Aditya, Anu, Samir did a great trip to Zion, Bryce, Glen Canyon and Antelope Canyon from Tue, May 29 to Mon, June 5, 2023. Sahil could not join because he had to get back to work. This trip included some of the amazing treasures of the American National Park system. 

To put things in perspective, here are the locations on a map.

Our general itinerary was as follows:

• Day 1: Driving to Zion
• Day 2: Zion National Park
• Day 3: Zion National Park
• Day 4: Driving to Bryce
• Day 5: Bryce Canyon
• Day 6: Glen Canyon, Antelope Canyon, Horseshoe Bend
• Day 7: Drive back to Las Vegas

Here is some info...

Tue, May 29: Havana, Las Vegas, Hurricane (Utah)

Our Flight from Havana reached Las Vegas at 4.30 pm. 

Aditya picked up a BMW for a rental. I personally prefer Japanese cars, but this BMW was quite good.

We headed from the airport to a place where Aditya had to do a drug test. This was an administrative procedure to get into the American Airlines internship. 

Around 7 pm we started driving towards Hurricane, UT, our first destination near Zion National Park.  We reached Wingate by Wyndham at 10.40 pm Mountain time and slept immediately.

Wed, May 30: Zion National Park, Narrows, Weeping Rock, Watchman

We left Hurricane, UT at 9.30 am and reached the reached  Zion Visitor center at 11.00 am. 

Zion is named so, because the first Anglo-European settlers, Mormon pioneers, arrived in the area in the late 1800s. They named the area Zion, which is ancient Hebrew for sanctuary or refuge.

We gathered some info and planned our day. At Zion, you cannot take cars into the heart of the national park.  You have to take the shuttles that run every 15 mins from the Visitor Center starting point all the way to the last stop, that is the Temple of Sinawawa.

We decided to go directly to the last stop, Temple of Sinawawa. Temple of Sinawava was named by Douglas White, a publicity agent for the Union Pacific Railroad, to honor Sinawava, the Paiute’s Coyote god or spirit. Sinawava is a actually Coyote. In Paiute folklore, though Sinawava is a trickster figure whose frivolous, irresponsible behavior is constantly causing trouble for everyone around him, Coyote also plays a more serious role as benefactor and teacher of the people.

We reached the temple stop around 12.30 pm and proceeded to a 2 mile (3.2 km) Riverside Walk. We wanted to continue to the Narrows hike, but Narrows was closed. The Narrows is the narrowest section of Zion Canyon. This gorge, with walls a thousand feet tall and the river sometimes just twenty to thirty feet wide, is one of the most popular areas in Zion National Park. This can involve wading upstream for just a few minutes or it can be an all day hike.

We then took Shuttle to Weeping Rock and did Weeping Rock Trail. The weeping rock is a large cave with water dripping from it. 

On the way, we also stopped at a point called Court of the The Three Patriarchs (formerly known as the Three Wise Men). It is a set of three sandstone monoliths on the west side of Zion. The three main peaks were named by Frederick Fisher in 1916 for the biblical figures Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.

During the day, we got some really nice pictures of flowers.

We came back to check in to the Holiday Inn in Springdale, UT (the town next to Zion) around 3 pm. We checked in and got some rest. 

We left for the park again at 5.30 pm and parked at the Visitor Center. Parking is much easier to find in the evening. 

Our objective was to do as many hikes as possible. We did the Watchman trail, 3 miles round trip. Starting in between the Visitor Center and the South Campground, the Watchman Trail is a short trail that heads up to a viewpoint on top of the first layer of cliffs roughly 300 feet above the canyon floor. While the trail doesn't actually take you to the top of the Watchman mountain, you can still get a good view of the famous and photogenic peak to the south as well as a good bird's eye view of the whole Visitor Center complex below. It said 2 hours roundtrip. We did it in 1.15 hrs roundtrip. A nice view point watching over the town of Springdale.

We then ate at Zion Pizza & Noodle Company. Good food. The pizza was really good. The wait time was about 30 mins (which I don't like), but the place is highly recommended. Here was the view from that location.

We came to the hotel at 9.50 pm. Slept at 11 pm

Thu, June 1: Zion, Angel's Landing, Mt. Carmel Highway, Emerald Pools

We had received the Angel's landing permit the earlier day. It took us nearly 7 applications ($6 each) between Aditya and I to get the Angel's landing hike permit. This is the most coveted hike in Zion and permits are very hard to get. Angels Landing, known previously as the Temple of Aeolus, is a 1,488-foot (454 m) tall rock formation in Zion. This renowned trail cut into solid rock in 1926 leads to the top of Angels Landing and provides panoramic views of Zion Canyon.

Started early. Reached hotel breakfast at 6.10 am. Then drove to visitors center and took the shuttle. Parking was easy to find this early in the morning. 

