Zion National Park is the oldest and most popular National Park in Utah, and was our final stop during our 5 day road trip through southern Utah. Interestingly this park started out as the Mukuntuweap National Monument, before becoming Zion National Monument and eventually becoming Zion National Park in 1919. The name change was apparently done to lure more tourists to a National Park whose name they could more easily pronounce! I guess the re-branding did help in some way, since this was the 8^th most visited National Park in the US last year.

Of the 3 national parks we visited as part of this trip (Bryce Canyon and Capitol Reef being the other two), this was the park I was most excited about. The picturesque Zion Canyon is almost 15 miles long and about 0.5 miles deep carved by the Virgin river flowing through the bright red Navajo sandstone. Apart from the canyon, this park also has mountains, buttes, mesas, natural arches and probably some of the most scenic hikes; the most famous of them being The Narrows.

Hiking the Narrows is mostly done by wading through knee deep water for 12 miles while being at very close proximity to the high and majestic canyon walls. I remember reading somewhere that if any place had the power to inspire awe it’s the Zion Narrows, so like most other travelers who have been to Zion, this was also on my list of things to do! However, a 12 mile water hike is no easy feat, so I set a more realistic expectation of doing about 3.6 miles up to a section where the walls of the canyon really close in and then return back. However, after getting to the start of the hike, I realized it would have been very strenuous to even do the relatively shorter version of the hike due to the lack of proper gear. So, I made a note of being better prepared in my next trip to Zion and saved this for another day. 

Some of the other very popular hikes in Zion include Angels Landing, Grotto Trail, Kayenta Trail, Weeping Rock, Riverside Walk and Canyon Overlook. We did the Weeping Rock, Riverside Walk and the Canyon Overlook trails and all of these were relatively easy, even with our then two year old. We had entered the park from the east entrance after travelling south westwards for about 90 minutes from Bryce Canyon on a very scenic section of Highway 89. The Canyon Overlook trail is a great introduction to Zion National Park for all the visitors entering from the East. This trail is about 1 mile long and the elevation gains are fairly steep but not too exhausting. This trail takes you away from the road, through a large natural cave carved out of the rock walls, and eventually offers an extraordinary view of Zion Canyon below, where you can see the road wind through the canyon, and the steep canyon walls far in the distance.

From early April until late October, the Zion Canyon scenic drive Road (main section of the park with all the viewpoints) can only be accessed through a park shuttle. We had a hard time trying to find a parking spot, but after we did it was really convenient to hop on to the free shuttles that run every few minutes from the Visitor Center and the Human History Museum. Our first stop on the shuttle was the Court of the Patriarchs (these are 3 sandstone cliffs named after Biblical figures Abraham, Issac and Jacob), then we stopped at the Zion Lodge for a quick bite and continued northwards to visit The Grotto, Angel’s Landing, Weeping Rock and all the way up to the Temple of Sinawava, where we did the 2 mile round-trip, Riverside walk that runs along the Virgin River, leading to the Zion Narrows.

By the time we had completed the Riverside walk trail, it was approaching sunset and we took the shuttle back and headed to the Canyon Junction. This spot is one of the most popular spots in Zion for Sunset photography and by the time we reached there, it was already crowded with people crouching over their tripod mounted cameras.  Sunset was spectacular and Vaishakhi managed to capture the breathtaking views on ‘film’. Finally it was time to head back to our hotel in Springdale, located about 5 minutes from the south entrance in the park. Spending the night in a hotel so close to the Park allowed me to get into the park very conveniently the next morning in order to witness a beautiful sunrise. After a very fulfilling trip, we headed westwards for the 430 mile trip back home.

We traveled to Arches National Park on  a day when the mercury soared to over 100F! Despite the heat, this was part of a long awaited trip, and i was really glad to finally be here. Located in eastern Utah, this park has over 2000 natural sandstone arches, including the very famous Delicate Arch. We had flown into Salt Lake City the previous night, rented a car and drove down to Provo to spend the night there. After a good night’s sleep, we left our hotel for Arches National Park by about 9:00 AM (it was about 200 miles – almost 4 hours  drive to the park gate). We had planned to stay for about 4-5 hours in the park, as we planned to return back to our hotel in Provo for the night.

4-5 hours is just about sufficient time (yes even with a baby!) to drive through all of the paved park roads, spending about ten minutes at each viewpoint (La Sal Mountain viewpoint, the Organ, Tower of Babel, Petrified Dunes, fiery Furnace viewpoint and Balanced Rock), and taking quick drives through  the Windows Section, Panorama Point and Delicate Arch Viewpoint. Unfortunately, long hikes were out of the question for us with our then 9 month old, hence we stuck to the paved roads, this also helped us to cool down in the car after being out in the scorching heat for those panoramic views and much desired pictures. The landscape was very different from anything i had seen before and I was completely awed by the size of the arches and sandstone formations. Also, since it was a hot and bright day, we got some amazing contrasts with the red brown rocks against the clear blue sky.

Hike to the delicate Arch: Since we were a little pressed for time, the only hike that i could fit into our schedule was to the Delicate Arch. This is the most widely-recognized landmark in the Arches National Park and is also depicted on Utah license plates. It is located at the end of a 1.5 mi (2.4 km) hiking trail. My initial thoughts were to embark on this trail carrying my 9 month old on a shoulder sling, though i am really glad my wife talked me out of that pretty quickly. She decided to stay back with Daivik, and i promised to be back as quickly as i could. Everything would have gone as per plan if I had just stuck to the trail. I have always had a soft corner for climbing rocks and hills (probably something to do with the 10 years of my life that i spent in the foothills of the Himalayas), and decided to take a more unconventional route to the arch (also hopeful that it would save me some time). Unfortunately, i was completely lost and out of water, and barely managed to reach the arch after a very perilous hike! So, my strong suggestion is to stick to the trail and that is exactly what i did on the way back. Anyways, some positives were that i got to glimpse the arch from a point where very few would have seen, and i did get some amazing shots of the park and the salt valley below.

