Time: March 29 – April 2,
2016
Place: Page (Antelope
Canyon, Horseshoe Bend) & Las Vegas
Company: Wife and Daughter
Highlights:
Prologue: To visit Antelope Canyon was an year long dream (or maybe more). We forgot when we came to know about this
place or how but looking at the pictures, we really felt like visiting it. The
fact that we had traversed right through it in December 2012 gave us a huge
dismay but the consoling thing was that the light rays in December would not
have been that good anyways. So it was ok to visit those parts again. March end
seemed like a good time to visit with not much crowd, not too cold and good
enough sunlight. So we booked the flight tickets, the tour tickets, the hotel
tickets, the car just about a month back and we were ready to go!
Day 0: Left home at about
4:30 pm in car to ParkSFO – long-term parking for SFO. With a coupon, it seemed
reasonable. Reached airport at about 6 pm. Took the southwest to Las Vegas at
8:30 pm. All three of us flew free - with points. For the first time ever in
life, flying for free!! Reached Vegas at 10 pm. Shuttle to rental car. Quite a
long line to shuttle itself. Not a good designed airport, looks like. Sixt
& Fox folks need to take double shuttle. Thank God, we had Budget. Got a
new black Nissan Versa. Good enough. Drove to our Super 8 for the night, and
retired.
Day 1: Extremely sumptuous
breakfast. Very fulfilling. Left hotel at 9 and drove north towards to St
George. Unlike in 2012, this time I was ready for the Virgin River Gorge – with
its beautiful winding roads across the rocky valley. Took exit towards Zion
National Park. At Hurricane (city), found a play area for kids, and rested for
Tontu to play on swing for some time. Had little snack, debated whether to go
to Zion or not (as per original plan) since drive-through costed $30. Decided
yes, and continued on. Lost a turn, and had to drive back for about 5-10
minutes. Then headed towards to Zion. Just at the entrance, mother and daughter
had some motion sickness issues that had to be taken care. Thankfully had a
nice restroom nearby. Once done, we went to a Thai restaurant
(Thai Sapa) – the same one which we had relished in 2012. Excellent service,
and the waiter happened to be an ex-National Park Serviceman. So he gave us a
rundown of some hikes including the Angel’s Landing. Now, although, our plan
didn’t include any hike or trail on Zion (just a pass-through), we suddenly
started thinking ‘why-not’ – at least on the way back. It would be hectic, as
well as some plan changes, but still why-not.
Anyways, started driving
uphill towards Zion’s exit on the other side and we were welcomed to some
amazing cliff structures. The tunnel was amazing too. Last time, we had driven
the other way at night and hence had missed all of this. Stopped at
Checkerboard vista point for some snaps and continued on. We saw some mountain
goats posing for us and then we were out of the Zion’s reddish roads. We had
planned to go to Page via a lesser-known road called Johnson Canyon to admire
Grand Staircase but we somehow missed the exit. When we finally found it, we
were shocked to see that it was unpaved. We couldn’t risk to go on an unpaved
road, checked with a local and even he said he had never been on it. So had to
strike off one of our to-do things in our trip plan. Instead took the highway,
and headed straight to Page.
During 2012, we had driven
the other way back and hadn’t realized that the cliffs to our right were indeed
Grand Staircase. But that knowledge helped us to scrutinize them further this
time. It was quite grand indeed. Just near to Page, we found Wahweap Overlook.
It was a nice vista point for Lake Powell view just before the Glen Canyon dam.
Took some pics at the windy place and headed to our Super 8 hotel. Ordered a
pizza from pizza hut, discussed a lot on what to do with Zion and Angel’s
Landing, and finally decided to stick to originally planned itinerary. Although
reached hotel at about 7 pm, ended up straining ourselves unnecessarily
(researching) for about 2-3 hours. Instead could have rested.
Day 2: Once again a
fantastic breakfast. This was all-inclusive continental. Thoroughly enjoyed.
Today was the big day, and there was huge dependence on Sun and clouds.
Thankfully, we were blessed with a near-clear sky with sun shining down on us.
A short 10-minute ride took us to Ken’s tours of Lower Antelope Canyon. We had
the 9:40 am tour booked. As the guide took us to the steep steps that led down
the Earth’s level to the slot canyons, we positioned ourselves to be the last
in the group. Flip side of this is that we cannot hear much of what the guide
explains. But the best part of this is that we get to take lots and lots of
pictures, since we would have almost 10-15 minutes before the next group
catches up to us. As we descended, we got to see the natural carvings of flash
flood water and it is surreal. Although we had seen many videos of this exact
venue, it is only when we see with our naked eyes that we can truly appreciate
the experience and the beauty. Paavani had great adventure with ladders and claustrophobic
canyon walls. The guide was very patient with us and allowed us all to take as
many pictures as we wanted. After we reveled in the picture-taking and walked
for almost 1.5 hrs in the serpentine canyon route, we came to the end, which is
actually the opening for the flash floods to enter. So we were walking all the
time in the reverse order – from lower depths to earth level via a series of
ladders. This coming out of the crack of the earth seemed so unearthly! And
with that, we were done with Lower Antelope Canyon.
