Grand Canyon National Park

"It's like trying to describe what you feel when you're standing on the rim of the Grand Canyon or remembering your first love or the birth of your child. You have to be there to really know what it's like."
-Jack Schmitt 

You have to be there to really know what's it like. This is what we tell all our friends who have asked us to describe the Grand Canyon. It is difficult if not impossible to express the canyon's sheer pristine beauty with pictures or with words. It is an experience that can only be felt by standing at the canyon's rim.

We set off from Page (Arizona) towards one of the 7 Natural Wonders of the World - The Grand Canyon.

This pic is taken from the Desert View Grand Canyon National Park

This was my 3rd visit to the spectacular National Park, but the first for my parents and son Rishi. I had visited the North Rim with friends while working in Phoenix and I had loved it as well.

Personally, I feel nothing can beat the grand overlooks and scenic walks from the South Rim. The first time hubby and I visited in Nov 2004, we took the Bus tour from Las Vegas. Below is what I had written in tripadvisor in 2005 after our vacation in Nov 2004. 

Reviewed May 3, 2005

Bus Tour in Nov 2004. All tourists were given the yellow raincoat :)

"Incurably addicted to Nature? My husband and I are, and so we took a bus tour from Las Vegas to the Grand Canyon and it was totally worth it. The bus tour costed us $75 per head. Tour Bus picked us up from our hotel - Stratosphere (good rooms and attractions but we lost on all slot machines there!!) at 7 AM.. the bus stopped at other hotels and picked up the rest of the visitors. It was a diverse crowd and the bus tour guide being so funny had all of us talking and interacting with each other in minutes.
Our first halt was at the Hoover Dam. After a quick tour of the dam, we left and reached the magnificent Grand Canyon. Its a totally unimaginable place. Grand Canyon is an erosional feature that owes its existence to the Colorado River. If we choose to walk - which all us of did, it was a total of 2.3 miles walk along the south rim.
The view, the walk along the rim, the serenity, the breeze, the colors of the rocks, the vastness, the depth, the look of nature, the sunshine on the Canyon, the old trees and woods, I think I could go on and on about the spectacular Grand Canyon.
How many of you go to Vegas and miss this trip to the Grand Canyon - I just have one thing to say - You will be awed the beauty and feel the serenity when you see the place.
Go Grand Canyon!!"

Little Colorado River Gorge - 
This vacation was different experience since we were driving down and we could stop at all the hidden scenic points. On our way to the Grand Canyon, we stopped at Little Colorado River Gorge. No one had informed us about this and this was a stop worth making. The gorge is so remarkably narrow and steep that when my dad approached the edge, he was astonished at the deep abyss view below and kept asking us to be careful as we held onto the rails to walk down. 

We had our lunch at one of the shelters there. One of the best picnic spots to have our home cooked Indian lunch with yogurt and fresh salad. :). There are numerous Navajo native vendors selling handmade jewelry and my hubby got me some beautiful earrings. This was so worth the stop for the scenic beauty and for the gifts I got ;)

Picnic tables at the Gorge 

Superb lunch with a superb view

Grand Canyon Desert View - Watchtower
We entered the Grand Canyon National Park from the Desert View on the east. We walked to the watchtower. We got the first view of the grandeur of Grand Canyon. We climbed up the tower for more pictures and scenic look outs. This was when we were all awestruck.  

Watch tower 

Inside the beautiful watch tower. Try to spot us in the pic.

Pic from the watchtower

Fish eye lens to capture the beauty  

Our next halt was at Grand Canyon Village. We were searching for our lodge - Yavapai Lodge. We wanted to stay inside the national park itself and we were lucky to get a reservation at Yavapai Lodge. This lodge was less than a mile to the South Rim. We checked in, had some coffee and left for Yavapai Point where we walked around the rim and sat to see the sunset with happiness in our hearts at the beautiful natural wonder of the world.

After a restful night, a hearty breakfast and a walk in the Yavapai store, we went for a walk down the South Rim. After a long walk, pictures, fun and constant admiration for the Grand Canyon, we set out for our longest drive till now - Back to Las Vegas with a stop over at Hoover dam.

