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Following Monument Valley we worked our way north via the Scenic route. The driving was incredible, but it was a distance to cover before arriving at Capital Reef. The park is very different from the other places we’ve visited. It’s very quiet and cool, due to the Fremont river flowing through. We hiked a few of the trails and marveled at the Mormon past, then stayed the night under the stars once more.

Capital Reef

The next day we head out over the Bur Trail through Escalante-Grand Staircase park on our way to Bryce National Park. Another long drive, but we enjoyed a nice lunch at the top of the switchbacks crossing over Capital Reef and enjoyed the scenery unfolding before our eyes. Next time I want to spend some time exploring Escalante-Grand Staircase to see some of the gems that must be hidden within. Finally we arrived at Bryce and enjoyed the sunset overlooking Bryce Point. The next morning I awoke early and enjoyed the sunrise over the garden.

Bryce Canyon

Bryce Canyon

Bryce Canyon

Bryce Canyon

Canyon de Chelly

After leaving the Grand Canyon, we headed East towards Canyon de Chelly, which is rich in Native American heritage. We hiked down to the “White House” and enjoyed a nice picnic lunch before heading out to Monument Valley. Next time I’d like to ride with one of the outfitters in the area to get a better view of the canyon.

Monument Valley is a really special place for me, I love it. We decided to camp out this night, which was absolutely beautiful. We had a campfire going, roasted smores and slept under the stars. The next morning we hit the road headed north for a drive through a little-known place called Valley of the Gods. Which is where we want to “rough it” next time we’re out. It was an incredible place, every bit as impressive as Monument Valley.

Monument Valley

Monument Valley

Monument Valley

Marisha at Valley of the Gods

The first leg of our Journey was to the Grand Canyon. We flew into Vegas on Friday night, picked up our Dodge Durango and hit the Boulder Highway heading south. That first night we stayed in the El Rancho Motel in Boulder,NV and then the next morning we visited the Hoover Dam.

After the dam we started on our way towards Williams, AZ where the Grand Canyon Hotel is located. Unfortunately, I didn’t take any photos, but we loved the hotel room as well as the town of Williams. It was “the oldest hotel in Arizona,” and it felt more like a bed and breakfast to us. Definitely give it a try if your in the area. We used this as our base camp for exploring the Grand Canyon, which was less than an hour away. Below are some of the photos I shot.

Sorry it’s been a while since I’ve updated the blog. Things were hectic trying to prepare and get on our trip, and then the flip side things have hectic since the return on Monday AM via the red eye flight.

On to the fun stuff! The trip was absolutely incredible! Marisha and I had a wonderful time exploring the Southwest and letting go in Las Vegas. What I’m probably going to do is split up the trip into several blog posts so people can see where we went without being overwhelmed. Please keep your eyes peeled for the latest.

BTW. The picture above was taken in Bryce National Park of the Queens Garden.