I am writing this in the middle of winter, seven months pregnant. Oh, what I would give to be soaking in the sun, traveling, and enjoying summer again! We didn’t take a traditional beach-front honeymoon, but opted for one that was so uniquely perfect for us! Jared hates to fly and really doesn’t like to travel, so this was a great compromise – we would see friends, drive (not fly! for the majority of the trip), see a number of sites we had both wanted to visit, and end in Montana for a best friend’s wedding. Not to mention we were still living in the COVID-era, so there was an extra layer of difficulty when it came to flying and vacationing out of the continental US.
We kicked off our trip by flying into Phoenix on Saturday. It was an early afternoon flight, so we didn’t have to start our trip by rushing! Upon landing we met up with some friends who live in Arizona, had a yummy dinner, then stayed with them for the next two nights. On Sunday we went to the lake, had a damn good Bloody Mary and lunch, Connie and I went for a little hike, and we just hung out! It was such a nice way to start the trip – filled with friend-time and relaxation.
During the first leg of our trip I was able to get a little work done, too! Conveniently, some of our brokers and key accounts are based in Phoenix. As such, on Monday I met with our brokers and did some store checks. I got the best of both worlds – I was able to do a fun little honeymoon road trip AND I didn’t have to feel guilty about leaving work for so many days!
Once I was done with my Monday work-festivities, we loaded up and headed north! The first adventure was Devil’s Bridge, right outside Sedona. Jared didn’t want to stay in Sedona, but everything I had read about Devil’s Bridge said to get there early (to beat the heat, and to get a parking spot). Sage advice! So instead of Sedona, we stayed in Camp Verde at the Cliff Castle Casino. It was nothing spectacular, but we enjoyed a few beers, a little gambling, and were able to get on the road early the next morning.
We arrived at the Devil’s Bridge parking lot bright and shiny – one of the first ones there! We hit the trail, taking pictures and soaking in the vast openness and beauty the whole time. It warmed up quick, and we were so glad we started early. The beauty and scenery on the way to the bridge was breathtaking, only for the main feature to be even more gorgeous. I waited in line to walk out onto the bridge and get my picture taken. Jared hates heights so he opted out (it is ironic that he hates heights, yet I drug him to every cliff between Arizona and Montana…). I highly recommend this hike, but suggest you get there early and be prepared for lots of people. Especially at the bridge itself. As I mentioned there was a little wait to walk out on the bridge, but everyone was so kind and polite.
Since we got the hike wrapped up early, we jumped back in the car and headed to the Grand Canyon. It was about a 2.5 hour drive, but a gorgeous one! On the way, we made a pitstop (well, it was a bit out of the way…). But how can you pass up a visit to Winslow, Arizona?! There is a great spot on the corner for pictures (see below), and a few touristy shops nearby, otherwise it’s a pretty quiet little place. It was a spontaneous decision, but I am glad we decided to reroute and check it out while we were in the area.
On our way back to the main route, a friend suggested we stop at the Meteor Crater and Barringer Space Museum. It was an interesting little place, not normally something we would have sought out, but again, why not! We really didn’t have a strict timeframe or plan, and the fun of this trip was flying by the seat of our pants. After seeing the crater and museum, it felt a bit overhyped, but interesting nonetheless. It was fun to visit and learn about something that we wouldn’t have otherwise seen.
Back on the road, we finally arrived at the Grand Canyon mid-afternoon. Since it was summer you can imagine how crazy it was. (Summertime busyness was the one downside to this trip.) We got a lead from a couple friends to visit South Rim (vs. North Rim), and to park at the Yavapai Point and Geology Museum, in particular. The views were awesome, and the museum (although packed) was interesting. We did a quick lap through it and spent some time walking around, soaking in the views. It really is breathtaking just how big the canyon is. Another fun perk – it just so happened one of my coworkers was also on a trip and at South Rim at the same time as us! So we met up and said hi. A fun, coincidental surprise.
We didn’t do as much exploring and hiking as I would have liked, it was mostly a stop-and-see kind of adventure, but one that had been on my bucket list for years. Next time we visit I would like to either go during a less-busy time of year and do some day-long hikes, or raft down part of the river. On this visit, however, it had already been an action-packed day, we still had some ground to cover that night, and a thunder and lighting storm commenced while we were there…
Don’t get me wrong, the thunder, lighting, and rain didn’t slow me down. I still went to as many cliff edges, and saw as much of the canyon as I could. Seeing the storm roll into the canyon was awesome. The lighting and rain in the distance, hearing the thunder crack, I absolutely loved all of it. I am thankful the summer storm gave us a different kind of experience!
