Revisiting Petrified Forest National Park, Arizona

Petrified Wood @ Petrified Forest National Park, Arizona

Visiting the past, that's how it feels like at Petrified Forest National Park which has preserved plants and animal fossils of the Late Triassic period going back more than 200 million years ago. The park is best known for globally significant Late Triassic fossils, attracting geologists, paleontologists, archaeologists, historians, and biologists, just to name a few. Its mind boggling and stark beauty is also a haven for those searching for scenic vistas, wilderness, hiking, dark skies, and beautiful, vast landscapes.

Come, let us revisit this geological wonderland must see.......

Fossilized Woods and Badlands @ Petrified Forest National Park

Where: Petrified Forest National Park is located in northeastern Arizona, about 50 miles from the New Mexico border on Interstate 40. Nearest major airports are in Phoenix, Arizona and Albuquerque, New Mexico.

There are also smaller airports in Flagstaff, Arizona, and Gallup, New Mexico. From the airport, you may want to rent a car to drive to the park. For private planes, there is a small airport located in Holbrook, Arizona.

Sights to See: Fossilized Petrified Woods and Colors of The Naked Earth.

Toadstool Trail, Paria Rimrock Hoodoos, UT

Betchai and The Toadstools

In  my post K Ka-Boom at Kelso Sand Dunes, I mentioned that nature has its special way of bringing the child in us. The experience is the same at Toadstool Trail. Seeing and being up close with the toadstool hoodoos tickled the child in us and we could not help it but just simply enjoy what the hoodoos have to offer. There is always something magical with the hoodoos, it was only this year's spring when the hoodoos haunted us back to Bryce Canyon National Park to enjoy the hoodoos wonderland. Never would have I thought that in the same year I would have fun with the hoodoos again, but in another nature wonderland.

Desert Road Trip Thanksgiving Week 2009

The desert has its many interesting features, showing a deep beauty that has survived the harshest tests of time. However, aside from the inspiring beauty of the desert, it is the extreme peacefulness and serenity that invites us to explore it whenever we get the chance. Though we had thousands of pictures, but I decided to post 2 pictures a day from our trip.

Day 1 @ Death Valley National Park, CA

Badlands Creatively Carved by Nature, Zabriskie Point

Little Boy Enjoying His ATV, Dumont Dunes

( this is not part of Death Valley National Park, we just saw this recreational park on our way to Death Valley )

Day 2 @ Death Valley National Park, CA

Mesquite Sand Dunes, Early Morning

Dante's View

Day 3 @ Zion National Park and Coral Pink Sand Dunes State Park, Utah

Hiking @ Hidden Canyon, Zion National Park

Coral Pink Sand Dunes State Park, Utah

(the desert is more than just sands and cactus, this picture shows the immense pine forest next to the sand dunes)

Day 4 @ North Rim of Grand Canyon National Park and Page, Arizona

Tourists Sitting on the Cliff Enjoying the View of Grand Canyon 

Glen Canyon Dam, Page, Arizona

Horseshoe Bend, Page, Arizona

Horseshoe Bend

We probably have to go back to this place again for better pictures, since when we went here last spring, it was just not the right time to take pictures. Frankly, I failed to do enough research about Horseshoe Bend since my research on Page was more focused on Antelope Canyon. You can find my post about Antelope Canyon here. 

After having a grand time at Antelope Canyon, we still had enough time to explore the other interesting places at Page. From Antelope Canyon, we went to Glen Canyon Dam, and made a choice where to spend the sunset, either at Lake Powell or at Horseshoe Bend. Both places are magnificent, and we decided to stay closer to our hotel, so, we went to Horseshoe Bend. There will be other times anyway as we know we would still go back to this part of Arizona and Utah, which is called the Grand Circle. You can find my Grand Circle itinerary post at my group's blog, The Salitype Society. Those who plan to have a more orderly trip in the Grand Circle, you can check the itinerary and places to see in my Grand Circle Itinerary post. 

We made our mistake going to Horseshoe Bend close to sunset. Little did we know that Horseshoe Bend at late afternoon is directly facing the sun, thus it was so hard to take pictures with the glare of the sun facing us. Plus, there were a lot of flying insects that would block our camera's viewfinder that taking picture was really a challenge. Thus, we just enjoyed the scenery and imagined there were no flying insects at all. I could imagine however how it would be perfect to take sunrise pictures here!

Devil's Bridge Hike from Chuckwagon Trail

 Devil's Bridge From Below

( can you find me? )

 Devil's Bridge From The Top

How did we climb up the largest natural sandstone arch in Sedona area, called the "Devil's Bridge"? The answer is not a direct climb from below the bridge, but a gradual ascent on a trail to the right of the bridge.

