Antelope Canyon, near Page, Arizona, USA.

Introduction :

Antelope Canyon located near to Page, Arizona, United States. It's the most photographed and visited canyon in southwest America. It consists of two part, upper Antelope  Canyon and Lower Antelope Canyon. Upper Antelope Canyon also called Tsé bighánílíní in Navajo name which mean " place where water runs through rocks". It's carved by flash floods which exposed the beautiful curve and colorful rock walls. It's about 4,000 ft elevation and canyon walls rise 120 ft above ground. Visit during noon where sunlight is abundant, this condition will create strong sunlight beam in the canyon. There is no climbing needed for Upper Antelope Canyon because all are at ground level, but remember to avoid peak season, when large amount of people will visit the canyon, it kind of hard to move around in the narrow canyon.

Tips:

Do get reservation before going ( book in advance to make sure there is a spot)

don't go on peak season

all tour are guided ( so book in advance) 

Bring your camera ( one of the most beautiful place on earth) 

Attractions:

Hiking, canyon, rocks, beautiful sunlight beam, 

Contacts:

5975 East Highway 98, Page, AZ 86040

United States

(928) 698-2808

Nearby attractions:
Glen Canyon Dam
Horseshoe Bend
Bryce Canyon
Zion National Park

Map:

View Larger Map

 At Navajo shop

before heading to ANtelope Canyon by 4x4

 factory while on the way

 half way to go

the entrance

the beautiful rocks

 Outside the end of the Antelope Canyon

 Antelope Canyon sunlight beam

Glen Canyon Dam and Carl Hayden Visitor Center

Introduction:

Carl Hayden Visitor Center located in Glen Canyon National Recreation Area ( covering 1.2 millions acres)  in southern Utah and northern Arizona surrounding Lake Powell.It exhibits the history of Lake Powell, the treasure in Glen Canyon including dinosaur bone and foot print.

Glen Canyon Dam was constructed to generate power via hydroelectricity, water reservoir for southwestern United States, and provide recreation opportunities.It is a Concrete thick arch-gravity dam with a crest width of 25 feet 1,560 in height.Construction completed in 1964 after 8 years of construction. Lake Powell took 14 years to fill to full pool. The lake has a storage capacity of 26,214,900 acre·ft , making it the second largest man made reservoir in the US behind lake Mead.

Attractions: 

Tours of the dam, exhibits, video shows, a relief map of the entire Glen Canyon area, bookstore. Potential Junior Rangers are invited to come earn a badge.

Operating Hours:

Summer hours (call for days) 8 am – 6 pm MST;

Winter Hours (November through February) daily, 8:30 am - 4:30 pm MST;

Rest of year open daily 8 am – 5 pm MST;

Closed Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year’s Day

Contact:

Phone: 928-608-6404. Tours of the Dam: 928-608-6072

Location: Highway 89 on west side of Glen Canyon Dam

Fees:

Admission is free

Tours of the dam are $5

Nearby attractions:

Antelope Canyon

Horseshoe Bend

Bryce Canyon

Zion National Park

Map

View Larger Map

References:

http://www.utah.com/lakepowell/visitorcenter.htm

http://www.desertusa.com/colorado/GlennNRA/du_gcnra.html

http://www.nps.gov/glca/planyourvisit/visitorcenters.htm

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glen_Canyon_National_Recreation_Area

 Glen Canyon Dam

 The green Colorado river

The generator

 Glen Canyon Dam

 Glen Canyon Dam

Horseshoe Bend, Page, Arizona, USA.

Introduction:

Horseshoe bend located in Page, Arizona is a natural horseshoe shape meander in Colorado river from the downstream of  Glen canyon dam and lake Powell. It been called "king Bend" by the local people. From US Route 89( parking lot)  it took about 8 minutes hike to  reach the cliff ( about 800m), the terrain is kind of steep up and down with some deep sand. It's about 1000ft from the cliff to the river below, so be careful and take care of your kids. It's kind of scary to take photos near the cliff because some of the stone is not that stable. So be sure not to step any stone that edge out of the cliff.

