Arizona is a fascinating state. The northern half is mountainous, has pine forests and is generally more temperate than the southern portion. We found ourselves in the cool temperatures of the Prescott National Forest one day and in the dry desert heat of Phoenix the next! We made several stops during our 10 days in this state, so I’ll hit the highlights. Let’s get to it!
The Zion Narrows is literally a 16 mile hike in the Virgin River. During our visit in mid-October, the river temperature was dropping into the 50s. A local outfitter provided us with drysuits, neoprene socks, boots and a walking stick. Mark and I joked that we looked like The Wonder Twins (super heroes from the 1970s)!
Visiting the five national parks in Utah was high on our ‘road trip must do’ list! After visiting Arches National Park, we drove south to visit the two largest national parks in the state – Canyonlands and Capitol Reef. Canyonlands National Park I didn’t know what to expect from Canyonlands, but the park exceeded every possible expectation! This has been one of my favorite parks to date (wait, do I say that about every park? Well, for Canyonlands, I absolutely…
We arrived in Arches National Park in early October. I realize this won’t be popular opinion, but Arches didn’t start out being one of my favorite parks. It is beautiful and boasts having the largest concentration of sandstone arches in the world. However, it is a small park with 3 major pull off areas – The Windows, Delicate Arch and Devils Garden – which makes it feel incredibly busy with minimal escape from the crowds.
The Wind River Range in Wyoming is a true wilderness. The only way to see this beautiful area is to hike or mount a horse, as no roads lead into the mountain range. We donned our backpacks with our dear friend, Anandhi, and spent a few days on the trail. Most of this post will be pictures from our trip, so if you don’t like mountains, glaciers or clear blue lakes, then you can feel free to skip this one! Otherwise, enjoy!
After a fun day exploring Duluth and camping at a farm outside of town, August 18th had us back on the road heading north to Voyageurs National Park. In short: ‘I love it here’. Voyageurs is one of the least visited National parks and we really started to feel ‘away from it all’.