West USA 2001 Overview

America Southwest is so rich in extraordinary landscapes that it’s impossible to see them all in one trip. Anyway, we try to catch much of those beautiful scenarios during the journey we made from August 02, 2001 to August 28, 2001.
Starting from the Mormon capital of the world, Salt Lake City, we visited the most exciting attractions of America’s popular wilderness parks.
Nowhere else you can find such dramatic combinations of wildlife and breathtaking sceneries such as Yellowstone, the world’s first National Park. During a one-week visit we had the chance to record photos of its abundant fauna and its mysteriously alive landscapes with steaming hot springs, geysers, mudpots, smoking fumaroles in combination of coloured canyons, roaring waterfalls and pristine lakes.
Next step was the red rock state of Utah, paradise for outdoor enthusiasts. From its national parks to its backcountry SUV adventures, this was the most exciting part of our trip.
Landscapes such as Arches National Park, the largest concentration of natural stone arches on earth, Zion N.P., with its glowing colours and sculpted rocks, Bryce Canyon, supernatural landscape of carved spires, and the precipitous vistas of Canyonlands, are forever impressed in our minds.
To all of this you must add the beauty and mystique of the scupltured and coloured Slot Canyons of the American Southwest. Among thousands of scenic canyons in this region, we visited the most famous ones – Upper and Lower Antelope Canyon near Page, AZ. These are the most easily accessible and have the right combination of depth, rock colour and ambient light.
Lake Powell is like no other place on Earth. We spent an amazing day by boat exploring its spectacular red rock towers, blue-green water and sand beaches – the experience of a lifetime!
Moreover we discovered that New Mexico is really – the Land of Enchantment – . In Santa Fe evidence of its 400-year-old history is everywhere. Just a short walk through the historic downtown Plaza area and we found out America’s oldest capital city with rich cultural heritage and famous for its art and traditions.
Heading back toward Las Vegas, we remain fascinated by the last inspiring view over the Colorado Plateau, the Grand Canyon. As others have said, sometimes the scale and extent of the Grand Canyon is disconcerting – too vast to take in at first sight. Unfortunately we were running out of time, so we weren’t able to hike down beneath the rim where we could have a more intimate and manageable perspective.
It was a great idea to choose Las Vegas as our final destination. We were ending up our money so we couldn’t lose more to the game!