Spring Break 2016: Yosemite National Park

As our eyes first set in this magnificent valley, I could only whisper all my gratitude to the Almighty.  For this tranquility, for this peaceful beauty.

Welcome to Yosemite National Park

I know it's already summer here, but I still have some stories to share from our last spring's adventures. Here's Spring Break 2016: Yosemite National Park chapter.

****

"Mama, where are we heading?" asked Bo in the car that day.

"Yosemite, Bang" I replied.
"Hmm..what's that again ma?
"Y-o-s-e-m-i-t-e.." I said 

"Oooh cool.. Like the one we saw on TV!" 

"So what are going to see here ma?" Added Obi.

My hubby and I just smiled and said," You'll see, kiddos, you'll see..."

Obviously, we just couldn't wait to see this world-wide famous National Park.

****

7 AM.

Stovepipe Wells, Death Valley, California.

Yes, we're here, in the California Republic.

The alarm screamed its heart out at 7 AM dot.

"Wakey, wakey, kiddos. We gotta move, El Capitan is waiting" I gently tapped Bo et Obi. 
"And we will see that great sand dunes nearby before heading to Yosemite," 
I know it was early and we were on spring break (a.k.a vacation ;)), but with the bathroom fun rituals (bubble bath session, enjoying the hot tub) and delicious breakfasts waiting for us, even 7 AM is considered late.

The kids had a great sleep after spending some times under the sun in the driest part in the US, the Death Valley. We stayed quite late down there, until sunset. And by the time we arrived at the Stovepipe Wells, we were all washed out.

Mesquita Sand Dune at the Stovepipe Walls..

After a brief morning walk at the Sand dunes, we were driving straight to Yosemite National Park. Wuhuuuu...

YOSEMITE NATIONAL PARK

What intrigued us in the first place is how you pronounce the name of this famous park.

I know...it might sound silly for you.

But for a non-native English speakers like us, you'll be surprise to hear the way we said it :).

Of course the correct way of saying it is (/joʊˈsɛmᵻti/ yoh-sem-it-ee) as I copy paste it from wikipedia.

But anyway, we still have tons of questions in our head when we first prepared our journey last spring.

Where is it? How do we go there?

What can we do there? How long do we have to stay there?

Where are we going to stay? How about the food?

And the questions seemed to continue on and on and on, until the day we actually went there.

We have zero knowledge of Yosemite National Park when we first heard about it. 

But as if the faith has been sealed for us, our itchy feet brought us to this lovely place on earth.

We drove around 4.5 hours from Death Valley, but we stopped for quite some times in Oakhurst as we had a little problem with our rent car. All was okay after we visited the car center and had our tyre checked. Apparently, after super hot days in the Death Valley, the car tyres and brakes were a bit compromised. It was worrying because the route we took was hilly and curvy. Good working brakes were definitely needed. Good thing it was handled swiftly, although we arrived a bit late in Mariposa, where we stayed for the first 2 nights in Yosemite. We managed to visit the Park but it was 8 PM already so it was all dark. 

And the view along the way was awesome. How can you complained over super blue sky, green lush trees and hills.

We pretty much enjoyed it.

We stayed at the Yosemite Miners Inn Motel, around 1 hour from the gate of Yosemite National Park. It was a lovely motel and Mariposa was a lovely place indeed. A perfect gateway to the Park.

Early morning, we were so ready to visit this infamous national park. After a hearty breakfast, we smoothly got in with our membership card which was bought in Grand Canyon.
With our America the beautiful card, we paid USD 80 for a full-year free entrance to the all US National Parks all over the country for a family of four like us and/or with other 3 adults.
What a steal!

Surely there are abundant things you can do in this beautiful place. 
Hiking, driving along the scenic routes, rock climbing, biking, camping, tracking, bear and bird watching and so many more. Initially, we wanted to see and try everything.
Somehow, with limited time we have, we really had to choose where to go. We highlighted the landmarks and some friendly tracks for us and the kids. Being outdoor is our favorite, but traveling with kids require further consideration,

On the first day, we drove through El Portal Road and headed to meet El Capitan and the Three Brothers. In case you were wondering, those are the names of granites rocks which dominantly adorned the Valley View. 

Meet El Capitan...

We hiked to the Bridalveil Fall as well. It was only 30 minutes walk from the parking spot near El Capitan area.
And just as beautiful as its name, the Fall is mesmerizing. 
It felt so fresh to walk on the ground like this.

Bridalveil bridge from a far..

We drove and walked around the Valley to enjoy the spectacular view right in front of our eyes. Wherever you look, you won't stop admiring the irrevocable beauty nature can bring. 
As much as I enjoyed the sceneries, I couldn't stop taking pictures here and there.

meet El Capitan

On the way to the Yosemite Village, we stopped at several places.
From Valley View to the  Yosemite Village, you can see El Capitan with its horse tail fall and ribbon fall, as well as the Three Brothers and the Cathedral Rocks. 

the Valley seen from the Vista Point

Heading south, you will see the  Sentinel Falls as well as Columbia Rock, which is not far from the majestic  Yosemite Falls, the upper and lower parts. 

The Falls is easily accessible from the Yosemite Valley Visitor Center as well as from the Sentinel Bridge. There is a path that you can follow if you want to walk along the trail and get closer to the Falls. But both Falls look fantastic from a far.

