Arizona, USA

The past few posts I have made have been on international places.  I thought this week I would take it back home to the United States of America because there are also beautiful places to visit in our own country.  I have never made it to the west side of the country before, but when I do I will definitely be visiting Arizona.  Arizona is hot and sunny, but I would not recommend going to visit during the monsoon season between mid June to the end of September if you want to do outdoor activities and stay dry while doing it.  Upon arrival, I would make my first stop at the Grand Canyon in the northwest corner of Arizona, but who wouldn't right?  I do not think I would trust a mule carrying me through the canyon, but I would love to go for a day hike to see the intense beauty of this national park.  According to the http://www.nps.gov/grca/index.htm site the hikes are very physically and mentally demanding, therefore preparing yourself for something like that is a good idea.

Another beautiful sight to see in Arizona is the Antelope Canyons, located in the center of Page, Arizona.  This canyon is on Navajo reservation land, they give tours of each section of the canyon.  It is canyon like Grand Canyon yes, but it's make up looks like almost a smoother type of rock most likely due to flooding during monsoon season.  This canyon is unique in it's own way and I would love to walk through and take amazing pictures of of the experience.

The good news is that from the Grand Canyon to Page, AZ is only about three hours of driving distance!  Someday when I go to Arizona, I think road tripping to each cool hiking canyon spot during my stay will be my plan.

Baños, Ecuador

Baños is one of the most popular tourist spots in Ecuador because of it's beautiful natural beauty and also because there are many adventure sports to enjoy here including kayaking, hiking, biking, rafting, and bridge jumping.  There are over 60 waterfalls in this part of Ecuador.  This spot is well known as the "Getaway to the Amazon" because it is located right in the Amazon River basin.  

I started looking into Ecuador after a friend of mine came back from being on a study abroad trip to there.  He said he loved being in Ecuador, it was beautiful, and many adventurous activities to try.  That sounded good enough for me to start exploring on the internet.  From looking at various things to do in Ecuador, I found the picture above.  This is known as the Swing at the End of the World.......probably for obvious reasons.  I have said before that I love to hike and would someday like to reach that 2,660 meters where I will find this swing.  I would definitely swing a few times to enjoy the breathtaking view of surroundings, but that would be adventurous enough for me because I would also be taking a chance of falling off a side of a cliff.  I am sure this would be one of the most adrenaline pumping moments of my life and cannot wait to make this one happen.