What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas or does it... ?? :) 

Zion National Park to Page, Arizona

"Land of extremes. Land of contrasts. Land of surprises. Land of contradictions.... That is Arizona". ~Federal Writers Project, Arizona: The Grand Canyon State, 1956

Our next day plan was to drive from Zion National Park to Page,Arizona

Drive duration - 2 hours

Distance -  110 miles

Stayed - Page, Arizona

Date - April 20th 2012
Note: Arizona does not follow Daylight Savings time
 

We entered Arizona, the state that I absolutely love. I worked in Phoenix for a short while and during that time, I met some life-long friends who are warm, amiable, and full of life and who mean a lot to me.  Phoenix is a great place for a travel enthusiast, as one can travel to places with different scenery and topography by road. To list a few road trips from Phoenix is Page, Flagstaff, Sedona, Grand Canyon, Bryce Canyon, San Diego, Las Vegas… and I am sure many more can be added to the list…  whereas from South Florida, even if we drive for 8 hours, we will still be in Florida ;). No offense South Florida... I LOVE YOU !!  

 

Our plan for our road trip was to stay in Page, Arizona and tour the primary attraction - Antelope Canyon and Horseshoe Bend. 
 

Our drive was alluring. The scenery was ever changing on the wide open long stretches of road. As a kid, my family did long road or train trips frequently and when I look back, those are listed on top of my most joyful memories. We were busy talking and listening to my dad and mom's travel adventures and stories about how they travelled to places unknown with 2 kids when there was no Google, internet or phone booking. That story could be an article by itself which I intend to write one day!! But now, let me not digress from Page, AZ…

On our way to Page, we passed through Glen Canyon Dam's Carl Hayden Visitors Center. It had a gorgeous view of the Dam. Looking out at the dam made us feel so small.



From Wikipedia - "Glen Canyon Dam is a concrete arch dam on the Colorado River in northern Arizona in the United States, just north of Page. The dam was built to provide hydroelectricity and flow regulation from the upper Colorado River Basin to the lower. Its reservoir is called Lake Powell, and is the second largest artificial lake in the country, extending upriver well into Utah."

 We then went to a scenic point (I forgot to note the name, however it was opposite the Glen Canyon Visitors Center). I saw steps that went down. How could I resist? After a quick run, down the stairs and up again, we went directly to book our tour of the Upper Antelope Canyon. We then drove down to our hotel room which was half block down the same road and we just had enough time to check in, keep our stuff, take water and go back for the tour.




I ran down to see what the scenic view was and it was worth the run



Dad clicking the picture of my run from above

Antelope Canyon:

The drive was around 10 minutes. We got down from our bus and walked till the entrance with our tourists and our tour guide.

Walking through Antelope canyon is a photographer’s paradise. It felt like waking in a sculpture museum where the sculptures are lit by sunlight pouring in through the roof of the canyon. It’s simply artistic and beautiful. Antelope canyon has been created by wind, water and sand. It’s truly beautiful.

 

 

  

 

 

 



This was the endpoint and we had to walk back inside to get to our tour bus





This was the sandy road that we drove on to get to the entrance of the Canyon





Our next adventure was Horseshoe Bend which was about 10 minutes drive away from our hotel. I had been to this place with my friends when I was working in Phoenix and really wanted my family to see it. After parking the car, there is a 1 mile trek to this place in wilderness. Parents and the little one were pretty exhausted and it was almost sunset time, so we called it a day and drove for some dinner and had a relaxing night. I am attaching some pictures that I had taken during my visit here with friends. It’s a must do when in Page!!

 

 

Next day trip was the one we were all eagerly looking forward to .. the grandest of all.. to be continued :)!!

Our Wild Wild West Vacation (April 18th - April 25th )

I inherited the wanderlust gene from my parents, and luckily my husband too has been bitten by the travel bug. We feel that some of the best family memories are created in travel. To create more memories together, we decided to voyage to places endowed with uniqueness and distinct characteristics.

