Arizona Overview

I have been to Arizona, Grand Canyon, Sedona, Lake Powell in past. Few places several times  In fact   almost took a job at Iridium projet (Motorola,, 1995) and  made a trip for the house hunting. 

This  was a semi-planned and somewhat impromptu trip due to lack of tome and over-confidence.  

However,this trip turned out to be loaded with  extra fun and enchantments in  many ways. Driving for nine days in open convertible, making stops, taking hikes gave much better sense of this state’s diverse landscapes. Marveled at the massive Seguaro cacti in the desert low land with yellow branches,  red rocks, colorful foliage, absolutely  awe-inspiring, sunrises and sunsets  with not even one cloud,  viewing of wildlife of  the bison, antelopes, California Candor, extra beautiful, picturesque artist community, learning more about the indigenous communities . Spend more time lounging at the beautiful resorts and finer meals.

The six-days sight-seeing part of the trip was an add-on to 3 day wedding of niece at the Royal Palm resort and spa at Phoenix with extra opportunity to see the grandniece expecting her first baby.

Arizona -2019  Public Photo -Albums

Trp Summary

	Place	Description
General : Not a place specific
1	Arizona	Overview of  the trip .Nature & Placesin Arizon
2	Madhu Tushar	Overview of  the trip .    Madhu &  Tushar in Arizona
3
4
5
Places
6	Antelope Canyon Selected	Page, Arizona,  area's “must do” activity ; very picturesque. Peter Lik set the world record for the world’s most expensive photograph. It was taken in Lower Antelope Canyon, during one of the light beams. Light. Antelope Canyon photo sells for $6.5 million dollars
8	Horse Shoe Bend	Page, Arizona,Horseshoe Bend is a horseshoe-shaped incised meander of the Colorado River
9	Glen Canyon	Glen Canyon National Recreation Area is the perfect playground for land and water activities with 2000 KM of coast line and several dozens of   houseboats.
10	Page_rest	148 rest of the pictures:   Page_MT ; Madhu & Tushar at Page
11	Marble Canyon Selected	Marble Canyon is the section of the Colorado River canyon in northern Arizona from Lee's Ferry to the confluence with the Little Colorado River, which marks the beginning of the Grand Canyon. It has Panaromic views from the Navajo bridge, Vermillion cliffs,  Known for its colorful swirls of slickrock, Vermilion Cliffs National Monument is a sherbet-colored dream world filled with fantastical rock formations like The Wave ( needs  advanced permit and SUV). Also see  foliage and  wild life
12	North Rim Cape Royal	Noirth Rim is  significantly less crowded compare to the south Rim. A worthwhile trip for those who enjoy the road less traveled.Cape Royal is the southernmost viewpoint on the North Rim, and it has the widest panorama of any Grand Canyon overlook - the great gorge occupies about 270° of the horizon,  Most memorable is of Angels Window, a natural arch in the Kaibab limestone.
13	North Rim Bright Angel	Bright Angel Point is the main North Rim overlook at Grand Canyon National Park. Less than 10% of total  visitors to Grand Canyon come to North rim.Only one hotel at the park and  need  advanced book months back.
14	Canyons_rest	400+ additional pictures of the above three  albums
15	Sedona Cathedral Rock	Cathedral Rock is a natural sandstone butte on the Sedona skyline and one of the most-photographed sights in Arizona. Oak Creek, where it runs next to Cathedral Rock, is called “Red Rock Crossing” and considered a strong Vortex as well as a sacred area in Native American history., as a home of gods and birthplace of the first man and woman . At uniuue point near  crescent moon picnic area , it is possible to get reflection in the picture.
16	Sedona Day Hikes
17	Sedona, Devil'sbridge  Hike	.
18	Enchantment Resort , Sedona
19	More Sodena Day Hikes
20	Sedona_sunset
21	MT_Sedona
22	Royal Palm  Spa Resort, Phoenix
Videos
1
2
3	Madhu Zulfe
4	Animatioins  Gif	TusharatSedona, TusharNorthRIm
5	Phoenix	Fountain Hill ,Phoenix, Az    Scotsdale Frank Llyod Museum   Heard Museum

Places in Future trips -Arizona

Missed several star attractions and  hope to cover in future trip

• Upper Antelope canyon. Book Photography  tour.
• Cayote Buttes ( needs advanced permit , need SUV to go). 
• Canyon de Chelly national monument 
• Monument valley  Navajo Tribal Park 
• Havasu Canyon 
•  Rafting the Colorado Rivers
• Glenn Canyon in houseboat
• Hopi Reservation 
• Tucson , Sagurao National Park ( Canyon Ranch Health Resort ) 
• Skywalk 
• Candyland, Arizona 
• Grand Esclante Staircase  (visited in 2005) 
• DeerCreek Loop Grand Canyon 

Sedona

Sedona has grown to be number two among the places that attaract retirees. USA Weekend named Sedona the "Most Beautiful Place In America." Only two hours north of Phoenix, the city is located in Oak Creek Canyon. Nestled among the red rock , nice weather offers excellent resorts, spas , restaurants(Mariposa, 80 Agua..) , art galleries(like Tlaquepaque Arts & Shopping Village).

Photographer’s Guide to Sedona, Arizona

https://loadedlandscapes.com/photographing-sedona-arizona/

One of the best views of Crescent Rock is from the Crescent Moon Picnic Area within Red Rock Crossing (GPS: N34° 49′ 33.78″, W-111° 48′ 26.7114″). From here you will be able to shoot across the creek to Cathedral Rock. The creek can also serve as a foreground for your composition. This is a good location for a sunset view of Cathedral Rock. However  we had to work  real hard to find this place. 


To be completed. 

Grand Canyon North RIm

Although  the north rim of the  Grand Canyon is just 10 Miles  from the  south rim if a bird flies ,  it is more than 200 miles by road, and becomes  a long drive from teh population centers like Phoenix or Las Vegas. I have been to the south rim twice. In my opinion,  north rim is far superior place to visit. South Rim is more  like a human zoo, over crowded and commercialized.  North Rim has much more Alpine and wilderness feel.  We were very lucky enough to get the accommodation at the Grand Canyon lodge at the last days.

Cape Royal is tehmost spectacular setting on the North rim.  @3 miles of teh drive on the rim with view point slike Walhalla overlook,  Angel's Window overlook are great.

North Rim Cape Royal 

The histric , rustic lodge ( only lodge in 1 hour drive ).  has beautiful bright Angle's trail

 North Rim Bright Angel 

Antelope Canyon, Page ,Az

"Failing to Plan  is  Planning to fail"   happened to be true   at Page, Az for us. The motivation for revisiting Page was to see the Antelope Canyon.  This tun out to be the third strike

I am very keep to visit the Coyote Buttes, which are among the  most unusual rock formations in Arizona. The famous place for  a favorite place for the photographers. However one needs the permit to visit the place. The permits are  given by the  lottery  and  one has to apply four months in advance.  It also require SUV/AWD kind of vehicle  ( not the convertible we rented). So  missed the opportunity to visit the Coyote Buttes

Wanted to visit Havasu Canyon. That also needs   permit and the place is closed this year

Grand Canyon lodge is at the North rim has  one and only one hotel. Next lodge is Jacob lake inn which an  hour plus away form the North rim. The classic  and historic mountain lodge is booked months in advance . We  daily calls and persistence we  got lucky  to get   the mountain lodge at  the last minute , that too with a room with the view(partial) of teh Grand Canyon  and the fire place in the room ( At night temperature drops to sub zero)  .