We decided the rain wasn’t too bad and walked about half a mile to the other gift shop. Yikes. While we got a few goodies, we had to RUN back in a torrential downpour. We were soaking (like, through all layers of clothes, dripping wet) by the time we crawled back into the car. We hopped in, cranked the heater, and headed further north. Our goal was to make it to Page that night.
The 2 – 2.5 hour drive from the Grand Canyon to Page went through the Navajo nation. Along the route there were a number of little roadside stands and knick-knacks for sale. We passed most of them, but a sign for the Little Colorado River caught our eye. With no reason not to, we decided to detour and check it out. I am SO glad we did. I thought it was almost more amazing than the Grand Canyon. We walked out to the point and looked at the river and canyon. It was beautiful, and even better because there was hardly anyone there. We were able to enjoy some quiet peace while soaking in the view. I really recommend, especially if you go to the Grand Canyon during the busy season. You can see the Grand Canyon, then drive a little further north and get equally great views, plus a little quiet bliss.
At the trailhead there was a little stand with goods, where I got some gorgeous turquoise earrings and a dream catcher. We started talking to the couple who were selling the products, and it turns out some of their relatives live up on the coast where we are from! Ah, I love that part of traveling and talking to new people.
We finally got to Page later that night and settled in. It was a busy day to say the least, and we were exhausted, ready to shower and get some sleep! We picked a generic hotel right in town, since we would only be there for a short amount of time.
The next day called for another early morning! (Much to Jared’s dismay.) While he got ready and packed, I picked up snacks and coffee in town. We loaded up and headed to Horseshoe Bend. We missed sunrise and it was starting to get warm, but it was still beautiful. There is a big parking lot at the trailhead (plenty of room!), and just a short hike to the bend. There were lots of families and you could see it gets really packed, but at the bend itself there was plenty of space to stretch out (as long as you’re not afraid to walk around and get close to the edge without a railing – not recommended for kiddos!). I loved soaking in the view, coffee in hand, and my feet dangling off the edge.
The Bend was beautiful and I would love to raft down the river next time! It is another of those landmarks that I recommend people visit if they’re in the area.
Once we were done soaking in the Bend’s beauty, we headed towards the main attraction – Zion National Park. I guess I should preface this by saying J was most hyped about visiting Zion. I had casually (maybe a little jokingly) said we could road trip to national parks for our honeymoon if COVID was still rampant… Well, watch what you say! Something about Zion had him jazzed, and by damn we were going to visit it… cue our honeymoon!
It was about a two hour drive from Horseshoe Bend, and we entered the park from the East side. We thought everywhere else was busy… nothing compared to Zion! Bumper to bumper traffic getting into, and through, the park. But, life could be worse. It was a beautiful drive and with the traffic we were able to soak in the vast scenery. For the majority of the trip we booked hotels on the fly, as it gave us some freedom and lots of flexibility. However, when it came to Zion I was having a hard time finding places near the park, and I knew it was the highlight of Jared’s trip. So when I stumbled across the lodge within the park, I booked it! I am so, so glad I did. It made all the difference for our Zion experience.
Things were a little unclear of how to get into the lodge and through the gate (only buses and lodge guests were able to drive into the trailhead/lodge area, access by code only). We ended up going to the West entrance and visitors center for more information.
Note: For visitors not staying at the lodge, they had to park at the visitor center and bus into where the lodge and trailheads were (way more challenging and limiting, especially if you have littles). Which is why I recommend staying at the lodge if you’re planning a visit!
Once we got the necessary information and direction, we got through the gate and checked in. I would recommend reading through all the instructions and doing a little research on protocol before arriving – it would have saved us some time and frustration. But, all-in-all, we were happy to arrive and absolutely loved staying there. All trailheads were within walking distance of our room, which meant we could hike whenever we wanted (no bus schedule to adhere to), and could miss some of the crowds. This was especially helpful since there was a rainstorm the afternoon we arrived. We decided to get a snack and some beer at the restaurant, and got to relax at our little cabin until the storm passed. Once the rain let up, we hit the trail! We thought we’d just do a short little hike that evening, and then a big one in the morning before heading to Montana.