Our next tour of Upper
Antelope Canyon was at noon but we had to report at 11 am. As per what we had
researched, the site for Upper was right opposite Ken’s tours across the
highway - Antelope Canyon Navajo Tours.
So, just a minute’s drive and we were there.
Tip#1: Upper charges $8 per person
for Navajo permit whereas Lower charges $8 per family. But if you show Lower’s
receipt to Upper, then the $8 per person is waived! But if you go to Upper
first and then Lower, then you end up paying the $8 per person. So we got lucky
booking Lower first. In fact, we had initially thought that Lower was without
tours but a casual chat with a friend of mine who had visited informed that
Lower was through tours only too, which resulted in research and subsequent
booking.
Tip#2: Upper Canyon tour with Antelope Canyon Navajo Tours is nearer than anyone else because they are right at the entrance. Any other tour company is located somewhere in Page, and they have to go through this tour company property (add almost 15-20 minutes of drive one-way).
After munching up some
snacks and killing time till noon, it was soon time for us to depart. For
Upper, we had to go on a bumpy 3 mile 10-minute truck ride to the mouth of the
Upper Antelope Canyon. Unlike Lower, Upper is like a huge natural triangular
Earth tent with a tiniest shadow of light filtering through the opening. Hence
the rush for the lunch time, to see the Sun beams cast its glory to the canyon
floors via the myriad shapes and canyon wall carvings. The guides here were
expert in photography and suggested us all the right configuration to get the
right pastel shades. I am no camera expert and without the guide’s excellent
suggestion, the whole Upper Antelope Canyon album would have been a black and
white mess! In fact the guide even helped most of us to keep the camera at
unique angles to get the right shots – such as some US president faces, wolf
face, a heart, sunrise, sunset, bird flying, etc. It was hard to get a family
picture since there were too many people. And unlike Lower, in which we enter
at one end and exit at the other, here we enter and exit at the same place. So
we have to head back the way we came, thus leading to lot of traffic issues
inside!
Despite all this, Upper Antelope Canyon is beautiful too. Maybe it is
because we went to Lower first, we liked it better but Upper is as good. There
are no ladders, it is just plain walk and hence Tontu didn’t have that much
fun. She was tired of all the canyon walls since it was almost 3 hours, and she
wanted to head back. We were blessed with good sun beams in both Lower and
Upper canyons, so we were pretty contented. It was worth travelling 2 hours in
flight and driving almost a day to get to see this! Bumpy ride back and we were
back to our car at about 1:30 pm.
Headed back to Lower Canyon
visitor center to buy a magnet. On the way, stopped at roadside for a scenic
photo. Kept my glasses on the car, and forgot clean about it, and drove away.
Alas, by the time I realized (which was in a Mexican restaurant in Page) and
went back to the spot, my glasses were broken, thanks to a car that has gone
over it. Morose, returned back to hotel room, since we were pretty exhausted
and there was nothing significant to do anyways. Took some rest and
unfortunately, I had to attend a 5 pm office call which went on till 7 pm. So
even though, we had plans of going to Marble Canyon and Vermilion Cliffs
National Monument, we had to forgo it. With the happenings of the day, we were
ok with it. Retired early.
Day 3: After another nice
sumptuous breakfast, we checked out of the hotel and headed to Horseshoe Bend
trailhead which is again a short ride from Page. Trail was less than 20 minutes
and not strenuous. Soon, we were at the edge of the cliff overlooking at the
Horseshoe Bend of the mighty Colorado river. It was indeed quite a scene. Thanks
to the natural wonder, there is a huge overlook area, and hence even if the place is crowded, there is always a place to see. The cliff is about 1000
ft drop and hence one has to be extremely careful. We took about gazillion
pictures from all possible angles with all possible permutations - individual,
family, individual selfie, family selfie, just the bend, videos, etc. and spent
almost an hour basking in the beauty. Then headed back to the car.
We again went to the same
Mexican restaurant and had an early yet heavy lunch. Then we were on our way
back to Vegas. But we felt we had quite a bit of time and hence took it easy.
We went to Glen Canyon dam, went to the visitor center to search for another
magnet (since we thought we lost the one which we had bought the previous day)
but it was futile. Took some nice pics of the dam, and finally we were on our
way. It was about 1 pm when we left Page finally.
All the way, we took pics
of Grand Staircase as it paralleled our road. Excellent scenery all through.
