Throwback Thursday: Desert View Watchtower, Grand Canyon South Rim

If you are visiting Grand Canyon National Park, make one of your stops the Desert View Watchtower. It is a high point of view that overlooks the South Rim of the Grand Canyon and it is only open for certain times of the day. You can still look around the watchtower after it closes but the view is definitely different from the top.

We originally came  here on our first day at Grand Canyon but by the time we got there, the top of the tower was closed. We hung around the area and took some photos of the sunset and photos of the stars at night. It is very dark in the area and there is also wildlife so make sure that you bring strong flashlights.

The view during the day is completely different so this might be worth it to come back twice. It's actually not that far from the main part of the national park.  All of the photos so far from this post were during the sunset and that;s when you can get the nice blue hues from the sky and land. If you come during the day, everything will be bright orange! I'll continue to post more photos of this location during the day in a part two if this post!

Throwback Thursday: Horseshoe bend, Arizona

Not too far from Antelope Canyon, there is another attraction that is well known to a lot of photographers and tour companies. It is called the Horse shoe bend where is it one of the most photographed areas of the Colorado river that runs through Arizona.

This hike was an easy one, with about a quarter mile uphill and the rest was flat to the edge. The total trip was about 1 mile each way. When we got there, several other tour buses were stopped there to wait for the sunset just like we were. We arrived about 30 minutes before so that we can find a place to set up our cameras and to enjoy the view.

Be careful if you do want to get to the edge though, there are warnings all over the edge mentioning that the rock is soft and could break under pressure. There are also a lot of people on the edge so don't be too "brave"!

I highly suggest getting there close to sunset and bringing some flashlights cause the light will dissipate quickly and there are no lights along the path towards the car park. Be prepared!

Throwback Thursday: Angel's Landing, Zion National Park

On our trip to Arizona and Utah, we were able to visit Zion National Park where we had a list of hikes that we wanted to do. For months before the actual trip, we did a lot of research on the most popular hikes and whether or not we can fit them into our two short days there.

We ended up choosing the hike up to Angel's Landing which was one of the most popular during the peak season and probably one of the most strenuous treks there. The trail itself is just 2.4miles one way, but don't think that it can be done in 1 hr unless you are EXTREMELY fit. In those 2.4 miles, you have an elevation gain of 1,488 ft and the first two miles are paved, steep, switchbacks where you will find a lot of vantage points along the way.

The last half mile is not paved and there are chains for grip to help you along. This was the scariest part of it all and for those who have a fear of heights, it would take a lot out of you just to walk across some parts where the stepping ground is only about 1 foot wide. During peak season, this trail is filled with people who would cut in front of you, which might make you nervous.

Don't let this deter you from hiking up to the 2 mile point though, where you would still get great views of the canyon! All six of us hiked all the way up to Angel's landing, had lunch, and came back down in about 6 hours. Two of us (including myself) are afraid of heights and it was very nerve wracking at some points of the trail where there wasn't much to work with. The view at the top was so worth it though!

February 2015 via Instagram

February is the shortest month of the year and clearly I didn't upload much to Instagram. I did go on vacation however so it's still a win for me! I was in Orlando for a week and I did share some photos of the Wizarding world of Harry Potter so go check out the gallery below!

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Throwback Thursday: The Black Water Rafting company

So when in New Zealand, you must do something adventurous because that is what the entire country is about! There are bungee jumps, parachute jumps, etc everywhere! We decided to join an underground tour that took us zip lining, and rappelling into a dark glow worm cave near at Waitomo caves.

The tour company we went with was Black Water Rafting co and we chose the Black abyss tour which was their longest and strenuous one they had. We have found out that if you are booking, there are several sites and all of them are around $250 but in different currencies. Definitely shop around to see which one works out the best for you, we chose to buy it in New Zealand Dollars because the currency conversion rate was in our favor.

Before the tour started, we were outfitted with wet suits and given a quick crash course on how to rappel down into the caves. We had two knowledgeable tour guides that helped us navigate through the caves because it is very easy to get lost down there. We also weren't allowed to bring our own cameras so they became out personal photographers as well! They also carried our lunches for us which included some nice hot chocolate which was amazing when you are wading in sometimes waist deep water.

Once we were down in the caves, we walked through most of it but we did get to zip line down into pitch black darkness and also jumped about 15 feet down into cold water with inflatable round floats. Of course we got some pictures taken by the tour guide! 

After the tour was over, we got to take a nice hot shower and went to the cafeteria for free hot soup. That day we had tomato soup and after 5 hours being down in the caves, the tomato soup was probably the best thing to come back to!

I highly recommend doing this if you can still handle it!