The trip of a lifetime. That is the simplest way I could describe what the four days between the 14th and 17th was. A casual conversation about a road trip ended in some of the most amazing memories I could ever imagine. A coworker had mentioned going to Antelope Canyon in Arizona during the winter break. I looked it up and realized I had seen images of the canyon all over the place but never had known where it was. I don't believe in coincidences, so I felt it was fate when Tess brought up Antelope one day out of nowhere. My boyfriend even mentioned it soon after that! I mean, what are the odds, huh? Soon after that, Tess, Marisa and I decided we had to go and plans began to be made. No real itinerary, the only concrete plan was to make our way to Antelope and see what else was out there. So, on Thursday, my comadre, friend and godson packed up a car and decided to visit the great state of Arizona.
Going through some crazy rock formations in Cali.
Day 1:
I had never been to Arizona. The only real idea I had of it was that it was nothing but desert. And that it was hot. Boy, was I wrong. The day started out nice and warm. San Diego was over 80 degrees when we left. Had a bit of a rough start getting on the road, but once we were all in the car and moving, our adventure began! We stopped at Sentinel Rest Area in Buckeye, AZ to stretch our legs and let Anakin (my godson), have a pee break. It was just as I had pictured it. Nothing but flat land and big rocks. We noticed that there were some rock towers out in the middle of the area behind the rest stop. I've seen lots of these before, and I believe they leave positive energies from their builders, so we decided to try our hand at our own. We each chose a rock and got to balancing.
Ani LOVES trains. We sat and watched them pass.
Ani put the finishing touch on our energy tower.
Somewhere between Piedra and Theba, AZ we drove past a sign that said "Painted Rock Petroglyph Site". Not one to give up an opportunity to see some history, we hooked a detour. We didn't know what to expect, as the road led us 11 miles off of the highway. We even made jokes about it possibly being a trap for unsuspecting tourists... I've seen too many horror films. In the middle of the desert, was a giant pile of rocks. We weren't discouraged, we went out to investigate! A little pathway led around the site and we didn't see anything out of the ordinary. And then we came upon them: drawings in the rocks! There were a lot of these on one side of the mound of boulders. I looked into it when I got home and found out that most of these petroglyphs were thought to be of Hohokam descent. Some of the images were done by others passing through over the years, so some are way more recent than others. It was pretty neat, to witness what could very well be some of the first text messages!
Check out #CreepyTreeSeries on IG...
After fourteen LONG hours, we finally made it to Page. It was after 1AM by the time we had taken all of our stuff up to the room of our hotel and we were beat. Three completely different personalities locked in a car for that long with an energetic toddler left us more than ready for sleep.
Day2:
The view from our room revealed what we had been dreading: Rain. It was also COLD! We had been checking the weather up until the day we left, and although there were chances of rain, it was supposed to be pretty much clear. Guess who didn't prepare for rain?? *raises hand* We took our chances and made our way to Antelope Canyon.
The drive there was pretty amazing, I'm not used to seeing so many red mountains and skies as far as the eyes can see. It was so beautiful. We decided to do the Upper Canyon tour. There is a Lower Canyon but there are ladders you have to maneuver down, so with a little one it would have been hard. At the site for the tours, they let us know a storm was, in fact, coming, and that they would be stopping the tours until they could assess if they could hold another tour. We were so bummed. This is what we came to Arizona for! They told us to come back later, so we got back in the car and decided to drive around for a bit. No sooner has we left the parking lot when the downpour started. I saw a sign that said Antelope Point with some nice slabs of rock and thought it would be a great yoga photo op. Tess and I hopped out of the car and as I ran out to get into a posture, I felt little stings on my skin. It was hailing! After a quick snap, we bolted back to the car, soaked and covered in hail.
Thanks to the coworker who told me about his recent trip to Antelope, we knew there was a spot called Horseshoe Bend we had to check out. Lucky for us, the rain and hail let up as we arrived. We hiked for about 15 minutes and came up to where a small group of people were gathered at an edge of a cliff (I honestly think that the weather kept a lot of people away and I'm really grateful for that, because I couldn't have imagined big crowds blocking all the amazing shots we got). As we got closer, there wasn't really anything in sight other than the people. I was not prepared for what we were about to see. When we got to the edge and looked out, it literally took my breath away...
The canyon opened up to the most incredible view. After a few minutes of just staring in awe, the photoshoot began. I must have taken a hundred photos. It was very surreal. Also, very scary! I don't remember ever being afraid of heights, but it was a little overwhelming to be that close to nothing but air. No railing, nothing to catch you if you slipped. You could even feel the pull of gravity when you got near the edge. I felt like a gust of wind could just suck me into the canyon! And then I became really emotional. I know, I know, what a sap, huh? I seriously feel like things happen for a reason and I think that we were supposed to see this place at the time we did. As happy and grateful as I was to have my friends with me to witness it, I really wished my parents and sister could be there too. As well as my boyfriend. It was just so beautiful, I wished I could share it with those closest to me.
We saw condors flying over the canyon!
How badass is this??
"Wild Thing, I think I love you."
The photos really don't do this place justice. It was absolutely breathtaking. By the time we got back to the car, the weather began to look shitty again. When we returned to the Antelope Tours, they let us know they were closing and re-opening tomorrow. We still had Saturday, so we called it a day as far as sightseeing. Since I had only packed shorts, we found a Walmart to pick up some provisions and then had dinner before settling in for the evening. Stay tuned for day 3 of our trip!
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