This time, we didn’t go through Zion & took the highway route. At
Hurricane, we stopped at the same exact park where we had stopped on Day 1. Some
snacks, some play in the park, fuel refill and back on our way. Once more through
the Virgin River Gorge – same excellent landscape – and then dry desert miles
together. We had decided on going to the Valley of Fire route, and hence took
the appropriate exit. I was hoping it was a 30 minute diversion but it was not
so. It was quite a long deviation indeed. After we left the highway, we drove
almost 30 minutes just to get to the entrance of Valley of Fire. But once we
entered, it seemed worth it. There are a bunch of rocks with cave-like holes in
them and with the Sun setting, the park indeed seemed like on fire. It was
orange-ish all around (especially more so with the sunglasses on), and
mesmerizing indeed. We felt we should have come a bit earlier without having
the Sun threatening to set on us. So we had to hurry around, especially to some
of the shorter hikes. But to be fair, the park actually needs one whole day for
itself, since most of the trails are pretty lengthy. So despite the setting
sun, we felt we were on short change. But with whatever time we had, we saw
whatever we could and took pics.
Finally, with no more
stops, we headed straight to our same hotel in Vegas as on Day 0. This was a
Super 8 vacation! After quickly freshening up, we headed to the Strip at about
8 pm. Parked our car at Bellagio, and showed Paavani the fountain. She enjoyed
thoroughly. There were also a bunch of cartoon characters on the Strip and
Paavani had a nice time talking to them all. Showed her the Eiffel Tower. Then walked down to the New York New York to
show her the Statue of Liberty. More pics. Then the tram to the iconic Vegas
Pyramid. By then, she was way too exhausted and she slept. Carried her all the
way back to Bellagio and headed back to the hotel to sleep. All the casinos
which we wanted to show Paavani at night with lights, we were able to show and
hence it was rather fulfilling.
Day 4: Was really
exhausted and hence got up really late, at almost 9 am. After breakfast and
getting ready, we finally left at 11 am. Considering we had a flight at 7:30 pm,
that wasn’t such a good idea. We should have left the hotel early. Anyways.
Read somewhere about a shark show in Mandalay Bay. So, got to the car parking
in Mandalay Bay, walked through a series of passageways and finally when we got
there, there was a big queue. So, ditched the plan, walked all the way back and
took the car to Aria. From there, walked through Aria, to the Strip, through
Paris resort, Strip again, Caesar’s, and then walked to Bellagio’s, took the
mono rail back to Aria, since it was already 3 pm. Then drove to Circus Circus.
There was some delay due to traffic & parking restrictions. Stopped over at
McD’s for a quick bite of lunch & ice cream. Saw one amazing acrobatic
aerobic show in Circus Circus, and headed back to car, ready to be off to airport.
There were a few more
casinos we wanted to see & show to Tontu – like Wynn, Venetian, etc. but
due to lack of time, we had to forego. So with a heavy heart, we left. Lost our
way to rental car return, got back on track, returned car, took shuttle to
airport, checked-in, security, and finally we got to the gate. After an
uneventful journey in JetBlue – which we flew after almost 7 years! – we landed
safely in SFO, took the shuttle to car parking, drove back home and reached at
almost midnight. Thus ended the Antelope Canyon & Vegas trip…
Epilogue: The main objective
of the trip was the Antelope Canyon, and we were extremely lucky to have got a
clear and sunny day for most of both the canyons. There were certain other
aspects of the trip which kinda pulled the mood down at times. Such as losing my
glasses. And most importantly - not having seen any of the place in its
entirety. There were small places in Page which we couldn’t see like Marble
Canyon, Vermillion Cliffs, etc. There was Zion & Angel’s Landing which got
us thinking and the thinking fell flat. There was Valley of Fire’s landscape
which was so beautiful which we could not see enough because we hardly had
time. And although we were short by a day in Vegas(!) - considering how much
there is to see in each resort – we felt we should have done a good job
planning the last day’s activities instead of being lackadaisical & leaving the hotel
so late in the morning, which left us just with 5 hours. I guess the fact that we have been to Vegas many times before took us off guard...This is my fourth time already.
But the trip as a whole
was safe and enriching. And I guess that’s just as good as anything anyone can
ever ask for, right?. So, then this was the first big vacation for 2016. What’s next?!
It wasn’t too crowded, so
got gondola tickets easily, and hopped on the cable car. It is extremely
impressive. The angle at which it ascends is almost breath-taking. The hush of
the forest underneath and the expansive view of the lake behind us suddenly
makes the jaw drop. After about few minutes, we get to stop at Observation Deck
from where we could see the Lake Tahoe in all its beauty. We had access to snow
right at the deck, and kiddo started playing with snow. It was bright and
sunny, and hence not at all cold. We allowed her to have as much fun as she
wanted, and hence we ended up staying just at the deck for over an hour! Then
we headed further up in the tram to arrive at a wide expanse of snow where all
ski-lifts started for further up ski trails. But this place was sufficient for
us.
With white blanket
covering all around us, kiddo did a snowman, a snow angel, threw snow at us and
we had a gala time altogether. Also had nice hot chocolate and munched some
snacks. More snow, more fun time, lotsa pictures. At one point, we sat on patio
chairs & just relaxed in the cool breeze. It was a beautiful day to be in
the snow on this sunny day!
