#travel – Of Sun and Sand

When the Canyon Whispers: A Lesson in Presence from the North Rim

We had planned to go to LA for the 4th of July this year. However, wildfires along the route forced us to change our plans. We decided to visit the North Rim of the Grand Canyon instead. I had never visited, and the chance to explore other gems along the way made the long road trip worthwhile.

It was a quiet escape to the North Rim. Nature felt untouched. The views stretched endlessly. The historic Grand Canyon Lodge hugged the rim like a secret waiting to be discovered. Nestled in pine forests, with cool breezes and golden sunsets, the resort promised a peaceful stay, and it delivered. The rustic cabins and the stillness of the nights felt timeless. The moment you walk out and see that canyon drop away is unforgettable.

And yet, just days later, we heard the heartbreaking news: the lodge had been destroyed by wildfires.

It is difficult to put into words the emotion. Shock. Grief. Gratitude. We had just been there, sipping coffee in the sun room while the baby tried out her new binoculars, watching light dance on ancient rocks. We had walked those beautiful wooden floors, attended the Junior Ranger Program (and even answered questions like a front bencher), waved to strangers as if we were all part of some secret club that got to witness something sacred.

And now it’s gone.

This experience hit me in a way I didn’t expect. It was a loud reminder of how unpredictable life is. Places, people, moments—they don’t last forever. Nature is powerful, beautiful, and, at times, unforgiving. But in that unpredictability lies the message: be present. Be present wherever you are, with whoever you are. The present never comes back.

I’m so thankful we didn’t rush through that trip, that we stayed for a day longer than we should have, appreciated beautiful sunsets, stayed up late looking at the stars, enjoyed beverages at the saloon, relished delicious dinners at the restaurant, stared at the canyons, and sat still in silence just to soak it all in. If I had known it would be the last time that lodge stood there, I wouldn’t have done anything differently, because we truly lived in the moment. I am glad we did.

Let this be a reminder: don’t wait for “someday.” Take the trip. Check things off your bucket list. Watch the sunset. Sit by the fire (not in a forest, though). Life is fleeting—make the most of it.

Underrated Arizona: A Road Trip to Hidden Gems

This past weekend, we ditched the usual tourist spots to go on a road trip through some of Arizona’s most underrated (and jaw-dropping) places. If you are looking to explore new and culturally rich sites, this itinerary could be the one for you. This trip promises you genuine Martian vibes and unforgettable colors.

Start from Phoenix, AZ, in the morning.

Stop 1: Montezuma Castle National Monument – It’s basically a five-story high-rise… built into a cliff… 900 years ago. The ancient Sinagua people knew what they were doing. The trail is short and easy (kid-friendly), so you have time to marvel at this real-life time capsule before heading back on the road.

Stop 2: Walnut Canyon – One of the trails is a stair-filled trail that leads you into a canyon sprinkled with cliff dwellings. You can also take an alternate, easier route – the Walnut Canyon Rim and Ruins Trail, which is more kid-friendly.

Stop 3: Wupatki National Monument – Here, you can see the red-rock ruins rise out of the desert like something out of a movie. You can explore ancient pueblos, learn about the Hopi and Ancestral Puebloans, and soak in the surreal Martian landscape.

Stop 4: Navajo Bridge Interpretive Center and Marble Canyon – Cross the Navajo Bridge, stare down at the mighty Colorado River, and enjoy the serenity.

Stop 5: Vermilion Cliffs – Driving alongside the Vermilion Cliffs was unreal. It is like an abstract painting. Pro tip: Do not skip the Cliff Dwellers Stone House. You may drive past by and miss the Martian experience.

We stopped for lunch at the Himalayan Grill in Flagstaff and for coffee at the Jacob Lake Inn. Jacob Lake could also be an optional stop.

We wrapped it all up at the North Rim of the Grand Canyon. Unlike the South Rim, the North Rim is not crowded and less commercialized. It is at a higher elevation and is much cooler than the South Rim. There are no public restrooms (not even at the visitor center or restaurant), and one must rely on porta potties for answering nature’s calls. For that alone, I am glad that we booked a cabin at the North Rim Grand Canyon Lodge.

