We are backtracking the next couple of weeks, as I didn’t get to experience the National Parks from Death Valley to Zion. Before heading back we attended the Renaissance Festival just outside of Phoenix which was a great day.  It is amazing how you can create a whole theme park out of one particular era/genre.  The main thing we realised is that a lot of people really like to dress up.

Heading into Page you start to see the beginning of the Grand Canyon, to see the size of the country side is full on and you realise how small you are in the grand scale of it all.

I am really happy that Digby wanted me to experience Antelope Canyon, it is one of those things that you must do and see to appreciate the beauty and the power of nature.

The wave – a lottery win! There is a famous geological area in Utah known as “The Wave” and is a photographer’s dream but getting there is a lottery.  There are only 20 members of the public who are allowed to attend each day.  10 permits are issued to online applications which they have approved 4 months in advance and 10 permits for walk-ins.  You have to turn up to the visitors centre before 9 am the day before to submit your application, you are allocated a number and at 9 am sharp and they draw the lottery by bingo balls.  Depending on the application depends on the number of people you requested, so if your application is successful and you requested 6 people then only 4 other people will be eligible.  If you had a party of 5 then it is up to you to either only take 4 or try again another day. 

Once you have your approved lottery win it is a 6-mile hike to the wave, we applied 4 times with over 200 participants and unfortunately, we were not successful.

As you may have seen we visited White Sands National Monument, well you wouldn’t believe it but there is a Coral Pink Sand Dunes State Park.  This park gets its name from the coral-coloured sand that has eroded from the Navajo sandstone. 

The wave and coral pink sand dunes are part of the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument, there are a lot of other hikes and features to visit in this location like the “toadstools” and “catstair canyon”.

Stay tuned for more National Parks!