Summer Road Trip

Growing up my family didn’t take road trips and I’ve always been more of a “I just want to get there” kind of girl. As I’ve become more adventurous throughout the past few years I’ve realized some of the places most worth seeing aren’t so easy to get to.

Horseshoe Bend, always resting on my TV screen, looks vast and expansive. In my mind I picture it as wild and untouched. Being an outdoor enthusiast, Horseshoe Bend and it’s equally gorgeous neighbor Lower Antelope Canyon, are two marvels carved by nature that are on the must see list. If I’m going to stare at the screen saver on my TV, then I might as well have a feeling behind it; an understanding of what it is, how to get there; a respect for how it came to be. Once I set my mind to something it’s a matter of time before I make it happen so SUMMER ROAD TRIP let’s go!!

Since the small and local airport in Page, AZ has limited flights, Las Vegas seemed to be the best resolution for a base. I rallied up two girlfriends, one happy to celebrate her birthday in Vegas then jump into the opposite extreme and drive off 5 hours in the desert and hike.

Those are the kind of friends I like to keep by my side, especially since I am a true gemini and I am known to want to see it all, not bothering to care if it makes sense to anyone.

After two days in Las Vegas the three of us rented a car and began our road trip to Page, AZ. St George, UT sits perfectly on the route and we were all up for a pit stop at the half way point. San Hollow State Park, technically in Hurricane, UT, was the perfect place to take in sights of the burnt orange sandstone Utah is so known for. Since the park is on the Sand Hollow Reservoir we were so excited to go for a swim and cool off since the temperature hit 109 degrees. Unfortunately, there was a posted sign warning of some bacteria in the water so we opted to explore the rocks and take in nature from dry land instead of getting some icky sickness. The scorching sun made it difficult to stay out in the heat longer than an hour, so after we explored around we blasted the AC in our SUV rental and continued on our way to Page, AZ!

Knowing how intense the heat would be, I set up our Lower Antelope Canyon tour for 6:30am, the earliest time slot Ken’s Tours had available the next day. I’ve adopted the “early bird gets the worm” mentality as of late. It may sound like such a grown up thing to say but I seriously hate crowds and I am super inpatient so early works for me!

The 6:30 am time slot worked out perfectly we were the first group on the tour. Ken’s Tours takes multiple groups at the same time and splits them between tour guides. I’ve read reviews that you can be waiting an hour outside the canyon to go in the the extreme heat because tours get back up and I definitely didn’t want to deal with that so it was nice to be able to go right in.

Lower Antelope Canyon sits on Navajo land so setting up a tour in advance is the only way to see this beautiful slot canyon. Carved out over time by flash floods and monsoons, Lower Antelope Canyon’s shades of orange play up the intricate lines on the canyon walls throughout the day as the light changes. The tour doesn’t allow for any bags except for camelbacks so be prepared to only bring what you can carry.

Right after our 1 hour tour concluded, we jumped into our car and headed right to Horseshoe bend which was a quick 10 minute drive away. We made it to the parking lot at 7:45 am and quickly set out on the tranquil 3/4 mile dirt path trail as the sun began heating up. I was immediately overwhelmed by how expansive the horseshoe shaped canyon was! As we made our way up close we realized how high up we were from the bottom. To get our photos we had to sit close to the ledge of the 1,000 foot drop down. Holy moly I am not going to lie I was so scared!! There is something about the rush though that instantly makes you realize how small you are and how cool nature is!

And that’s it!! What an amazing and fun road trip with my girls! We not checked off some boxes on the bucket list our road trip made it truly feel like summer!