You can do mule rides, camp, and hike at the North Rim. Key spots at the North Rim are Point Imperial (the highest point), Cape Royal, Cape Final, and Bright Angel Point. The sunset at Bright Angel Point was absolutely stunning. Fewer people, cooler temperatures, and the magnificent view will leave you speechless.

The trip made me realize that Arizona is a sneaky beauty. Arizona boasts a rich culture, ancient ruins, Martian-like features, stunning canyons, and colors that one will never forget. Over the last five years, I have learned to love the desert. Can’t wait to explore more hidden gems soon.

2024 in Review: Embracing Memories and Life’s Lessons

2024 ends tomorrow, and it is time to reflect upon it. I do not remember the resolutions that I made for 2024 and if I lived by them. All I remember were the beautiful moments that we spent with family and friends. Here are the highlights by month.

January 2024 – This was the toughest month of the year. Our grandmother passed away after being critically ill for a year and a half. I am glad we could meet her one final time before she passed away. We dwelled in our childhood memories. It is tough being away from the family at such times.
February 2024 – Mama A visited, and the baby was on cloud 9. Also, took a trip to Mexico for some good sun.
March 2024 – Aunts M&M visited Phoenix with families. The three siblings (N, M&M) met after four years. The baby turned 2. We packed for the temporary move.
April 2024 – We moved to Portland, OR, temporarily for 6 months. Being a PNW fan, I always wanted N and the baby to experience the summers of PNW, and my wishes were granted. We moved with our luggage, and our trunks followed. N’s employer put us in a beautiful, fully-furnished apartment, and the journey began. The baby was introduced to the color green, tulips, and rain. Beaches are beautiful when foggy. The struggle with the baby’s daycare was real.
May 2024 – May was one of the most happening months. It started with family visiting from India for Mama S’s graduation. The Kulkarni-Paranjape residence was filled with love and laughter. We took our first cruise trip as a family. We also traveled to the mountains of Washington with friends. We made beautiful memories.
June 2024 – June took us to the East Coast for our first International Cricket World Cup Match in New York! I will be eternally grateful to Mama A for taking the week off and caring for the baby while I worked. We basked in the New York vibes and explored new areas of Central Park.
July 2024 – Ofsunandsand turned a year older around her beloved friends in an Airbnb by the beach (which was not visible even when we went to the beach) with pani puri and ras malai cake in her mouth. What more can you ask for? I wanted to feel like my old self, and this trip helped.
The baby discovered how therapeutic ‘Me Time’ is and demanded the same.
August 2024 – Mama A visited, and we all took a road trip. The Oregon coast was explored. The best-smoked tomato soup was discovered.
September 2024 – We made our final visit to the beaches to pay homage to the beauty that PNW has. The baby parted ways with her best friends at daycare. We moved back to Phoenix. I could not recognize the cutlery. We had been living a minimalist lifestyle in Portland, and being back in a place with 950735636 utensils confused my tiny brain. The baby was happy to see her older toys.
We left Portland with mixed feelings. Though we loved PNW, we could not wait to move back. We missed the feeling of belongingness.
October 2024 – We spent a few days trying to place our dishes. We also spent a lot of time cleaning up things that did not fit/would never fit/were not needed – receipts, clothes, toys, and shoes. We took a spontaneous surprise trip to India. The smile on everyone’s faces was priceless.
Mom retired from her job after 35 years of employment. I realized that maybe none of us would have a retirement party like that one. Gen Y/Z have been switching jobs so often that the term ‘loyalty’ barely exists. Most of us are running the race for a higher salary and better perks. Will we meet an employer who will be loyal to us like we are loyal to them? One will never know.
November 2024 – The India trip continued and ended in the middle of the month. The annual health check-up reports were good! All of us traveled back to the USA with Tylenol down our throats. We celebrated Thanksgiving, our anniversary, and N’s birthday surrounded with love, laughter, light, and friends.
December 2024 – Things got slower. The baby had adjustment issues with her old/new daycare. We decided to start with traditions. We spent substantial effort on a Christmas tree and related decorations. I learned the concept of a ‘Christmas tree skirt.’ The train of friends, relatives, and good food halted at the house one after the other. The year will end with 4 hours of ‘sick leave’ because that is all I have left.

