Saturday we woke up ready to tackle the day. Our first stop was the dam. I had heard there was one there, and on our way to Denny's the night before, we noticed lights from afar and realized we were only a few minutes away from it! We found a vista point that we could park at and thought it would be a quick jump-out-snap-photo moment. Little did we know it was going to be another incredible view! There were stairs leading down and we found out we were looking at Glen Canyon. It was windy, much more than I expected. There were sudden bursts of wind so bad that it would toss up the gravel and we had to shield our faces until it passed. My contact lenses felt like sandpaper every time I blinked! I tried to do a little Stop, Drop and Yoga, but the wind was a little too strong. I'm not known for being the most graceful, so I didn't want to risk falling into the canyon. The view, however, was another stunner.
Marisa thought up the idea to try planking on one another. Thanks to the random guy who took this photo for us!
I am not afraid of heights but this was scary!
After we had our fill of photos (I'm pretty sure we could have stayed longer), we went back to the reservation to see if we could make the tour to Antelope. We were in luck! We had some waiting to do and it was COLD!!! I'm not one to complain about cold weather, I actually prefer it, but man, I was so glad I bought another pair of leggings and a scarf! When we got called for the tour, we piled into the back of a truck that drove us out for what seemed like a really long time. At this point, I didn't know what to expect, I knew it was going to be awesome!
That's supposed to be a bear, not sure I see it...
We walked into a slot in the canyon and from the outside, it didn't seem like there was much to look at. But inside, WOW! When you looked up, you could see these amazing formations cut into the rock by years and years of rainfall. Our tour guide, Kyle, explained that his great grandmother had discovered the canyon. How true that was? I don't know, but it sounded cool. He showed us how to take the best photos using the filter settings on our phones and showing us where to stand to get the best photos. We even got a little yoga time in there. At one point, we had an audience watching us doing our stacked plank pose. It was kind of neat.
The heart of the canyon.
Abraham Lincoln!
King Kong!
We had a little audience! Can you spot the toddler?
The entire tour lasted a little over an hour because of all the photo taking and stopping to talk, although it would probably only take about 15 minutes to walk through and back. There was actually quite a lot of people there, considering it was not peak season and not the best weather, I couldn't imagine what it's like when its busy! I can't believe how beautiful the formations and crevices in the rock looked. It's amazing what Mother Nature does.
The only sunbeam I caught!
"Let me help you." - Ani
The ride back.
We had seen what we came to see in Arizona (or so we thought) and we were ready to make our way to Las Vegas to visit my best friend, Wendy. It worked out perfect to stay at her house Saturday night so it would break up our long-ass drive. It also would give me a reason to see her and her gorgeous new baby. Somewhere along the way, we took a different highway that backtracked us just a bit. We didn't know this at the time, but I am so glad it did! The drive to Nevada ended up being an adventure in itself! We ended up driving over a bridge and seeing another beautiful view of the Colorado River, we had to stop, of course! We found out it was Marble Canyon and the bridge across was called the Navajo Bridge. There was a pedestrian bridge that we walked across and got some amazing photos!
We had lunch at the Navajo Bridge before hitting the road again, only to stop a short drive after. We came across these giant boulders on the side of the road and realized they were little houses! Travelers used to stop here as far back as the 30's and sleep in them! Crazy.
Crazier still, was the change in scenery as we entered the Kaibab National Forest. At first, it didn't look much different other than rocky terrain, then we were surrounded by pine trees as far as the eyes could see! It was kind of nice that we were the only car on the road for miles because we stopped right in the middle of it to look at a pair of deer grazing. I looked over and saw a white patch on the ground and said "Is that snow??" And then, it was everywhere!! I couldn't believe it! Guess who pulled over, again?
The last thing I thought I would be seeing on this trip is snow. I hadn't seen snow in such a long time, it was like being a kid again. Snowballs, snowmen, and handstands followed. Passed into Utah for a short time, it was getting dark, so the sign passing through Colorado City was the only thing I really got to see. Drove back into Arizona before getting to Nevada. Wendy and her husband Brent were up when we arrived after 11pm and we caught up a bit before calling it a night. I could have stayed up talking to Wendy all night. We used to live a house away from one another since the age of 5, and we both moved away in 2012 so we don't see one another as often as we'd like to.
Day4:
Sunday morning, Wendy came with us to breakfast where we pigged out. We had to commemorate the third state we visited on this trip so we said our goodbyes to Wendy (A thank you to her and her fam for letting us crash!) and headed to the Welcome to Fabulous Las Vegas sign. The weather was sunny and warm, unlike Arizona and there was a line (as usual) to take photos. When it was our turn, the super nice guy taking photos took one of our phones and started shooting. We tried to get into our plank pose, and it just wasn't sticking. We fell twice! The photographer came over and was like "You're going to get this!' and a women from the line came over and offered to help hoist Tess on top of me! Now, that's teamwork! We got our photo, took a few extra and made our way, dirty and sweaty back to the car. Hey, we did it!
Thanks to this random lady for the leg up.
Finally on the road home, I had to stop and take a photo on Zzyzx Road in the Mojave Desert. It's a lonely road off of Interstate 15. Known mostly for it's odd name (pronounced zy-zex). I have actually stopped and taken photos here before (click here to see those photos) and thought this would be the perfect opportunity to recreate it with my road dawgs.
That face... <3
The family that yogas together...
I feel extremely blessed to have gone on this trip with these women and my little guy. My comadre plans on returning to Australia to be closer to her family, so I won't be able to easily see my godson. It's these types of moments that I am so, so grateful for.
Three women and a toddler. Over 1,400 miles driven. Went from the beach to the desert to the forest to the mountains. Met awesome strangers and reconnected with my oldest friend. We had sun, wind, rain, hail and even snow. All of this in 4 days! It sure did feel good to be home, but I brought home the memories of a lifetime.
