ROUTE 66 | Desert Road Trip 2014
Route 66 - Desert Road Trip 2014
Previous blog posts: Zion National Park | Horseshoe Bend | Antelope Canyon | Monument Valley | Grand Canyon | Sedona
CLICK HERE to view my Route 66 photo gallery and order prints
After 7 most amazing days exploring the great American western desert with two of the greatest friends and road adventurers, our epic journey was coming to a finale as we were to take the 276 mile drive back to Las Vegas from Sedona. Of course, we weren't about to just make it a boring long drive...instead we ended our trip in a good ol' fashion way! What better way to spend the last day of our Road Trip than on the historic Route 66 just like the old days!
This was the best conclusion for our trip as Arizona's Route 66 took us through some of the most pretty country roads we had been on. And of course along the way there were plenty of roadside attractions to stop and look at - with the last of them all being the best (make sure to read all the way to the end of this blog)! As I mentioned in my earlier blog post, after leaving the Grand Canyon we took a detour before we headed into Sedona by driving east to visit Winslow, AZ, one of the most famous towns along Route 66 in Arizona. I'll start off sharing pictures of it.
Winslow, AZ - Route 66
Winslow, AZ claimed its fame in 1972 when the popular Eagles' song "Take it Easy" mentioned "standin' on the corner of Winslow, Arizona". And what do ya know, now there is an actual corner in Winslow that you can stand on while a pretty girl in a flatbed Ford takes a look at you! Also in the town's gift shops you can buy anything you want with the saying "standin' on the corner" on it or Route 66 Winslow Arizona! Such a neat little town!
Seligman to Kingman, AZ - Route 66
On our last day of our Road Trip, we left out of Sedona and followed I:40 until we got off on the Route 66 exit near Seligman. This small town is claimed as the birthplace of Route 66 in which it connected Seligman to Kingman, AZ! While the town is very close to many of the natural attractions like the Grand Canyon, the town also has many great roadside attractions including the Roadkill Cafe, the historic Route 66 Motel, the historic Route 66 General Store, and more. We followed the scenic Route 66 for 87 miles to Kingman, AZ while stopping at many of the old historic places along the way. You'll also see that we even ran into the Pixar's Cars characters from Route 66!
Notice in the center, I left my own Seth Berry Photography business card for the wall collection!
Oatman, AZ - Route 66
Perhaps the most unique and out of the ordinary place we went to the entire trip was our last stop along Route 66! Instead of exiting Route 66 in Kingman to travel US 93 toward Las Vegas, we decided to continue on about 30 more miles to a little ol' place called Oatman, AZ. This would also turn into one of our more mountainous drives of the trip.
The reason why I wanted to continue on to Oatman, was after reading a brochure about Route 66 I noticed something bizarre about this old gold mine town. Not only was it basically a saloon scene out of an old western movie, but they also have wild burros just roaming the street! We just knew we needed an epic ending to our trip, and seeing some wild burros would do just that. The drive from Kingman to Oatman is gorgeous as it takes you further out "in the middle of nowhere" and up a steady incline of elevation. We kept saying it was amazing that the old cars back then could travel up this windy road. Well, as we were coming around a mountain bend in the road, we came across our first burro...standing right in the middle of the road! The ass wouldn't move! ;) Until I whistled at it and he made a bee-line directly to our car and stuck his face in my window! Check out our hilarious burro encounter then see as we continue to encounter more in the interesting town of Oatman! Needless to say, we made a lot of friends...
CLICK HERE to view my Route 66 photo gallery and order prints
The Finish
Well Oatman, AZ was definitely the icing on the cake for one of the most awesome weeks of my life! Many great stories, pictures, and memories to share for a lifetime. I am so grateful and thankful for being blessed with the opportunity to travel out to see some of God's wonders and its my hope that if you do not get to experience some of these places for yourself, at least my photos somewhat took you there! If you ever need any advice or suggestions on where to go while planning a trip out west, please don't hesitate to ask! I am always happy to share with you my adventures whether its to the Grand Canyon or right here in my beloved Blue Ridge Mountains!
Until my next blog post (most likely somewhere in my neck of the woods), I leave you with our last group picture! This is us in front of Lake Mead right after we passed by the famous Hoover Dam. Right afterwards we ate dinner in Las Vegas then hopped on a plane to fly home! Man, what a trip!
Thanks again for reading my blogs!
God Bless!