In hindsight, 2024 was a beautiful year. I saw some highs, some lows, some very lows, and some much-awaited comebacks. A few things I realized were that our parents are getting older and life is fragile. Make memories while you can. One must live in the moment because the present does not last forever.

Wishing you all loads of light, love, laughter, and good food in 2025. Wishing myself the ability to finish my train of thought, and complete a conversation without being interrupted, peace, snow, and pani puri in 2025. God speed.

#wontEatWillTravel – Death Valley National Park

Venue: Death valley national park
Duration: 1 or 2 days
Best time to visit: October to April
Visitor Center: Furnace Creek
Accommodation: Few hotels/motels inside. We stayed in Las Vegas, NV
Entrance fees: $30

Death Valley national park is the hottest, driest, and lowest national park in the US. It covers an area of 3.4 million acres! Despite that, you can cover the national park in a day (if you utilize the daylight well). It is barren, bold, and beautiful. It is hostile and diverse. We had only one day to spend here, so we kept away from all hikes. Please make sure you wear sunblock (for summers), have enough warm clothes (for winters), your car has enough juice to survive the day, and carry enough food for yourself. Death Valley is one of the not-so commercialized national parks. There are hardly any restaurants and gas stations inside. If you are traveling from Las Vegas, the last stop to fill in gas is Pahrump. We picked up food in Las Vegas. The route we took is as indicated in the map below.

Dante’s view: This point offers a premier outlook of the national park. It is at 5476 ft. above sea level. It gives splendid views of the Badwater basin that is 282 ft. below sea level.
20 Mule team canyon: We did not know what to expect here. It is a beautiful drive surrounded by white mudstone hills. This one-way road starts fairly wide and narrows towards the end of the canyon before joining the highway. Statutory warning: The road gets curvy later.
Zabriskie Point: This is a good sunrise point. It offers a stunning overlook of the badlands full of canyons in all directions. It is a must-visit point.
Furnace Creek Visitor Center: This is the main visitor center. It has campsites, drinking water, restrooms, and a gas station.
Artist’s palette: There are multiple attractions en route to the Badwater Basin. The hills at Artist’s palette are green, pink, and yellow due to the presence of mica, manganese and iron salts, etc. We were losing daylight, so we drove straight to the Badwater Basin.
Devil’s golf course: The valley floor surface is jagged and uneven, unlike the Badwater basin. This quick stop is necessary.
Natural bridge: This 2-mile round-trip takes you to a natural bridge (1 hour). We skipped it.
Badwater Basin: The valley floor is a salt pan and the lowest point in the US at 282 ft. below sea level. It was our sunset point for the day. The feeling was surreal. You can walk as much as you want in the basin and come back.
Mesquite Flat Sand Dunes: This was our stargazing spot.
6 PM: It felt like 9 PM. We got a good and clear view of the stars and the milky way. We spent an hour talking about the stars, the milky way, and ancient aliens.
7 PM: An animal ran across. We stood up. I turned on my flashlight and directed it to the animal. It was out of the reach of the light but stared right back at us. We decided to leave. We continued our conversation in the parking lot during dinner. Suddenly the car behind ours turned on the headlights and moved. We could see a set of the prying eyes around the vehicle. They left the spot.
On further research, we realized that we had been surrounded by a pack of kit foxes all this while! It was our first rendezvous with wildlife from up close. We left immediately.

I recommend you spend at least two days here and stay at a hotel inside the national park if possible. One can only imagine the sunrises and sunsets here. A few captured moments below.

PC: Ninad/Ankit/Me
Next: Zion National Park

#wontEatWillTravel Road trip Christmas 2020

Day 1/6

We wanted day one to be light. We left home at noon.

205 miles. 3 hours.

Punjabi Dhaba, Kingman, AZ: We stopped here for lunch. This one was a surprise. The restaurant hides behind a Love’s truck stop. You know it is an authentic Punjabi restaurant when you see Canadian truck drivers stopping for a take-out. The menu is limited but will more than satisfy your taste buds.

+85 miles. 1 and 1/2 hours.

