There is no way to capture on camera the splendor and grandeur of the Jiuzhaigou National Park. Although the weather was not the best, the multitude of falls, lakes and streams, combined with spectacular fall colors, simply overwhelmed the senses. The serenity and the beauty of the park was in stark contrast to the nearby Wenchuan county area in the same Sichuan province, that was destroyed by a massive earth quake only few months earlier. The lingering fear from that earthquake has kept the normally massive flood of fall viewing tourists down to a sparse crowd. On one hand it made the park visit much easier but on the other hand the deep sadness from the 80,000 lives lost and continued suffering of the survivors as they piece together their lives was always in the back of my mind.