After the adventure, we also drove to the the Delicate Arch view point and took a few more shots of the lovely arch from a distance. Unfortunately we could not  remain for much longer and hit the road by 6:00 PM.

Some helpful tips:

• Carry plenty of water and drinks (we had bought a disposable thermocol cooler from Walmart, this really helped keeping all our drinks cool)
• We stopped over in Moab (just a couple of miles away) on our way into the park for some food. Options are very limited inside the park (i think only the souvenir shop has some sandwiches).
• If you can definitely go for the hike to the Delicate Arch, worth every step!
• Try and plan your trip so that you are at the park (more specifically at the Delicate Arch) around sunset, you will get some amazing pics.

“The world is a book, and those who do not travel read only a page” – My wife sent this quote to me recently and i think that inspired me to finally document the “page” on Yellowstone.

Yellowstone was the 3rd part of the ‘National Park road trip we set out on over the July 4th weekend in 2011. Even though this was the last leg of our journey, the 3 days we spent there were definitely the highlight of the trip. Its really hard to describe how amazing Yellowstone is through words, sometimes pictures make it easier, though i think most pictures wouldn’t do justice either! We had spent months planning for this trip and even after reading tons of reviews on what to do and not do (esp with a 9 moth old), we were still pleasantly surprised when we finally visited the park.

Unfortunately, we did not start the trip on a great note: We had booked a hotel at Gardiner, Montana which is at the northern end of Yellowstone. After spending almost the entire day at the Tetons (southern end of Yellowstone), we had started driving northwards around 8 PM, (when it was just about getting dark) hoping to cover the 100 miles or so through the park in about 2 hours. Our optimism quickly subsided when we realized that most of the roads inside the park are single lanes with speed limits between 40-50 mph. Also, as it was almost the end of the day there was a lot of cars moving out of the park, thus increasing traffic and slowing us down considerably. Daivik had been the best 9 month old baby all through the day, but when he was still strapped to his car seat at 11:00 PM in the  night, he finally ran out of patience. We stopped over at the lodge near Mammoth Hot Springs to grab a quick bite, only to realize that all the restaurants inside the park close by 10:00 PM. So hungry and tired we finally arrived at our hotel by about 11:30 PM. Though on a brighter note, we had finally arrived at Yellowstone National Park !

A good night’s rest and the perfect weather was enough to rejuvenate us next morning. We were in the park by 9:30 am and driving through the Eastern loop across Tower Roosevelt and towards the Canyon village. Our plan was to cover all the prominent sights and do 1-2 easy trails and/or hikes, and that’s pretty much what we did. We saw the Tower Falls, Undine Falls and Upper falls, did a hike to the Lower falls and Artiste Points. Drove alongside the Yellowstone river and saw spectacular glimpses of the mountains across the Yellowstone Lake.

Most of the day was spent hopping in and out of the car to enjoy the natural beauty surrounding us. We drove up to the West Thumb region and along the way we witnessed ‘Mudpots‘ and ‘Sulphur Cauldrons’ for the first time. The West Thumb area has numerous Hot Springs, Geysers and Sapphire pools and all of them were pretty special. Considering all the diversity that exists within this park (Hot springs, Geysers, Mountains, Water falls, River, Canyon, Lakes, this park has it all!), not to forget all the wildlife, I am sure anyone visiting this place would be completely awed by the experience!

What I will remember most about the next day is visiting the Old Faithful Geyser and my hike to catch an aerial view of the Grand Prismatic Spring. From all the reading I had done on to To-Do’s in Yellowstone, this proved to be one of the most useful ones. While travelling northwards in the Upper Geyser Basin, there is a trail known as the ‘Fairy Falls’ trail. About 0.5 miles into the trek, there is a short, uphill spur that you can take up to a hilltop that overlooks the entire Midway Geyser Basin and most importantly the Grand Prismatic Spring. Its a bird’s eye view and definitely worth the climb up the hill. There was no way we could have taken Daivik and his stroller up the hill, so Vaishakhi gave me detailed instructions on what to do with the camera and waited downhill with the little one. After about 50 shots of the Prismatic spring and views to cherish for a lifetime, down I came.  We spend the remaining day mostly in the Midway and Lower Geyser Basin viewing some of the most amazing spectacles and trying to capture them on film.

It is said that half of the world’s geothermal features are in Yellowstone due to the ongoing volcanic activities and the park authorities have done a pretty amazing job of making most of them very very accessible (even to wheelchairs and strollers). Almost the entire trip we had Daivik’s stroller with us and did not face any hindrance in visiting a site.

Yellowstone has almost 60 species of mammals. The most popular being the Grizzly bear, Black bear, Wolf,  Bison, Elk, Moose, Pronghorn and Deer. During the 3 days we spent there, we spotted a Black bear and plenty of bisons, elks, mooses, pronghorns and deers. Towards the flag end of the trip there was a 10 minute rain shower and thanks to Vaishakhi’s heroic efforts with the camera from the back sear of our car, we were lucky enough to capture the double rainbow across the plains of Yellowstone. I think that was the perfect goodbye to this amazing park! 

Dont miss the other amazing views of Yellowstone in our Gallery link below