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Mammoth and June Lakes

Mammoth Lakes is a town in Mono County, California, the county's only incorporated community. It is located 9 miles northwest of Mount Morrison, at an elevation of 7,880 feet (2,400 m). We went to Mammoth lakes to see the fall color on October 29, 2016. Because of the previous week's storm, the colors were not that great, but we still see some spectacular colors on Convict lake and in and around Gull lake in June Lake.

On the way to Convict Lake:

Convict Lake Resort - This scenic resort is 15 miles from Mammoth Mountain and a 10-minute walk to Convict Lake, which boasts a large stock of fish.

Convict Lake is a lake in the Sherwin Range of the Sierra Nevada in California, United States. It is known for its fishing and the dramatic mountains - including Mount Morrison - that surround the lake. Its surface lies at an elevation of 7,850 ft.

 

 

 

Summer time shuttle service to Devils Postpile - The mandatory Reds Meadow Shuttle will start daily operations from June and will operate through September. After the daily operations end, the visitors vehicles are allowed inside the monument. Its just a 12 miles loop.

Devil's Postpile National Monumnet is located near Mammoth Mountain in extreme northeastern Madera County in eastern California. The national monument protects Devil's Postpile, an unusual rock formation of columnar basalt. Devils Postpile National Monument encompasses 798 acres (323 ha) and includes two main tourist attractions: The Devil's Postpile formation and Rainbow Falls, a waterfall on the Middle Fork of the San Joaquin River. In addition, the John Muir Trail and Pacific Crest Trail merge into one trail as they pass through the monument.

Rainbow Falls is the highest waterfall on the Middle Fork of the San Joaquin River. Plunging 101-feet down to the turbulent water below, the falls are named for the rainbows that appear in its mist throughout sunny summer days.

Mammoth Lake Gondola starts from Mammoth Visitor Center during winter season.

Mammoth Lake Map - I would recommend driving the Mammoth Lakes Basin at least once if you have limited time. This basin has some of the wonderful lakes.

Horseshoe Lake

Lake Mamie

Twin Lakes

   June Lake 

Monument Valley - Utah

Monument Valley is a region of the Colorado Plateau characterized by a cluster of vast sandstone buttes, the largest reaching 1,000 ft (300 m) above the valley floor. It is located on the Arizona–Utah border, near the Four Corners area. The valley lies within the range of the Navajo Nation Reservation and is accessible from U.S. Highway 163.

The below picture was taken from freeway I-163 (coming from Mexican Hat).

The below picture was taken from inside the Navajo Tribal Park. The views are great but not worth the $20 charge unless you do the drive through the valley. But if you want to make the tour by car around the valley, be aware that it is on unpaved roads, really unsuitable for regular car. Thanks to my Mustang, we were able to drive 12 miles inside the park in dirt road.

Panorama taken from the view hotel, showing the West and East Mitten Buttes and the road making the loop-tour through the park.

West Mitten Butte

West and East Mitten Buttes (also known collectively as The Mittens) are two distinctive geological features found within the Monument Valley. When viewed from the south, the buttes appear to be two gigantic mittens with their thumbs facing inwards.

Merrick Butte

Artist's View Point

Another short spur forks north and climbs gradually to the edge of a plateau, where the ground falls away quite steeply and ahead stretch many miles of flat land punctuated by the familiar peaks of Mitten Buttes, Merrick Butte plus the more distant pinnacles around Monument pass. This is the Artist's view point.

The below picture is 'Three Sisters' - The Three Sisters are a group of thin pinnacles, eroded remnants of a narrow ridge extending southwards from one corner of Mitchell Mesa - together with adjoining Wetherill Mesa, these two flat-topped hills shield this part of Monuement Valley from US 163 further west.

Totem Pole

The below picture shows the view points on a Valley Drive

Arches National Park - Utah

Arches National Park is a US National Park in eastern Utah. The park is adjacent to the Colorado River, 4 miles north of Moab, Utah. It is home to over 2,000 natural sandstone arches, including the world-famous Delicate Arch, in addition to a variety of unique geological resources and formations. It contains the highest density of natural arches in the world.

The below picture was taken in Delicate Arch during the sunset. Don't miss the sunset at Delicate Arch. Delicate Arch is a 65-foot-tall (20 m) freestanding natural arch. It is the most widely recognized landmark in Arches National Park and is depicted on Utah license plates and on a postage stamp commemorating Utah's centennial anniversary of admission to the Union in 1996. The Olympic torch relay for the 2002 Winter Olympics passed through the arch.

There is a 4 miles round trip trail to the Delicate Arch. It would take 3-4 hours for the normal hiker to go and come back. Take plenty of water as you climb almost 800 feet of elevation.

Landscape Arch is the longest of the many natural rock arches located in the Arches National Park in Utah, United States. The arch is among many in the area known as Devil's Garden in the north area of the park.

Sand Dunes Arch

This is nice place to enjoy with family. Kids will love this place as this is cool and sandy.

North and South Windows

The Arches National Park's map

I would suggest to go and complete the landscape arch first (this is at the end of the paved road), come to Sand Dunes arch, do a small hike to Windows and start hiking to Delicate arch just 2 hours before the sunset, enjoy the sunset in one of the famous landmarks in the world and come back before dark. Please take the head lamp. This will come as a handy in case if you are coming back to trail head in dark.

Bryce Canyon National Park - Utah

There is no place like Bryce Canyon. Hoodoos (odd-shaped pillars of rock left standing from the forces of erosion) can be found on every continent, but here is the largest collection of hoodoos in the world. An imagination of wonder will serve you when visiting the Bryce Canyon National Park (BCNP) which is located in Utah just 250 miles from Las Vegas.

The view from Sunset Point

Park your vehicle at the visitor center and take the shuttle to go to different view points. BCNP has a shuttle service. Please see their websites for the timing. I would recommend to get down at Sunset point and start from there. The below picture was taken at Sunset point. There is a rim trail that goes from Sunset point to Sunrise point on left and Inspiration point to Bryce point on right.

The view from start of Queen's Garden Loop

Once you get down at Sunset point, walk towards Sunrise point. At 0.9 mile from Sunrise point, you will see a trail going to Queens garden trail. The below picture was taken at this point. The queens garden trail is around 0.8 miles.

The "Queen Victoria"

At around 0.5 mile from Queens garden trail, you will see a hoodoo which looks like Queen Victoria. (Use your imagination) - The left most one is Queen Victoria..)

The view from Peakaboo Trail

At around 0.8 miles in Queens Garden trail, you will see a 4 way intersection down at the bottom of the canyon. If you continue straight ahead, you will reach wall street which will return you back to Sunset point. But if you have time (2 hours roughly), take a Peakaboo loop trail which is 3 miles round trip. The below pictures were taken along the Peakaboo loop trail.

The view from Wall Street

Once you complete the Peakaboo loop, you will start hiking the Wall street which is only 0.6 miles, but you have an amazing view. This is where you really feel that you are into the canyon.

After the wall street, you will reach the Sunset point where you started your hike.

The view from Inspiration Point

If you want to see the Inspiration point (the tallest point at BCNP), keep walking right and at 0.7 miles you will see the Inspiration point. The below picture was taken from the Inspiration point. From here, you can walk right for 1.5 miles and you will reach the Bryce point.

As the name suggest, the best place to view the Sunrise is at the sunrise point and Sunset is at the sunset point. The shuttle connects all the view points. The below picture was taken during Sunset from sunset point. It was not that great as the light didn't fall into the canyon.

Below picture depicts the different view points and the shuttle stops.