A taste of the American West
CEBU, Philippines - Sometimes considered the melting pot of the world, the United States of America as varied as it is vast, has long been a popular destination for tourists around the globe.
Recently, at the invitation of Philippines Airlines and Destination Specialist, the multi-awarded travel agency led by Rene Villarica, we ventured on a seven-day journey to America that began after a 12-hour hassle-free straight flight from Manila to Los Angeles and then by land to Las Vegas.
Las Vegas, a glorious neon oasis in the dessert, is probably the greatest party-town in the world. The modernization of hotels, casinos, terrific restaurants has established the city as one of the most popular destinations for tourists with jaw-dropping nightly entertainment on the Strip – a 4.2 mile boulevard lined with dramatic architecture, video signs and great attractions. A refreshing addition to entertainment options are the dancing fountains of the Bellagio Hotel. It is a show of water, music and light thoughtfully interwoven to mesmerize admirers.
The following day with Eugene Cheng ,a professional tour guide par excellance at the wheel, we started our voyage across Arizona, the southwestern part of this great melting pot, stopping by Lake Mead National Recreation Area. With 1.5 million acres, it offers year-round recreational opportunities for boating, fishing, hiking, photography, picnicking and sightseeing. It is also home to the world’s fastest animal, the peregrine falcon and thousands of desert plants and animals, adapted to survive where rain is scarce and temperatures can soar.
Late in the afternoon, we watched the IMAX movie as presented by National Geographic, introducing one of the Seven Wonders of the world, the Grand Canyon.
The Grand Canyon with rocks shaped by thousands of years of rains and floods, represents one of the most spectacular natural environments in America, and perhaps in the entire world. From its edge, we gazed in awe far down into the great gorge winding among its many creations. The Grand Canyon owes its distinctive shape to the different rock layers in the canyon walls. Each responds to erosion in a different way, some form slopes and cliffs, while others erode more quickly than others. The vivid colors of these layers are due mainly to trace amounts of various minerals which impart subtle hues of yellow, red and green to the canyon walls. We then toured the 23-mile scenic east rim drive with a quick photo-op at Desert View.
In the afternoon, we headed towards the border of Arizona and Utah and visited one of the majestic sights in Navajo land – Monument Valley with its definitive images of the American West. The remote red mesas, buttes and sometimes desolate landscape surrounded by sandy desert have been filmed and photographed over the years for movies and holiday brochures.
From one Navajo landmark to another, Antelope Canyon is the most-visited and most-photographed slot canyon in the American southwest. This canyon was formed by erosion of Navajo sandstone primarily due to flash flooding and other sub-aerial processes. Rainwater runs into the extensive basin, picking up speed and sand as it rushes into the narrow passageways. Shafts of direct sunlight radiating down from openings in the top of the canyon create astonishing beauty. By mid afternoon we were at Glen Canyon Dam, a concrete arch dam on the Colorado River in northern Arizona, near the town of Page. The dam was built to provide hydroelectricity and flow regulation from the upper Colorado River Basin. Its reservoir is called Lake Powell, and is the second largest artificial lake in the country.
We spent our last day at Bryce Canyon National Park located in southwestern Utah . The major feature of the park is Bryce Canyon which despite its name is not a canyon but a collection of giant natural amphitheaters. It is distinctive due to geological structures called hoodoos, formed by stream erosion of the river and lake beds, sedimentary rocks and frost weathering.
Having travelled close to three thousand miles by land in 7 days, we drove back to Los Angeles for our flight to Manila. It was certainly not the usual FAM tour where shopping takes center stage. This unique and most memorable trip was about exploring America’s old west with rock formations that are alive with a timeless spirit that captivates and inspires. It was experiencing a sense of intimacy with nature, catching sight of lone farmhouses or small communities nesting in valleys. It was exploring America the way it should be done, down a stretch of wide highways with its magnificent scenic beauty and reliving its beautiful past.