~ THE HIKE ~

Trailhead: Chuckwagon/Mescal Mountain Trails Parking Area

Distance: 6 miles round trip. You can hike shorter if you are willing to feel the very bumpy ride on a 4-wheel drive to Devil's Bridge trailhead. However, when we were walking on the 4-WD road to Devil's Bridge trailhead, we felt so happy we chose to take the longer hike because the holes and rocks on the dirt road were something we both know we have no experience driving. We don't think we would be able to get our 4WD- SUV to the destination if we chose the shorter hike. Plus, we are happy hikers.  

The start of the hike is relatively flat in the middle of a pine forest, the steep ascent starts near the bridge already, climbing maybe 400 ft in such a short distance, but very doable. Over-all, this is an easy hike, if compared to Cathedral Rock hike, another hike we did in Sedona, Arizona. 

Below are some of our pictures:

 My Personal Photographer and Hiking Partner For Life :)

 See? So Many of Us, It is Not as Scary As what the picture says

(as long as no one is crazy enough to get at the very edge and do very crazy things, this bridge is so safe to cross )

 My Personal Photographer's Turn For Photo Opps At Devil's Bridge :)

 and he did a Tebowing pose

From the trail, where you start seeing people on top of the bridge, there is a junction where one trail goes to your right, and the other trail goes to your left. The trail that goes to the right goes uphill, which will end up at the top of the bridge. The trail that goes to the left goes downhill, which will bring you at the bottom of bridge. 

Getting to the bottom of the bridge from the junction is not that far, it's really worth it to see Devil's Bridge from below and also from the top.

Despite its name, the view from the top of Devil's Bridge and the entire hike is heavenly! I highly recommend this hike for a magnificent reward in such an easy-moderate hike.

Marble Canyon, Arizona

 Marble Canyon from Navajo Bridge

Marble Canyon is a section of the Colorado River canyon in northern Arizona from Lee's Ferry to the confluence with the Little Colorado River, which marks the beginning of the Grand Canyon. Lee's Ferry is a common launching point for river runners through the Grand Canyon. 

For a lot of tourists exploring the Grand Circle, the Marble Canyon is one scenic stop. It is on the highway that connects Zion National Park and Grand Canyon National Park. For us however, we came from Petrified Forest National Park on our way to Page, Arizona. However, our failure of listening to the traffic updates led us to Marble Canyon because of the road closure. We were forced to take a detour to Marble Canyon, and what a joyful find it was for us.

There is a Visitor Center at the Navajo Bridge, where we learned about the rare California condors that could be found here at Marble Canyon or Vermilion Cliffs. We did not get lucky in finding a condor soaring high here at Marble Canyon, but sure did we found a lot of them at Vermilion Cliffs.

Hiking Cathedral Rock, Sedona

Cathedral Rock from Oak Creek

There are many access point to hike Cathedral Rock, one of the many beautiful hikes in Sedona. For our hike, we took the Cathedral Rock Trail from Hwy 179. The hike is 3.5 miles round trip with 600 ft ascent. I love this hike because for such a short time, the scenic rewards are simply amazing. Though this hike will not take all your day, but it is not devoid of challenge. First, there is really no formal trail, but rock cairns. You ascend mostly on rocks, more like rock climbing but safe enough not to ask for ropes. 

Hiking @ Cathedral Rock

If you feel like it is not safe to walk normally, you can go slow and walk on four ( uphill ) or five ( downhill). 

A Lady Hiker Walking on Five ( or butt walk )

In the middle of the hike, there is a section where you really have to scramble, or crawl, and only one hiker could pass at a time. It probably is the most challenging part of the trail where some hikers give up and not continue. Even if not making it to the saddles of Cathedral Rock though, the hike is still beautiful because there is wide vista everywhere.

Scenery One Will See While on Cathedral Rock Trail

Into The Desert Wild

Last Saturday, March 30, we left San Diego early morning for an adventure road trip into the desert wild. Let me share with you some happy experiences day by day from that road trip.

Day 1 of Road Trip: San Diego to Tucson

San Diego was foggy and drizzling when we left. Passing through the mountains, the fog even thickened rendering the visibility very poor. However, as we descended the mountain, the magic began! In just like a split of a second, the thick fog disappeared to give way to blue sky. Reaching the desert floor, the green bushes and thick trees disappeared to give way to rocks and thorny vegetation.

Cholla and Barrel Cactus, with Ocotillo, at Anza Borrego Desert State Park, San Diego County, California

Then, more magic unfolded before us as we passed by a desert in bloom over dried and cracked mud.  A living testament to a miracle of a drop of water. I can't describe the happiness of seeing a sea of white as far as my eyes could see.