We reached "The Grotto" number 6 shuttle stop at around 6.45 am. We started the hike around 7 am and came to a place called Scott's lookout. This is the point till which you can still go if you do not have the Angel's Landing permit. It is a good hike as well. Angel's Landing is only another 30 mins from Scott's Lookout, but this last part is interesting and extremely rocky. There was no ranger to check permits at Scott's lookout, but it is an honor system that most people follow.

It took us 1:35 hours to get to the top of Angel's landing from the Grotto trailhead. Last portion was quite challenging with lots of chains to help. The chains help make the trail safe. Though there are a lot of blogs about safety on Angel's Landing being one of the scariest hikes. We found the trail to be challenging but safe. There were enough chains to ensure safety. Unless you do something stupid, the probability of a mishap is very low.

The views at the top of Angel's Landing are spectacular. 

On the way from Angel's Landing, we detoured from Scout's Lookout to the West Rim Trail because we saw some people at the top. The West Rim trail continues for 13 miles, but we walked for about 1 mile up and then came back from one of the viewpoints. 

We then came back down Angel's landing trail and reached the bottom at the Grotto trailhead at around 11 am. Our total hike was about 8 miles roundtrip including the West Rim detour with about 1,600 ft of elevation gain. 

We took took the bus and got back to the hotel around 12 noon. Did my office work, made a few calls and got some sleep after a strenous hike. 

We then headed out again at 4.30 pm and drove to the East Entrance of Zion. We passed through a huge tunnel cut inside the rock along the Zion to Mt. Carmel highway. Construction of this 1.1 mile Zion-Mount Carmel Tunnel began in the late 1920s and was completed in 1930. At the time that the tunnel was dedicated, on July 4, 1930, it was the longest tunnel of its type in the United States. It provides direct access for travel between Bryce Canyon, Grand Canyon, and Zion National Parks. 

The tunnel is converted into a one-way when a large Recreational Vehicle (RV) goes through the tunnel because is not wide enough for the RV. RV's are charged $15 to pass through the tunnel.

We saw amazing formations. We did the Canyon Overlook trail (above the arch), 2 miles roundtrip. It takes you to an amazing view of Zion on top an arch formation.

We came back to "The Grotto" stop at 7.20 pm. Then we did the Middle Emerald Pool trek 2 miles roundtrip. We did it very fast. 45 mins total because we want to catch the last shuttle back. 

We had done about 11 miles (18 km) of hiking in the entire day. 

We took the shuttle bus back at 8.05 pm. Subway sandwich for dinner at 8.45 pm. I felt like some icecream, so went out and bought Coffee and Chocolate Icecream from Sol Supermarket the local store.

Friday, June 2: Kolob Canyon, Cedar Branch, Panguitch Lake, Bryce Canyon

We started a little late at 10.50 am and reached Kolob canyon at 12.00 pm. The Kolob Terrace area, northwest of Zion Canyon, features a slot canyon called The Subway, and a panoramic view of the entire area from Lava Point. It is known for the deep pink and orange glow of the area's Navajo sandstone formations. It is easy to notice the angular lines as the mountains lifted out of the ground at an angle.

The road was closed beyond a certain point for vehicles. So we did a 2 mile (3.2 km) hike trip along the closed empty road till the sink hole. 

We also saw a snake on the road.

From Kolob Canyon, we proceeded for lunch at aThai restaurant Erawan at 1 pm in Cedar City. The food was excellent. We thoroughly enjoyed our meal. 

Our destination was Bryce Canyon, but we went past the Cedar Breaks National Monument. We went from Zion at 4,000 ft to Cedar Breaks at about 10,000 ft altitude. The terrain had lots of snow, very cold. Very pretty.

The highest was the Sunset view point at 10,354 feet. Amazing view. Green and red colors.

We passed through Dixie National forest which is a large area.

We stopped at Panguitch Lake. It was a beautiful lake. 

Here we had an interested incident at Panguitch lake. As we got out of the car, thousands of flies (like mosquites) started swarming around us and chasing us. Even if we ran, they followed us. We used our jackets to shoo them away, but they kept following us. We then quickly opened the doors of our car and went inside. Luckily, not too many flies came inside the car. Surprising incident.

From Panguitch, we proceeded, we proceed to Quality Inn near Bryce Canyon. I started talking to the owner who was a Gujarati from Vadodara. So we started chatting in Gujarati. The Quality Inn had a rustic, old western town look to it. The rooms were quite comfortable though. 

We decided not to go out in the evening and simply ate the Chipotle meal we had picked up at lunch on the way.  

