Annie mentioned she was going to be moving back to the Midwest in February. Naturally, I wanted one of my closest friends to meet this pretty amazing guy I was dating, so it was a perfect excuse to get in a trip. I mean, I’ll take any excuse to get out of the cold winters! It’s the only way I can live in Minnesota.
Antelope Canyon + Meteor Crater
We almost immediately headed up to Page, AZ, but first stopped in Flagstaff for a much-needed pit stop. I’m happy to report that this time, the weather was really, really pleasant. Chris and I were pretty pooped by the time we got to our hotel in Page, and we almost immediately passed out that night.
The only way to get to Antelope Canyon is through an organized tour, as it’s within the Navajo Reservation. The $35 was more than worth it. Even though it was winter and we couldn’t see the light beams, Antelope Canyon was pretty spectacular. Years of flash floods created this surprisingly small canyon in the middle of the desert. It was discovered by a little girl who was off wandering one day. Mother Nature sure knows how to impress!
It only takes about an hour to get through the Canyon, so we made a point to stop off at Meteor Crater, which is just outside of Flagstaff. Talk about impressive! It was created 50,000 years ago when a meteor struck this spot. It is completely massive. In the 1960s, NASA trained astronauts before they were sent to the moon. They even have a six-foot tall statue at the base of the crater which you can see with a telescope. Once you realize where it is, you suddenly really truly understand the sheer massiveness of this thing. So yeah, we were blown away.
Camelback Mountain
Chris and I wanted to get a good hike in, so we were excited to check out Camelback Mountain. What started out easy turned into a really challenging (and sometimes slightly dangerous) hike. But we really enjoyed ourselves and it was a pretty great way to end our second trip together.
Cecilia the TravelGurl 