Expedition to the West - Day5

=== Zion National Park ===

After a day in the coral-colored hoodoos in Bryce, Zion was a quite a change.  The moment we drove into the park, we were amazed by its magnificent hard rock mountains. There are so many spectacular hikes into the mountains.  You can really experience the wilderness if you pick some less popular hikes.  The Angle Landing and the Narrows are the two popular hikes.  Angle Landing hike could be scary to the people who are afraid of height (like me).  The Narrows is a hike in the river.  We didn't take either hike but would like to do so someday when we come again.

=== Our First Glamping ===

When we left Zion and I told the boys that we were going to camp tonight, they both protested so much.  They were ready to pay the hotel on their own out of their piggy bank!  What they didn't know was that I booked the glamour camping!  When we arrived to the site, they were over the moon!

The camp site is near the border of Utah and Arizona, with beautiful backdrop of the mountains.

 We ran around the mountain climbing rocks to release our excitement!

 Mason meditated on a rock.  For a child who never sits still, that was a first!

We chopped woods (pretend) to prepare for our campfire.

We looked at the moon raised above the mountain top.

It is peaceful...except for the continuous yelling and cheering from the boys.

A cold night was warmed by the fire logs.

 We circled around the fire and shared ghost stories...

The stars twinkle in the sky.

Expedition to the West - Day4

=== Bryce Canyon National Park ===

Comparing to the first 3 days, we had an easy day today because we only had one park to visit.  What a relief to my boys!  We spent the whole day admired the giant natural amphitheaters and the "hoodoos".  We started our hike from Sunset Point and followed the Navajo Loop trail to Wall Street.

This is the entrance to the Wall Street.  But the trail was closed at this point due to the falling rocks.

We then turned around and followed the Queens Garden Trail.

Can you tell Queen Victoria and her dog in the picture?

After we finished the hike into the Canyon, we drove to Yovimpa Point (the end of the park) and stopped at each view point.  The attitude of the park climbs up to 8000 feet.  The wind picked up quickly as we reached the peak.   

The best view of the hoodoos is the Bryce Point.  It is like a natural palace!

Expedition to the West - Day3

=== Monument Valley ===

The drive from Bluff to Monument Valley offers a much better view of the red canyon than the drive from Arizona.  If you have option, take this route.

When you are approaching Monument Valley from Route 163 south bound, you have the open view of towering sandstone buttes.  This is also the most photographed view (remember Forest Gump's quote on this road?  I'm pretty tired... I think I'll go home now. )

Monument Valley is operated by Navajo Tribal.  You can see Native American tribe artworks throughout the park.  The buttes and mittens are very famous formation of the red sand stones.

No wonder why so many western movies were shot here. 

=== Lower Antelope Canyon ===

We continued our day to the second stop - Antelope Canyon.  This underground canyon was formed by erosion of Navajo Sandstone due to flash flooding from the rain.  The rainwater during monsoon season rushes into the canyon's narrow passageways (picture below), causing high speed circulation of water.  The movement erodes the sandstone in the flowing shapes.  Depending on the circulation direction,  it makes different sharp lines and edges in the stones.  Spectacular natural wonder!

=== Horseshoe Bend ===

Our last stop for the day was Horseshoe bend.  What an intimate experience!  I had to be on my stomach to take a good picture of the 1,000-foot cliff drop into Colorado River turn.

In the evening, we lodged at Best Western at Kanab, getting ready for Bryce Canyon.