This Mother’s Solo Journey to Web page, AZ is Simply What She Wanted

At first, I did not wish to go. I did not wish to journey to a brand new and thrilling place with out my husband or children. Not as a result of I used to be nervous to journey alone, however as a result of I needed to expertise all of it with my household.

My husband was supportive although, encouraging me to take a chance offered to me to go to the city of Web page in Northern Arizona. I had needed to go to this space just some months earlier throughout a household journey to Scottsdale, Tucson, and Flagstaff, however we could not make it occur. So, now was my probability.

I put a whole lot of mother guilt apart. My husband enlisted his mother to assist with the schlepping of our two daughters to dance, soccer, and lacrosse—by no means thoughts the each day grind of wake-up, lunch-making, homework-helping, bedtime, and the whole lot else we do.

At the same time as I acquired in my Lyft to move to the airport early on a Wednesday morning, I felt unhappy. I felt responsible. I felt like I used to be leaving my household behind to move out on an journey that they weren’t going to get to have. It was solely going to be about 48 hours whole on the bottom in Arizona. However because it turned out, it was precisely what I wanted.

All About Web page, Arizona

Web page, Arizona is a city of about 7,500 folks within the northern a part of the state. It is about 10 miles south of the Utah border and is surrounded by the Navajo Nation.

The city makes use of the tagline “The Heart of Journey” in its tourism supplies and that could not be extra true. On the floor, the city is ready in the course of the desert. However there may be a lot extra to it.

Web page is residence to probably the most photographed locations in america, Antelope Canyon. There are additionally a number of different slot canyons surrounding it. You will have additionally heard of Horseshoe Bend or Lake Powell. These are simply among the websites you may go to within the space.

The area positively has all of it: climbing, off-roading, horseback driving, boating, and fishing. In 48 hours, I did not even scratch the floor of this stunning a part of america.

Day 1 was lengthy however so price it

Touring from the East Coast to Arizona for 2 nights and one full day appeared type of loopy, and I knew it could be such an extended day. After leaving New Jersey on a 7 a.m. flight, I made it to Phoenix secure and sound the place I met a small group of journalists I’d be touring with, anticipating our day forward.

We had been scheduled on a brief flight from Phoenix to Web page which was delayed as a result of a mix-up. There is just one industrial airline that flies into Web page Municipal Airport with restricted flights per day. Regardless of the confusion, I might advocate the 45-minute flight as an alternative of the four-and-a-half-hour drive. It permits for extra time for journey!

The whole lot is shut in Web page. The airport was a mere three-minute drive to our residence for the 2 nights, the Hyatt Place Web page/Lake Powell. Due to our delay out of Phoenix, it was a fast check-in and bag drop-off in our rooms earlier than heading out on our first journey: a tour of Secret Antelope Canyon and Horseshoe Bend with Jeri from Horseshoe Bend Slot Canyon Excursions.

The slot canyons are all on the Navajo Nation. The land has a lot historical past and is sacred to the Navajo. Subsequently, it could solely be accessed as a part of a tour with a Navajo information. Secret Antelope Canyon is positioned on Jeri’s household’s land.

As a part of Horseshoe Bend Slot Canyon Excursions, our entry to the canyon was mainly personal. When one tour comes out, one other goes in, permitting for time to discover and take the limitless quantity of pictures you will wish to take.

Jeri took us to Secret Canyon in an open-air, safari-type automobile for a enjoyable off-road expertise. As soon as on the canyon, Jeri not solely confirmed us each nook and cranny, explaining the geology and displaying us the rock formations, however she additionally helped us all develop into iPhone specialists. She knew precisely the place to take each photograph to get the optimum shot and he or she additionally helped us all find out about settings on our telephones we did not know we had.

Each twist and switch contained in the canyon painted a unique image. The sunshine modified. The sensation of awe grew, and I knew we had been in a really particular place. I could not look forward to the remainder of our adventures.

After leaving Secret Canyon, Jeri took us to not the general public viewing space for Horseshoe Bend, however to a way more personal space on Navajo land. The Metropolis of Web page runs the general public parking space with a 1.5-mile walkable path to the viewing space. You may park for a small charge in one of many a whole bunch of spots.

However the place we had been, the viewing was unimpeded by others taking pictures and we took in all that this majestic view needed to provide. We requested questions and realized in regards to the water ranges and the formations. And sure, Jeri additionally confirmed us the most effective (panoramic) angles to take our pictures with.

Again within the open-air truck, we returned to the tour operator’s storefront in Web page. If we thought that journey was wonderful, we knew we had a lot extra in retailer for us for the remainder of the journey.

Within the night, we loved an incredible dinner again at Hyatt Place Web page/Lake Powell’s signature restaurant Prickly Pear Kitchen. This place ought to be at a five-star resort. The lodge’s normal supervisor, Nadia Sanatacruz plans out the seasonal menus herself impressed by her household’s Sonoran background, and even does among the cooking herself. We loved prickly pear margaritas, appetizers of chips with salsa and guacamole, together with rooster quesadillas, chile rellenos, and carne asada. For dessert, Sonoran flan and Coyotas de Sonora (an empanada-like cookie).

My extraordinarily lengthy day ended with Navajo Storytelling by Eli Secody. Secody instructed us tales of his life within the Navajo Nation. He additionally performed music for us. However I will be trustworthy. I had been awake and touring for about 20 hours at that time, and it was time for mattress.