Saturday, June 3: Bryce Canyon

Left for Bryce at 8 am from the Quality Inn. Bryce Canyon National Park is an American national park located in southwestern Utah. Bryce is technically not a canyon, but a collection of giant natural amphitheaters along the eastern side of the Paunsaugunt Plateau. Bryce is distinctive due to geological structures called hoodoos, formed by frost weathering and stream erosion of the river and lake bed sedimentary rocks. The hoodoos are very similar to the structures seen in Cappadocia, Turkey. The red, orange, and white colors of the rocks provide spectacular views for park visitors. Bryce Canyon National Park is much smaller and sits at a much higher elevation than nearby Zion National Park. The rim at Bryce varies from 8,000 to 9,000 feet. 

The Bryce Canyon area was settled by Mormon pioneers in the 1850s and was named after Ebenezer Bryce, who homesteaded in the area in 1874. The area around Bryce Canyon was originally designated as a national monument by President Warren G. Harding in 1923 and was redesignated as a national park by Congress in 1928. 

We reached the Bryce Canyon Visitor center and then to Sunrise point at 9 am. We did a 7.5 mile, 12 km trek with 1,600 ft elevation gain. We did trail in the shape of an 8, Queens garden trail, Peek-a-boo trail, Sunset point and rim trail. We finished the trek at 12 noon. 

We stopped by Bryce Canyon Pines hotel to eat burger and fries. It felt really good after the trek.

We rested from 2 to 4.30 pm. Drove back to Bryce canyon to Rainbow point, Southern most point. We had seen people at Rainbow point.

We then drove from  Rainbow point and saw a series of view points along our way back to Bryce Canyon entrance. Black birch canyon, Ponderosa canyon, Agua canyon, Natural bridge, Far view point.

We stopped at a place called Inspiration point. Climbed to the top. This was one of the best views of Bryce, also the densest view of Hoodoos.

Drove back from park at 7.30 pm. Ate at Ariba Mexican restaurant. The food was plentiful and good. The guacamole was great. 

As we drove back, we saw a beautiful evening sunset view. 

We got back to Quality Inn at 9 pm and llept at 10.20 pm.

Sunday, June 4, 2023: Glen Canyon, Antelope Canyon, Horseshoe Bend

Started in the morning around 9 am from Bryce to Page, Arizona. As we drove, Grand Staircase Monument was on the left.

During our drive, the timezones changed timezones frequently, because Utah was on US Mountain time and Arizona was on US Pacific time and we kept intermittently crossing state borders. 

We reached Glen Canyon Dam, a concrete arch-gravity dam in the southwestern United States, located on the Colorado River in northern Arizona, near the town of Page. The 710-foot-high (220 m) dam was built from 1956 to 1966 and forms Lake Powell, one of the largest man-made reservoirs in the US. The dam is named for Glen Canyon, a series of deep sandstone gorges now flooded by the reservoir; Lake Powell is named for John Wesley Powell, who in 1869 led the first expedition to traverse the Colorado River's Grand Canyon by boat.

We continued and checked into our hotel Days Inn, Page, AZ. At 1.30 pm, we proceeded to Antelope Canyon which is located in the Navajo Indian reservation. The Navajo Nation is a Native American reservation of Navajos in the United States. It occupies portions of northeastern Arizona, northwestern New Mexico, and southeastern Utah.

Here we visited the Lower Antelope Canyon, a 120 feet deep, 1,335 feet long slot canyon known for its amazing colors as the sunlight filters into the canyon. Antelope Canyon is made up of two unique slot canyons, Upper and Lower Antelope Canyon, and is located within the LeChee Chapter of the Navajo Nation near Page, Arizona. Both slot canyons were naturally formed by water erosion over many years, with walls made of beautiful, smooth sandstone in unique shapes. The walls continue to change shape over time. 

Since it is a part of the Navajo Nation, it is not a part of any national park. Therefore, the fees to visit the canyon are about $70 per person. You are forced to visit the canyon with a guided tour. It is rather steep, but the experience was quite good. We took Ken's Tours.

In the afternoon, we visit Glen Canyon Dam Overlook to get more views of Glen Canyon dam from the other side and the Colorado river.

The final stop of our day was Horsehoe Bend, the one of the most famous landmarks in Arizona. Horseshoe Bend is a horseshoe-shaped incised meander of the Colorado River located near the town of Page, Arizona, United States. It is also referred to as the "east rim of the Grand Canyon. 

We ended the day at around 8 pm and ate at Olive Garden restaurant. I love the minestrone soup at Olive Garden.

Mon, June 5, 2023: Las Vegas

We started our drive to Las Vegas at 10.30 am am, took our time, had lunch and  reached the airport by 6 pm. 

Flight back from Las Vegas to Mumbai at 9 pm on Virgin Atlantic via London. 

Combined with our Cuba Trip, this turned out to be a wonderful trip.