Roaming Brood

Monument Valley is a red-sand desert region on the Arizona-Utah border.  This land belongs to the Navajo people and boasts large sandstone masterpieces that tower from 400-1000 feet tall.  The landscape has been used as a backdrop for several western movies and, more notably for us, Forrest Gump. A mitten What a sky! A stark landscape We arrived late afternoon to this awe-inspiring land. View from our campsite The kids were keen on relaxing so Mike and I set out on the 'scenic drive' on our bikes.  As open-top jeeps toured people around, we tried not to inhale too much red dust as we navigated the rough dirt roads. Biking was a beautiful way to experience the mittens, buttes, spires and mesas. Just us Sand roads We're so small Towering mesas After our ride, we enjoyed the sunset and a sky full of stars before bed.  We rose early for the gorgeous sunrise before heading out the next morning.  A short, but sweet, stop...

 Horseshoe Bend After leaving the Grand Canyon, we drove a couple of hours north to Page, Arizona.  On the way into town, we pulled off the highway, paid our $10 and joined the steady line of tourists trekking 15 minutes on a sandy path to Horseshoe Bend.  Carved by the Colorado River, it was as spectacular as hoped.   Antelope Canyon The first time I saw a photo of Antelope Canyon I knew it was a place I wanted to see.  Antelope Canyon is on Navajo land and requires a guided tour.  Two tour companies take ~3000 people daily down into both Lower and Upper Antelope Canyons - we chose Dixie tours. We were split into groups of 10 and assigned a Navajo guide.  Our guide shared stories about his upbringing and Navajo culture and told the kids about black widow spiders and scorpions.  This helped distract me from the herds of people that were headed towards Lower Antelope Canyon (the more challenging tour). When we descended a stee...

What it's all about  Mountain Goats - lots of wildlife The Grand Canyon is one of the most visited spots in America  - +7M people rode the park shuttle buses last year.  It ranks in most 'top 10 natural wonders of the world' lists. Most people reading this post will have seen photos of the canyon or actually been there themselves.  We've heard all kinds of accounts from friends and family - 'it's actually not that exciting to look at' to 'we hiked from the south rim to the north rim and we're going back again next year'. The Desert View of the South Rim The canyon will: Make you feel small Help you appreciate the vastness of time Challenge you physically,  if you choose to tackle it Bring you close to wildlife Like most natural features in this corner of America, the canyon will give you a globally unique way to see how water, rock and time interplay to reveal human, animal, plant and celestial history. To be clear, yo...

 What it's all about Zion bears a biblical name as do many of its hikes and features... thanks, apparently, to early religious settlers in the area. Trees clinging to cliff tops The area is also unceded native American territory.  Like most of Utah, Zion is about the passage of eons, water and sandstone.  The cliffs are red and tower over you from all corners of the Zion canyon, which is the park's main attraction. There's plenty of wildlife in the park too... squirrels, turkeys, mule deer, birds and lizards are all easy to find in the park. The Virgin river snakes its way along the canyon floor - its waters are an emerald-grey, making the water attractive and photogenic. The Virgin river The park roads are in superb shape and are picturesque... and thanks to the Park's no-cars policy, traffic is sparse - mostly shuttle buses. Shuttles This park is so well organized it feels like Disneyland - seriously.   It's 100% overrun by tourists...