WW: Peaceful Yosemite

I need peace.

More peace...

Feels like going back to Yosemite National Park to clear up my mind and refresh my soul :)

Check out more story on my Steller :)

And join us on linky (almost) Wordless Wednesday

Spring Break 2016: the Death Valley

The Death Valley.

Aren't we all intrigued by the death?

D.E.A.T.H.

What is death?

A scary concept that may haunt our consciousness?

Or freedom from all fears and failures?

When I heard the name of one of these National Parks here in the US for the first time, I was thinking that it might derive from it being a dreadful "killing field" of creatures passing over this very spot.

When we google it, for sure the image you'll find is the famous skeleton of the mountain goat's head.

Miserably stared back at you with its hollow eyes.

That is something!

The more we browsed, the more captivated we were.

That is why we decided to come and visit Death Valley, our second National Park in this spring break trip. 

Our journey this time started from Page Arizona. It took us around 6hours from Arizona to Death Valley, California. Long and hot 6 hours :)

The view along the way is lovely indeed.

Typical mysterious deserts with its beauty.

We left Page early in the morning and manage to arrive in Death Valley at noon.

And it was so hot indeed.

Death Valley is, in fact, one of the hottest points in this country.

We headed to Furnace Creek, the visitor center, to know more about this huge Park. Looking at the map given to us, Death Valley is indeed so vast, so empty, yet so simple, and so quiet.

It was very quiet we could hear our own voice echoing back.

Well, Death Valley is the hottest, the driest and the lowest National Park indeed.

One thing for sure, there is NO SIGNAL here.

NO signals, NO GPS, NO service.

We very much relied on the map and road signs as well as park newspaper which has abundant information and warnings.

There are several interesting spots in Death Valley.

Some of them are Badwater Basin, Dante's View, Devil's Golf Course, Zabriskie Point, Artist Palette, Scotty's Castle, the Racetrack and more. There are so many ghost towns as well.

Then with the time and energy we have, we were faced by our classic problem.

So much to see, so little time

For the first stop, we had Badwater Basin

Badwater Basin is the lowest elevation in North America. It was located 282 feet, or 86 meter, below the sea.

When we first stepped our foot here, all we could see was white and brown field.

Of salt and mud.

at the Badwater Basin.

The salt flat was very interesting.

We have never seen it before and pretty much interested to see closer.

It feels like in another world.

It somehow reminds me of Star Wars :).

Bo and Obi realy enjoyed the Badwater Basin.

Although it was very hot, but they were happily running around the sands flat, looking at the salt and mud formations which are very unique.

Then after that, we headed to Devil's Golf Course. Nice name, right :).

It is basically a vast field with dry mud and salt. Looks like a thorn golf course.. And maybe only the devil who can play golf here.

This place is certainly huge so it feels like it belongs to us. We have more cars and visitors in Badwater Basin, but not on the other parts of the park.

Next, we drove around the Artist Drive. This one way drive is beautiful indeed, with some dips and curves which accentuate the mountainous structure of this area. 

Then we arrived at the Artist Palette.

We took a break here and took photos until sunset.

By the time we finished at the Artist Palette, it was already dark.

And we were drop dead tired as well.

We stayed at Stovepipe Well that night.

Before heading to Yosemite National Park, we stopped at Mezquita Flat Sand Dune. 

So, what do you think about Death Valley? Fascinating isn't?

Spring Break 2016: Grandeur Grand Canyon

"Mommy, where are we now? Why is it snowing?"
"Are we going to hike again today?"

Obi asked me, looked worried.

I was busily packing bottles of water and salty snack in our backpack when I heard Obi from the back seats. 

"Don't worry, baby. We will have another great adventure today," I smiled reassuringly.

We just arrived at Grand Canyon.

The next place we visited after Lower Antelope Canyon and Lake Powell, still in our Spring Break. 

And we made it!

We finally made it to Grand Canyon.

Perhaps, for many of you, visiting this national park is a regular annual trip.  But for us, coming from a different part of the world, Grand Canyon is certainly on top if our bucket list along with Alaska,Yellowstone National Park, and so many more. 

And it was snowing (yes, snowing) when we arrived here one early morning at the last week of April.

Driving for about 2 hours from Page, Arizona, we started the trip from Dessert View, heading to the South Rim, up to the Hermit Road. North Rim was still closed for the season. We managed to stop at Little Colorado River Gorge for a while.

Little Colorado River Gorge

Grand Canyon, on whatever season, never fails to amaze us.