SEDONA, AZ | Desert Road Trip 2014
Sedona, AZ - Desert Road Trip 2014
Previous blog posts: Zion National Park | Horseshoe Bend | Antelope Canyon | Monument Valley | Grand Canyon
CLICK HERE to view my Sedona photo gallery and order prints
Our epic western road trip was rounding it's way to it's conclusion, but first we would spend two amazing days bringing in the 4th of July in the most beautiful place called Sedona, AZ! After spending a night and half day at the Grand Canyon we would make our way down through Flagstaff 115 miles to Sedona. However, we took a detour first and tried to go visit Meteor Crater, which is a meteorite impact crater in the earth that is about 3,900 feet wide and 570 feet deep -- huge (check it out here). We decided not to pay the entrance fee though to go visit the incredible sight because a bunch of rain was in the area, but we did drive the long road approaching it. We could see the rim of the crater rising up from the distance. But also on the long desert road we were given some excellent landscape scenes of rain all around the horizon. Here are a few pictures of the peaceful scene:
After turning around on Meteor Crater Road, we continued our detour away from Sedona to visit Winslow, AZ, which is a famous town on the historic Route 66! However, I'm saving an entire blog post on our ride on Route 66 so you'll hear about it later.
We decided it was time for us to make our way into Sedona so we could witness another sunset! Boy were we in for a treat. Sedona, often called "Red Rock Country", is an absolute beautiful playground of giant red rock formations, beautiful green trees, and an interesting vibe. It sort of reminded me of the feel of Asheville, North Carolina. The drive into Sedona along the Oak Creek Canyon Scenic Drive, as it winds it's way through the rugged mountains, is known as one of America's top 5 scenic drives. And the interesting small mountain town of Sedona offers plenty of things to do, arts and shopping, eating, and fun. It's also heard many times that "yes, God created the Grand Canyon, but He lives in Sedona". However people interpret the "spiritual" experiences of visiting Sedona, I do know for sure that my God put on his best sunset show of our trip that evening as we were in Sedona for the first time.
Sedona Sunset
The first few pictures are from our hotel room when we first arrived at Sedona. Then we made our way to the Airport Scenic View for the most amazing sunset show of our trip. As you could see, the sky and clouds were adding up for a perfect light show. Enjoy as you watch the sunset develop!
As if that already wasn't good enough, all around us the show continued.
The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of His hands. ~Psalm 19:1
Is God amazing, or what? What an amazing way to end our day after we weren't expecting much to happen on this particular day of our trip. By then we were pretty tired and running on the little adrenaline we had left...but this amazing sunset completely rejuvenated us! It was great timing, because we had an action packed 4th of July ahead of us the next morning!!
4-Wheel Driving in Sedona - Jeep Rubicon Style
Hands down my most adventurous Independence Day, what better way to celebrate America than 4-wheel driving on some of the most rugged roads in Sedona, AZ! Early Friday morning we picked up our new set of wheels we would have for the entire day - our jacked up olive green Jeep Rubicon. As soon as I sat in it with it's top down, I fell in love ;). But later I found out just what all this amazing vehicle could do!
Sedona is unique in that it offers numerous off road backcountry roads that are accessible only for 4WD or ATV. The famous "Pink Jeeps Tours" are seen everywhere in town giving people tours off the beaten path. But if you want to truly experience Sedona 4WD for yourself, I recommend renting your own off road vehicle, preferably a Jeep from Barlows. This experience was one of the most rugged and fun things I've ever done. We felt like kings of the road as we were able to tear and climb our way through Sedona backwood trails to see some amazing places in Sedona that most visitors aren't able to see unless they were to hike a long ways or rent a 4WD. I quickly got my taste of experience driving 4-wheel drive as we did six 4WD trails during the day including the most famous and strenuous in Sedona - The Broken Arrow Trail. I look forward to sharing with you videos that I got from my GoPro when I create my trip movie. Until then, I hope you enjoy the scenes as we drive through the Sedona backcountry!
Meet Rubicon...
Our planned last off road trail was to drive to the Devil's Bridge trail head, where we would get out of the Jeep to hike about 1 mile to this awesome natural bridge shown below. We were successful in doing so, however our 4th of July ended early as you'll see in the video down below. We were hoping to be able to see one last epic sunset, but mother nature had other plans in mind! (see video below)
A little rain storm and flash flooding didn't bother the Rubicon nor us, but just ended our evening a little early...but just so we could go and enjoy a nice Mexican dinner in Sedona! All in all, what an awesome 4th of July 2014 it was! This will be one I can share for many years to come. God sure has blessed America and I truly love this land!
