Driver's Permit

 

Hayden finally (was forced) took his test for his driver's permit. He passed! Now we have to actually drive together now.

Grand Canyon

 Tuesday-

We got to the park around 8 am and boarded the shuttle to the South Kaibab trailhead. We hiked about 0.9 miles to Ooh Aah Point. It was a beautiful view. The 0.9 mile hike back up was a little more exhausting.

Then we did a very quick shuttle stop to Yaki Point.

Then we got back into our car and headed towards the park exit via Desert View Drive. We stopped for views at Moran Point and the Desert View Watchtower. 

I'd heard from a friend that the South Rim was not that much different than the North Rim, but we all agreed that the South Rim had much more beautiful vistas.

Then our long 8 hour drive back home. By the end of the trip we had drive 2038 miles!

Petrified Forest National Park

Monday-

We stayed in Holbrook, Arizona, in a not-so-great hotel, which is right on historic Route 66. In the morning we had to do a little drive through the town. We stopped at the Wigwam motel which was the inspiration for the Cozy Cone motel in the movie Cars. 

We entered the Petrified Forest National Park in the north portion of the park and stopped at Painted Desert Visitor Center. We drove the loop up there and stopped at most of the outlook points to view the painted desert area. 

This is an old original studebaker that sits at the place where the original Route 66 used to pass through the park. 

At the south end of the park we stopped at Puerco Pueblo to see the ancient Pueblan dwellings and petroglyphs. 

Then Newspaper Rock for a view of those petroglyphs.

Next, was the Blue Mesa spot. McKinley and I got out and hiked down into the hills. The cold front we were avoiding in Lake Powell found us here, and it was a very chilly day. So the others didn't want to get out of the car for so long.

Agate bridge was our next stop to see a petrified log laid across a span like a bridge. I didn't take a picture. It was a quick stop.

Jasper Forest was an overlook of an expanse with a ton of petrified logs.

 

Crystal Forest was a pretty little walk among some petrified logs up close. It was pretty cold still though so we had a hussle in our step.

Our last stop was at the Rainbow Forest Museum and Visitor Center with a quick hike on the Giant Logs trail.

Then we drove about 3.5 hours to the south rim of the Grand Canyon.

We made it for a beautiful sunset view at Mather Point. It was very chilly here too. We were going to come back at night to see the night sky, but we wimped out due to the cold. 

Saguaro

We had planned to go to Lake Powell for Fall break. Then a cold front storm was coming though so we canceled it. After reviewing a few different ideas that all included a LOT of driving, we still had no solid plans on Thursday. By the time I woke up on Friday morning, a road trip to Arizona was decided. We hurriedly made plans and hotel reservations and headed out. We drove to Las Vegas for the night to make the next day's travel a little more palatable. 

Saturday- Oct 22nd

More driving today from Las Vegas to Saguaro National Park (west side). We had enough time to go to the visitor's center, the Desert Discover Nature Trail, then up to the Valley View trail for a nice sunset hike.

Sunday- Oct 23rd

We visited the east side of Saguaro National Park today. There is an 8-mile loop that you can drive (or bike which Josh wanted to do, but we didn't). We stopped at a lot of the pull-outs, and hiked the Desert Ecology Trail. This area of the park receives more water so the landscape was a little different and less Sagauro-y than the west side. On the way back cars and a biker was stopped in the road while a fat rattlesnake crossed in front of us.

After we did the east side loop, we went back to the west side to go to Signal Hill where there were petroglyphs.

That night we drove to Holbrook, AZ for the night to be closer to Petrified Forest in the morning. We passed through some snow/hail on the way.