The Navajo Limited.
This Navajo desert blog post has been a long time coming - spent the last few weeks of CB editing these photos that throw so far back… last April, to be exact! Some of you have probably seen the Ping Got Rich pre-wedding blog post - but here’re some more of us as a group, having a swell time pre-COVID, pre-BLM (I know right? 2020, you did us dirty!) Did I also mention I just turned 33 while writing this? Yes, I’m one of those folks that Gen Z mocks on Tiktok.
But I digress. Yes, after a hop, skip and a transit in SFO we finally made it to Las Vegas (third time’s a charm?!) There wasn’t much time to waste but we had to stay the night so we went with the Excalibur on the Strip, which just reopened a few days back post-COVID.
The tri-state route we took was definitely not for the faint hearted. Thankfully, ALL 4 of us could drive so none of that road trip fatigue… stops may not be as far and few between as our Morocco trip but still far enough - just take a look at the map below. So Google Maps doesn’t allow me to add more than 10 destinations per map (I think?) but after Bryce Canyon we made it back to Vegas and ventured out to Valley of Fire State Park, again! And of course a secret location, where we took stunning photos and played with coloured smoke bombs!
Being at the Horseshoe Bend was a very humbling experience, but it was also very nerve-wrecking as we felt like we could fall over the edge of a cliff any minute! Highly recommended to wear sneakers with intact rubber soles, otherwise, HIKE AT YOUR OWN RISK!
Ah yes, then there was the Antelope Canyon! I mean, there was no way we were gonna skip this regardless of how crowded it would get. Luckily, we were there early and the ticketing staff “upgraded” us to an even earlier slot so we managed to start way ahead of time and dodge the massive crowd. I was quite amazed at how efficient and systematic the whole tour guiding was, most of the guides were native Navajo people and all seemed to have a common understanding with each other. No pushing around, no hogging of photo spots. We basically get around 45 seconds per spot so we had to get our poses and gear ready quite quickly - the entire Lower Antelope Canyon walk took about an hour IIRC. You can refer to the iPhone outtakes at the bottom of this post to see how the “reality” looked like at the Canyon.
We stayed two nights at the Travelodge in Page, Arizona. It’s a cute little town, really small but kinda like the only option we got while visiting Antelope and Horseshoe (FYI these two attractions were only a 15-minute drive away). After a bad Chinese buffet dinner, some Denny’s and a few cups of lodge-provided Quaker Instant Oatmeal we finally made it out of Arizona and crossed the Utah border where Monument Valley is.
No, there are no words. Just look at the view. Ok maybe one word - monumental? We had a hard time navigating to the “Forrest Gump” spot but finally found it and risked our lives on the f*cking road taking cheesy shots like the one below! Eh, but we were not the worst, there was this cute elderly Japanese couple who was lying down on the road, we’re talking elbows on the asphalt road!
After all that photo-taking in the sun we crashed at Grandma’s House (not featured here) in the tiny town of Blanding, Utah. The feels of this house, OMG. It was really the stereotypical American Grandma kind of house! The owner, whom we believe to be the grandson, prepared a homemade cranberry & orange cake for us to nibble on upon check-in. How sweet!
Before journeying on to Moab town for our lunch stop, we chanced upon this place called Hole N" The Rock. We were literally driving along the I-191 and almost missed this as it was located around a bend. Pleasant surprise, of course, as it was house to a mini zoo and some unusual time era pieces.
Moab gave me extremely Americana vibes. Something about the architecture and landscape, even the locals. Also, I believe it used to be a mining town, for Uranium. But we didn’t stay for long, it was a quick lunch at Moab Diner and a strong cuppa over at Moab Coffee Roasters before we hit the road again to hippie-owned Mystic Hot Springs.
You either love or hate this place, there’s no in between. The property has a few accommodation options - log cabins, hippie buses or just a camping site for you to pitch your tent. So the pros - you get a once-in-a-lifetime experience sleeping in a bus (albeit freezing at night even with heater), you’ll wake up to animal activity from the nearby property zoo, and you get to access the IG-famous hot springs, bath tub style! A few cons to consider though - bathing and toilet facilities are communal, electricity seems to be a scarce resource, and mud roads get tricky in wet weather. So if you’re not into all that, then you should probably strike this place off your to-go’s.
Bryce Canyon was also one of the must see’s for our trip - the national park is so large that one day just isn’t enough cover everything! We opted for a friendly “hike” and didn’t regret it, just look at the photos. The rock formations, called hoodoos, are part of the beauty of this place. I don’t think I’ve seen anything quite like it (and I’ve seen a few!) And that brings me to the next place that still fills me with awe, despite it being my third visit - the Valley of Fire State Park. I can assure you, the valley and its formations will look significantly different at various times of the day. If you’re planning a trip to Vegas, then VOFSP is a definite stop!
I think Vegas really needs no introduction. We made it back from the desert, shopped for some new vinyl records, got Ping and Rich hitched and enjoyed a nice night out at the casino and bar (the lovebirds carried on with the Zumanity Cirque du Soleil, sensual and playful which I’ve already seen with Travis). Being a pseudo-seasoned Vegas visitor, I brought them to The Neon Museum in Las Vegas. It was a tad sunnier than my previous time but the photos turned out better than expected, so, no complains.
I won’t say much about the next two locations but let’s just say it’s quite the hidden gem. I’ll let the photos do the talking! If you made it this far, thanks for reading and I hope you stay safe while getting ready to head out this weekend!
x
