Last February, I unfortunately broke my hand in the middle of our Colorado ski season. I didn’t really think it would be a big deal until the initial doctor I saw told me I’d need to see a specialist as the particular injury could require surgery. 6 days, 5 screws, and one titanium plate later (oh and a lot of dime) I had a repaired bone. We had exactly 10 days between my surgery and my post-op appointment and we weren’t just going to sit at home. While I wouldn’t want to break my hand again, it did prove to be the perfect opportunity to do some exploring of places we’d never been. We hit the road in search of sunny and warm deserty destinations.
Page, AZ
Our first stop landed us just outside of Page, Arizona at the famous Horseshoe Bend. Ironically, we wanted to go to Page to check out some slot canyons and forgot all about Horseshoe Bend until the thought popped into my head 30 miles from Page. We got in around 2 am and instead of setting up camp, decided to just sleep in the car. We woke up before sunrise to get out to the bend in time for early morning light.
Horseshoe Bend is one of those places that you expect to be underwhelmed by, because all of the amazing photographs, however, it had the complete opposite effect on us. It was awe-inspiring, beautiful, and amazing. There were a few negatives, like people who don’t respect nature and just throw trash. There are a lot of tourists as well but overall Horseshoe Bend has seemingly been a positive economic benefit for Page.
That day we ended up finding Horseshoe Bend Slot Canyon Tours because we were told they had permits for the one slot canyon that was close to town that we could explore on our own. We walked into Horseshoe Bend Slot Canyon Tours with absolutely no desire to go on a guided slot canyon tour. We didn’t realize how restricted the local slot canyons were because most of them were on private land.
After about 30 minutes of chatting with the manager at the tour company, Tim, we realized that what we were after (traditional slot canyon experience) wouldn’t really happen at the canyon we could access on our own.
To us, what really sold us on the trip at Horseshoe Bend Slot Canyon Tours (and keep in mind we are not tour people) is that the slot canyon we would go to was on private land and they were the only company with access to it. That meant that the maximum amount of people that would be in the slot canyon at one time would be 6-12. We booked for the upcoming tour. After hearing about Antelope Canyon and the hours of wait time, crowds of people, and little time in the canyon, we knew this would be a good option for the day we were in town.
The tour was incredible. There were only 8 of us total and we drove out to the middle of the desert, walked for about 7 minutes and were suddenly at the entrance of a slot canyon – deemed Secret Canyon. Our guide had grown up on the land we were walking and he’d tell us stories of playing in the canyon as a kid. He walked through the canyon with us and at the end, he let us all spend our own time in the canyon on the way back. He told us to meet at the truck in 25 minutes and within seconds, our group of 8 dispersed and it seemed like Tyson and I were the only ones out there. Words hardly help explain what it’s like inside a slot canyon and even the photos don’t do it justice…
We slept on the shores of Lake Powell that night just north of town. Camping on the beach in February?! We felt so tropical. It wasn’t that warm, but it was sandy.
We were sleeping so close to the lake we could hear the water gently lap the shore all night – until the storm hit. We woke up in the morning to a few wet and heavy inches of snow blanketing everything. All I could think about how Tyson was making fun of me the day before for bringing snow boots.
Joshua Tree National Park, CA
After driving along the rim of the Grand Canyon, hitting a huge snowstorm in Flagstaff, and continuing through the expanse of the Arizona desert, we made it to Joshua Tree National Park just after dark. It was a Friday. All I wanted to do was camp under the stars and next to the iconic rocks and Joshua trees of the park so you can imagine how disappointed I was when the Park Ranger at the entrance gate told us the entire park was full (to give you an idea that’s about 500 campsites).
After having a mild breakdown, we ended up finding a great place to camp out in the middle of nowhere on BLM just outside of Twentynine Pines. We got up early the next morning to head into the park.
