Yosemite was the last national park on the summer vacation trip list. That also means this is going to be the last major post (or at least the public ones) about the vacation. The trip was like a dream, with so many grand landscapes and so much beautiful wildlife. I can never get tired of going to Yosemite and if I was a little closer, I'd probably be there every weekend.

I had hoped to see a bear each time I visited Yosemite in the past, but each time I returned without seeing them. Although the initial plan was to have two days in Yosemite, change of plan during the trip meant that I'd have just the afternoon in Yosemite. No chance of bear then. Not much chance of any wildlife then, I thought. And just to prove me wrong, the animals showed up. And just by the roadside too... :-)




The sun is all set to signal the end of day... the end of the trip.

( Ten more photographs... )

I had heard about the presence of free horses on the Eastern border of Death Valley but the two visits I made earlier during the year yielded no sightings. After the long trip through Utah, Arizona and then Nevada, coming into California and to Death Valley was almost like coming home. I wasn't expecting to see anything but fabulous sunset in Death Valley that day and I had just ignored charging my camera battery and had not realized there was no space left on my flash cards for any more photographs.

As we drove along the highway, I notice movement in a bush by the roadside and as I slowed down and pulled over I noticed a mustang! And then another one showed up on the other side and then a few more! I pulled out my camera from its lazy slumber and began to focus and all I see is a big red battery sign! While I continued to kick myself for the blunder, I had enough sense (just that little bit that I seem to have... sometimes) to put the battery to charge. Every second was like a minute and every minute was like the lifetime of earth. The horses moved about, eating, looking at us, communicating amongst themselves and doing all of it in the most beautiful light there could ever be.

We drove up the road to see if there were other herds but turned back after a mile and came back to the herd we had seen. After about fifteen minutes, the stallion of the herd started moving towards the Nevada side and walked away calmly into the distance. It was only a matter of time before the rest of the herd moved and I pulled out my battery from the charger and my camera came to life - just about. I had space for about twenty photographs and I knew I had to be less trigger happy than I usually am.

Like they say, All is well when...





A Stallion in the making! For now, he's one of the cutest things roaming the emptiness of Death Valley!

( Welcome to the world of Mustangs... )

Here are the final photographs from Arizona and Grand Canyon. Fascinating place that.




The clouds hide a sun on a fine day at the Grand Canyon

( Ten more photographs... )

Like I said in my previous post, the the south rim of the Grand Canyon is more crowded. The reason could be easier accessibility and good facilities year round, but the reason could also be that the views are much grander! The magnitude of this place is just unimaginable until you see it for yourself. I was there midweek and it was still very crowded, with people and cars everywhere, and after you've seen the place, you know why the millions go there each year to see one of the greatest sights the natural world has to offer - welcome to the South Rim of the Grand Canyon.




The vista from "Desert View"

( Seventeen more photographs... )

Apparently, only 10% of the visitors to the Grand Canyon go to the North Rim and that was a huge incentive for me to go to there given that I like places which aren't crowded. The North Rim is much higher than the South Rim and there's no accessibility in winter when snow forces the roads (and the facilities) to be closed. And as I found out there North Rim is more forested, has rich(er) wildlife and quite different from the south rim, which is more of a desert. I did go to the south rim as well and I'm glad I did. The south rim will come up next, for now here are some images from the North Rim of the greatest canyon in the world.




View from the North Rim of the Grand Canyon

( Eight More photographs )

When driving from Bryce canyon national park to the North Rim of the Grand Canyon, a detour to Page in Arizona takes you to one of the most photographed slot canyons in the world - the Antelope canyon. We had lost our way and it was almost time for the sun to set when we reached the upper antelope canyon. Antelope canyon is inside a Native American reservation and only registered guides can take you there and it requires them to drive through the deep sands of the Antelope wash to get to the canyon. When we arrived at the canyon, most of the good light had long gone and all I could do was admire the beauty of the canyon and take some documentation photographs.






A walk inside the Antelope Canyon


( Seven more Photographs )

Here's the last post from the Bryce Canyon. The morning at Bryce was a fantastic show of colors and natural history. Bryce was only an 'if there is time' in the trip plan and somehow there was time and I'm so glad I could make it there. I hadn't imagined Bryce to have so much wildlife and with so many lifers, it was a great experience to be there.




Aqua Canyon in Bryce National Park

( Eight more photographs )

The sunset and sunrise are much anticipated events at Bryce and large crowds gather at the viewpoints early to get the best spots. I can just say that you've got to see it for yourself!





( 18 More photographs )

The native inhabitants of the Bryce Canyon - the Paiute people - believed the hoodoos were once people, but then turned into stone by the Coyote! If you've been to Bryce you'll realize why they believed so.




( Ten more photographs )

10 days. Four states. 7 national parks. Just amazing.

Here's how my (road) trip looked like: Sequoia/King's Canyon National Park -> Zion National Park -> Bryce Canyon National Park -> Grand Canyon (north rim) -> Antelope Canyon -> Grand Canyon (south rim) -> Death Valley -> Yosemite -> Monterey Bay. The grand tour with mountains, trees, desert, canyons, rivers, plateaus and the sea!

I now have the crazy, crazy task of looking at 36GB of photographs from the trip. :-(




American Bison in Utah