It’s been raining for the better part of two weeks here, but Sunday was fabulous weather. Too nice to stay indoors so we decided to head out and do some sightseeing.  We went up to Mt. Gajinsan, the highest peak in what the locals call the “Yongnam Alps,” a chain of mountains to the west of Ulsan. We drove up to Mt Gajinsan and took a short hike up. With all the rain we’ve had, the mountains were lush green and the foliage thick. It was difficult trail and we were only sparingly rewarded with glimpses of the countryside.

We did catch a few nice spots with a view toward Ulsan. The peak in the distance in the right is Munsu Mountain, a place I’ve written of often and climbed multitudinous times. Ulsan is (barely) visible in this shot, but becomes quite evident as we climbed further up the mountain. Yesterday, Typhoon Man-Yi rolled through south and east of Korea, sweeping much of the funk from the air, so it was relatively clear.

As the day wore on, however, the clouds returned. Just in time to make for misty shots of Seok Nam Sa temple, nestled within the folds of Mt. Gajinsan. The temple is renowned as a training ground for nuns. All of the accolytes there are females, their heads shaved and their clothes austere. The temple dates back to around 680 A.D. with various refurbishments and reconstructions throughout the centuries. Centuries – that word just astounds me, since our own history in America is limited to a just a couple of them. What few historical places America does have with that distinction, such as the Paleoindian cave dwellers in New Mexico, Utah or Colorado, have not been continuously occupied and are mere relics of a past age,  a page in a history book.

I took several pictures. This one doesn’t come close to showing the beauty of the place, but I liked the little family taking portraits in front of the stone stupa.

None  of the pictures show the place as beautiful as it is in person. I have far too many, in fact, to due it justice here. I’ll put together a short multimedia clip for this trip. I hope to have that done in the next day or so.  I should have time – the rains are back again today.