W for White Sands National Park #BlogchatterA2Z

 White Sands National Park, New Mexico 

White Sands National Park, located in a desert in New Mexico, is home to the World's largest Gypsum sand dune. The park is accessible via an 8-mile drive. 

White sand, which is soft and like fine powder, looks very bright on hot days with sun rays reflecting on it. A great place for sand sledding. 

Put on sunscreen, Googles, and sled through the sand! Both kids and adults can enjoy sledding. Since the sand is very soft, there won't be any injuries, and you can enjoy sledding safely.

A lot of fun for sure!

Here is our travelogue.

Until next time,

I'm participating in #BlogchatterA2Z

Other A2Z Posts:

A for Arches National Park

B for Bigbend National park

C for Capitol Reef National Park

D for Disney

E for Escalante National Monument

F for Fort Davis

G for Great Smoky Mountains National Park

H for Hot Springs National Park

I for Idaho Springs

J for Jackson Hole

K for Kasha Katuwe Tent Rocks National Monument

L for Las Vegas

M for Monument Valley

N for Niagara Falls

O for Orlando

P for Pikes Peak

Q for Quiet and Secluded

R for Rocky Mountain National Park

S for Santa Fe

T for Talimena Scenic Drive

U for Utah

V for Vermont

W for White Sands National Park

X for Xtreme Weather

Y for Yellowstone National Park

Z for Zion National Park

N for Niagara Falls #BlogchatterA2Z

 Niagara Falls, New York 

Here is one waterfall every visitor to the USA might have seen once. It's that popular. This is one of the oldest state parks in the USA.

The magnificence of the waterfall and watching the water splashing on you this much closer will blow your mind. I bet it will stay in your memory as one of the most beautiful places you have ever seen. 

In Niagara Falls State Park bordering Canada, you can see 3 waterfalls. The boat ride on the New York River through Maid of The Mist is amazing as it takes you very nearer to the waterfall where water splashes on the face drenching you full. 

Our travelogue will soon be up on my blog. 

Because One picture is not enough to describe the grandeur :-)

Until next time,

I'm participating in #BlogchatterA2Z

Other A2Z Posts:

A for Arches National Park

B for Bigbend National park

C for Capitol Reef National Park

D for Disney

E for Escalante National Monument

F for Fort Davis

G for Great Smoky Mountains National Park

H for Hot Springs National Park

I for Idaho Springs

J for Jackson Hole

K for Kasha Katuwe Tent Rocks National Monument

L for Las Vegas

M for Monument Valley

N for Niagara Falls

O for Orlando

P for Pikes Peak

Q for Quiet and Secluded

R for Rocky Mountain National Park

S for Santa Fe

T for Talimena Scenic Drive

U for Utah

V for Vermont

W for White Sands National Park

X for Xtreme Weather

Y for Yellowstone National Park

Z for Zion National Park

M for Monument Valley #BlogchatterA2Z

Monument Valley, Arizona

This red sandstone region is a park on the border of Utah and Arizona. This is called Monument Valley Navajo Tribal Park.

This is neither a national park nor a National Monument, but it is more scenic than most other national parks we visited. It is a must-visit place if you are visiting Utah. The scenery reminds you of Wild West movies (Cowboy movies).

There is a 17-mile scenic drive to see the magnificent red sandstone formations called buttes, spires, and mesas. Some areas of the park are accessible only through guided tours. Monument Valley is a window to the Navajo culture.

Here is our travelogue.

Did you see the movie "Forrest Gump"? Then, you might remember this view. Many people park their cars on the side of the road and take pics from the middle of the road for this view.. We did too :-)

Until next time,

I'm participating in #BlogchatterA2Z

Other A2Z Posts:

A for Arches National Park

B for Bigbend National park

C for Capitol Reef National Park

D for Disney

E for Escalante National Monument

F for Fort Davis

G for Great Smoky Mountains National Park

H for Hot Springs National Park

I for Idaho Springs

J for Jackson Hole

K for Kasha Katuwe Tent Rocks National Monument

L for Las Vegas

M for Monument Valley

N for Niagara Falls

O for Orlando

P for Pikes Peak

Q for Quiet and Secluded

R for Rocky Mountain National Park

S for Santa Fe

T for Talimena Scenic Drive

U for Utah

V for Vermont

W for White Sands National Park

X for Xtreme Weather

Y for Yellowstone National Park

Z for Zion National Park

One Perfect Day in Las Vegas With Kids

This post may contain affiliate links, clicking on those links may earn some commission to us without any additional cost to you.

Las Vegas also known as Sin city in Nevada is popular for its' casinos and night life for adults. So, what's in for kids? or parents with children?

Here is this post about the best fun things to do with kids in Las Vegas:

We flew to Las Vegas for our South west Utah trip covering Zion, Bryce Canyon, Grand staircase Escalante, Capitol Reef and Goblin Valley State park. 

