WoW 8: Wrapping up the year with dessert…I mean in the desert.

This year wasn't all that travelers hoped for, yet in some kind of sick and twisted way it was. People got out and explored all of the beautiful terrains and glistening lakes and oceans that mother nature has to offer rather than concrete jungles. Maybe this is the push that brings our world to the tipping point where we ALL decide to SAVE what's left.

What we learned this year was traveling is really important. It's good for the mind, body and soul. We ended up traveling more this year than we thought we would. We took precautions, quarantined before and after, and had a blast. We started our trip to Thailand with the U.S pretending the virus didn't exist, and came back to a destroyed country on multiple accounts. We were able to get out to Oregon to see our family and a surprise visit from a close friend. This not only raised our spirits in these trying times, but it raised theirs and you can't put a price on that. We FINALLY made it to the Upper Peninsula of Michigan which was absolutely gorgeous. Then ended our year in the deserts of Arizona...

We arrived in Arizona at around 10:00PM MST time, 12:00AM our (EST) time. We weren't able to leave the airport until around 11:45PM MTN time, 1:45AM our time due to some issues with car rentals. We finally arrived at our BnB at around 1:45AM MTN time, 3:45AM our time... If you know us…we are not ones to stay up late so this was a big deal. As we drove into what seemed like a black hole for 2 hours to Sedona we had no idea what we were going to wake up to. We could barely tell what our BnB looked like. Little did we know, we had driven into a mini paradise that provided a view from anywhere within the city limits. The BnB, Sunset Chateau, also surprised us with a new freshly served breakfast each morning as well as other great accommodations that we wouldn't have gotten at a traditional hotel or even Airbnb. The decorations made us feel right at desert. We were pumped to have stumbled across it. Oh, and the view of the Sedona red rocks was right outside our window.

A couple of things we didn't know about Sedona, well pretty much everything.

1.You can see the Red Rocks from anywhere in the city

2. They have great coffee

3. They have great food

4. There are dozens of hikes for all levels within a 15 minute drive.

During this trip we were able to connect with some long lost friends of ours and it couldn't have been better timing. They were our tour guides for the day. We had some fantastic pastries and coffee at the Kickstand Kafe, explored the Devil's Bridge, and had no regrets at the Sedona Beer Co. Although the brewery had one of our favorites displaying in their toilet (pictured below), we still thoroughly enjoyed the food and brews (Well I did, Tara can’t drink). 10 out of 10 would recommend. The Devil's Bridge was pretty spectacular as well. As you wait in the long line to get on the bridge as only a few can be on at a time, you start to get a little nervous looking at the narrow width of the rock with a pretty sizable fall below if you lost your footing. You also have a long opportunity to look into an endless canyon of trees and a polarizing view of towering red rocks. Once you actually get on the bridge, you realize that it's not as scary as it looks and there's some room for error.

Unfortunately we only had a day and a half to explore Sedona, but on the way out we walked the Fay Canyon trail. This was a nice leisurely stroll with epic views. While it sucked to leave Sedona so abruptley, the drive to our next destination in Flagstaff was unreal. We drove through the red rocks and down winding roads with snow falling overhead making it the picture perfect quest. And yes, it snowed. There was as much snow in Flagstaff as there was back in Michigan. And guess what, it was even colder!

Side note - Many national and state parks prohibit the use of drones… I thought that I could get way cooler pictures and videos this trip with my drone than with our camera… since it was a quick trip, I only brought the drone (Palm to Face). The times I could get my drone out, the wind would just blow it away.

The Grand Canyon was our sole purpose of this trip. For the past year we have been trying to make it out to the Grand Canyon to finalize the wishes of a person dear to our hearts. Our previous attempt was cancelled due to COVID. Our original plan would have been longer, and hit more destinations, but we were happy with the outcome regardless. This lead us to Flagstaff which seemed like a normal town with tons of food and coffee options. Other than the small downtown area we walked around, and coffee shops we consumed caffeine from we didn't see much.

Flagstaff was really our portal to a quicker drive to the Grand Canyon. Well… it was supposed to be quick. The last 2 miles into the Southern Rim of the Grand Canyon took about 3 hours due to icy roads. Apparently, there was a section where cars were sliding backwards. Anyway, when we finally made it to the canyon and to canyon views, we could tell it would be epic, but it was really hard to see anything because of the snowy storm clouds . What we could see had a great contrast of reds and whites that seemed to go on for miles. The longer we were there the more we could see. We decided to walk the icy Rim Trail as it was the safest option considering the slick and ice covered conditions. Near the end of the trail we walked out to the canyon where we decided this would be a spot to remember and took some time just taking in the vast openness. A few short minutes later the clouds started to clear from the canyon, and small glimpses of sun began to peak through the bed of clouds. As we walked back to the main canyon area each viewpoint got more and more clear. We finally were able to see how Grand this Canyon was. Delays, ice, and snow, we wouldn't have done it any different. It was a rare beautiful site that marked the end of our quick desert trip and like dessert, we wanted more. We would eventually like to make our way back and see the northern portion of the canyon maybe without snow and venture further along to Utah.