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Jun 19, 2012

West America Tour



A trip from May 24, 2012 to June 6, 2012

 traveling to California, Arizona, Utah, next to the

Colorado border and Arizona...










 ... stopping in Los Angeles CA(2 nights), Bulhead AZ (1night) , Flagstaff AZ (2 nights), Chinle AZ (1night), Kayenta AZ (2 nights), Moab UT (2 nights),  Bryce Canyon UT(2 nights), Las Vegas NV(2 nights), and return to LA CA (1night). 







A total of 4500 km driving on pleasant roads mostly classified “Scenic Ways” 





Tour operators describe West America as a fabulous place, one of the most beautiful parts of the United States.
I can confirm this statement and add that during that tour the fun never stopped everywhere we stayed or we visited
Our tour was focused on view of National or State Parks, cities and amusement places

Difficult to post on that Blog a selection of topics and photographs, among more than 500 pictures taken… 




The Los Angeles metropolitan area, which includes Los Angeles County, is the second largest in the U.S. This amazing city is most famous for Hollywood, Universal City, and Downtown. 

For many visitors, the "Los Angeles experience"
includes Beverly Hills, Santa Monica, and Pasadena 
 



Hollywood is a district of the city of Los Angeles, California, U.S.A., located northwest of Downtown

Hollywood Boulevard
"Walk of Fame"

 
Due to its fame it is the historical center of movie studios and stars





Historic Route 66

Immortalized in folklore, cinema and song, as the Bagdad Café, Route 66 remains the iconic symbol of the great American road trip. 


The best area for the bikers




Located on the edge of Arizona's Painted Desert, Petrified Forest National Park is the world's finest collection of fossilized wood  



 Huge pieces of 225 million year old trees 



 The heart of the Painted Desert of
northeast Arizona, a colorful badlands
 


Grand Canyon National Park the world's most spectacular sightseeing

   

It is 277 miles (445 km) long, 16 miles (25km) wide and up to 1 mile (1,6km) deep canyon  
Standing on the rim of the Colorado River 




Canyon de Chelly National Monument offers the opportunity to learn about the Navajo Indians (Native American) who live and farm here today

A male hogan

The Navajos used to make their houses, called hogans, of wooden poles, tree bark and mud. The doorway of each hogan opened to the east so they could get the morning sun as well as good blessings


Inside the hogan





The spectacular vertical walls make access to the canyon bottom difficult, providing an ideal protection for the Native Americans who lived here 









Monument Valley Navajo Tribal Park  

For me the most beautiful and unusual scenery. Its Navajo name, Tsé Bii' Ndzisgaii, means "Valley of the Rocks" 


John Ford Point
The desert landscape on the border of Arizona and Utah is a fantastic wonderland of color well-known for the many movies filmed in the area, like John Ford western with John Wayne as a star.


Access road without traffic. Amazing! 




Glen Canyon Dam



constructed between 1956 and 1963, was the last giant dam complex to be built in the United States. The dam was originally built for water storage and hydroelectricity. However Lake Powell's recreational popularity has created a significant tourism industry






 Bryce Canyon

is not actually a canyon but a high elevation (more than 2700m)... 










...sandstone ridge known as a photographer's dream







Canyonlands National Park



The mesa that is Dead Horse Point provides breathtaking views of the canyon country of southeastern Utah... 
The ending of the famous 1991 American road film "Thelma and Louise". They embrace, Louise steps on the accelerator, and they ride the car over the cliff to their deaths










In the country of the cowboys, 

horses’ rides are very common 








Arches National Park, Utah. 
The park offers some of the strangest erosional effects in canyon country


Delicate Arch, the world's most
spectacular arch in a spectacular setting
 


Death Valley

offers some of the world strangest scenery as well as North America's lowest (Furnace Crick elevation 190 feet/60m above sea level) and hottest place with temperatures sometimes exceeding 120°F (49°C)

This vista can be seen at Dante's View


 



How this coyote can live here: more than 40°C, no food and no water founded? 







 Las Vegas is the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and a major vacation, shopping, entertainment and gambling destination 



It, officially became a city in 1911 and the largest American city founded in the 20th century as The Entertainment Capital of the World




Las Vegas Strip and downtown
Road features some of the newer super megaresorts with world-wide themes


The Venetian with the Italian city of Venice and the famous Grand Canal where you may take gondola rides

                                                                  Paris Las Vegas with the 
                                                                       Eiffel Tower and 
                                                                    other Paris landmarks



The Mirage, may be 
the best with 
the Caesar's Palace



                                   
                                        and the Harrah’s where we stayed








Return from LA to Paris CDG lasted 11 hours 

 A long trip giving the opportunity to appreciate the comfort of the big new Airbus 380 





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