ArtByCleeland

Its important to note that whilst on our trip to America, we visited the Grand Canyon. As with any trip to that part of America its easy to imagine the Grand Canyon as being one of the most amazing places to visit. It was certainly for the me the place I looked forward to seeing most. Photos of breathtaking views and rock formations fill the internet, and its impossible to not know what it looks like. We started the day at 4am to give us time to get to the Canyon for 7.30am to beat the rush. We headed there on the bus as the sun rose over the desert which was a beautiful thing to see. 
    Arriving at the West Rim of canyon we were told that there were three points we could stop at. The initial Base point where our bus parked and where the gift shop was. Followed by Eagle Point, so called because of a rock formation that can be seen from the view point (Or so we were told, I couldn't see it). And last but not least Gauno Point, called because of the Bat excrement that used to be mined from the face of the canyon below the point to be used in medicine. Out of all three locations, Gauno point was by far my favourite. From this point you are able to climb up a pyramid shape structure made out of rocks from the canyon, to gain a 360 degree view of the canyon. Baring in mind health and safety precautions had already been disregarded when walking along the flat part of the trail, these rocks were not secured in place. You just had to rely on the fact they'd stayed in place for the past however many years and that you weren't going to change that. Its safe to say that it was a terrifying climb, particularly being someone as clumsy as myself, but it was worth it! What a view! We were sat up there for quite a while just absorbing the spectacular view and enjoying the sun.
    Although it was amazing to see, I don't know if it was because I'd already seen so many beautiful places that took my breath away (Antelope Canyon, Bryce Canyon and Zion National Park) or if I'd built it up too much in my head, it wasn't my favourite place I saw on the trip. Don't get me wrong, I'd still go back, and still highly recommend everyone to visit at least once, but I'd prioritise Antelope and Bryce Canyon over it easily.

Another amazing place I'd like to mention from my America Trip is Yosemite National Park. This place is the epitome of the picture-perfect-postcard imagery. Trees, meadows, rivers, lakes and massive cliff faces, this park has almost every natural feature on offer. Situated five hours drive east of San Francisco, Yosemite Valley sits around 6000 feet above sea level. It is home to many waterfalls including the most famous Yosemite Falls. Other outstanding features in the valley include El Capitan, a 900m tall granite monolith to the north side of the valley, and Half Dome at the eastern end of the park which used by connected to another similarly shaped rock face. These two rock faces gradually separated over the years due to erosion and land movement. Natives of the area believe that this separation depicts the tale of a married couple. The couple argued so much the the heavens decided to separate them by dragging the rocks apart. The man and the woman were then forever doomed to look upon each other forever but unable to argue. 
    Also in the park are a wide range of animals including Chickerees, Mountain Lions and Bears. Regularly throughout the park are signs stating how you should act if you were to come across a bear or mountain lion. People are warned not to leave food or anything with a strong smell in their car as bears are strong enough to break in. This was extrememely comforting when we discovered that we were spending the night in a tent cabin which was essentially a shed made of plywood and thin layer of canvas. Fortunately however, although Its a dream of mine to see bears in the wild, we didn't have an encounter. One day, when in a safer environment, I will see a bear in the wild.

As you can probably tell from the photos on my profile, I recently had a life changing trip to America. Travelling for five and a half weeks with my best friend from East to West across the States, we saw so many amazing things. In particular, it was the national parks that we visited that were the most amazing places. On a week long trip in the East, we traveled through California, Nevada, Arizona and Utah. Its a life goal of mine to visit all 50 of the American States, and to reach four in a single week was pretty amazing. On the trip in total we visited ten states making a nice dent into the 50. It was also a goal of mine to see the amazing natural beauty that America has to offer, and I think some of these photos I took show that. 
    We went to Lake Powell, Antelope Canyon, Bryce Canyon, Zion National Park and of course the Grand Canyon. Each place was spectacular, but if I had to choose a favourite it would be Antelope Canyon. This is my number one place to recommend if you wish to see something completely out of this world and utterly beautiful. The sand stone canyon has been carved by nature over many years to create beautiful undulating, smooth walls and different views at every turn. Descending ridiculously deep steps you enter the canyon, into a world below ground but with almost perfect views of the sky above. Its easy to pick out shapes and turn them into objects or creatures as you walk through the tunnel like natural structure. I've only posted one photo from this aspect of the trip so far, but trust me, more will be coming! I think in the time I spent in the canyon (around 90 minutes) I took nearly 500 photos. But I challenge anyone to not do so!
    The one I have posted was taken at an angle pointed out to me by one of the guides. Leaning backwards against one of the side walls and looking directly up revealed the wave like structure as shown in the photo. Its amazing to think of the power of nature to create such a perfect wave out of the stone - particularly the fact its not coming off the ground but instead protruding out of the walls. The orange of the walls as well reacts perfectly with shadow - not only turning the rock darker orange, but also introducing a lovely purple hue to the view.