I had the Flagstaff plan all laid out in my mind for years, so finally putting it all together was rather easy even though the plan changed about 4 times. I didn’t want to leave at midnight so I left at 5am instead. It was about an 8 hour 45 minute drive to the first stop of the day: Tuzigoot National Monument.
The plan was to first just get to Flagstaff and knock out the couple parks south of it so that when I return to Phoenix I can focus on just the city and whatever southern Arizona attractions I can find. About an hour away from Flagstaff I noticed a large grey cloud and thought “That looks like smoke!”. After working so close to the Hermits Peak fire in New Mexico it is easy to tell what is a wildfire and what is just a large cloud (sort of). The closer I got the more I realized just how intense the fire was. I could see the smoke billowing out from the side of the mountain. It turns out it was the Pipeline Fire, which would cause some major itinerary changes for the rest of the trip. That’s what happens when you don’t check the weather…something goes wrong.
The first stop was Tuzigoot and it is made up of a bunch of pueblos on a hill. It is situated next to a marsh with water and lots of greenery. I was a bit surprised given how much of a drought Arizona is going through. I got to walk up to the pueblos and look at the stunning views at the top of the tower in the center. The monument is actually pretty big even though it is tightly packed together. You can’t really go in most of the rooms, but there were no roofs so it was pretty easy to look inside. After exploring for about an hour I headed to the next and last stop of the day.
Not too far away from Tuzigoot is Montezuma Castle! It is a relatively large cliff dwelling boasting a settlement 5 stories high. There wasn’t a lot to do at the park except walk the short loop trail and see the main building. The trail that lead you to some of the accessible dwellings had a swarm of bees nesting nearby so that part of the park was closed off at the moment. There was a shaded area with a lot of benches (probably for a ranger program), which made taking a good picture of the monument rather easy. Since that was the last stop of the day before the hotel I took my time.
On the way to the hotel I went to Walgreens to get some calamine lotion for some strange bug bites I had. You can see the bites later in some of the Antelope Canyon pictures. These were quite possibly the most itchy bites of all time and I could never figure out what caused them. Anyways, I eventually got to the hotel and discussed the travel plans for Tuesday with the hotel receptionist. The fire meant that the main highway (89 North) was sadly closed, meaning a 4 hour detour was in order. (2 hours there, 2 back) Yay! I just love it when things go to plan. Before bed I headed into the city center to get dinner at a local restaurant called Diablo Burger. (It was number 1 for ‘burgers’ on many sites such as Trip Advisor). Their burgers are 100% local grass fed beef and served on DB branded english muffins. Normally I’m not a fan of english muffins, but this combo somehow pleased me. I also got a sour beer that tasted like water.
Day 2
Day 2 was the reason for this whole trip. I was going to leave at a reasonable hour, but since the main highway was closed I once again left early at 3:45am. As I drove through downtown I looked up to see the mountainside glowing. You know when you have a campfire is out at night but there are still bright little embers poking through the ash? That’s what the entire mountainside looked like. There was no time to stop and take a picture because that wasn’t part of the Official Plan.
I was taking the Grand Canyon route rather than the Navajo Reservation route because the drive time was the same and there was no chance of smoke on the road. The only downside of the Grand Canyon road before 5am is that there are many deer and elk. No matter, I usually figure that the outcome of hitting one would be relatively the same whether you drive slow or fast and so I chose to drive fast. I was speeding along at a good clip when suddenly I slammed on the brakes! There was a giant elk in the road. Wow that was close. About 30 seconds later as I was speeding up, I noticed that there had been a major catastrophe: when I stopped the box of Mom’s famous snickerdoodle had kept going off the passenger seat and spilled all over the floor mat. Crumbs everywhere! Grrrrr. I didn’t have much time to waste cleaning them up so they stayed on the floor.
At 4:45am I had arrived at the Grand Canyon entrance station and was greeted by no one. Luckily there was no need to feel guilty because I have an annual pass, so I did technically enter legally. Turns out I had just made it in time for the sunrise! I didn’t realize planning that you drive along nearly the whole rime all the way to Cameron, AZ. It was quite a treat and I found the time to stop and take a few pictures.
I was very frustrated because here was this spectacular park that I just didn’t have time to enjoy longer. It wasn’t in the plan! I kept telling myself that the destination of the day was just as special and it was worth skipping the Grand Canyon this time. After another hour or so I reached Antelope Canyon where gas prices were about $5.30 a gallon. Sadly I had gotten the time zones wrong and had to wait an hour. Long story short, Phoenix, Flagstaff, and Page don’t follow daylight savings time. The Navajo Nation does. Even thought I followed Page time I was still an hour ahead of schedule so I just sat in my car for an hour.
Eventually it was time to go and everyone sat on the shaded benches while the tour guides called out the group numbers. You see, there was more than one type of tour and not everyone had the same tour. Since I picked the “Ultimate” 3 Canyon tour I got a guide to myself for the first canyon, no one else wanted to pay a ton for a canyon tour I guess.
First up was Owl Canyon and it was named after…well…an owl that lived in the canyon. Since the tour started early at 9am it wasn’t boiling hot in the canyon yet. I opted to not bring a water bottle since I would have to carry it in my hands. The canyons are too tight for backpacks so therefore they are not allowed. This Canyon was arguably the most sacred canyon and my guide mentioned how her grandmother didn’t like how the Navajo were letting visitors in. Most believe that you should leave Mother Nature alone and let her do her own thing. As we humans walk through the canyon’s we erode them.
Owl Canyon is one way in, one way out. The ground is made of sand and it was really interesting to have a one on one conversation with the guide about just how important the canyons are to the Navajo people. She also mentioned how all the “rich people” suck at tipping most of the time and ride in really nice suburbans. Between you and me, I prefer the gung-ho dodge Durango I rode in. I didn’t even know a car upgrade was an option haha.
After Owl Canyon, we went back to the shaded seats to pick up some more people for the rest of the tour. They must’ve picked the 2 canyon tour, while I picked the 3 canyon tour. Next up was Rattlesnake Canyon and I bet you can guess why it was called that. This Canyon was shaped like a V where the bottom is narrower than the top. We got to climb a few ladders inside to move around. Depending on where you stand and the sunlight angle, you can get really cool shots. It say about 85% of the photo’s from Antelope Canyon go to the guide, as she would take everyone’s phones and snap the pictures since only she knew the correct positioning. It is also important to note that this is also referred to as ‘Lower Canyon’.
Next up was Upper Canyon! This canyon was shaped like an A rather than a V, where the bottom was more spacious than the top. It has many rock formations ranging from Abraham Lincoln, to King Kong, to a heart, a candle, and even George Washington. I can’t imagine how long it took to see these formations in the cave wall. I could’ve sat there for hours and never once discovered Abraham Lincoln cut out of the rock by the wind. One fascinating thing about this cave was that some Navajo believe that if they enter it they are asking the spirits for more wind. Arizona doesn’t need more wind right now. (Please don’t quote me on that, I’m pretty sure they said that, but I kind of forget.)
This cave was big enough for everyone to move around easily and on the way out we had to walk up and around the cave rather than back through it because over time the many many tour groups had congested the cave. Better to make it a one way trail and thin the herd. Once everyone made it back to the truck we headed back to our cars. One thing that was mentioned suspiciously often was tipping. I was pretty anxious about this since I never carry cash on my. What do I do?? I ended up telling the guide to wait right where she was while I went to find an ATM and about 10 minutes later I came back to pay the guide. It would be wrong to have such an awesome 3 hour tour and not leave a healthy bonus I think.
Anyways, the plan was to continue onto Horseshoe Bend (kind of south of Page, AZ). It didn’t take too long to arrive and wow were there a lot of cars. It is a major tourist site and sadly had a fee of $10 to park. Kind of worth it because the view was amazing and kind of took my breath away for a second. Since there wasn’t much else to do except stare down at the bend I turned around and power walked back to my car where I set off to my final destination of the day: Vermillion Cliffs National Monument.
I had debated for a few days as to what to do on this day. There were so many options! Utah, Antelope canyon, Lake Powell, Grand Canyon, Vermillion Cliffs, Las Vegas… all options were considered, but in the end I decided 2 hours exploring the Vermillion Cliffs would be cool. Once at the visitors center it was confirmed that it would be very unwise for me to drive my low to the ground Toyota Camry up the 8 mile (mostly sand) road. I debated what to do for a brief moment then headed to the Grand Canyon North Rim. I’d only get this chance once I felt so I took it.
It took a long long time to get from Vermillion Cliffs to the North Rim. Or at least it felt like it. The Vermillion Cliffs stretch about 30 miles long so I actually got to see most of it. There was also a great view point up a big switchback hill. Once up the hill I entered the remnants of an old forest fire. There were trees downed everywhere and lots of burned out stumps. It was unbelievable how big this fire must’ve been.
Once I got through the forest I reached the final leg: the meadows. These meadows took about 45 minutes to drive through. I was nearing the North Rim and not long after clearing the short grassy fields I made it! Finally!
I first went to the visitors center and grabbed that sought after north rim passport stamp. Then I proceeded down the trail to the Bright Angel Point. It sticks out a bit into the canyon and provided fantastic views. It didn’t take too long to hike out to the point. I grabbed a really great bb8 picture on the way. (This blog’s featured image).
There were a lot of hikers here that looked like they wouldn’t survive a mile into the canyon. I could maybe do 2 miles into the canyon, but no more since this wasn’t really in the Official Plan. I didn’t stay too long because for every hour I stayed, that was just one extra hour I’d be driving in the dark. Overall, I thought it was awesome to visit both the North and South Rims of the Grand Canyon in one day.
The way back to Flagstaff was about 6 hours worth of driving. I decided to venture through Navajo land instead of the morning route. The closer I got the brighter the glow from the mountainside [wildfire] got. Eventually at about 11:30pm I got to my hotel.
Day 3
This was the last day of my epic Arizona trip. Since the fire closed Wupatki National Monument, that meant I only had one thing to see before I headed back: Walnut Canyon! This is yet another cliff dwelling site. There are over 300 dwellings here though, which make it one of the largest. The main attraction is hiking down 240 steps to the island in the middle. The cliff dwellers had the main fortification in the middle and lived about halfway up, while using the top of the hill to farm and hunt. I was able to walk all the way around it.
The smoke from the fire was thick in the air, but didn’t impact breathing all that much especially for me with my N-95 mask on. The view from the top was actually kind of a mysterious vibe with the smoke I thought. Going down the steps wasn’t too much of a challenge and neither was coming up as long as I didn’t skip stairs and took plenty of short breaks.
Since I was not a huge fan of hiking in smoke I decided to leave without doing the rim trail. It was a cool 9 hours of driving to get back to Philmont. On the way I stopped in Albuquerque for dinner at Laguna Burger with Brenda & Paul and then continued back to the ranch. The trip was a huge success! Totally worth it.
Stats
Estimated total miles: 1,736mi
Actual total miles: 1,930mi (New Philmont off day record)
National Park stamps acquired: 5
Which side of the Grand Canyon is better (in my opinion): South Rim has more to offer, but North Rim has better overnight cabins.
Best car for Vermillion Cliffs NM: 4×4 lifted pickup truck
Best burger: Diablo Burger in Flagstaff
You must be logged in to post a comment.