Washington’s Birthday meant we had a long weekend and a bit of time up our sleeves to go exploring; Arizona had been on my must-see-list ever since we touched down, so we thought no better time for it!
We jetsetted off from NYC to Phoenix in search of cactus, canyons and desert and we were not disappointed. Our itinerary allowed us time to see the Grand Canyon, Antelope Canyon, Glen Canyon, Monument Valley and much more of Arizona as we drove for 990 miles (1593.25 km for those playing at home).
Here’s a quick recap of our desert escape. I should let you know that we got super unlucky with the weather. We had initially booked during this time to escape the NYC winter chills. I was ready to get some skin out and get some of that Vitamin D that i’ve been missing so much, but no such luck. At the end of our trip a bartender had told us that he’d never seen anything like the weather we’d had over the last couple of days in the last 40 years. Not to worry though, we saw what we went to go see and it just snowed heavily in between ? currently booking our next summer getaway to get some damn sun.
Day 1: Phoenix to the Grand Canyon
(3.5 hours / 222 miles / 357 km)
Highlights:
- Single Speed Cafe
- Thrift Store & More
- Buying my very own cowboy hat
- Our Arizona road trip Spotify playlist (which only lasted x1 day)
Day 2: Grand Canyon to Glen Canyon to Page
(2.5 hours / 137 miles / 220 km)
Highlights:
- Waking up at 5:30am to chase the sunrise over the Grand Canyon
- Driving through the Grand Canyon National Park
- Lower Antelope Canyon expedition
- Horseshoe Bend
- Gunfighter Canyon
Day 3: Page to Monument Valley
(2 hours / 122 miles / 126km)
Highlights:
- Glen Canyon Dam
- 2 hour horseback ride through Monument Valley lead by a Navajo tribe
- Sunset over Monument Valley
- Staying at Goulding’s Lodge and learning about the history of Harry & Mike
Day 4: Monument Valley to Sedona
(3.5 hours / 201 miles / 323 km)
Highlights:
- Watching the sunrise over Monument Valley from our hotel room
- Driving 3 full laps of Monument Valley Loop – just to be sure we saw everything completely
- Driving to Gump Hill in the morning to get some gorgeous drone shots
- Arriving in Sedona after a magic drive through consecutive switchbacks
- Listening to Sedona while driving in Sedona
- Staying at the Orchards Inn ? every room had such a gorgeous view
Day 5: Sedona to Phoenix & onto NYC
(2 hours / 116 miles / 186km)
Highlights:
- Cactus counting
- The Desert Botanical Gardens restaurant in Phoenix
- Complimentary G&T on the flight home