Well, once we got started… we just kept going… After doing a short hike around the lodge, we ended up on the trail to Scout’s Landing (the hard hike I really wanted to do before leaving). Before we knew it, we were halfway up the trail, and figured we might as well keep going! Scout’s Landing is the last stop before using the chains to climb out to Angel’s Landing. I wanted to hike all the way out to Angel’s Landing, but there was a thunder and lighting storm rolling in, and clinging to metal chains on the top of a cliff just doesn’t sound like the smartest idea… plus this last little strip out to Angel’s Landing has huge drop offs on all sides. As I mentioned Jared doesn’t like heights, and he told me no way in hell. It was amazing he pranced around Scout’s Landing at all! It was also starting to turn to evening with the sun dropping, so best to get back before we found ourselves in pure darkness.
This hike was not for the faint of heart! Holy cow it was hard, do not attempt with littles. We certainly weren’t as prepared as we should have been, but thank goodness we were in good shape! Since we thought we were going to go for a short walk, we didn’t pack snacks or enough extra water. But, it was beautiful and made you feel so strong when you made it to the top! The switchbacks over the last mile tested every ounce of your strength and wind power. The views at the top were gorgeous, though, and I am so glad we pushed ourselves to get to the top.
When we finally made it back to the lodge, pretty much everything was closed up. Since the process wasn’t super clear we didn’t pack a bunch of food before heading into the park, and unsure of how close the next town was or the process for exiting and re-entering the park, we had a pretty hungry night. We were a little cranky (and a lot sore), but we got some rest before another long day on the road.
Before leaving Zion the next morning, we decided to take a little drive the way we had come in to soak in what we had missed. Jared really wanted to see the bighorn sheep before we left Zion, and, ask and you shall receive! We got to see a herd of these little boogers and get some good pictures. We both enjoyed this little surprise.
We headed out of the park through the West side, grabbed breakfast in a nearby town, and had Montana in our sights. With a little more time, we would have liked to visit Bryce Canyon. It is on our list for future trips!
This day (Thursday) was dedicated to covering some ground. It was calculated at about 10.5 hours without stops, but you know how that goes… it took us a bit longer than that. We traveled the length of Utah, through Idaho, the corner of Wyoming, and finally into Montana. We went through Yellowstone National Park to get to Livingston, where we would be spending the rest of our trip. We made a few stops along the way and visited a museum, but the majority of our focus was getting to Montana. Even though it was a long day of driving, we both enjoyed seeing all the beautiful country, as it is so different from here in California.
After such a long drive we opted to grab some dinner and a hotel room in Livingston. We would join our friends and stay at the rented house (with the rest of the group) the next day, but we needed a little time to regroup and rest up! I am glad we did this, we were both really tired and cranky.
The next morning we packed up and met up with our friends. Once together, we consolidated cars and headed into Yellowstone. It is no surprise that the park was packed. We visited some stinky hot springs, and walked around Old Faithful. We missed the blow, but hey, we saw the ol gal! It was a nice, sunny afternoon and we enjoyed lunch with good friends. I would like to go back and spend more time exploring and hiking, maybe during a less busy time of year.
That evening (Friday) we enjoyed the most beautiful rehearsal dinner. As I mentioned, we were there for Juliet and Justin’s wedding, and they rented a house right on the river for all of us to stay together, and for all the wedding festivities. It was perfect, intimate, and breathtakingly gorgeous. It was so nice to sit around, drink, enjoy and not have to go anywhere. Saturday we celebrated their big day. It was the perfect end to our little honeymoon road trip. We soaked in this new chapter of our life, celebrated love, and made memories we will cherish for a lifetime.
Certainly not a conventional honeymoon, but nothing about us is very conventional! And that’s just how we like it. This road trip was perfectly us, some hiccups and bumps and (thank goodness) a heavy dose of humor, but also filled with some many wonderful places. A trip we will remember forever! I would love to use this as the gold standard for our family vacations – visiting a new national park or landmark each year. I am already looking at possibilities for this coming summer with our little one…
Cheers!
Beer in a Martini World 