Desert Roamin' in Arizona
Making the trip to Arizona has always been something my boyfriend & I have wanted to do. We had tossed around the idea in the past but never actually sat down to make it happen. BUT…this time, we did it. It’s funny because after talking about it for so long the actual process of booking/planning the trip took about 20 minutes. It was a lot easier than we expected but then again, we pretty much had a good idea of what we wanted to do and the places we wanted to visit so the planning process went smoothly.
We decided to start off spending the first night in an Airbnb not far from Phoenix in a town called New River and proceed to drive through the state stopping at different cities along the way. We stopped in Jerome, Sedona, Flagstaff (which was my favorite), the Grand Canyon, and our last stop was in Page. The most interesting thing about Arizona is that each city had its own feel and changes SO much as you drive along. You go from the oven-like heat of Phoenix to the cool evenings in Flagstaff that were below 50 degrees. It was amazing to watch the desert with massive cacti slowly transition into tall pine trees and mountains. I really never knew how diverse the landscape was in Arizona and it was pretty impressive to see. Since we did so much in the 5 days that we were there, I decided to try and write a little blurb about each city and what we did to keep it short and sweet.
Phoenix- Well, I must say that Phoenix was probably my least favorite place in Arizona only because of the extreme heat. (No offense Phoenix) Otherwise it was really nice! I’m sure the heat is something that you get used to but 105 degrees in early September was a little too much for me to handle. My boyfriend and I kept referring to the heat like the feeling of opening the oven when you’re baking something. That’s what the air felt like in Phoenix! Ha-ha or perhaps like walking with a blow dryer pointing at your face the entire time? It was definitely a mixture of the two of those things. Never the less, we made our way over to the Desert Botanical Garden in Phoenix which was absolutely gorgeous even though we only stayed for about 25 minutes due to the overwhelming heat of mid-day. It probably wasn’t the best time to visit (which was our fault) but we were only in Phoenix for one day so we wanted to make the best of it. Despite melting in the heat, i'd have to say my favorite thing about Phoenix in particular was the giant cacti that were ALL over the place. This really excited me to see them everywhere since the only cacti I see at home on Long Island are located on my windowsill.
Jerome- Jerome was a place that my boyfriend had read about and wanted to stop by and I am glad we did. This city in Arizona is over 5,000 feet above sea level and used to be a copper mining town. The views were absolutely incredible here! The town had several restaurants and tons of cute shops and historic sites to check out. This is actually where we bought most of our souvenirs. The shops had a lot of locally made art (which I loved) like ceramics and tons turquoise jewelry.
Sedona- This is a place that I have heard a lot about from people who have been there and told me how absolutely gorgeous it is. Well, they certainly weren’t wrong. The views in Sedona almost didn’t seem real. The red rock cliffs in the distance seemed like a fake backdrop or a giant movie screen. Definitely not something us Long Islanders are used to seeing in the background of a small town, so my boyfriend and I were pretty impressed. Despite the town being small there are tons of places to eat and lots of shops to buy souvenirs. At one point while we were walking around the town we met a man who had tanks of reptiles along the sidewalk and was letting people hold some of the critters. Being a huge fan of animals this made me very happy and I chose to hold a sweet little snake who’s name happened to be Barbara. I know a lot of people aren’t the biggest fan of snakes but they do not bother me and I’m glad I got to meet her.
Before leaving this lovely little town we took a sunset tour to ancient ruins with Pink Jeep Tours and it was AWESOME. It was just us and another couple so we really got the full attention of the tour guide and learned some pretty amazing things about the history of Sedona and Arizona in general. The tour guide drove us down some pretty bumpy/steep dirt roads up to a place called Honanki. This is where an ancient civilization used to live within the cliff side. It was amazing to still see there drawings on the cliff walls and see the black charred rock from their campfires from hundreds of years ago. If you are ever in Sedona I would definitely recommend taking one of the Pink Jeep Tours.
