THE US NATIONAL PARKS DESTINATIONS RIGHT:
California condor
FAR RIGHT:
Navajo guide BELOW:
Monument Valley
HOW TO SELL US national parks are selling well this year, but if clients
are concerned about going it alone, an
escorted tour is a hassle-free way to get the best out of the parks. Not only are transport and activities taken care
of, but it also helps to have a knowledgeable and enthusiastic guide to explain the history and geology that have shaped these areas. The sociable small-group vibe – Grand American
Adventures limits group sizes to 13 – also helps spur travellers on to try new things.
w AN ANCIENT KINGDOM The next stop was Bryce Canyon, and as tall, pointed rocks in other-worldly shapes began popping up along the side of the road, I knew we were in for a treat. Nothing could have prepared me for the final view, though. Thousands of spiky orange hoodoos, formed by centuries of wind and rain, stood alongside one another like a sandstone army of soldiers, or the last remaining embers of some lost kingdom. We explored the canyon on foot via a gentle, one to two-hour trail, but for those wanting to experience the landscape in a different way, Bryce offers horse rides ($65 for two hours/$90 for three). There’s also a full ranger programme including free geology and stargazing talks, which are all the more fascinating once visitors have seen the sky light up over the canyon at sunset, in fiery swathes of deep red.
w NATIVE SOIL I was about to witness an even more impressive sunset the following day
at Monument Valley, a 12,000-hectare site that’s home to the Navajo people, the largest tribe in the US. John Ford shot his westerns in this area – and the likes of Forrest Gump and Back to the Future Part III followed suit – and with its iconic rock formations and interminable stretches of empty, red- sand desert, it’s easy to see why. As we drove around a section of the
reservation along dusty, bumpy tracks, our Navajo guide told tales of sleeping dragons and dinosaurs being turned to stone, passing on the legends of his ancestors and providing a fascinating insight into the tribe’s culture. At other
points, we discovered petroglyphs of animals, carved into the red sandstone walls, and brown, dome-shaped hogans – traditional Navajo dwellings, built from earth and still used today for ceremonies. The two-hour tour came as part of the trip, but the most memorable part was the evening experience that followed (an optional extra for $30 a person). The dinner and dance performance in colourful Navajo feathers was accompanied by the formidable bangs of a beating drum echoing off into the distance. It was only then that I really started
to grasp that we were properly in the middle of nowhere – which we were, at 200 miles from nearest city Albuquerque – and as I looked up into a sky covered in shining diamonds, I felt moved by a rare sense of serenity. It was the perfect emblem for a
trip that had shown me just how powerful nature can be. And if it’s possible to choose one highlight from the whole thing, I think that might just have been it.
7 July 2016
travelweekly.co.uk 53
FAST FACT Maverick Helicopters
offers commissionable flights over Las Vegas and the Grand Canyon. maverickhelicopters.
co.uk
PICTURES: NPS PHOTOGRAPHY; SARAH CLACHAN
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