Pages

Sunday, October 20, 2013

Grand [Canyonless] Adventure

Post-Race "Active Recovery"

We crawled through a natural cave at Snow Canyon state park near St. George.   We only went part-way, before we turned back.  We only had one light among us three, and it was hard to see which way you were supposed to go.  It was really cool and scary at the same time.  Parts of it were very narrow.

 
Snow Canyon was probably my favorite of all the parks, because of the diversity of trail types and rock formations that you could find there.
 
 
 
Zion national park was closed because of the Gov shutdown, but people could still drive through.  One day, I hope to go back, to explore "The Subway".
 
 
Monument Valley wasn't closed, since it's on tribal lands.  It's so distinctive and incredible to see those natural moments sitting out in the middle of desert.
 
 
Canyon de Chelley was still open for driving.  The White House trail led to pueblo ruins!
 
 
 
Sedona, AZ, was a nice city.  We stopped by a craft beer store and a vegan restaurant - win and win.  It also has lots of good hiking.  Cathedral Rock has incredible views at the top.  There's also a secret side-trail that is super-windy.
 
 
It actually snowed while we were in Flagstaff, AZ!  It never snows this early in the year.  It's crazy, that our car was covered in red desert dust one day and a blanket of snow the next.
 
 
On our way back to Vegas, we drove along Route 66 and stopped at Oatman, AZ, where wild burros, descendants of the ones released in the mining days, roam free.
 
 
 
Finally, we ended the trip with a day in Vegas.  I'll take natural beauty over Vegas any day.
 

 
 


 

No comments: