Arizona Trip – from Flagstaff to Page
Did I mention that I did all the planning for this trip? Greg did all the grumbling because well, you can’t go see all that Arizona has to offer unless you don’t mind driving. A lot. And we drove… cough… that is, my wonderful, loving, sweet, thoughtful, fantastic husband drove. Thank you, Sweetheart. Grumbling and all. I love you.
It was another early morning leaving Flagstaff. We stopped by the Sunset Crater lava flow. There was a nice path to walk. (Though after our
Hawaii trip, where we literally climbed a volcano, this was nice, but just not as impressive)
We also went on to see the Wupatika National Monument, but we didn’t stay long.
Greg wanted to get the drive to Page, AZ over with. Think of it this way… we started off in Phoenix, towards the bottom of AZ. Page is alllllll the way at the top of AZ. Yeah, lots of driving.
Before we reached Page, we were given a treat, because the route took us through part of the painted desert! (which kind of makes up for the ickiness of the Petrified Forest)
We had some scary driving along the way. Rocks looked like they could tumble down at any moment. There is one section where we drove through a mountain. It was something else. Eerie. Below is a picture of it. (And the next day, when we drove back to Flagstaff, the lane going to Page was blocked due to huge rocks that had fallen right at this point in the picture!)
There are two reasons I wanted to go to Page, AZ. A couple of years ago, I heard about a particular canyon in the area and after doing research, it’s been a dream of mine to go to it.. only I figured we really wouldn’t be able to do so on this trip. Then, after looking at what else was in the area, I came across the Horseshoe Bend and knew that between those two things, it would be worth the drive. I was hoping Greg would feel the same way. I wasn’t disappointed and neither was my husband.
The Horseshoe Bend is outside of Page, AZ. It’s a long walk. Even during the cooler month of October, it’s a HOT, long walk. In red sand. First, you climb a hill and then you walk a long path that slopes down hill in sand. That part isn’t so bad. It’s long, but it’s doable to get to the bend.
And ohhhh, the view! You need to take a wide angel lens to get this shot… and be willing to do a belly crawl to the end of the cliff. (Which my husband was brave enough to do so)… but look at this…. (if you see the white dot at the bottom, that’s a big boat)
Where I’m standing in this next shot is about as far as I was willing to go, though it was closer than most people who were there. Did I mention that a couple of years ago a tourist was at the cliff of the bend and the cliff fell off…. Take your breath away beauty!
The walk back, not so fun. High elevation, no shade along the path, entire walk in sand and an uphill battle. I started to feel my blood pressure go up as we climbed and had to stop, because I was feeling faint. Greg kept telling me to stop and take a break, but I was afraid I would get sick. He insisted that he use his jacket to shade me from the sun, holding it up as we walked. A couple from Germany saw us and Greg said, “I don’t know her (pointing to me). She just hired me to give her shade.” They laughed and the lady responded with, “That’s love!” Yes.. it most certainly is, very lucky me.
I’m so glad we went to the horseshoe bend! It was an experience well worth it, but word to the wise, bring lots of water and an umbrella for shade, no matter the season!
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