Hoover Dam, AZ/NV: We reached this beauty a little before the sunset. All tours are closed owing to the pandemic. So, this was quick.

+38 miles. 45 minutes.

Las Vegas, NV: We went into full tourist mode and clicked a picture under the “Welcome to Fabulous Las Vegas” sign.

We stayed at Caesar’s Palace hotel for the first two nights. Despite the pandemic, Las Vegas was pretty crowded. Only a few selected businesses remain closed. We were checked for temperature before check-in. The check-in procedure took almost an hour. The room was beautiful and had a pool view! Statutory warning: Parking is a pain.

We decided to walk the strip in the evening. We also took a ride in the Linq high roller. You can practice social distancing on the ride as every pod seats only 5-6 people. It promises fantastic views for sure.

We returned to the hotel at around midnight.
Next: Death valley national park.

PC: Ninad aka The Husband

#wontEatWillTravel Road trip – Christmas 2020

Almost 2000 miles. 6 days. 4 states. 4 national parks. The greatest road-trip of all times.

Ankit is visiting! My boys met each other for the first time.
Ankit and I hadn’t been to this part of the US yet. So, we decided to take a road trip to major destinations in and around Arizona. The destinations were a good mix of places we had visited earlier as well as new ones.
This post only outlines the trip. The upcoming posts shall go through all the days/national parks in detail.

Day 1:
Punjabi Dhaba, Kingman, Arizona (Must visit)
Hoover dam, Arizona/Nevada
Las Vegas, Nevada
Night @ Las Vegas

Day 2:
Death Valley National Park, California
Night @ Las Vegas, Nevada

Day 3:
Zion National Park, Utah
Night @ Page, Arizona

Day 4:
Horseshoe bend, Arizona
Bryce Canyon National Park, Utah
Night @ Page, Arizona

Day 5:
Lake Powell, Page, Arizona
Bearizona, Williams, Arizona
Grand Canyon National Park, South Rim, Arizona
Night @ Grand Canyon National Park, Arizona

Day 6:
Grand Canyon National Park, South Rim, Arizona
Home Sweet Home.

A few tips if you are going on a road trip during the winters:
1. Clothing: You may need to wear layers. It can get windy, cold, and snowy.
2. Hiking: The major hikes may be closed during the winters. In the event you decide to take the trails that are open during the winters, I would recommend hiking/snowshoes and gear.
3. Gas: Across Arizona and Utah there are stretches with absolutely no civilization. Make sure your gas tank is always full.
4. Food/Drinks: We had a cooler bag full of adult/non-adult beverages at all times. We carried a month-worth of snacks as well. Most restaurants shut down at 9 PM. Depending on where you go you would want to check ahead and schedule accordingly.
5. Stay: We stayed at Caesar’s Palace in Vegas, Marriott at Page, and Yavapai Lodge at Grand Canyon. I’d recommend going for lodges inside the national parks if you can.
We changed plans on the go and ended up traveling a lot more than we should have. For example, Bryce Canyon and Zion were last minute additions. Had we planned better, we would have stayed at Kanab (a place between both the national parks) rather than driving down to Page for the night.
6. Please mind the road closures.
7. Spontaneous changes are good. Make sure you have enough fuel for it.
8. We tried to see sunrises, sunsets, and do star-gazing wherever we went. We are sunset-chasers. So, we made sure all the sunsets were picturesque.
9. Don’t approach the wildlife. If you suspect wildlife is around you, excuse yourself. (Story in the upcoming posts)
10. Make sure your team has more than one driver. The more the merrier.
11. Try to drive as little as possible between two consecutive destinations. That saves time and miles.
12. With the sun setting earlier during winters, try to maximize the daylight.
13. We preferred not to spend time at breakfast and lunches. So, they were always on the go. This helped us utilize the daylight better. We made a point to return to the hotel by 8-9 PM. So, our dinners were relaxed and we could call it a day early.
14. Don’t try to pack a lot in a few days. Keep it relaxing.
15. Please download offline maps. None of our phones had a network for long hours.
16. Make sure you have phone chargers in your car.
17. Mind the speed limits. We saw innumerable speed traps, especially in smaller cities.
18. The sun is brutal even during the winters. Make sure you have a pair of sunglasses.