DELICATE ARCH

Left the Monument Valley we drove north and we go to Arches NP. Just in time to get a lucky (very lucky) last spot in the campground and to go to enjoy the sunset in one of the things that we loved the most in this trip. The Delicate Arch. This arch by itself is worth the visit to the park. To get there you have to take a steep 3/4 hour hike. At a certain point, completely unexpected after a curve of the trail, you see this amazing natural wonder. The delicate arch. I saw it in pictures before. And I saw it far away from an other trail 3 years ago when i came here with my parents. But believe me, seeing it in front of you with the warm color of the sunset it is something that can drop your jaw. Leaves you speachless. It is something you have to see by yourself to appreciate. No picture can re-create that feeling. But because this is a blog, here some of the pictures we took there ...

And when you get closer you realize even how big it is. Can you picture Tina in her green shirt underneath the arch? It is really difficult to imagine how this arch got here. It is really a miracle. And it is all for our enjoyment. Definitely a wonderful gift. And a wonderful gift has been also the sunset that illuminated the arch. As soon as we finish to admire the arch we turned around and we saw this incredible sunset ...

An other amazing gift of this trip. Less than 48 hours into it and we have already seen so many breathtaking places. Really lucky to be here in this which is defintely a blessed piece of land. No wonder that few miles away from each other there are so many National Parks. And thanks G-D that these places are protected as National Parks. It is the best way to ensure that future generations will enjoy them as much as we are doing today. These are without any doubt unique landscapes and environments. A gift to all the people of the World.

MONUMENT VALLEY

Monument Valley. This is really a place you have to see before you die. It is really a magical place. To me this is the how the Old Wild West looks into my mind. When you are here, you really feel you are in a movie. Probably because so many movies had been shot here. The best Ford's and Leone's classical western movies . And not only the old western movies. 2001: A Space Odissey. Easy Rider. Back to the Future III. Thelma & Louise. Forrest Gump. And more and more.The Valley is absolutely unique and it is in a Navajo reservation, just on the border between Arizona and Utah. And this is the sunset when we got there. The buttes, here are called Mittens ...Really amazing the sunset here. But after more than 24 hours of driving and walking, we were just good for sleeping, so we camp there, in the Navajo reservation. Here is where we took the only proper shower in the entire trip ...... and no, neither the indians nor the 7th Cavalry did attack us while we were asleep ... :O ... so the day after we went to visit more of the Valley. We started with this moment of daily life of the native Americans ...... and we continued driving the 17 miles drive. Wonderful drive. You really feel something magical, walking through these stones. Like if some G-D put them there for some reason ...... and these are the last pictures while we are leaving the Valley...At that point we were headed north. Next stop will be Arches National Park. An other amazing National park was waiting for us. And we were without camp site reservation. So we had to hit the gas.

GLEN DAM & LAKE POWELL

Kind of disappointed, but not too much, for the lack of luck with the Antelope Canyon, we headed few miles away to an other interesting spot. The Glen dam and the lake Powell. The dam has been built in the '50 - '60 on the Colorado river and with the Hoover and other 9 dams created what is called the Colorado River system and all together they are huge reservoirs of water and potential electric energy for Arizona, California, Utah and Nevada. Yes, the lights of Las Vegas are working thanks to this water. Needless to say that the dam has destroyed the Colorado river. But till now the increasing demand of electricity and water of the fast growing population of the West coast doesn't help the decision to open the dam and release the water of the Colorado. The tour was short but interesting. Of course no mention, in the visitor center, of the ecological damage that the dam has done. This is the dam and a corner of the huge lake Powell ...... and this is the bridge which is jsut in front of the dam. It is connecting the south bank and the north bank of the Colorado river. And it is also the border between Arizona and Utah ...... and this is Tina in front of a copy of one of the turbines in the dam ...... if you have the chance to plan the trip in advance you can also try to visit the dam inside. It is supposed to be interesting. When we got there, the last tour was already over.

ANTELOPE CANYON ... almost

Left the Grand Canyon NP we headed North East towards Page, AZ. The plan was to visit one of the most beautiful slot canyons. The Antelope Canyon. As usual I didn't book anything. I was there a couple of years ago and knowing a little bit the place, I thought we were OK. We had just to take a jeep to the canyon and enjoy it. But I was wrong. We got there around 3.30PM and there were basically 3 tour operators going to the canyon. The first guy turned us down. Too hot for his drivers to go there. So we went to the second one. The second one turned down as well. His truck had too many technical problems during the day. He didn;t want to risk anything anymore. So we went to the third one. This one had a tour that was just leaving. The last tour of the day. But this was not our lucky day. There was only one seat available. We tried to convince the lady to get the two of us. Nothing. Antelope Canyon was not in our destiny today. I was a kind of disappointed, especially for Tina, because she never saw it. It is really a magical place. The canyon is really tight and short. But it is perfect for pictures. These are some pictures that I took in 2005 when I visited it. Even if they are not really part of this trip, I want to share them anyways with you ...... I am pretty sure they will inspire you to go there. But, if I can suggest something, go there early in the day or book in advance ... :o

