A couple of summers ago, my friend, Pam, and I went to Northern Arizona. I had been quite a few times before, but she never had. Being slightly OCD with traveling, I made up a little itinerary for our quick weekend trip.
We saw two major things in one day - not really recommended, but we were on a very tight schedule. In the morning, we drove up to the Grand Canyon with her cousin. The drive itself took a lot longer than the time we actually spent walking around the top of the canyon. That's the thing about seeing the Grand Canyon from the rim - once you've seen it, you've seen it. It's grand, but not very variant. I've heard that going down into the canyon is a more exciting experience, so we'll definitely have to do that next time. I do recommend seeing that view at least once. It is breathtaking, and then you can say that you have.
We drove back to our hotel in Flagstaff to take a little lunch break, then took the rest of the day to experience Sedona. The drive is really beautiful, but also kind of treacherous! Not a good idea for a night drive.
We first stopped at Slide Rock State Park. Fun, cold, and slippery! Unfortunately, since we got there later in the day, we only had like 30 minutes to slide, but it was well worth it! Do be careful, though; we saw and experienced lots of slips and falls. You could wear swim shoes that grip really well, otherwise, bare feet are the best option. It's a pretty exhilarating experience having the natural force of that chilly water glide you down the river. I would recommend making this stop earlier in the day so you can experience it more than we were able to!
We walked around the touristy shopping center in Sedona, right at the edge of town. We looked through a few stores, The Sedona Fudge Company being one of them (it smelled like heaven). The sun was starting to set, so we decided to head back. There are very few things more beautiful than the sun settling on those red rocks at sunset.
Luckily, we got past the winding part of our drive before the sun actually went down, but driving through the woods is just as scary, especially when you see glowing eyes!
We had to leave the following day, but before we left, we explored the NAU campus (a weird habit of mine is checking out college campuses. I don't know why, I just like architecture and landscaping and education, haha). I especially love campuses in small, mountain towns because there's so much more beauty!
We had to leave the following day, but before we left, we explored the NAU campus (a weird habit of mine is checking out college campuses. I don't know why, I just like architecture and landscaping and education, haha). I especially love campuses in small, mountain towns because there's so much more beauty!
We also had lunch at Salsa Brava, before finally hitting the road. I got coconut shrimp, which was really yummy!
We took a pit stop off of Route 66, at the Grand Canyon Caverns. It's this really cool place where you take a guided tour down an elevator and into a cave. You see some very old, natural structures and hear stories about the history of the caverns. The tour guides are usually pretty hilarious, and the tour is definitely worth checking out at least once! I think I remember they used to do the tours basically in the dark, and it was even more awesome and just a tad bit scarier. I hear they even offer ghost tours of the caverns now, so check out that if you're brave(r than me)!
I also remember, when I was really little, I got rock candy for the very first time at their gift shop. So I got a couple more this time!
Only a couple of weeks after summer school ended and a couple weeks before the regular semester started, driving home meant back to the grind. The only difference - this semester would start our last year of college and would also wind up being my favorite semester. Though, I wouldn't have known that before those much needed days away.
As always, enjoy this short video of our adventures! Sorry it's so shaky!