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Forever Marilyn

Landmark: Forever Marilyn Sculpture
Sculptor: Seward Johnson
Interesting Facts: 26-foot tall, 24,000-pound monumental sculpture created with stainless steel and aluminum
Year: 2011
City: Palm Springs
State: California
Country: USA

The statue is a representation of one of the most famous images of Monroe, taken from Billy Wilder‘s 1955 film The Seven Year Itch. Created in 2011, the statue has been displayed in a variety of locations in the United States, as well as in Australia.

Other locations of the statue:
Chicago, IL
Hamilton Township, NJ
Stamford, CT
Bendigo, Australia

Source: https://www.palmspringsforevermarilyn.com

The site of Forever Marilyn, the 26-foot tall, 24,000-pound monumental sculpture was created by sculptor Seward Johnson with stainless steel and aluminum. This dramatic sculpture is extremely realistic, especially in the skin tones. Her unique patina involves ten layers of hues with a matte finish, except for the glossy elements of her lips, toe nails and the pearlized glaze on her earrings.

A passion for detail and an uncanny realism of pose are qualities often associated with the works of sculptor Seward Johnson. Well-known for recreating life in our times in vivid realism, with this series titled “Icons Revisited,” the artist explores in three dimensions why some visual images so captivate us that they become larger than life. These subjects outlive their own time periods and come to stand for something metaphoric and universal.

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Baps Swaminarayan Temple

Landmark: Baps Swaminarayan Temple
Religion: Hinduism
Architecture: Unique blend of traditional Indian architecture and
the state-of-the-art engineering modern construction
Interesting Facts: The complex is the first earthquake-proof Mandir in the world.
City & State: Chino Hills, California
Country: USA
Address: 15100 Fairfield Ranch Rd.  
Chino Hills, CA 91709 USA

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Brahmakapal in Badrinath

On the banks of the Alakananda River is the famous Brahma Kapal Ghat, where Hindus perform rituals for their departed dear ones and by doing so, it is beleived the departed souls get liberation from the cycle of birth and death. The ritual uses pind as the symbolic offering to the ancestors. A Tarpan is usually performed along the riverside or a flowing water body. Pinddan Tarpan contains rice balls with sesame seeds and water.

It was believed that Lord Shiva got his curse lifted and got his salvation here at Brahma Kapal after committing a Brahma sin. Hindu devotees take a dip in the river or bathe in it because Hindu belief states that doing so one cleanses his or her worldly sins.

Hanapepe Swinging Bridge

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One of the popular attractions in historic Hanapepe Town is it’s Swinging Bridge over Hanapepe river. It is a pedestrian only bridge and can have only about 15 people on it at the same time. The swinging bridge is a suspension bridge and can get rocky with the wind condition.

It is an interesting place to visit if you are in the town.

Currently the bridge takes you to the west side of the riverbank where Hanapepe Valley residents live. It is recommended out of respect for these residents that once you reach the other side, it will be good to turn back to Hanapepe.

Happy Traveling & Exploring! 😊

Yamunotri Dham

Yamunotri, also Jamnotri, is the source of the Yamuna River and the seat of the Goddess Yamuna in Hinduism. It is situated at an altitude of 3,293 metres (10,804 ft) in the Garhwal Himalayas and located approximately 150 kilometers (93 mi) North of Uttarkashi, the headquarters of the Uttarkashi district in the Garhwal Division of Uttarakhand, India. It is one of the four sites in India’s Chhota Char Dham pilgrimage. The sacred shrine of Yamunotri, source of the river Yamuna, is the westernmost shrine in the Garhwal Himalayas, perched atop a flank of Bandar Poonch Parvat. The chief attraction at Yamunotri is the temple devoted to the Goddess Yamuna and the holy thermal springs at Janki Chatti which is 7 km away.

Our first Dham was Yamunotri. Since it was long drive from Rishikesh, we planned to drive up to Barkot, and stay at Camp Nirvana for the night. We started in the early hours around 2 am to beat the traffic to go to our first Dham Yamunotri. Unfortunately there was a landslide near Rana Chatti and we got stuck in the traffic backlog. With the help of the Panditji, we got picked up by his driver and started our hike from Janki Chatti.

Stats:
Trail Name: Janki Chatti – Yamunotri Trail
Location: Uttarakhand, India
Type: Out & back
Distance: 8.39 mi
Elevation Gain: 2,812 ft
Difficulty: Moderate

The hike was so scenic but the crowd and meandering through the mule riders, basket and palki riders was a challenge to the trekkers. We had a good darshan of Ma Yamuna and Ma Ganga and offered our prayers to Ma Yamuna & started hiking down.

Please watch our Yamunotri Dham video:

https://youtu.be/5ocrQR3kS1A