Read the previous travelogues here:

Zion National Park - Part1

Zion National Park - Part2

Bryce Canyon National Park

Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument

Capitol Reef National park

Goblin Valley State Park

Arches National Park

Canyonlands National Park

How to Reach?

The economical option is to fly to Las Vegas if you are far.

Here are some flight options:

Options to rent a car

Where to Stay?

We stayed in Sahara resort. It's a nice place and economical. We got a room on 14th floor with a nice view of Strata Tower. 

The View from the hotel window

Here are a few other options:

Kid-Friendly places in Las Vegas:

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1. Water fountain show and Flower show at Bellagio

The first thing you do in las Vegas is to take a cab to drop you on the Strip. Outside the Bellagio hotel, the musical fountain show is great to watch. The show is every 15 mins after 8pm and every 30 mins in the morning till noon. This show is free to public.

After the fountain, check out the Bellagio Conservatory and Botanical Gardens. The flower show is excellent and good for photography.

2. Coco Cola Store

This multi story building with a big coco cola bottle sculpture is in the middle of the strip. 

It's a good place to walk inside, check Coco cola merchandise and taste different flavors from the world. We got the tray and tasted different flavors of coke. It's fun.

3. M&M Store

This definitely excites kids. M&M store is full of fun stuff. All merchandise, different M&M candies which kids can pick and choose what they want.

The colorful candy machines are a treat to watch even if you are not interested in chocolate and M&Ms.

4. Newyork Newyork

The Big Apple roller coaster ride in Newyork Newyork is fun to ride for the kids. Kids must be 54 inches tall to ride.This is on the opposite side of M&M store and you can also watch the replica of Brooklyn bridge there. 

We loved the waterfall there, where we can also touch the water. 

The sculpture 'Bliss Dance' which is 60 ft high at the center of City park is beautiful.

5. Hershey's World

This is next to Newyork Newyork and kids will love it. As usual, big candy machines, different types of chocolates from Hershey's, great smoothies are a few things which interest kids.

Every store will have some cute branded sculptures outside if your kids want to take a photo with Hershey's kiss sculpture or similar.

It's really impossible to cover all cool places in just one day. So, we could cover only these.

But, if we visit next time, we don't want to miss these:

Flamingos at Flamingos Hotel

Gondolas at the Venetian

Mandala Bay Aquarium

Meow wolf

Circus Circus

High roller Observation Wheel

The Eiffel tower

Mirage Hotel Volcano

Egyptian Pyramid and a lot more..

I know, this list is endless. 

A word of caution:

You can see a lot of performers on street with little to no clothing, so expect kids to ask questions on why they wore those kind of costumes. Many people distribute cards about porn content, so, try to avoid those.

The strip is always crowded, so please keep children nearer. 

So, that's it about experiencing Las Vegas with kids.

Until next time,

This post is a part of Blogchatter Half Marathon 2023

Pennybacker Bridge, Austin TX

This post may contain affiliate links, clicking on those links may earn some commission to us without any additional cost to you.

Pennybacker Bridge in Austin is across Lake Austin that connects northern and southern sections of Loop 360 highway. This is commonly called as 360 degree bridge. 

This bridge constructed in 1982 is named after Percy V. Pennybacker Jr, who was a pioneer in the building technology and designed many bridges for the Texas highways. Now, that's about the history.

Pennybacker Bridge Overlook

This view point is amazing overlooking the Bridge and the Lake. 

I have seen this Bridge and Overlook in many Austin travel magazines, news channels and blogs. This seems like an Austin trademark kind of place.

The trailhead is just before the Pennybacker bridge/ 360-degree bridge. There is not a lot of place to park cars and the Sunset is the busiest time.

Trust me when I say this simple hike with little elevation will blow you away. The view of the bridge, lake and the surrounding houses is a treat to watch. It never disappoints.

There are 2 paths to hike. One is to scramble through rocks and climb higher elevation in less time. Other is meandering towards the right side, which goes up slowly, and has a clear path between trees.

After going to the top, you can walk right side to get more views of the lake and many people come here for surprise date nights and have picnic watching the Sunset as well.

That's a cool romantic spot :-)

So, that's about a nice hiking spot in Austin with a beautiful view.

Accommodations in Austin:

Affordable options to fly to Austin:

Until next time,

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This post is a part of Blogchatter Half Marathon 2023

One day at Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument

This post may contain affiliate links, clicking on those links may earn some commission to us without any additional cost to you.

The Grand Staircase Escalante National Monument is a protected landscape which spans across 1.87 million acres public lands in Southern Utah. This monument is on the way from Bryce Canyon National Park to Capitol Reef National park on scenic highway 12.