Yosemite Falls

While enjoying this beautiful area, we were just sitting in one of the valleys, simply doing nothing but sitting on the grass, deeply inhaling the fresh air, and giggling around. Obviously we took tons of pictures and videos, so we spent sometimes waiting for our GoPro to do its magic and recorded some of those time lapse videos.
I didn't mind waiting, as the scenery is wonderful and we got lucky that some wild animals joining our leisure time there.

And finally, we stopped at the famous Tunnel View.
I have no further explanation but leave it to your judgement in these photos.
No wonder people are flocking in this very spot to witness what Mother Nature presents.

the 4 of us...

We spent three days in this one of the world's natural wonders.
And I have to admit, even three days are not enough.
Sometimes we just got confused which rock or falls that we were seeing as there are so many of them. But whatever it is, it's beautiful beyond words.

I don't think my story and photos do justice to the real beauty of this place.
Nevertheless, I have to go back with more stories and photos (for sure) about our 2nd and 3rd day here at the Park.

Have you visited this place or other national Park as well?

How do you like it?

Check out more stories and photos in my Steller :)

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 Quest of Horseshoe Bend and the Missing Antelope

"Mama, where's the missing antelope?

Why do we have to walk around these rocks?"

Obi innocently asked me while we were stepping down the steep don't-look-down stairs in Lower Antelope Canyon, Page, Arizona. She thought we would meet antelopes, lots of lots of them, in our adventure that day.

And I broke a smile as my answer as I scaredly looked at the stairs in front of me. The gust of ancient wind whispered a welcoming lullaby in my ears.

Welcoming myself back to the magnificent mother nature. 

To the Navajoland.

***

It all started from a book.

Smithsonian level four, Endless Exploration.
Yup, Bo's book.

One of its many chapters is the World Wonders. 

And we have Grand Canyon there, listed as one of the amazing places to see.

Then our eyes captured the flip-out card of Grand Canyon, showing an iconic photo of Horseshoe Bend in the eastern part of the canyon. We got to see that!

And we're back on the road again :).

The Frakarsas..

We have another series of adventures during this spring break. The kids have their holiday for a week and we just can't wait to explore this country more.

So, my hubby and I had planned a rather ambitious (as always :)) road trip.

Destinations: Las Vegas - Page - Lower Antelope Canyon and the surroundings - Grand Canyon National Park - Death Valley National Park - Yosemite National Park - San Fransisco.

Frankly, I have to drop Yellowstone National Park due to the time constraint. 

So, at this point, it remains in my bucket list ;).

We were planning to do it all in 12 days.

Flying to Las Vegas then renting cars then stop in all those lovely places and small town in between. 

We flew from New York City, - or rather Newark,New Jersey, to Las Vegas. It was a lovely flight, transiting in Chicago for a couple of hours, then overlooking the astonishing views of Nevada and Arizona. We just couldn't wait to see them up close and personal.

the view from above..

Arriving at Las Vegas on Friday evening, we grabbed our rented car and headed to our hotel. We stayed at Holiday Inn Las Vegas Desert Club Vacation. Using my points, we got our free night here. 

our room :)

We didn't do much that night, just enjoying dinner and strolling around the city. But we all were pretty much tired from our flight. Not to mention 3-hour time difference which is not that much but quite annoying.

The next day, we were heading to Page, Arizona, our gateway to the Grand Canyon. Before that, we drove around the Las Vegas strip, posed in the fabulous Las Vegas sign, grabbed some ice cream and souvenirs. It was fun indeed. Las Vegas and its ageless charms really captivated us. But as I said, LV is the gateway, so our real adventure soon began.

Cheeers...

Las Vegas - Page is around 4 hours drive. We took the eastern entrance of Grand Canyon National Park. As we browsed around, Page is indeed beautiful. Such a scenic route we took and along the way we stopped several times just for photos and rest for a while. 

photo break :)

Not to mention the legendary Route 66.

If you watched Cars, one of Disney's famous movies (I'm a big fan!), then you got an idea what route 66 looks like. For us, who just recently live in the US, the idea of exploring Route 66 is super tempting. We were lucky that we passed at least 2 small cities which are part of this historical route.

Route 66 :)

Another lucky thing is that Bo et Obi were very cooperative along the way. 
No tantrums, no (too much) are-we-there-yet sessions and we all tried to enjoy the trip. I was of course equipped with laptops filled with their favorite movies, books, stack of paper and crayons, and munchies.

kiddos enjoying the trip..

Here in beautiful Page, we took some time to go to the Horseshoe Bend. 
Coming from Las Vegas, we arrived almost late at this spot. I mean we arrived there as the sun began to set. And mind you, we have to walk (and hike) for about a mile before arriving at this exact spot. 
You can imagine how crazy we hiked, in the middle of the chill windy desert weather, to catch the sunset before it would be completely dark.

Welcome to Horse Shoe bend :)

Horseshoe Bend is basically one standing rock surrounded by Colorado river. 
Its distinct shape and unique location surrounded by the Colorado river has made it very special.

Running to this particular spot catching it before the sun went down was worth it.

Then on our second day at Page, we joined Lower Antelope Canyon tour with Ken's tour. I guess the name refers to the  herds of pronghorn antelopes used to roam freely in this area. And I have to say, the trip was amazing.

The perfect collaboration of water and wind have created an amazing array of unique, one-of-a-kind forms and shapes of sandstone. I just can't explain it. Better check these pictures.

Looks familiar? It's one of the screen savers in windows :)

Deeper underground

Well, that's the first part of our trip yhis spring break. And Page still got a lot to offer.

Let me get back to you with more stories and pictures.

Do you manage to go somewhere lately?

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?