Christmas 2016 Highlights

I broke my promise of writing this post last week, but better late than never. Work was extremely busy last week so I didn't have much time to do other things. Here are a few highlights from our nine day trip to California over Christmas break. We drove from Albuquerque to California and then back.

Drive - Part 1

The drive from Albuquerque to San Diego is roughly 12 hours so we broke it up into two days. We traveled to Tucson on Christmas Eve and then on to San Diego on Christmas Day.

Attempt at a Nativity Scene photo with the pups in Truth or Consequences, New Mexico. This was the best they could do!

5 Things to Do in Scottsdale, Arizona

I have always thought of Scottsdale as merely an extension of the Phoenix metro area. Despite having visited Phoenix many times, I never spent much time in Scottsdale until recently.

Scottsdale has much to offer, including plenty of eating and drinking options, opportunities to explore the great outdoors and even take in some culture.

Taliesin West

This is a must do for those who appreciate architecture. Taliesin West was the winter home and architecture school of Frank Lloyd Wright. It still serves as the campus of the Frank Lloyd Wright School of Architecture.

The property is accessible to the public by guided tours, which provide great insight into, not only the design of the buildings, but also into the man who was Frank Lloyd Wright.

Roadtrippin' 2015: Canyon de Chelly and Canyonlands Needles District

We reached the midpoint of our road trip. This day we drove from Holbrook to Moab, Utah. It was by far the longest day of our entire trip. We lost a lot of time during our drive for some reason and wound up at our destination much much later than planned.

At least we had some beautiful weather and scenery to enjoy!

We decided, at the last minute, to make a detour to Canyon de Chelly National Monument, since it was right on our route.

We didn't want to lose too much time, so we decided to just drive to Spider Rock, which is the main highlight of the park, and enjoy some of the vistas.

There was short walk around the Spider Rock overlook, which we took. Spider Rock is a 750 foot sandstone spire and is quite a sight to behold. 

Spider Rock in Canyon de Chelly

Carson even wanted a closer look and hopped onto the ledge to take in the great view.

After that detour, it was back on the road. The highway that we were on was lined with amazing landscapes and geological features. This part of the drive was much more interesting than some of the other days.

Once we reached Utah, our plan was to stop in the Needles section of Canyonlands National Park since we would be passing by the turnoff that leads to this section of the park. 

Canyonlands has two sections that are completely separate and actually very far from one another. It is not possible to visit both sections in the same day because of all of the driving that would be required. Even getting to the Needles section is quite a trek, it is located another 30 miles after you turn off onto the access road. 

At that point, we knew we would be in for a long afternoon! The road leading up to the entrance station was gorgeous. We could not believe that we had not reached the inside of the park yet. There was already so much to see. 

Once we entered the park, we drove along to road and took in the views. 

The Needles in the distance

The road took us to the Big Spring Canyon Overlook and then to Elephant Hill.

Wooden Shoe

Canyonlands is well-known for its hiking and 4 x 4 trails. Much of the park is not accessible otherwise. Also, dogs are not allowed on the trails, so we were stuck doing a driving tour on the main park roads, which do not require a 4 x 4 vehicle.

At the end of our day, we decided to do the Cave Spring Trail and left the pups in the car since it was cool enough by then. The trail is also only 0.6 miles, so I felt okay leaving them for a short period. 

The trail starts off by leading you past a historic cowboy camp. 

Followed by a wall decorated in prehistoric petroglyphs.

Then the fun part, you have to climb two wooden ladders to access the rest of the trail. 

After which, you are treated to some stunning views. 

We rounded our way back to the end of the loop and were met by this furry guy. 

Then it was back to the car and another one and a half hour drive to Moab proper. As we were driving, we came across this arch along the road. I can't recall the name of it though. 

We finally reached our cottage and headed out for a late dinner at Devran's Mediterranean. Raisin Bread and I were both so hungry that we ate about two baskets of pita bread and shared the haydari appetizer (yogurt with walnuts, dill and mint). 

For my entree, I had the honey-marinated lamb chops. 

It was a long but satisfying day. We still had to run to the grocery store before we headed back to the cottage for the night. Can you say exhausted?


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Roadtrippin' 2015: Petrified Forest National Park

Before heading to our main point of interest for the day, we hit up some more attractions that I found on roadsideamerica.com.

Holbrook, Arizona lies on Historic Route 66. A fact which they don't mind reminding you of.

We visited the Wigwam Motel. If you have ever wanted to stay in a fake wigwam, this is your place! Also, for some reason, there are a bunch of classic cars parked outside the wigwams.

Then there were the dinosaurs standing by the side of the road.

Finally, we saw the cowboy riding on some petrified logs while a Native American watches.

After that half hour of dilly dallying, we arrived at the Petrified Forest National Park through the southern entrance.

We were pretty much able to cover the entire length of the park road, entering from the south and exiting through the northern side.

We started at the Giant Logs loop, which features lots of large petrified logs.

I love all of the colors that you can see within the wood. So beautiful!

Next, we completed the Agate House and Long Logs Trails.

Agate House

The Long Logs section has tons of petrified wood for viewing. 

The logs of petrified wood under the backdrop of the badlands made for an interesting scene.

Jasper Forest was my favorite section of the petrified wooded area of the park. It has the largest concentration of petrified wood.

Agate Bridge

This next section of the park wound up being my favorite section of the park even though there was basically no petrified wood there! The Blue Mesa Trail descends down into the badlands. I just thought the colors were so gorgeous. The purples, blues, greys and whites were just unbelievable.

We ended our trip through the Petrified Forest by visiting a series of overlooks in the Painted Desert section of the park,

and completing our final hike of the day: the Painted Desert Rim Trail.

After so many days of activity, I was really craving an Italian meal. We found the Mesa Italiana Restaurant in Holbrook, which seemed to be the most popular joint in town. The place was packed!

I ordered a plate of the spaghetti with meat sauce, and it hit the spot.

I ended my day with a delicious chocolate lava cake with vanilla ice cream. By the time I was done with dessert, I was uncomfortably full.

But I sure had a great day, exploring the outdoors!