Arizona- Phoenix, Sedona, and of course the Grand Canyon! The idea for the trip was born during spring break of 2016. I was on a road trip with Leah and we were traveling from Rhode Island to North Carolina, to visit my dad. We spent the week hiking, cooking, and driving all over NC. Shout out to Asheville and the Blue Ridge Parkway, we fell in love with you during that trip.
On the way home we drove the Skyline Drive through Shenandoah National Park. It was the first national park (!!!) we had been to together and it was epic. We left NC around 3am and made it to the park before it was open. There was no one to be found. We drove for hours our only company the hills of Virginia and our music playing through our car speakers. You can watch a video from that trip here.
After we finished the drive we were buzzing with an unreal energy. We instantly wanted to go onto the next thing, on the next big trip. Unfortunately, we had to head straight back to school. So for the next 6 hours we decided to plan the next big trip.
We decided on Arizona for Spring Break 2017. We wanted to go big so we did just that. When we got back to school we recruited our friends and started planning.
The Logistics
Five People. Seven Days.
Dates: March 11-18-2017
Flights: Booked in May 10 months before we were leaving
Cost 350$ round trip
Hotel: 124$ / person
Howard Johnson: two queen beds, one full, two rooms. Breakfast included.
Rental Car: 135$ / person
GMC Acadia aka Rita
Total: 609$
Costs not included:
Food: Ate out twice, breakfast included in hotel price, ate a lot of cliff bars and PB&J
Gas: Each person paid for two fill ups (About 45$)
The Trip!
Saturday
March 11th was the big day. We had waited, and waited, and finally it was here. Our flight was at 7am out of Boston which meant we were leaving Rhode Island at 3am. We parked the car with "Select" which I would not recommend. We didn't run into trouble with them until the way home.
We ate breakfast in the airport and then had a layover in Chicago before our flight to Phoenix. Once we landed at Sky Harbor we went to go get our rental car. The car we originally selected was unavailable so we got an automatic upgrade to a GMC Acadia, we named her Rita.
After landing in Phoenix and getting the car there was only one thing on our minds. In-N-Out. None of us had been before, it was life changing, and cheap!
After filling up on lunch we headed to the hotel in Flagstaff about a two hour drive north. We checked in, got settled and unpacked, then headed out to the grocery store. After shopping we dropped everything off at the hotel then headed to dinner. We found an amazing pizza shop in downtown Flagstaff called Nimarco's Pizza. After dinner we went back to the hotel and got ready for the next day.
Sunday
Sunday was a big day. We were doing our first hike and exploring Sedona! We were pumped.
We spent the day hiking Devils Bridge, grabbing coffee at the Pink Java Cafe, going to the Sedona Airport Overlook (one of the vortex's!) and then headed to the Amitabha Stupa & Peace Park.
Sunday was a big day and there's two posts all about it! To check them out click the buttons below.
Monday
Monday was our first day in the Grand Canyon and it was epic. We had originally planned to only spend one day in the park but after experiencing it we knew we couldn't go home only seeing it once.
The first time I had been to the GC 1 was in elementary school and my parents were pulling me back from the ledge the entire time. Rightfully so- around 12 people die in the park every year.
This time around I was here with my friends from college on our first big trip without our parents. There's so much I could say about it but instead I'll just link the blog post I wrote about it. To view the post click the button below!
Tuesday
Tuesday we took a break from hiking and did the trek out to Horseshoe Bend and The Four Corners. I say trek because it was a two hour drive to Horseshoe Bend & then another 3 hours out to The Four Corners then a 5 hour drive back to Flagstaff. In this part of Arizona there is nothing. The majority of the drive is through the Navajo Reservation.
Horseshoe Bend is amazing and pictures do not do it justice. The Four Corners is fun but definitely the type of place you only need to go to once.
Wednesday
Wednesday we did some more driving but this time we were headed to Petrified National Park! Wooohoooo! Rocks on Rocks on Rocks. You can check out all the pictures of Petrified below.
Thursday
Thursday was spent in the Grand Canyon. We literally couldn't get enough of it. This time we traded in a hike to walk more of the rim and see other parts of the canyon. We watched another sunset, flashed the GC, and set up the hammocks. It was a day to be remembered. To read all about it click below!
Friday
Friday was our last full day in AZ and was spent riding through Sedona in the back of a jeep! It was Pink Jeep Tour day waaahoo. If you have the chance to do one of these it's worth the money! After riding around in the dessert we took dinner recommendations from our guide then headed back to the hotel. We traded in our hiking boots and shorts for dresses and button ups. One of our parents graciously paid for our dinner- thanks Barb and Steve! We ate on the restuarants giant porch and watched the sunset while we ate dinner. They even provided blankets! The restaurant was called Creekside and had the most amazing Peach Cobbler. Seriously...to die for.
Saturday
Saturday we flew home from Arizona. Our flight was at 8am but we had to leave Flagstaff around 330am to have enough time to return the rental car and travel back down to Phoenix. It was the trip of a lifetime.
As always thanks for reading! Continue to adventure on and #livefulllivehard