 Prickly Poppies @ Crucifixion Thorn Natural Area, Ocotillo, California
(notice on the bottom left picture how dried up is the soil, yet, desert wildflower blooms )

After taking in the beauty of these vast field of prickly poppies, we continued our drive East, destination: Arizona. After a while of driving, we stopped at a gas station for much needed stretching break, and also for gas refill.

As I got out of our car to stretch, I saw two cars parked next to each other. I thought they were a big group traveling together. As it turned out, there were only four of them. Mom and daughter in one car. Dad and son in the other car. As soon as they got out of the cars, the two kids ran towards the trunk of the car, opened the trunk and took their boogie boards. The kids' happiness was so contagious I could not help but smile. Maybe the little boy saw me smiling, that he waved his hand, returned my smile and said, "hi!"

I said "hi" to him as well. Then asked him, "Going for a vacation to San Diego?"

The little boy replied: "Yes and No! We are going to San Diego, not for a vacation, but moving in! Our parents are driving our two cars. Our major appliances and other heavier things will be delivered by a trusted moving company. Are you you going to San Diego too?"

Page, AZ

Top to Bottom, Clockwise: Antelope Canyon, Horseshoe Bend, Lake Powell, Rainbow Bridge

Page is a small, quiet town in northern Arizona which sits atop Manson Mesa and overlooks the dramatic Lake Powell, Glen Canyon Dam, and the surrounding canyons, arches and historical Native ruins.

Rainbow Bridge National Monument

Where Our Boat Docked after an exciting travel inside the canyon 

 Best Time of the Day To Visit: Afternoon Boat Tour to avoid facing the harsh sun photographing the Rainbow Bridge ( however, all shots here were facing the sun middle of the day because we did not have a choice :(, only one boat tour that left in the morning).

Our First Glimpse of Rainbow Brdige

To continue from my previous post on Lake Powell Boat Tour, after traveling 50 miles on the waters of Lake Powell from Wahweap Marina in Page, we reached our destination, The Rainbow Bridge National Monument. From where we docked, the hike to Rainbow Bridge National Monument was only 1.5 miles on an easy well maintained trail.

Desert Escape

Zion Canyon, Zion National Park, UT

It has been almost a week since we escaped civilization, and how we loved our journey to the Wild Wild West. We left San Diego early Saturday morning, March 30, 2012, for a desert get-away to Page, Arizona. The drive to Page from San Diego was 9 hours (without stop), but we divided the long drive by stopping by at Zion National Park.

Lower Antelope Canyon

The awe inspiring Antelope Canyon is actually two separate canyons, the Upper Antelope Canyon and the Lower Antelope Canyon, both located in Page, Arizona.

LOWER ANTELOPE CANYON

The following were the factors we considered when we were making a choice as to which canyon we visit:

1. CROWD:

Upper Antelope Canyon- crowded, hard to take in the curves and contours of the canyon to ourselves. Needs reservation to tour this place.

Lower Antelope Canyon - uncrowded ( maybe twenty times less popular), does not need reservation to tour this place.

2. COST:

Upper Antelope Canyon - $35/person for a limited 50 minutes tour of Upper Antelope Canyon (1.5 hour includes pick-up and drop-off), $46 per person at primetime (11:30- very crowded). Price is $80/person for a photography tour which is for about 2 hours inside the canyon.

Lower Antelope Canyon - $26/person either with a tour or independent with photographers pass, for 2 hours inside the canyon. :)

Since we preferred a more silent and challenging walk, we decided to explore Lower Antelope Canyon instead, where we would have greater chance of savoring the interesting sweeps and the magical curves of the rocks all to ourselves. For lesser price, we can spend longer time at Lower Antelope.

Here is a little bit summary of our Lower Antelope experience:

On our way to Page from Grand Canyon, I called Ken's Tours of Lower Antelope Canyon telling them we are coming from Grand Canyon and we needed their address, and I was told, "we do not have an address ma'am, but you will find us 6 miles East of Page, you take 98 East." I was like, "huh? I hope we found you". Thankfully, our GPS helped us get to Lower Antelope Canyon parking without any problem, I simply entered "Lower Antelope Canyon".

Guide Showing Us the Entrance to Lower Antelope Canyon

We requested for an independent tour, so the guide only showed us to the trailhead. When he welcomed us to the entrance, I had to ask, "Is this it?" And he replied, "yes, this is where you will enter."

Entering Antelope Canyon

From above, Lower Antelope Canyon is just but a crack in the ground. The excitement and joy started to take over on the first sight of what is below the ground.

After the First Steel Rung Staircase Landing

Notice in the picture above, that after the first landing, there is another staircase.