Stay tuned as I wrap up our Desert Road Trip blog posts with our final journey along the historic Historic Route 66! We sure were cruisin' and "takin' it easy"!
God Bless!
THE GRAND CANYON | Desert Road Trip 2014
The Grand Canyon - Desert Road Trip 2014
Previous blog posts: Zion National Park | Horseshoe Bend | Antelope Canyon | Monument Valley
CLICK HERE to view my Grand Canyon photo gallery and order prints
Day 4 of our trip and we have already experienced the unique Narrows hike of Zion National Park, the unbelievable sunset view of Horseshoe Bend, the adventurous kayaking trip on Lake Powell, the mesmerizing scenes of Antelope Canyon, and the majestic monuments of Monument Valley and yet we still haven't seen what many people consider one of the seven wonders of the world! It just goes to show how many amazing places this part of America has to offer.
After our adventurous tour of Monument Valley, we packed up our car again to make our 155 mile journey to the Grand Canyon. Our desired route had us go to the south rim entrance of Grand Canyon National Park to view all of the famous overlooks such as Desert View, Lipan Point, Moran Point, Grandview, and more. We would later make our way to our lodge in Grand Canyon Village for the night, but first we of course had to watch yet another epic sunset!
Approaching the Grand Canyon National Park wasn't exactly what I had always envisioned. I have always thought of the area around the canyon being extremely desert-like, however I was proved wrong as we drove up the beautiful mountains on US 64 towards the park entrance. I was surprised at how the drive reminded me a lot of back home in the Blue Ridge Mountains with the pine forests and mountains. The unexpected dreary rain in the area that day probably helped in giving me that sense of the Smoky Mountains as well. The drive had us travel up to 7500 feet elevation to the first major overlook - Desert View. After driving out of the forest and approaching the rim, I was delighted with my first ever view of the Grand Canyon! The looming clouds and rain showers in the area certainly gave us a unique first view of the amazing place!
The Grand Canyon Sunset - Grandview Point
After leaving Desert View, we hit all of the other overlooks before eventually making it to our desired location to watch the sunset - Grandview Point. After hiking down the trail several yards, I quickly found my spot on top of a ledge where I would set up for sunset. As I was setting up my tripod I was greeted by another photographer who was coming out to the same location (my first picture below). After telling him this was my first visit to the Grand Canyon and first sunset, I was soon made aware that he was a published photographer well known in this amazing land and has the privilege of photographing it many times. It was a pleasant experience getting to meet him and hear his tips he provided for my first time shooting in the Grand Canyon. I encourage you to check out Adam's award-winning work! www.adamschallau.com
It was amazing being able to photograph my first sunset in this such special place in the world. As I quickly got caught up in the moment of firing off pictures of all of the beautiful scenes that the light display was making, I made sure just to pause for a moment also just to take the view in for myself. I hope these photographs uplift you as well!
Grand Canyon Ooh Aah Point - South Kaibab Trail
After getting an excellent nights rest in our lodge in Grand Canyon Village, we headed out early the next morning to being our short hike along the South Kaibab Trail to Ooh Aah Point. On this trail we got a small taste of what hiking down into the canyon is like. If we had more time to spend there, I would have loved to continue to hike further down into the canyon but I can save that for another trip. :) The hike to Ooh Aah Point, however, did make us do just that. It was such a beautiful way to experience the Grand Canyon during the morning light and with the gorgeous white clouds.
Last two were shot with my GoPro!
CLICK HERE to view my Grand Canyon photo gallery and order prints
Stay tuned as our we continue our last stretch of our amazing Desert Road Trip! We will continue our route south to Sedona, Arizona where there's plenty more for us to see!
God Bless!
MONUMENT VALLEY | Desert Road Trip 2014
Desert Road Trip 2014
Previous blog posts: Zion National Park | Horseshoe Bend | Antelope Canyon
Saddle up! Our Desert Road Trip has taken a turn to the good ol' classic west! After leaving Antelope Canyon around noon, we headed out 117 miles towards one of the most famous "western" locations in the world - Monument Valley. Featured in many great classic movies such as John Wayne's cowboy films, Chevy Chase's National Lampoons Vacation, Tom Hanks' Forrest Gump, and Johnny Depp's The Lone Ranger, this majestic place is actually reserved for the Navajo Nation as well. Hi ho Silver, away!
