I’m not sure what inspired my Arizona trip but I’m so glad it happened. For what ever reason I was excited about the trip up until the day I had to fly out. That day I became apathetic and prepared myself to be disappointed. I was not, not in the slightest.
09/17/19
My trip was off to a rough start because my flight was 2 hours delayed due to mechanical issues with the plane. I was annoyed and anxious because I had a car rental reservation and they were expecting me at a specific time. I tried contacting them but the only way to do that was through email which obviously isn’t fast enough so this added to my annoyance. Eventually I made it to Phoenix and picked up my car rental with no issues. After getting settled into my Airbnb, I went out to a local brewery, Angels Trumpet Ale House. I ordered a flight of beer and loosely planned out the rest of my week. The next morning I went on a tour of Roosevelt Row Arts District. Since I was the only one on the tour, my guide and I had more time to get to know each other and take pictures. He’s a Native American man born and raised in Phoenix. He’s traveled and lived in more countries than I knew was humanly possible. As you can imagine he was full of interesting, unique stories. He made my experiences look minuscule in comparison. I was blown away by the street art and the fact that all of it came from somebody’s brain. After the tour ended, I ate breakfast and headed north to Flagstaff, AZ.
Flagstaff is only a 2 hour drive from Phoenix but 30° colder because its elevation is 6,000 miles above sea level. The drive seemed much quicker than expected because the scenery on the way was incredible. Also I sang the entire time so that helped too. I booked a 2 day stay at Grand Canyon Hostel. I dropped my bags and walked to a brewery next door. If you haven’t noticed already, the first thing I do in every new city is visit a craft brewery. I didn’t drink much but I got tipsy because of the elevation. I walked back to my hostel to let my drunkenness subside and met my bunk mate Thomas. Thomas was only in town for the day and told me of his grand plan to drive to Area 51 the next day. We had a great discussion about aliens and government conspiracies. Hopefully he didn’t get shot by a government official. Anyway, I decided to take a walk around the town to get a better feel for the city. It had a small town vibe during the day. There were tons of small shops mostly selling crystals and Native American memorabilia. It became lively at night though and the streets were filled with 20 somethings. This makes sense considering there was a college campus nearby. I did some solo bar hopping before calling it a night.
09/18/19
The following morning I drove 2 hours to the Grand Canyon. The moment I arrived I began crying because of how beautiful it was. This was a phenomenon created by nature over millions of years. The thought of that simply overwhelmed me. The plan was to hike down the South Kaibab trail. Since I haven’t hiked or ran much in a few years, I wanted to take it easy. I only walked 2 miles down to the Ooh Aah Point. On the way down I encountered people hiking up that were struggling tremendously. Many were gasping for air and I witnessed one person vomiting. They were clearly unprepared for this hike and I was secretly judging them. I spent a couple hours enjoying the views, mingling with the people there, and watching mule tours travel up and down this narrow path. I found a spot to sit and relax, then started munching on the snacks I brought with me. This is when a tiny squirrel ran up from behind a rock to engage with me. I was startled and yelled out “oh shit!”. The dozens of people around me got a good laugh out of it. After my squirrel attack I decided it was time to hike back up. It was way more strenuous than I expected. Halfway up I was already exhausted. The steepness combined with the elevation made things difficult. Suddenly I was gasping for air like the same people I judged on my way down. It only took me two hours to get back up but it felt like an eternity. I hopped in my rental and headed back to Flagstaff overjoyed about my experience but glad it was over.
09/19/19
The plan the next day was Antelope Canyon followed by Horseshoe Bend, both of which are on Navajo land in Page, Arizona. The only way to see Antelope Canyon is through a tour so I booked it months in advance for peace of mind that it won’t be sold out when I arrived. I arrived an hour early, or so I thought, to confirm my booking. This is when an employee informed me I was two hours early. This land apparently has a different time zone than the rest of Page. It was confusing. With this extra time I figured I might as well visit Horseshoe Bend now rather than later. It was only a 15 minute drive away so it worked out. After a short hike, I spent an hour and a half staring at the river flowing through this massive rock formation. I lost track of time and realized I was going to be late for my tour. I made it back with minutes to spare. My tour guide led a group of 7 of us to the canyon entrance. We introduced ourselves and to my surprise I was the only American on this tour. The other 6 were from Australia, Spain, and South Korea respectively. The entrance was so crowded with other tour groups I couldn’t help but wonder how this could be enjoyable. As the tour progressed though, the crowd began to thin out until it was only us. I couldn’t stop touching the smooth curves on this narrow pathway. There was sunlight rays beaming through and reflecting off the rocks. The level of serenity in that moment is difficult to put into words. This experience was also a reprieve from the intense Arizona heat. It was cool, both literally and figuratively. After exiting the canyon, I drove 4 hours back to Phoenix to rest before my final day in Arizona.
09/20/19
My day began with meeting my friend Vanessa for breakfast, whom I’ve known for 10 years but never met until that moment. We became friends through Twitter in 2009 and kept in touch since then. We reminisced on old times, shared stories, and expressed excitement for future travel plans. When it was time to pay for our meal, I reached for my wallet, and she jokingly threatened to stab me with a fork for trying to pay. We laughed as she footed the bill. We hugged and I promised to return to see her again. I still had time to spare before my flight so I went to a nearby brewery. After a couple beers I went to Tempe Beach Park where I sat under a shaded tree reflecting on my trip and viewing the pictures I’d taken. Later I headed to the airport.
As I exited the rental car and walked towards my terminal, I took one final look back at the car that allowed me to create so many memories. An intense sadness came over me because the fun was over. This mountainous desert, also known as Arizona, will forever be etched in my memory.
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