Read the previous travelogues here:

Zion National Park - Part1

Zion National Park - Part2

Bryce Canyon National Park

Escalante National Monument:

In the 1870s, geologist Clarence Dutton described the Grand Staircase as a 

"huge stairway ascending out of the bottom of the Grand Canyon northward with the cliff edge of each layer forming giant steps." 

These steps rise 5500' from the floor of the Grand Canyon to  Bryce Canyon. The distinct steps are the Vermilion Cliffs, the White Cliffs, the Gray Cliffs and the Pink Cliffs.

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How to Reach?

We flew to Las Vegas and drove to Hurricane to visit Zion, stayed in Panguitch to visit Bryce Canyon National Park and drove from Bryce to Escalante by renting a car. 

Here are a few economical options to fly to Las Vegas:

Where to Stay:

We took accommodation in Circle D motel in Escalante. It's clean and perfect. No breakfast but the rooms are well maintained. This is nearer to Hole-on-the-rock road.

Here are some options to stay near Escalante National Monument:

Hiking Trails:

Cannonville:

On highway 12, on the way to Escalante, there are many interesting spots to visit. Cannonville is around 20 mins from Bryce Canyon. This is considered to be an easy hike to watch slot canyons. Start at Willis creek trailhead and after first 1.3 miles you will be in the narrow part of slot canyon. 

Kodachrome Basin State Park :

This park is about 7 miles from Cannonville. There are multiple hiking trails in this park, but Grosvenor arch seemed interesting and easy to hike. Grosvenor arch trail is easy 0.2 miles trail but the drive through dirt road to reach parking lot might be a little tough. This double arch is seen in a lot of Escalante travel brochures. 

Image by LoggaWiggler from Pixabay

Cedar wash arch in the same area is 1 mile hike. You can pair it with covered wagon natural bridge.

We couldn't cover Cannonville and Kodachrome Basin State Park as it's very remote and needs a lot of driving on dirt roads, but we will do these trails some other time.  

Escalante monument is remote and have many primitive roads to drive. We reached Escalante in the evening from Bryce canyon national park. We checked into our hotel and started our drive to 'Hole on the Rock' road.

The'Hole-in-the-rock' trail extends from Escalante to Bluff. It is a short cut used my Mormon pioneers to cross the Colorado river. 

Devil's Garden:

Devil's Garden is a good family friendly place to visit in Escalante National monument. You can visit the visitor center and drive 12 miles on Hole-on-The-Rock road from Scenic byway 12 to reach the parking lot for Devil's Garden. 

Hole-on-The-Rock road is very washboard and so ,you have to drive slowly. Expect a lot of driving time even though it's 12 miles. You don't need a 4 wheel drive though.

From the parking lot, it's a short hike of 0.4 miles in between hoodoos, rock formations and arches. This arch is so huge and looked spectacular. 

This place was very nice during sunset, but we couldn't stay long as the drive back to hotel is tough on this road without day light.

Love this pic.. looks dramatic :-)

Peek a boo and Spooky Slot Canyons:

These slot canyons are at dry fork road when you drive 26 miles on Hole-on-The-Rock road from Scenic byway 12. Since the road is primitive and it's already evening, we couldn't go to these canyons on that day.

This total hike is 3.5 miles loop. You have to hike 1.4 miles to reach Peek a boo gulch, after you exit this canyon, you have to hike 0.5 miles to reach Spooky gulch. This is a tough hike to do with kids and the place is remote too. But, I heard it's one of the best hikes as kids will enjoy these slot canyons. Just plan ahead, carry more water and snacks. Give it more time.

Lower Calf Creek Falls:

The next day morning we planned to cover Lower calf creek falls and Anasazi State park museum on the way to Torrey. But, we were super tired after the hikes from Bryce and Zion, so couldn't attempt to hike 6 miles to visit Lower calf creek falls.

Escalante Natural Bridge:

This is a 3.5 mile loop trail to reach the huge Escalante Natural bridge. But, it's tough with younger kids as there are multiple river crossings to reach the bridge.

The drive from Escalante to Torrey was fantastic. The roads, scenic views,  ups and downs, rock formations etc., were very scenic. 

Just before reaching Torrey, the scenery changed a lot. Many Aspen trees and mountain views were similar to the scenery in Colorado.

Here are some food options around:

• Circle D Eatery
• Escalante Outfitters Pizza
• Nemo's
• Kiva coffee house - best hot chocolate
• Magnolia's street food - food truck , breakfast burritos
• Burr trail grill in Boulder between Grandstaircase and Capitol reef

Our Next stop is Capitol Reef National Park. We definitely under-estimated this park thinking it won't be as good as Zion or Bryson. It proved us wrong. Capitol Reef is beautiful and there is a lot to hike there.

More details on my next travelogue.

Until next time,