We stared our trip from Las Vegas. A city that claims itself as The Entertainment Capital of the World, and is famous for its mega casino-hotels and associated activities. Visited various Casinos and had great dinner with awesome view at Top of the World revolving restaurant at Strat Hotel where we stayed.

From Las we drove to Salt Lake city where we spent a night and left for Yellowstone. It is on top of a volcano and it has many hydrothermal features. The four types of thermal features are geysers, hot springs, mud pots, and steam vents. There is wildlife and a lot to see and we drove through the circuits to see a good number of sights. We stayed three days at the Old Faithful Inn, which is opposite the famous geyser. Old Faithful is a highly predictable geothermal feature and has erupted every 44 minutes to two hours since 2000. Yellowstone National park is a place one should not miss.

On our way to South Dakota to visit Mount Rushmore we passes Devils Tower. It is a sacred place for Indian tribes. It was America’s first national monument. It is a famous rock climbing attraction which attracts about 5000 climbers per year. Sadly about 80 fall to their death every year.

Mount Rushmore has the faces of George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Theodore Roosevelt and Abraham Lincoln carved in the mountain.

From Mount Rushmore we drove to Crazy Horse Memorial. It is a memorial for an Indian warrior who fought against the US Federal Government. It shows the face of Crazy Horse carved on a mountain. It is so big that all the four presidents can easily accommodated in his head. Work started in 1948. He reportedly said, “My lands are where my dead lie buried.” His extended hand on the monument is to symbolize that statement. The monument depicts his words. If completed as designed, it will become the world’s second tallest statue, after the Statue of Unity in India.

From there we drove to Arches National Park. It is known as the site of more than 2,000 natural sandstone arches. Other geological formations include Delicate Arch, Triple Arch, Balanced Rock, towering over the desert landscape in the middle of the park.

Coming back towards Las, visited Bryce Canyon. It contains a large number of Hoodoos (irregular columns of rock) which exist on every continent, but here is the largest concentration found anywhere on Earth. A landscape where yellow and red create magical sceneries. To me, this place is better than the Grand Canyon. One has to visit this place as photographs and videos cannot capture the beauty of this place.

We started our journey to Antelope Canyon which was formed by the erosion of Navajo Sandstone due to flash flooding. It is a slot canyon. Million years ago water seem to have cut through a big rock of sandstone creating passage through it. One can see the path eroded by the water to form characteristic “flowing” shapes. The passages are naturally-made, colourful labyrinthine pathways with colourful towering walls, and winding corridors. A beam of light shines into Upper Antelope Canyon during mid noon. Flash floods can occur even if there is no rain locally. 11 tourists were killed in 1997 due to flash flooding. The visit is through licensed tour operators. It is not possible to visit the Canyon independently.

A short visit to Horseshoe Bend which gives a nice view of the dramatic bend in the Colorado river from over a thousand meters above.

We drove to Grand Canyon which is a immense with sandstone rocks layered in different colors. It has a North Rim and a South Rim. North rim is closed during winter. Free shuttle buses are available to explore the area. Spectacular views are seen during sunrise when the light falls on the rocks. Various activities and hiking are available. We spent three nights in the park.

Visited Coral Pink Sand Dunes State Park which features uniquely pink-hued sand dunes located beside red sandstone cliffs.

I had the permit to visit “The Wave”. Unfortunately due to heavy rains, the mud road was impassable. I managed to visit it after 12 years.

Drove back to Las Vegas and left a few days later.