Joshua Tree was just as majestic and beautiful as I had imagined and of course, we couldn’t just settle on driving through. Tyson was pretty antsy as there were climbers everywhere. We tried to find a little canyoneering/hike adventure but ultimately turned around because it was a little above the ability level of someone with a fresh out of surgery hand. We ended up taking Hank for a walk down one of the dirt roads in the park.
Our day in Joshua Tree was really fun and enjoyable and it was definitely a place we could see ourselves spending some time, as long as we weren’t there on the weekends. It was a bit crowded but overall it’s nice to see so many people getting out and enjoying our National Parks. We headed Northwest but not before stopping at an In-N-Out because do you really visit California if you don’t eat In-N-Out?
Big Sur, CA
Our initial goal was to drive Highway 1 for as long as we could before getting to San Francisco where Tyson’s sister lives. After trying to figure out a route, we discovered that Hwy 1 was closed outside of San Simeon because of a landslide. We ended up cutting over to Hwy 1 via Nacimiento-Fergusson Road outside of King City, CA which turned out to be a fortunate detour. As with most navigational experiences involving an iPhone, we didn’t really know what to expect of this “back road” (we really only discovered this was a back road once we got on it).
We found an eerie campground on what we thought was an old army fort/base. In the morning, as we headed west, we were cruising along and all of a sudden saw two tanks fully equipped with military personnel traveling through the woods on the side of the road. I guess we camped on an active military base? Many signs along the side of the road warned of places you shouldn’t enter because of possible artillery testing.
The road we were on eventually popped out on the coast, but at an elevation. The drive down to Hwy 1 was so beautiful as we switched back and forth on what seemed like a one and a half lane road.
We spent the rest of the afternoon heading up the coast, picnicking along the side of Highway 1, and taking in the misty coastal views. Wild calla lilies lined the highway and green, rolling pastures met the ocean. It’s truly an incredible drive! We happened to stumble into the Artichoke Capitol of the World where we enjoyed fried artichokes, bought giant and mini artichokes and then drove back roads through artichoke crops. Artichokes are actually a thistle and the plants are huge – so very interesting. We ended the day at Tyson’s sister’s house in Danville, CA where we’d hang for a day or so to catch up with some family we hadn’t seen in a while.
Yosemite National Park, CA
After spending a nice couple of days with Tyson’s family, it was time to start heading back to Colorado. It should be mentioned that we truly expected this to be a warm and sunny trip, but Mother Nature had different plans for us. We had experienced a crazy desert snowstorm in Arizona, cold temps in Joshua Tree, and now winter-like conditions as we drove into Yosemite.
Yosemite had been on our list to see for quite a while and so we were excited to make it there on this trip. The only problem was that they were experiencing quite the winter storm. Many of the higher roads/lookouts were closed and Half Dome hid in the clouds all day. While it was still a worthwhile trip and a beautiful park, we would love to visit again when the skies are clear.
After a relatively quick visit in Yosemite, we headed south to try and make it to Zion for sunrise. We got stuck in traffic in Las Vegas in the middle of the night, stopped for a quick pic in front of the Welcome to Las Vegas sign, and eventually made it to a place to camp outside of Zion.
Zion National Park, UT
We only got a couple hours of sleep but the early light in Zion was magical. It’s a relatively small park, and there were few people there! As with many of our trips, we get pretty ambitious with our routes compared to the amount of time we have.
In the morning, we were in a bit of a hurry but we were able to take in some of the views of the park before getting back on the road to head east. We had to be in Denver that evening (637 mi). Zion is yet another location where we would love to return to spend more time.
After a morning of staring up at the towering canyon walls of Zion, we endured a long drive back to Denver. We got back late and made it to the Springs in the morning for my post-op appointment.
We found ourselves in awe of these gems of our country on our southwest tour and experienced such a variety of terrain, relatively close to home which was mind-boggling! This country is pretty amazing and if we had one thing to suggest, it’d be to get out and explore (even if you don’t have a broken hand)! The opportunities are endless.
