can explain the thousands of small and large hot springs and geysers, resulting in the ice-cold Yellowstone river upstream rising in temperature as we move downstream to nice lukewarm to scald...

By the time we reached Pocatello, we were used to the ways of Idaho. By the end of the Pocatello – we were more ensconced than before during our stay at our earlier locations at RID 5400. Interestingly, there were a different set of experiences we were exposed to and concomitantly the subtle moulding of the reference points that we carry/carried continued. The deep roots and the branches far & wide that Rotary has dug in Pocatello stood out during our stay. Equally enjoyable and conspicuous were the industry visits. In the 3 and half working days we had – we had 4 club presentations, 2 industry visits [I had an informal third one] in addition to vocational meetings and the tours of the important destinations of the city. Each of the 4 different clubs we visited had its distinct flavour. The Centennial club is the first that we visited. Being the breakfast club on Mondays, it I guess helps members break-away from the weekend mode and move to work mode one hour earlier than the entir...

As I collect my thoughts on our weekend at Twin Falls, I can’t but appreciate the master craftsman in Jim Ponzo (Jim), the President of the Twin Falls oldest Rotary club, and the planner and executer in chief of our Twin Falls visit. The former military attaché’s execution is as smooth as butter and his ideation is Add to it his awesome sense of humour and the continuous barrage of observant one-liners, he is a gem of a person. So is his creation – our weekend at Twin Falls. Thanks Mr Jim Ponzo. The moment we got the itinerary for two days, I had a feeling that our Twin Falls visit will be a little bit less hectic than the time at earlier locations. Interestingly by the end we carried the same impression – until I jotted down [for this blog] what all we had done and who all we had interacted with. However, the facts say that the two weekend days and the Friday second half were full of activities – every session we did something very meaningful and memorable while maintaining our freshn...

Nampa was the third stopover of our itinerary. And it offered another distinct fare - each place that we have been to, has its own charm. It is the second largest urban centre of Idaho after Boise. It is just 15 odd miles away from Boise, many working people from Nampa probably go to Boise every other day and probably both the cities are inter-wined in many ways. But still Nampa offered long wonderful country rides. It was more of a agglomeration of smaller establishments which dot the area of a 10-15 mile radius. Boise has its own nice sauntering lifestyle as compared to a New York or a Chicago; but the Nampaites are happy to believe that they are away from the mad rush of the city life of Boise. Like in all places, there were a host of activities. St Luke’s hospital reiterated hygiene levels in health care have been given a different bar in the United States – automated administration of prescribed medicines for in-patients; automated reminders for nurses for changing IV fluids [back...