All in Arizona
Flagstaff, Arizona
Our first stop on this grand adventure was to the charming little town of Flagstaff, which served as an excellent base for exploring the surrounding area during this portion of our trip. For a small town, Flagstaff was rich with the amenities of a large city such as an airport, railroad, highways, museums, malls, theaters, name brand retailers, excellent restaurants, ample nightlife and even a major university.
Slide Rock State Park
Oak Creek Canyon, Arizona
Driving down the scenic Highway 89A on a daytrip from Flagstaff, we made our way to this hidden treasure and local favorite in the heart of Oak Creek canyon. Slide Rock State Park is known by that name because of a natural waterslide that cuts through a channel of red rock where you’ll often find locals sun tanning, picnicking, swimming and sliding down the creek’s smooth surface. It also happens to be the site of the historic Pendley homestead and apple orchard. We had so much fun walking around the orchard while gazing up at the impressive mountains and spending some time to appreciate the simple pleasures of this natural wonder. Most exciting of all was that during our visit to Slide Rock State Park, we received the news from the genetic testing lab that we were to expect a healthy baby boy! (Prior to that we didn’t know the sex).
A huge thanks to our friend Katy from Flagstaff for this recommendation!
The next stop on our trip was to the much renowned overlook of Horseshoe Bend. After hiking for almost a mile from the parking lot in the unforgiving desert sun, we arrived to the lookout point situated on the cliff’s edge and caught a remarkable view of the Colorado River below. Had it not been for the infernal heat, we could easily have spent an entire afternoon here, watching the boats circle around the peninsula and taking in the majestic views of the river and canyon below. It was amazing to see such a dichotomy between the arid landscape of our immediate surroundings and the fertile environment with trees growing on the river banks way below.
Please note, entrance to the parking lot at Horseshoe Bend costs $10 per vehicle and the only bathrooms available are located in the parking lot.
This UNESCO World Heritage Site is so vast, its imagery so poetic and its grandeur so physically imposing that it was impossible to capture it on camera as our human eyes perceived it to be and even now we struggle to capture it with our words. As such, we earnestly believe that everybody should make this trip at some point in their lifetime (circumstances permitting) so as to marvel at the magnificent beauty of the Grand Canyon for themselves. Click here to read helpful tips if you are planning a visit.
Our road trip began in Phoenix (Arizona), inside a desert valley tinged with the quintessential beige and yellow setting that was to be expected and decorated with the most peculiar breed of cacti (Saguaro). Driving north from Phoenix, we were enchanted by the way that the landscape transformed in what can only be described as a blend of both desert, forest and fertile rock valleys. Bears, deer, elk, pine trees, snow capped mountains and rocky creeks were the norm in Flagstaff (Arizona) and the surrounding area as was the much cooler temperature. However, further north as we approached the Grand Canyon, the land reverted to a quasi-desert, with rocky ground and thorny shrubs dotting the landscape. Continuing north along the border and into Utah the land turned once more into a desert, with not a tree in sight. Finally, after some hours of driving into Utah at an elevation of 8,000 ft. (2.40 km), the land changed once more to a series of flat plains, interrupted by vast and fertile canyons.
Come along for the ride as we share some helpful tips while recounting our epic road trip throughout Northern Arizona and Utah.