Attraction:

Beautiful horseshoe shape meander, Colorado river, hiking 

How to go:

6km southwest of Page via US Route 89, from there park your car and walk for 800m to reach the bend

Admission fees

Free

Nearby attractions:

Glen Canyon Dam

Antelope Canyon

Bryce Canyon

Zion National Park

Map

View Larger Map

Bryce Canyon National Park, Utah, United States.

Panoramic view of Bryce Canyon

 Introduction:

Bryce Canyon National Park loacted in southwestern Utah. It's famous for worldly unique geology, consists of a series of giant amphitheaters along the eastern edge of the Paunsaugunt Plateau. Besides that it's unique for it's "hoodoos" the pointy spines all over the canyon, formed by erosion of the sand/ rock by melting snow. The red, orange, and white colors of the rocks provide spectacular views for park visitors. The rim at Bryce varies from 8,000 to 9,000 feet (2,400 to 2,700 m). The park covers 35,835 acres (55.99 sq mi; 145.02 km2). Bryce canyon 7.4 magnitude night sky, making it one of the darkest in North America. 7,500 star can be observed with naked eye during the night because of no light pollution here.

Attraction:

Hiking, photography, birds watching , natural arches, canyons, rock climbing , horse riding , star watching

Animals:

Mule deer,bobcats, mountain lions, black bears, elk, pronghorn, Utah Prairie Dog, the California Condor,the Southwestern Willow Flycatcher,  jays, ravens, nuthatches, eagles, Great Basin Rattlesnake, Short-horned Lizard, Side-blotched Lizard, Striped Whipsnake.

Popular hiking trails: 

Easy and moderate Trails:

Mossy Cave (one hour, State Route 12 northwest of Tropic)

 Rim Trail (5–6 hours, anywhere on rim)

 Bristlecone Loop (one hour, Rainbow Point)

Queens Garden (1–2 hours, Sunrise Point)

Moderate trails:

 Navajo Loop (1–2 hours, Sunset Point) 

Tower Bridge (2–3 hours, north of Sunrise Point) 

Strenuous hikes:

Fairyland Loop (4–5 hours, Fairyland Point) 

Peekaboo Loop (3–4 hours, Bryce Point) 

Campgrounds: 

North Campground and Sunset Campground

Contacts:

Phone: 435-834-5322

For Maps and Brochures by mail, please write to:

Information Packet Request

Bryce Canyon National Park

PO Box 640201

Bryce Canyon UT 84764-0201

Admission Fees:

$25 per private vehicle. 

$12 for individual entering by foot, bicycle, motorcycle, or non-commercial group

 Admission is for seven days and includes unlimited use of the Shuttle.

The National Park Service has designated the following fee free days for 2012:

Martin Luther King Jr Birthday weekend - January 14-16

National Park Week - April 21-29

Get Outdoors Day - June 9

September 29 (National Public Lands Day)

Veteran's Day Weekend - November 10-12

The waiver does not include other fees such as camping. As these weekends may be extra busy with traffic and parking congestion, visitors are encouraged to ride the park's free shuttle when available.

Reservations for camping and lodging are recommended. Camping fees are in addition to entrance fees, and are charged per night. Campsite reservations fill up fast; reservations can be made up to six months in advance.

Nearby attractions:
Glen Canyon Dam
Antelope Canyon
Horseshoe Bend
Zion National Park

Map:

View Larger Map

References:

http://www.nps.gov/brca/index.htm

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bryce_Canyon_National_Park

Panoramic view of Bryce Canyon

Panoramic view of Bryce Canyon

Panoramic view of Bryce Canyon

Panoramic view of Bryce Canyon

Panoramic view of Bryce Canyon

Bryce Canyon Entrance

Bryce Canyon

Bryce Canyon snowy cliff 

Me at the freezing Bryce Canyon

Bryce Canyon

at the Bryce Canyon rim

Bryce Canyon cliff

my name

Zion National Park, Utah, United States.

