I hiked the Maze loop trail, and couple tiny ones adding up to some 6 miles. It was chilly and started to rain a little which is unusual for this area.
BMPian GPian GPNibbon recently shared this with other enthusiasts:
I recently hit a few important milestones in life. I decided to take a break of 6 months from work. I wandered in Costa Rica for a few weeks with my kids, couple months in India, then I decided to get back to work. Once I had an offer on hand, I decided to get in my truck and drive off on a longish drive. I told my wife I would be back after 15+ days. I stopped by the Indian stores for some groceries, fruits and drinks. Rest of the stuff like toiletries, sleeping stuff, utensils, batteries, etc always stay in my truck, so little or no prep there. I wanted to hit as many National parks and hiking trails as I could. This would be a photolog of the things that I saw. I think I did some 4500 miles (7200kms). I headed out west without a plan nor any reservations.
My first stop was Joshua Tree National park. A symbolic pic of a Joshua Tree.
I hiked the Maze loop trail, and couple tiny ones adding up to some 6 miles. It was chilly and started to rain a little which is unusual for this area.
North View panorama from the trail
Heated up some water in the parking lot for some instant noodles. I needed to go find a good spot for the night. 
The next stop was Grand Canyon National park. This is again a place that have been to countless number of times, but it always amazes me. Each time I have been here, I head to the main visitor center, and walk on the Rim trail towards Yavapai point. This time I skipped the main village and started driving on Desert View drive. 
The clouds and the sunlight create an interesting light show.
Its hard to get an idea of the scale of the canyon from the pictures.
The mighty Colorado river.
Most of my hikes were around view points. It was too windy and cold to venture too far out.
I picked a picnic area around Moran point to make myself some lunch. I had some rice cooking in the 12V cooker, I heated up some instant Sambar for a nice meal.
The next stop in Arizona was the Horseshoe bend in Page AZ. I had decided to get a Motel in Page so that I could take a shower.
Horseshoe bend is in Indian owned land, the short trail is always infested with Instagrammers.
The lure of good camera angles always sends them off the trails. They do give a sense of scale in my pictures.
View points
I was stopping too many times. 
The mighty Colorado
Interesting Rock formations
Lake Powell as seen from Big Water, UT. I did a hike around Big Water area, before calling it a night.
The next stop on my drive was Antelope Canyon. Also on Indian land, it is accessible through private operators who own high ground clearance 4×4 vehicles. Private vehicles are not allowed. I had a early morning tour booked.
Some patterns at the entrace
Yours truly for scale
The light patterns are mesmerizing
If you squint you may see a heart. Humans want to see patterns even when there is none. We romanticize known patterns.
Light show
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