POSTCARDS FROM ARIZONA; THE GRAND CANYON & SEDONA.
As is kind of the norm over here on the blog, I’m starting with an apology for this blog post being so late– I had lots of ideas about writing these travel posts while we were away, on flights or having a relaxed evening back at the Airbnb but that didn’t end up happening, we had so much packed in that often by the end of the day I scrolled through Instagram, tried to read a chapter of my book and fell into bed.
Anyway it’s finally written and this is the first of probably a few blog posts documenting our three week trip in the US, which started with a week in Arizona. We spent a lot of the week spending time with some friends out there but we did also book in a couple of day trips– one to the Grand Canyon and one to Sedona– so I thought it’d be quite nice to share a few snaps of the time we spent there. These are a mixture of usual ‘blog post style’ camera shots & more casual, quick iPhone shots but I thought I’d mix them all together for these travel posts, I’d love to know whether you like to see more of a mixture of photos here on the blog!
Our first full day in Arizona we headed out from Phoenix to the Grand Canyon, as with a lot of places in the US it takes a bit of a drive to get there but as with a lot of places in the US it’s a really beautiful drive and like nothing I’ve really seen before, desert and forest and mountains & after just a few hours we arrived at the South Rim. Bucket list item ticked! Finally seeing such a beautiful, natural sight in real life was a pretty overwhelming but amazing moment & I feel very grateful I got the chance to experience it. Let’s face it, yes, it was busy with people and hot, especially being there at the beginning of August but just taking a moment to take in the scenery and you kind of forget about everything else! After a while of wandering and taking pictures, it was time to head back to Phoenix– I’d definitely love to go back to the area to explore more another time but for now I’m just very glad I got to finally see the Grand Canyon.
The next day and it was off to visit Sedona, which honestly hadn’t really registered for me as a place to visit before researching Arizona, a least not as much as the Grand Canyon, but was really such a beautiful place & we didn’t spend as much time travelling to get there, as it’s less than two hours from Phoenix. We first stopped at Montezuma Castle, a national monument just outside Camp Verde which was a lovely spot for a wander, lots of beautiful trees & it was really interesting to learn more about the history of the area.
After a wander we made our way to Sedona where we stopped at a popular view point– Munds Mountain Wilderness– for a while to take in some of the amazing views of Courthouse Butte and Bell Rock, two of the beautiful red rock formations. We didn’t really hike but we didn’t wander the trails for a while taking in the scenery and as always taking some pictures– and by then it was definitely time for some lunch. We headed into Uptown Sedona where the majority of the shops and restaurants are, we’d heard lots of good things about Canyon Breeze so made our way there to eat. Uptown Sedona is honestly just how I imagined a small town in Arizona, it’s beautiful and quirky and has that Wild West feel, almost like being on a movie set– it was the perfect place to eat, wander and shop for souvenirs for a few hours.
We had such an good time in Arizona, it was amazing to see and explore somewhere so different to anything I’ve ever seen before & I’d love to visit the desert again soon. For more from Arizona you can check my story highlight on Instagram. And look out for more travel posts coming soon!