Monument Valley - Navajo Reservation
CLICK HERE to order prints of my Monument Valley photos
Our trip to Monument Valley was filled with many great stories and memories. This land is undoubtedly real, non commercialized/developed and held dearly by the Navajo people. Not only do you sense that from just being there, but I learned it while on our tour of the valley with our excellent Navajo guide...which I will get to later. Therefore, this blog post will be longer but I'll break it up into sections. (1) The first thing we wanted to see when we approached Monument Valley was the classic scene in many photographs and movies...but we had to drive past the actual park entrance north on US 163 into Utah to mile marker 13. (2) The next section I'll share with you my dramatic sunset and sunrise shots. (3) Then finally I'll share with you my photos I got while on our Navajo Tour of the valley the next day.
Mile Marker 13
I did a little research before our trip and I found out one of the famous scenes of Monument Valley is actually taken from Utah on US 163 coming into the park in Arizona. If you've ever seen Forrest Gump, you'll remember seeing Tom Hanks running down the road with Monument Valley behind him. The drive along this road is absolutely beautiful as it takes you through the vast valley while you observe all of the stone monuments surrounding you. Once we got to mile marker 13, we pulled off on the sandy pull off to begin taking pictures in the road. Also on this pull off were two young Navajo guys with 3 horses tied up and a cardboard sign next to them saying "Picture on the horse for $5". Needless to say, it was too hard to pass that offer down at this epic location.
Sunset & Sunrise from The View Hotel
Hands down the best place to stay in Monument Valley is actually right in the park. The closest town is Kayenta, AZ which is 30 miles away. But it's certainly worth to spend the money to stay at The View Hotel. This hotel is Navajo run and operated and is beautifully built on the mountain ridge above Monument Valley to blend into the land. The hotel is gorgeous inside with a bunch of Native American themes and touches to the decor. But the best part about the place is each room has a balcony view of the valley down below. Also all along the outside of the hotel is plenty of places to relax and enjoy the peace and quiet stillness of the massive scene.
Being a photographer, I had already done my research and knew of a location where I wanted to get my sunset and sunrise shots. So, we did not stay on our balcony during them but rather went out in front of the hotel along with many other people. As a matter of fact, there are signs along the patio of the hotel showing where Ansel Adams' favorite photo location was and where John Wayne's favorite place to watch the sunset! After we watched the sunset that night, we went back to our room to sit on the balcony and observe the billions of stars. As we did, we noticed that The View Hotel shows an old John Wayne outdoor film almost every night against the side of the hotel. How cool is that? Night was short for us though, as we woke up at 5:30 AM the next morning to go out and watch the sunrise! Let the show begin...
These are all views directly in front of The View Hotel. Notice the dirt road down below. It is highly recommended only by Navajo guided tours and not by your own vehicle. The road is extremely rough and causes many flat tires. You'll see once I get to our tour during the next day...
Sunrise the next morning!
Navajo Guided Tour of the Valley
If you have the opportunity to visit this beautiful place, you absolutely must take a guided tour of the valley before you leave. You haven't truly experienced Monument Valley without doing so. Most people think the 3 stone monuments (aka Mittens) are what's all of Monument Valley because those are the iconic views. But actually the valley has many more monuments to explore and a see! Without having a Navajo guided tour down the horrendous dirt road, we would have never experienced it.
Our guide was a gentle older man named Harry with his safari-like chevy pick-up that about 8 of us sat behind. He grew up in the valley among many other natives around there. As a matter of fact, he told us actually only about 17 families still live primitively in the valley. He was such a great tour guide and shared with us many special stories about the land and him growing up. It was very interesting learning about the Navajo culture and the history of the majestic place. But by far the best part of the tour was when he had our group lay against the rock wall beneath a humongous natural arch while he played his Native American flute and drum. He even sang Amazing Grace in Navajo. All of it gave me chills. I was able to take many GoPro videos of the ride while hanging on to my seat on the back of the bumpy ride and I look forward to sharing them in the trip movie I plan to make.
The first 3 shots were with my GoPro from the back of the truck...
Best come prepared for some hot, dusty, dry roads!
Does this ledge look familiar? It's because it's the same place Johnny Depp stood on his horse during The Lone Ranger! Just google "Johnny Depp Monument Valley" and see for yourself!