Standing there, warmly wrapped in our light winter gear, the grandeur Grand Canyon is all for us to explore.

Dot by dot, every view point, we enjoyed the breathtaking beauty of mother nature with admiring eyes and endless wonder.

And how small we are amidst the vast and incredible nature.

cheers from the Watch Tower.

Asli ngeri-ngeri sedap foto sama anak-anak di Grand Canyon.
Tebing di mana-mana.
Dan kalau takut ketinggian, kebayang deh sengsaranya :).
Apalagi seringkali karena melihat keindahan alamnya yang luar biasa, kita langsung lupa diri dan sibuk mengabadikan pemandangan alam dengan kamera (tunjuk diri sendiri >_<).

You have to be fully alert all the time. 
That's for sure/
Bo et Obi were very cooperative. We have drilled them before to stay on the path, to be behind the rail, and to be cautious. Not to mention how dangerous it is to play around, jump and run while trekking .

Good thing tebing tempat kita foto ini di bawahnya ada tebing lagi yang pendek dan landai. So, it's much safer buat foto seru :).

Just don't look down.

at the Powell Point...bener-bener foto di ujung tebing :)

We started our journey from the Desert View drive, driving along this beautiful palisades.

The vista is amazing.

We stopped at the Watch Tower, enjoying the canyon and its grandeur.

For the first 20 minutes, we were so busily taking pictures and recording videos until our hands were numb due to the cold >_<.
As you can see, pictures shown here are both taken by me and my hubby, Rudi, as the watermark indicated :).

Good thing the kids were waiting inside the watch tower.

We also got a chance to climb up the tower and see beautiful Indian drawings and symbols on the wall.

the Indian drawing

From the watch tower, we drove along and stopped at so many points, - Yaki Point, Mather Point, Grandeur Point and more. 

We took the buss from Grand Canyon Village headed to the western part of the Canyon, hiked from trailview overlook to Maricopa Point, Powell Point, Hopi Point, Mojave Point, the Abyss, monument creek point, Pima Point and finally to Hermits Rest.

Words can not express the amazing vista we saw along the way.

So precious, so mindblowing.

And we finally called a day after a beautiful sunset, amidst a cold and cloudy day, at Pima Point.

Have you visited Grand Canyon? What is your impression about it?

Do you like National Parks?

Check out more of my stories at #Steller :)

WW: the Death Valley

When you hear the name, the Death Valley, what do you have in mind?

Truly a one-of-a-kind experience.

Badwater Basin, Devil's Golf Course, Artist Pallete, and the sand dunes are awesome.

Let's take a closer look at it 

so vast and so silent...

the salt flats...

one of the scenic route

some unique formation of salt

the artist pallete

in the devil's golf course with mini me

the sand dune :)

So, how do you like the Death Valley?

Check out more of my stories at #Steller :)

Join us on (almost) wordless wednesday 

Spring Break 2016: Deeper Underground at the Lower Antelope Canyon

Good morning from Page, Arizona.

And welcome to the Navajoland.

Shall we continue our journey here :)?

Page is indeed a beautiful city.

I am glad my hubby insisted on staying here as our gateway to the Grand Canyon. 

So many interesting spots to see and enjoy.

Before that, we have considered other cities as well, including those closer to Grand Canyon or on our way to Death Valley.

As I have shared before in Spring Break 2016: the Quest of the Horseshoe Bend and the Missing Antelope, we spent a half day taking the Lower Antelope Canyon tour. 

It takes around 30 minutes drive to Lower Antelope Canyon from our hotel at Best Western Plus Lake Powell, Page. 

The typical landscape of the area is desert, but underneath is another world indeed. Never crossed our minds that beautiful, one-of-a-kind rocks constellation is waiting down there.

The desert..

So early morning, we went to the Lower Antelope Canyon. There are two tour operators here and we chose Ken's tour.

I read in Trip Advisor that they are well recommended.

It's also better if you reserve before coming in. They assigned a group of approximately 15-20 people every 15 minutes. And the list is filled up fast.

We came at 9.15 but got a slot for 10 AM. There are 2 types of tours, genera one and the photographer one. We took the general one because the photographer tour filled up already. Unless we wanted to come back later that day. There are a few things we have to consider before chosing those tours, as you can see in my picture below.

No selfie stick :)

The fee is $20 per adult, and kids 7 years and older is $12. 

