Back from another roadtrip!

June 2015 Road trip map

Well, I haven't been posting much (or say nothing?) on my blog recently. Not that I have stopped blogging but I have been distracted with other activities! I had to be with my mother and had to wind up things back in USA, then I went on a 15 days long road trip across Utah, Colorado, Wyoming and Idaho! The trip was kind of on an impulse! My lovely niece paid and booked my tickets and my kind cousin provided me the accommodation in USA.

Colorful Skies- Skywatch at Petrified Forest National Park

Skywatch in Arizona. I was at Petrified Forest National Park couple of days ago and these teepees looked very interesting at the end of that long road. Blue sky and those cotton-y clouds looked pretty good too!

Road Trips- Through Utah, Colorado, New Mexico, and Arizona

Well, I was so very disappointed with the US government shutdown. I landed here on October 3rd hoping that it will end soon. Due to many setbacks I had to cancel my tickets to Salt Lake City and I stayed at Los Angeles. I took shelter in my very kind cousin who was so feeling very bad that my trip had some obstacles! As soon as the Utah State declared to open their most gorgeous five National Parks I started off. You know? California might be golden state to comfortably live in but, Utah is an amazingly beautiful state :) Well, now the shutdown has ended so will visit all four states as I had initially thought!

National Parks- Biscayne, The Underwater National Park!

Biscayne Bay underwater National Park, is another gem in southern Florida. One of the popular scuba diving locations in USA, it preserves the barrier reefs and some of the unique marine wildlife. 95% of the park is underwater! Like other national parks of USA there is an entry fee of $10.

Great Hikes- Zion Angels Landing

Zion National Park is a peaceful sanctuary and home for very interesting cliffs and canyons. It also offers few most terrific hikes which excite the visitors beyond imagination. All NPS employees talk about it ... Every visitor wonders about it ... many want to hike it ... few complete it ... and the name is Angels Landing (5,790ft) or earlier known as Temple of Aeolus! At a height 1,488ft above the canyon floor the cliff provides spectacular views of Zion Canyon. Insanely popular, most terrific, most gratifying and most scenic hike I have ever completed. Here is  my story of hiking to the top of knife-edge cliff and back ...

National Monuments- Wupatki Ruins and Sunset Crater Volcano

Wupatki National Monument has scattered settlement sites of ancient Pueblo tribes. Wupatki means Tall House in Hopi (a Native American tribe) language, is listed in the National Register of Historic Places. It seems the first  inhabitants migrated to this place after the nearby Sunset Crater volcano erupted. The volcanic ash made this place fertile for agriculture and the volcanic rocks helped in the soil's ability to retain water. The settlements were abandoned completely within 100 years. The ruins in the monument belong to different tribes. The Lomaki and Nalahiku ruins seem to be little smaller and the ruins are reduced to only mud mounds and debris. Only the Wupatki Pueblo is the largest and whatever remains are well preserved. Wupatki ruins have entrance fee of $5.

National Parks- Grand Canyon National Park

Grand Canyon National Park is very popular and visited by many- guess why? It is a magnificent work of art by Mother Nature, on the rocks by the river and with time. The Grand Canyon- a gorge of the Colorado River, a massive, imposing landscape is a World Heritage Site and also considered to be one of the seven Natural Wonders of the World. The grandeur, the beauty and the majesticity of this canyon is unparalleled. The beauty is increased by the layers of exposed colored rocks and the vastness. The park contains several types of ecosystems, different life zones and three types of desert systems. It is one of the places to view the rarest bird in the world- California Condor. Like all other national parks in USA, there is an entry fee of $20.