More Staircase After the First Landing

Even with the installation of stairways, the walk at Lower Antelope Canyon poses more difficulty than the walk at Upper Antelope Canyon. The walk at Lower Antelope Canyon is longer, narrower, and there were few spots were there was hardly any footing.

Maneuvering Lower Antelope Canyon

Thankfully, these areas which hardly had any footing were not that long, therefore, they actually added more fun and adventure to the walk. But there are some parts of the trails too which were wide enough

Wider Passageway

and there are several canyon rooms also which gives us greater space to stop and to take in all the dancing motion of these swaying curves lit by the afternoon sun.

Wider Room at Lower Antelope Canyon

Lower Antelope Canyon we believe still goes a long way, but at the end of the trail, they decided not to install a staircase anymore, thus, it is only possible to explore that area with some rock climbing and toproping skills. At the end of the trail, the climb out requires taking several flights of stairs. However, the child in us decided to go back the same route we entered so that we can enjoy the canyon once again and entertain the child in us.

Me, Practising my Modeling Skills :) @ Lower Antelope Canyon

For the most part we were inside Lower Antelope Canyon, we felt like we had the canyon all to ourselves. There were other tourists of course, but the canyon is long enough for us to spread apart and have our small private spaces. Occasionally, we bumped into each other, or we had to stop because someone was taking a picture or was composing a picture, but for the most part, our time at the canyon was with our much desired isolation. Lovely.

For the length of time we stayed at Lower Antelope Canyon, I do not know how much more would it cost us at Upper Antelope Canyon, if it is even possible.

For more information on Antelope Canyon, please visit this site http://www.navajonationparks.org/htm/antelopecanyon.htm

Escaping the Arctic Blast @ Monument Valley

Sunrise at Monument Valley, taken from our hotel room's balcony

When we left San Diego last Saturday for a much needed week of R and R, Monument Valley was not in our itinerary at all. It was supposed to be San Diego- Zion National Park @ Kolob Canyon- Moab (Arches National Park and Canyonlands National Park)-Zion-Las Vegas( for Cirque du Solei and Black Canyon of the Colorado River in Lake Mead)-San Diego. Tes, of The Craftista and also one of the authors of The Salitype Society, was supposed to join us in Moab for Monday and Tuesday, then, we separate when we go back to Zion, while they go to Bryce Canyon National Park. However, it seemed Mother Nature has another plan. 

Two days before we left for the trip, there was a forecast of snowstorm in North Zion. Instead of going to Kolob Canyon, we decided to take East Zion @ Mt. Carmel Junction to escape the wrath of the snowstorm while on the road. It turned out to be a good decision for us when we saw in the local news later that night the many cars which skidded on the road and therefore had been stranded in the middle of snow storm. That kind of stress was the last thing we wanted on a vacation. Thankfully, I was able to see from the weather map at weather.com a route that would escape the snow storm while on the road. That meant driving South East first before going North to Moab. This route brought us to Monument Valley. Also, because of snow storm  on Monday, Tes and Doods did not make it to Moab for safety. Instead, we decided to meet at Monument Valley on Tuesday, a place which is closer to the place of Tes' sister. It was such a joyful meeting.  

I (left) and Tes (right) at The View Hotel's Guest's Lobby

This was how the sky looked like when we started exploring Monument Valley.

The clouds promise a beautiful sunset, and I was hoping the sky will not frustrate us since I wanted to show off to Tes one of the spectacular desert sceneries of the Southwest at sunset. Thankfully, the sky cooperated and put on a show for us to have a blast taking photos at sunset at Monument Valley.

looking East at sunset, Monument Valley (notice it is the same landscape, only the colors of the sky changed)

still looking East, sunset

looking West @ sunset, Monument Valley

still looking West @ sunset, Monument Valley

The rooms at The View Hotel all had beautiful views. Here are some more pictures at sunrise from our room's balcony (in addition to the very first photo above).

Sunrise @ Monument Valley- view from hotel's room

sunrise, Monument Valley

Until of course, it was time for us to leave Monument Valley to escape again the path of snow storm which started to roll in when we left.

storm rolling in at Monument Valley

After a while, on our way to Page, Arizona to meet Ted and Doods again, the snow which we had been trying to escape for days caught on us.

snow poured in as we left  Monument Valley

snow covered road, thankfully, no thick accumulation yet when we passed this

Thankfully, when we reached Page, though overcast, but there was no snow. We felt successful again in escaping another snow storm. But have we escaped the Arctic blast because we escaped snow? Truth is, we woke up the next day at -5 Fahrenheit temperature, and we finished the two bottled water we brought inside our room, when we took bottled water to drink from our car, they were all FROZEN! The warm pictures of the desert at Monument Valley does not really tell the whole story behind the subfreezing temperatures.