Oh, in front of the gate, we also paid our contribution to the Navajo tribe, which can be used for the whole day in other part of the Navajoland, like Upper Antelope Canyon. I think it was $8 per adult and $4 for kids

So we waited for a while at the cafetaria and browsed around the souvenir shop 
(as always :)).

while waiting for the tour..

For sure you can not take a self-guided tour here. 
We were wondering about that and once we were at Lower Antelope Canyon we know why we have to take the guided tour.

This canyon is amazingly located underneath the ground. 

Yuuup.

Underground.

You have to take stairs, many of them. 

Some of them are very steep.

But no need to worry as it is indeed safe to do so.

Take it as a little effort we have to make before we can witness the fantastic sandstones, curves, turns and magically curved and sculptured by the wind and water for thousands of years. 

Not to mention that this area was recently flooded. Therefore, it's rather dangerous for you to go down there alone or with someone who is not familiar with the area.

watchout...

Our tour guide, John, was very nice and patience as well. 

our guide, John...

He explained a lot about the story of the canyon and the names of the rocks. 

one corner..

We saw the lion's head, the lady, the Indian chief.. Complete with his headdress. 

the chief....

And soooo many other incredible shapes, forms and colors.

what do you think it looks like?

Here are some more photos in a collage. I have tons of them but I know it will be too heavy for the blog :).

So when you happen to be in Page or the neighborhood, don't miss the Lower Antelope Canyon. Truly a great experience for us, and for you as well.

Check out more of my stories at #Steller :)

Spring Break 2016: Boat Trip at Lake Powell

"Mama, are we going to do that as well?" Ask Obi while pointing her finger to 2 ladies kayaking on Colorado River that afternoon.

"Oh.. We will, nak. As soon as you and Abang are big enough, we'll have another adventure and try kayaking, okay."

Spring break is way behind us but I still have so many stories and photos to share. I have just shared some parts of our trips in Page, Arizona, including to Horseshoe Bend and Lower Antelope Canyon. Another great activity that you can do here is taking a boat excursion of Antelope Canyon and the Lake Powell.

some of the lovely spots we passed..

And I have to admit, Page has a lot to offer and this time we also took the boat trip at Lake Powell. When we flew from NYC to Las Vegas, we saw Lake Powell from above.

seen from above..

After spending approximately 3 hours at the Lower Antelope Canyon (1.5 hours tour plus registering and waiting for our tour), we headed to Antelope Point Marina for a boat tour in Lake Powell. 

clear blue sky..

Antelope Point Marina is part of the National Parks and as we went there on Sunday, April 24th, we had a free access to the Park as it was part of the 100 years celebration of the National Parks. But we have an annual pass of the Parks by the way. Only with $80, you have a free pass of America the Beautiful, which allows you and your family ( of two kids or maximum 3 extra adults) to national parks and federal recreational lands pass.

We had our lunch as well here, in one of the restaurants at the Marina. Big juicy burger, fried calamari, hot chicken wing and a big bowl of mixed salad was delicious.

lunch timeeee

Then we waited for a while for our 3.45 boat trip. The ticket for this boat excursion is $28 for adults and $18 for kids (age 4-12). Children 3 years old and under are free. They have several departure times, starting at 9, 10.15 and 11.30 in the morning, then 1.15, 2.30, 3.45, and 5 pm.

The trip took around 1.5 hours.

The kids were given the safety vests before we were on board and while cruising, we were free to take pictures and move around on the boat carefully.

Along the way, we listened to the explanation about Lake Powell, Antelope Canyon, Colorado river and some more facts, while enjoying the beautiful sceneries.

Antelope Canyon seen from the boat..

Lake Powell itself is a huge man-made reservoir of Colorado River, named after Major John Wesley Powell. He was famously known as the leader of Colorado and Green Rivers expedition back in the 1869 onwards. 
And he's a hero.
He was an American civil war veteran and only had 1 arm! 
And look what he managed to discover with three canoes along those great American rivers.

back in early 1900, how did it look? Hmmm

After hours of walking under the sun at the Lower Antelope Canyon, it felt good just to sit down, relax, and enjoy the magnificent rocks and Colorado river.

The river ...

Bo et Obi enjoyed the trip as well. The cool breeze proved to be a great lullaby for Obi, who slept on her seat after cruising along Colorado river for 30 minutes. 

sleepy heads :)

We also saw many people kayaking and canoeing along the way. Too bad we cannot do that with the kids as they are still too young.

the panoramic photo of our boat tour..

It just felt incredible to be out here and wander the magnificent Antelope Canyon, Colorado River and Lake Powell.

Have you ever joined a boat trip?

How do you like it?