SUNRISE in GRAND CANYON

Once I read a phrase that made me think. The phrase was saying something like "The National Parks are the best American invention". I really think that is so true! So, for a strange coincidence today, 4th of July, here we are in the most visited National Park. Grand Canyon NP. After 8 hours drive from LA we got here at 5.30AM. Just few minutes after the sunrise. A wonderful fresh air and a surreal silence and a couple of photographers trying to capture the first light of the day were there with us ...... after a while also a condor came up from the canyon. They are of course protected. And apparently numbered as well. This is the number 89, you should be able to read the number under his wing if you open the picture ...We went up and down the South Rim, trying to enjoy the beauty of the canyon, taking picture here and there ...And these are partial views of the Colorado river, down there at the bottom of the canyon ...... this is the Bright Angel trailhead, where people is renting a mule ride down the canyon ...... and the more the time was passing more we missed the fresh air, the silence and the few photographers of the early moments we spent there ...... this is the way we wanted to start our trip, but definitely there was too many people here for us. And in order to really enjoy the Grand Canyon, you really need to hike it all the way down to the river. We really want to do it, but I think we will come here in November. Or at least we hope so.

READY, SET ... GAS!

So here I am back in LA, after 5 days in the wonderful journey through the Arizona and Utah National Parks. We did a lot. We spent 5+ days on the road. We drove 2,098 miles. Took 1,085 pictures. Visited 9 National and State Parks. Missed a couple of them. Set our mighty tent in Monument Valley, Arches NP and Zion NP. Eaten 20 hard boiled eggs and 50 energy bars. Hike everyday. Saw wonderful sunsets. Drink an enormous quantity of warm (!) Gatorade and water. Took only 1 proper shower in 5 days. Got free ice from most of the fast foods we found on the way. Met really nice people.It is really difficult to describe in few words such a journey. In the next days I will put pictures and stories in the blog. And of course I have more stories than vacation days, so the re-play will be a little bit long. I hope you won't mind. This was the begin of the trip. Tuesday 9.30PM LA time. Packed all our food, drinks, cloths, camping gears ... we were ready to leave towards Grand Canyon NP for the sunrise, when we realized that we needed gas as well. So we had to stop. Fill the tank and clean the windshield ...The "gas stop" made me think. I really hope I will be alive the day when in order to move by car I won't have to create anymore pollution. Or maybe, as we were daydreaming in these days, one day Tina and I will take a journey through National Parks by bicycle ... :)

GRAND CIRCLE, HERE WE COME

Just came back from an amazing weekend, here we are ... ready to go into an other amazing trip. Tina and I will spend the next 5 days driving, camping and hiking thru the Grand Circle. A wonderful tour in the National Parks of what is known as the Colorado Plateau ...... a wonderful geological area that covers mst of Arizona and Utah. So the plan is to leave tomorrow night from LA. Drive all night and catch the sunrise in Grand Canyon NP, visit Antelope Canyon, drive to Monument Valley and enjoy the sunset there. Camp for the night. The next days we should visit and camp and hike Natural Bridges NP, Arches NP, Canyonlands NP, Capitol Reef NP, Goblin Valley SP, Brice Canyon NP and finally Zion NP, the last parkbefore the drive back to LA. A total of almost 2,000 miles. I won't carry my laptop, so if you curious to see pictures of these wonderful places, you will have to wait some days. In the meantime ... happy 4th of July!

HIKING MT. BALDY

Here it is. The hike to the Mt. Baldy summit. Emily, Sheila, Tina, Daniel and I are leaving the 6,100 ft (1,800 meters) campground around 8AM and we are attempting the summit of 10,064 ft (3,019 meters). Something like 4,000 ft (1,200 meters) elevation gain. Told like this, sounds like the climb to the Everest summit. Of course it is not. But still for the five of us, it is a small adventure. We decided to make a loop. On the way up we took the steep Bowl Trail. This is the view from the trail after half hour hike ...... and these are some pictures on the way to the summit how Mt. Baldy looks like. Close to the top the mountain is really without any tree. From there the name, I guess ...After 3 hours I got to the summit. And these are some random pictures there. the funny thing is that just on the summit I found out, from a local mountaineer, that Mt. Baldy is not the highest peak in Southern California, as I thought. The highest peak is Mt. San Gorgonio. Its peak is 11,502 ft (3,506 meters). That will be a good work out for my Nepal hiking trip. I think the five of us will have to do an other expedition. I am trying hard to convince my four buddies ...And this is the way down. We took the Devil's Backbone trail. Less steeper, but without any shade. Good thing that we didn't do it on the way up ...There was the chance a ski lift in the last part of the trail. Daniel and I decided to go with the trail. Emily, sheila and Tina, were probably just smarter and they used the ski lift ...And here the tastier part of the day. After eating all day energy bars and drinking Gatorade, on the way home we stop to IN N OUT to get a proper meal. Absolutely phenomenal burgers and fries ...