We left home and drove for Las Vegas on Christmas Eve, exactly at 12mn. We arrived in Vegas by 10:30am, rested and laid low on Christmas Day, and had dinner at Rainforest Cafe. The next day, the 26th of December, we were up early to drive to Sedona. Along the way, this beautiful sight inspired us to get going:
We got to Sedona around 1pm (2pm in Arizona because it was on Central time). We dropped by Sliding Rock State Park and stretched out to this amazing scenario:
We stayed for the night. Thank God that we found affordable lodging even without prior reservation. We had dinner and retired to bed early, to be able to rise up early and explore more of Sedona before heading to the Grand Canyon.
After a couple of hours or so, we reached the Grand Canyon and explored these breath-taking sceneries:
We left the Grand Canyon with a heavy heart, but with a promise that we'll be back to explore more someday, when the kids are a little more grown and wouldn't complain from walking too much. After all, it was a bit chilly when we were there.
We returned to our hotel in Las Vegas and made plans to visit the Valley of Fire State Park in Nevada the very next day. We were in shock that even with the Valley's unmistakable charm, it was only a State Park. It would've passed as a National Park in our standards, except it was a bit small.
These are even similar rock formations to those of The Arches National Park in Utah:
So, in a span of 5 days, we've managed to go through 3 states - California, Nevada, Arizona; one National Park - The Grand Canyon; two State Parks - Falling Rock in Sedona, AZ and Valley of Fire in NV. You'd think we were done for this leg of the trip. Uhm, not really. On our way home, we decided to visit another National Park in California - Death Valley. There really wasn't much to see, though we have only visited for a day. We spent the night a couple of hours outside the park before heading home the next day. If I've shown you proofs that God is truly a marvelous sculptor, you will be even more amazed at the paintings He created with the sky as his canvas and the setting sun as his pallette with the following images:
I am not truly an outdoor type of person, but these sceneries converted me. When we were planning this vacation, it was a toss between theme parks and national parks and we were grateful we decided to go with the latter. It gave us a sense of peace, tranquility, and appreciation of the beauty that surrounded us. It humbled me, centered me, and made me realize the power that made all these possible. We wanted our children to share this deep appreciation of nature, to instill in them the importance of taking care of their environment so their offsprings will be able to enjoy the same sceneries.
I know that this blog has been silent for a very long time, but what better time to post an entry with images like these? I am definitely in love with photography, and the love affair with my camera continues.
A blessed new year to all of you from our family to yours!
Lastly, to my beloved first-born, happy, happy birthday 6th birthday K! The day you were born, you brought with you joy beyond imagination and challenge beyond comprehension. I cannot believe how fast you're growing. We love you so, so much!
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