We left Glendale early in the morning and drove to Las Vegas where we made a stop for the night on our way home. This wasn't our first visit so this time we decided to go to the Cirque du Soleil show "O" and we absolutely loved it and would highly recommend! Other than that we walked around some of the main casinos and gambled some money away :)
There was no more snowfall during the last night and the roads were cleaned a day before so we could go to the Bryce national park this day. When we arrived to the Visitor Center we realized that there's even more snow there :) In national parks it is not allowed to use salt on the roads so in winter not all areas are accessible. We drove to the parking area near the Sunrise Point and walked approximately 1 mile from there along the rim.
We woke up in the morning to see heavy storm outside. All roads were not cleared yet and most of them were closed. Additionally, the driveway to our house was all covered in deep snow and we were expecting a plow closer to the lunchtime. But the worst part was that storm damaged electricity (on a holiday) and there was no heat, no hot water.. nothing was working and our tiny cabin was getting very cold (it was up to -15 C outside). When our car was dug out of the snow we decided to drive to the nearest bigger city looking for a warm place with electricity but there was none in that area as well. We were trapped by closed roads in our city and were hoping for the best. There was just one gas station in the area that had a backup power generator and all people were hanging out there. Luckily, electricity got fixed around 9 pm so we could go to sleep safely.
During our first full day in the canyons area we decided to go to Zion national park. Since we arrived early in the morning we were able to find a parking spot next to the Visitor Center inside the park. Usually, the park gets very crowded and visitors have to find their parking spot in Springdale from where there are free shuttle buses to the park. Most time of the year the roads are closed for private cars inside the park, and visitors can use free shuttle bus service.
This trip came up spontaneously as I had to go on a business trip to Seattle area and we decided to combine work with pleasure and go on a road trip. We took 3 days to drive to Seattle along the coast, work from there for 3 days, and return exploring areas along highway 5. Since we explored Northern California multiple times already we decided to drive through this part quickly on Friday evening after work, and start our trip on Saturday morning from Red Bluff.
We wanted to fit in more into this day to have a relaxing day on Monday and get some rest before working days, however, I don't recommend doing this. Oregon coast is very beautiful, maybe even more beautiful than California but less advertised. There are so many beautiful places to explore that with our schedule we had to prioritize and spend limited time on all those stops. I would recommend to take at least 2 days to cover this part of the coast.
We started our day from visiting Tillamook Creamery. You can walk around their exhibits on your own, try their cheese or have some food and ice cream.
Since we visited Cannon Beach before we drove past it and stopped at Ecola State Park.
We hoped to have a quick drive to Seattle, however, we stuck in traffic for several hours and got to our hotel quite late.
For all the hikes I recommend installing AllTrails as it provides multiple hike options based on mileage, time, difficulty. The app also gives specific coordinates for the parking that makes navigation much easier. The most famous hike in Silver Falls state park is 8 mi long and covers 10 waterfalls, however, for people with limited time like us we found a 2 mi hike to see 2 Southern Waterfalls. The beauty of this place is that the trail goes behind the falls making it a very unique experience.
Since we've been to Seattle already (see previous post) we wanted to enjoy the big city and it's atmosphere. Seattle expanded significantly since we visited it last time. We also found out that one of our offices in Seattle has the best views from the roof so we hanged around there a lot.
And here are some of the pictures from our evening walks. On the first 2 pictures is Amazon office. See our previous post for more information about the city
For us, Ella was the best destination during this trip. There are beautiful mountains, vast tea plantations, more food options. It's worth spending even several days in that region hiking its beautiful scenery. We started the day from walking to the famous Nine Arches Bridge. If you get there late be ready for the crowds.
As you can see all bridge photos are heavily photoshopped :) In reality you can barely squeeze between tourists.
Our train to Kandy was at 2 pm so we had some time in the morning to explore something else. We decided to go to the Kithal Ella Falls that is on the way to Ella Rock. The most interesting part is that most of the way you have to walk on rails from Ella station. Once you see people selling some drinks and a small Buddha statue you'll know where you need to turn. Local people can point you in the right direction at any time as well.
After our quick stop in Europe we continued our long trip in Sri Lanka with the main objective of kitesurfing. We dedicated 3 weeks to that place hoping to master our skills, however, due to the poor weather and lagoon conditions we had to change our plans and explore the country instead.
TL;DR: If you consider visiting Sri Lanka as a tourist make sure you are prepared for some infrastructure and culture challenges, it's not the best country for the beginner travelers. Also, if you consider going there for kitesurfing I encourage you to do a proper research and talk to people who've been there.
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