Flagstaff- Even though we were only there to spend the night it was definitely my favorite city in Arizona. You honestly did not feel like you were in the desert. The town was very busy with lots of places to eat (which was amazing because we were starving.) The air was VERY cool at night and felt like a typical fall evening in upstate New York which was a lovely break from the extreme heat we were experiencing in other places. We stayed in a super cool Airbnb that was surrounded by mountains, tall green trees and lots of beautiful wild flowers. Flagstaff is most definitely a place I could see myself living in and gave us a nice little break from the desert heat. We were sad to have to leave so quickly.
Grand Canyon National Park- Well what can I say? I honestly do not have many words that can describe this place properly. You really just feel overwhelmed looking at it. Seeing it in photos does not do it any bit of justice. The Grand Canyon is just a place that you MUST see in person to really experience the feeling that it gives you. The park is massive with endless overlooks (some fenced in and some not). Luckily if you’re terrified of heights like I am, you really don’t have to be tiptoeing on the edge at the Grand Canyon to get a good look at the views. It just there, right in front of you and goes on and on and on, so you can enjoy the beauty safely from a distance. I did however find it in me to go up to the guardrail and look over. (Woo-hoo!)
Once you park your car there are tons of shuttle buses that will take you to each of the different viewpoints and overlooks and then back to the visitor’s center when you’re finished. Some of the stops have a bathroom, which is good, and the very last stop had a place to re-fill your water and get refreshments. All I can say, if you have not made it to the Grand Canyon yet…please go. It will leave you speechless.
Upper Antelope Canyon & Horseshoe Bend (Page) – Upper Antelope Canyon was hands down my favorite place that we visited on our trip through Arizona. This slot canyon is located on Navajo land in the city of Page, Arizona and is one of those places you MUST visit. To say it was magical is an understatement. This is another place that you have to be there to really understand how amazing it is and to finally be there in person was a pretty amazing experience. We booked the tour for the Upper part of Antelope Canyon ahead of time through the Antelope Canyon Navajo Tours. After doing some research on Antelope Canyon while booking the tour we were pretty nervous that it was going to be really busy and chaotic but it was actually very organized and not THAT crowded. Your Navajo tour guide drives each group (ours was about 8 people) 11 minutes into the desert towards the mouth of the canyon where you get out and walk through slowly. Our tour guide was amazing; he took his time explaining everything about the canyon and was happy to take photos of us wherever we wanted them. This was definitely one of the most gorgeous places I have ever been.
After Antelope Canyon we headed over to Horseshoe Bend scenic overlook since they are only a few minutes from one another. We thought it was cool that you did not have to pay to get in to look at Horseshoe bend but the parking situation was a little hectic. It seemed that a lot of other people wanted to look at Horseshoe bend also haha. Once you park you do have walk a bit to get to the over look but its worth it. The walk probably just seemed long to us due to the heat. Unfortunately, my extreme fear of heights inhibited me from really enjoying the full beauty of Horseshoe Bend. The cliff drops straight down and has no guardrails so you basically have to be standing directly on the edge (or very close to it) if you want to get a good look at the full horseshoe. From where I was comfortable standing, I could only see about half of it. Thankfully my boyfriend is not as terrified of heights as I am and was able to get close enough to the edge to help me get a few beautiful photos of it. My recommendation is if you are afraid of heights and wont be able to get close to the edge, this might not be the best place for you because you won’t get to see the full view. Unless of course you are with someone who can snap the photo for you. Regardless, it was still a beautiful place and a fun experience!
During our excursions in Page we also made a stop at Lake Powell and crossed the state border over into Utah to explore around there a bit. Unfortunately our trip had to come to a close after 2 lovely days in Page and we needed to drive the 4 hours back to Phoenix to get ready to head back home. I really could go on and on about how much I loved Arizona. It was truly a beautiful state and an amazing place to visit. I’m glad that we finally got this trip in the books...on to the next!
“The Desert is calling & I must go.”