Introduction:

Zion National Park is located in the Springdale, Utah, United States. It covered a total of 590 km2, which is 24 km long and up to 800 m deep. Located at parts of  Colorado Plateau, Great Basin, and Mojave Desert regions, the park's unique geography allow for unusual plant and animal diversity. The unique life zones includes desert, riparian, woodland, and coniferous forest consists of canyons, buttes, mountains, mesad,rivers, monoliths,slot canyon and natural arches.  It take about 3 hours drive from Las Vegas, Nevada. 

Attraction:

Hiking, canyoneering, climbing, biking, photography, birds watching , natural arches, canyons, rock climbing 

Animals: Rock Squirrels, Cougars, Mule Deer,Coyotes, Jackrabbits,  Whiptail ,Gray Foxes, Collared lizards, Pinyon Jays,etc.

Popular hiking trails: The Narrows, The Subway, Angels Landing, and Kolob Arch.

Rock climbing trails:   Moonlight Buttress, Prodigal Son, Spaceshot, Touchstone.

Contacts:

Phone: 1-435-772-3256 

Fax: 1-435-772-3426

Address: Zion National Park, Springdale, UT 84767-1099

Fees:

WEEKLY PASSES

Weekly passes may be upgraded to annual passes within 7 days of purchase.

Private Vehicle: $25. Valid for 7 days.

Motorcycle: $12. Valid for 7 days.

Admits one individual on a private, non-commercial motorcycle to Zion National Park including both the Zion Canyon and Kolob Canyon areas. Any passengers pay the per person fee not to exceed the private vehicle fee of $25.

Per Person: $12. Valid for 7 days.

Admits one individual with no car to Zion National Park including both the Zion Canyon and Kolob Canyon areas. - typically used for bicyclists, hikers and pedestrians. Youth 15 and under are admitted free. 

Nearby attractions:

Glen Canyon Dam

Antelope Canyon

Horseshoe Bend

Bryce Canyon

Map:

View Larger Map

References:

http://www.nps.gov/zion/planyourvisit/hours.htm

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zion_National_Park

Click on photo to ENLARGE

The magnificent view of Zion National Park Valley from a cave with melting snow waterfall fall on the right.The weather is still cold in the spring ( April ) but not cold enough to prevent the snow from melting. In spring there are many waterfalls around the park because of warm weather melting the snow.

Panoramic view of Zion National Park snow mountains

Panoramic view of Zion National Park at the car park

At the bus station, Zion National Park

panoramic view of the partly snow mountain 

The sign board to Zion National Park

The Zion National Park entrance

San Diego Zoo

Introduction:

San Diego Zoo is a 40 Hectares (100 acres ) zoo located in Balboa Park , San Diego. It housing more than 3,600 animal with 650 species. San Diego zoo grow from abandoned exotic animal exhibitions after the 1915 Panama-California Exposition. It's one of the zoo that housed giant panda, Galapagos tortoise, pygmy hippo, gorillas, orang utan, polar bear, etc.

Where:

 San Diego Zoo

Attraction: 

Varieties of animal, park, landscape and flowers. Besides that we still can learn more about animals there. There is lot of information available inside. Besides that inside the zoo we can ride Guided Bus Tour, Express Bus, Skyfari Aerial Tram.

The zoo is divided into : 

Polar Rim

Panda Canyon

Lost Forest

Asian Passage

Elephant Odyssey

Urban Jungle

Africa Rock

Outback

Discovery Outpost 

Map:

View San Diego Zoo & Wild Animal Park in a larger map

Contact:

http://www.sandiegozoo.org

Fees:

 1-Day Pass $42

Nearby Attractions:

Balboa Park

Torrey Pines State Reserve

Enjoy the photos

San Diego Zoo entrance

San Diego Zoo Map

 Komodo Dragon

 Rattle snake

 Alligator snapping turtle

 colorful lizard

 Giant cave roach 

 bugs

 otter 

 Meerkat

 Macaw 

 otter

 Red blossom flowers at San Diego Zoo

 colorful lizard 

 tortoise

 Galapagos tortoise at San Diego Zoo

Galapagos tortoise at San Diego Zoo