"Eye of the Sun" First of 4 natural arch formations we got to see! Just amazing!
"Ear of the Wind" Second of 4 natural arch formations we got to see! This one too was huge!
3rd of 4 natural arches we got to see. This is the one that we got to listen to the Native American flute while laying against the cave wall! See the video below.
Well thanks for reading this far on my Monument Valley post! As I've said in my previous posts about our Desert Road Trip, each day continued to get more and more adventurous as you can see. There are so many interesting places to visit out in this country and Monument Valley is certainly a place I will never forget.
CLICK HERE to view my Monument Valley photo gallery and order prints
Stay tuned as our next stop is one of the 7 natural wonders of the world! The Grand Canyon!
God Bless!
ANTELOPE CANYON | Desert Road Trip 2014
Desert Road Trip 2014
Previous blog posts: Zion National Park | Horseshoe Bend
Only two days into our Desert Road Trip and we already were thinking there's no way we could top the amazing sunset at Horseshoe Bend, kayaking on Lake Powell and the uniqueness of the Narrows in Zion National Park. Then there was Antelope Canyon.
Antelope Canyon - Navajo Reservation
CLICK HERE to order prints of my Antelope Canyon photos
Amazing, captivating, mesmerizing, astonishing, photogenic...these are a few words that I can think of after experiencing Antelope Canyon. But words hardly describe what you see in this incredibly unique slot canyon on the Navajo Indian Reservation.
On the morning of our 3rd day of our epic trip, we drove only 5 miles from Page, AZ to one of the most amazing places I've ever seen! (Once again Page, AZ has it all!) The next two days of our trip would be spent on the Native American Navajo Reservation, which is the largest land area assigned to Native Americans in the United States. These were some of my most reverential days of the trip as I visited these Navajo landmarks and had a great sense of understanding for their appreciation of their natural surroundings - and for me, just observing how creative God is! It's hard for someone to experience these marvelous places and not fathom there is a Creator!
To the older Navajo generations, entering a place like Antelope Canyon was like entering a cathedral, in which they would show great respect and come away with a spiritual experience. Antelope Canyon is separated into two separate photogenic sections - Upper Antelope Canyon (The Crack) and Lower Antelope Canyon (The Corkscrew). However, to get into the canyons, you must have a Navajo tour guide take you through them. The Navajo Nation is pretty strict about preserving their natural wonders (thankfully), so some of the rules and prices maybe a little steep but definitely worth it. For photographers wanting to photograph the canyon, in order to bring a tripod and have an extended amount of time down there, you have to purchase a photography tour, which is twice as expensive as the regular tour. For our trip I sacrificed my tripod and just took the normal tour and fortunately it was a great success! During our tour, our young Navajo guide gave me plenty of tips of how to set my camera to get excellent shots inside the canyon. And without a tripod to hold my camera sturdy, I think I was able to get some pretty awesome shots!
Our Navajo guide said that every tour that she gives, almost every person runs out of memory card space before then end of the tour! And she was exactly right as every single turn in the slot canyon presented remarkable photo subjects. Fortunately I have a pretty hefty memory card, but I did take up a ton of space during this trip.
Well, without further to do, I know that you will enjoy these incredible shots of Lower Antelope Canyon. Keep in mind, what you see is actually what I saw (not much editing involved)! This place truly is a remarkable wonder with many abstract designs and textures that allows your photo imagination to run wild. If you can't see it someday for yourself, its my hope that my pictures will take you there now! Enjoy.
Entering Antelope Canyon from above, hard to believe what's below:
Do you see the lion's head and mane?
Your imagination runs wild down there. Looks like something's hungry for a bite...
The maze of the slot canyon continues...up and down the ladders!
Painting lavender...
It's like walking through the maze of mirrors at a fair. You just keep walking through the pathways with so much to see!
Can't get enough of it!
I see another lion face! Do you?
And now my favorite! Do you see the Lady in the Wind?
Standing in awe
The light beam. There's many chances to see instances like this down there, if you catch it at the right time!
After hiking alittle over a mile in the slot canyon, we emerge from beneath to the surface!
Now if that's not incredible, I don't know what is! A lot of these images would look awesome on canvas and I plan to do some for myself! Click here you're interested in purchasing one of my Antelope Canyon photos!
Stay tuned as we continue our journey through the Navajo Nation to one of the most classic locations for a lot of Western movies, including all of the old John Wayne classics! Can't wait to take you there.
Until then, God Bless!