With my parents and 3 year old, we boarded our flight to Las Vegas at night (April 18th). This was my hubby’s and my third trip to this city.  We were excited about our adventurous road trip that we had planned to set out on from Vegas.

 

"The real voyage of discovery consists not in seeking new landscapes but in having new eyes." - Marcel Proust

I really thought I wouldn’t be excited to see the strip again and I was so wrong!!  Rishi’s scream of “windows down Thatha(grandpa)” and “look! Pink Famingo”  and “look at all the lights amma” … got me all excited!! Travelling to the same place with different people gives you a fresh perspective and a chance to create new memories. We drove through the famous Vegas strip to our hotel room. Though excited, we hit the bed for the night. Next morning, we had scrumptious restaurant style breakfast and started our Road Trip!!

Zion National Park

Drive duration - 3 hours

Distance -  164 miles

Stayed - Springdale City Utah

Time Zone - AZ does not follow DLS time

Park entrance fee - $25 for a week
Date - April 19th 2012

The landscape and changing scenery along our 3 hour drive from Nevada to Utah was captivating.

Visitors Center

We entered the park, parked our car at the Visitors center and took the free Zion Shuttle that takes us around 6 miles of spectacular rock formations of Zion National Park.

The tumbling and sparkling rivers flowing along the colorful sandstone cliffs rising 2,000 to 3,000 feet from the canyon floor was a true unique beauty of nature that you can experience here. The roads are red which gives a striking effect to the wonderful rugged red rocks and canyons. We got an itch to get out of the bus and walk though the canyons and hike and wet our hands in the river and we acted on our impulse.

Weeping Rock
We got down at Weeping Rock Parking area and started the trail to the Weeping Rock. 

This is a short walk up a steep hill. It’s only quarter mile, however it’s a tough steep walk. Since we didn’t want to wear out everyone at the beginning and wished to do plenty more in the park, we took a volte-face after some walking and then took the shuttle for our next trail.

Temple of Sinawava
We got down at the ‘Temple of Sinawava’ which is the last stop of the shuttle and embarked on the Riverside walk trail. It’s a trail that leads to the famous Narrows trail. It was a paved pathway and the ease and beauty of this hike is the reason for its popularity. As soon as we started, Rishi got a splinter in his finger by touching one of the wooden fences; we somehow managed to remove the splinter from his finger and with a sigh of relief continued on the trail. The trail is beautiful with the view of the canyons and red rocks and flowing river. Totally worth it!! 

Zion Lodge
We then took the shuttle and got down at the Zion Lodge to have some hot chocolate, coffee and some snacks that we got from home. 

Emerald Pool
After loading up on all the mooli parathas, we hiked to Emerald Pool. This hike was paved, stroller friendly and steep. Did I mention the trail was BEAUTIFUL. To be honest, the pool was just okay and not magnificent like one would expect on trails. However walking the scenic trail with my mom discussing how some people spend their life working for the betterment of the society was memorable.

After this, we took the bus back to where our car was parked,and drove less than 5 minutes to reach our hotel room. We ate our dinner and hit the sack.

Zion-Mt. Carmel Highway

Next day after breakfast and brief exploration around the Springdale city, we drove through Zion National park to proceed to our next destination via Zion-Mt. Carmel Highway. It is a 10-mile road that connects the east and south entrances of the park. One of the highlights of the drive is a mile-long tunnel, the Zion-Mt. Carmel Tunnel that was completed in 1930. 

We stopped at a spot that was east of the tunnel and we saw Checkerboard Mesa, a sandstone mountain that is etched with fantastic cross-bedding of lines and shapes,made through the forces of erosion. This place is an inspiration for artists and we met 2 painters who were there for 3 hours painting the wonderful natural formations. I am glad they allowed us to click pictures of their wonderful art.

I can’t wait to go again to this amazing national park and hike to all the breathtaking hiking trails that this national park offers.

We left Utah to enter Arizona for our next adventure... To be continued :)