 Was hoping to get the tickets for  visiting the Antelope Canyon after arriving at the Page. Realized on the  day of the arrival, that all  tickets to visit to    visit the upper or the lower canyons were sold out ( about $55 and $68 PP to start with). This is totally controlled by few operator of the indigenous people. We tried  several  options including the "deluxe  tours ( $244 PP for the tour). No Luck. The place has  become   even more popular after getting publicity  on the cover page of the Oct 2009 issue of the National Geography.  Fortunately   here at the last minute got the ticket with the help of a nice and helpful Chiriccahuan lady .

Photo-albums :

1) Antelope Canyon Selected 
2)  Horse Shoe Bend  
3)  Glen Canyon 
4) Page_rest  
5)   Page_MT


1) COMPLETE GUIDE TO ANTELOPE CANYON
It has many tips and pointers to a photographer. Some of the important ones are:

Lenses to Bring – Try to stick with only one lens since there’s a lot of floating sand. You can risk it, but sand has killed a couple of my cameras already. RIP. If you’re bringing one lens, you will want a wide-angle lens since the spaces are tight. I shot most of mine with a 35mm, but I regretted not bringing my 16-35.

Shoot multiple exposures even if you don’t plan on creating HDRs. I ended up bracketing my exposures since the light wasn’t the easiest to deal with. There are both dark and bright spots, so it’s easy to lose details in the shadows or highlights. If you’re not shooting multiple exposures, a general rule of thumb for digital is to underexpose.

https://www.thewanderinglens.com/upper-antelope-canyon-photography/

https://www.paulreiffer.com/2016/04/inside-antelope-canyon-pauls-complete-photography-guide/

Arizona Planning

Trip Planning

PageàNorh Rim àSedona  7 hours  5Min  359 Miles

PageàSouth Rim –Sedona   4 hour  22 min –239 Min 

Tushar’s Customized map

Day 1  Oct 04: Page

Day 2 Oct 05 Page

Day 3 Oct 6 North Rim Jacob inn 

( booked; pai $176.39;) 

https://convoyant.com/ResNexus/Reservations/Lodging/67EB5D79-436C-4166-BBC7-D1755661A79A

Please call: (928) 643-7232

Email: jacob@jacoblake.com

Day 4: Oct 7 , 8. 9 ( Monday ) Sedona  

Day 7 Oct 10 ( Thursday)   Pheonix  :Musical Evening

https://www.zola.com/wedding/MonicaandSamit

Royal Palms Resort and Spa
5200 East Camelback Road
Phoenix, AZ 85018

Day  8 Oct 11 :  Friday Wedding

Day  9  Oct 12  : Free  Phoenix

Day 10 : Oct 13  Fly back 

1        Page

Antelope Canyon,  Horse shoe Bend, Natural bridge , rafting 

2        North Rim Grand Canyon

2.1       Less Ferry

Navajo  Bridge 

http://www.leesferry.com

https://www.instagram.com/lees_ferry_anglers/

https://www.blm.gov/visit/vermilion-cliffs  435 688 3200  for the permit

Cayote Buttes  :   Trail Distance: 5.5 miles to the Wave and back. 8 miles round trip from the Wire Pass parking lot to the Wave, Top Rock Arch, alcove, Melody Arch, dinosaur tracks and back. Average hiking time: 6 hours round-trip to the Wave. 8 hours for the Wave, arches, alcove and dinosaur tracks.

2.2       North Rim

http://grandcanyonlodgenorth.com/ 877 386 4383

https://www.grandcanyonforever.com/

Bright  Angle Point

Point Imperial , Walhala Overlook , Angles overlook  , Point Sublime 

North Kaibibl trail

Highway  67 

2.3       Flagstaff

2.3.1       Cameron Trading Post Grand Canyon Hotelhare

US Highway 89 54 Miles North of Flagstaff, Cameron, AZ 86020

Wupatki National Monument

Walnut Canyon national monument

3        Sedona

Cathedral Rock from Oak Creek 

4        Phenoix

Tallesin  - scitsdale

Chalanger Space Center

5        Other

Roosevelt  Dam