Our keep at Hyatt Place Web page/Lake Powell

Lots of the motels within the space are chains. However this Hyatt Place is in a category of its personal. Santacruz has gone above and past to create a welcoming atmosphere. The lodge evokes a heat, inviting feeling with its decor, and sunsets from the outside patio off the restaurant can’t be matched.

The Hyatt Place Web page/Lake Powell affords one thing no different Hyatt Place does, and that’s an journey concierge. They may aid you plan any tour you wish to take when you’re visiting the lodge, together with sight-seeing airplane and helicopter rides.

Seasonally, the lodge additionally affords packages that embody the keep and actions like slot canyon excursions. However my favourite perks of staying on the Hyatt Place had been the complimentary cultural occasions like Secody’s Navajo Storytelling and Dreamcatcher Workshops.

Visiting the Slot Canyons

My second day in Web page was the day I used to be really ready for, and our solely true full day within the space. After beginning with an awesome breakfast from the lodge buffet, it was off on one other journey to go to the well-known slot canyons.

These pure wonders are slim in spots, and so they wind by sandstone partitions shaped by winds and flash floods. They’re identified for his or her wealthy colours and are among the most photographed spots within the nation.

Jarrin Curley from Adventurous Antelope Canyon Excursions picked us up at Hyatt Place and whisked us away to our subsequent journey experiencing the Dine (Navajo) playground. Curley took us in a four-wheel-drive automobile by a sandy, dry riverbed to our first cease: Higher Antelope Canyon.

Higher Antelope Canyon

As one of many extra in style vacationer locations, Higher Antelope had loads of teams headed into the canyon. Regardless of the variety of folks, the one-way visitors and our tour information’s experience nonetheless allowed for a sense of privateness.

Like Jeri the day earlier than, Curley was educated about each formation, nook, and switch in Higher Antelope. Utilizing his laser pointer, Curley confirmed us the candlestick and the lion’s head. He confirmed us tips on how to create a low echo in an alcove and, in fact, confirmed us tips on how to take essentially the most wonderful pictures. We additionally realized some enjoyable information, like Britney Spears’ music video for her 2002 track “I am Not a Lady, Not But a Lady” was filmed in Antelope Canyon and Glen Canyon Nationwide Recreation Space.

Higher Antelope is called an A-shape canyon and, in some locations, it could get very darkish because the partitions of the canyon come nearer towards the highest.

I discussed the one-way visitors. While you come out on the opposite facet of Higher Antelope, there is a brief hike again up alongside a ridge which supplies you an incredible view from above of what you had been simply inside. Heads up, there’s a staircase that takes you again all the way down to the place the automobiles had been parked.

Curley then took us to a few different spectacular slot canyons: Rattlesnake, Owl, and Coyote. Each is so totally different but magnificent in its personal proper. He additionally took us again to Higher Antelope about an hour later to witness the magnificent gentle beams that shine into the canyon beginning round 11 a.m. It is positively one thing to not be missed.

Rattlesnake Canyon

Rattlesnake Canyon was wonderful and probably my favourite of all of them. We had been the one folks contained in the canyon throughout our tour. It’s slim in spots with so many twists and turns, and small arches. Typically you needed to stroll one foot in entrance of the opposite to squeeze by. There are additionally degree modifications within the canyon with small ladders to climb in some spots. This actually made it really feel like we had been on an journey!

On the finish, there is a a lot bigger ladder to climb to get out. While you get to the highest, just like Higher Antelope, you then stroll alongside the highest of the canyon. It was really laborious to consider that the small crack within the Earth we had been seeing from above was the precise slot canyon we had walked by beneath.

This was essentially the most distinctive of the slot canyons on this author’s humble opinion.

Coyote and Owl Canyons

Coyote Canyon was a bonus canyon that Curley took us in to indicate us an instance of a V-shaped canyon. All of those slot canyons had been alongside the identical dry riverbed “street.”

What made our go to to Owl Canyon essentially the most particular was we really noticed a Nice Horned Owl perched on a ledge of the canyon. We additionally acquired to see small lizards all through. (We additionally acquired to see a few Black Widow spiders on our adventures however I will go away it at that.)

A Cultural Expertise

After a busy morning, we acquired to have lunch again at Prickly Pear Kitchen the place we sampled essentially the most scrumptious mocktails made with Cleanco non-alcoholic tequila and gin. We ate fish tacos, which had been wonderful (and I do not even usually eat fish).

After some R&R sitting on the gorgeous patio overlooking the desert, it was time to prepare for an amenity on the Hyatt Place that I used to be actually trying ahead to—a dreamcatcher workshop. In keeping with the web site PowWows.com, dreamcatchers are traced again to the Ojibwe folks. The ladies began weaving these “magical webs” to guard their infants. They grew to become extra in style amongst Native Individuals within the Nineteen Sixties and Seventies.

Pearl Seaton taught us all about how the dreamcatchers assist deliver within the good goals and preserve out the unhealthy. We then realized tips on how to weave our personal dreamcatchers and channel no matter we had been feeling within the second into making it. Seaton taught us the meanings of the beads we wove into the dreamcatchers. The white shells symbolize females. The turquoise stones symbolize males. The brown juniper beads preserve the unhealthy spirits away, and the black stones profit sleep.

I selected to make use of three white shells to symbolize myself and my two daughters and two turquoise stones to symbolize my husband and our canine. There have been loads of juniper beads and black stones to assist with sleep as a lot as potential. I had a lot enjoyable doing this craft and made two dreamcatchers, as soon as for every of my daughters. It was the proper handmade memento to deliver residence to them.

Then it was off to dinner at Purple Heritage, a Native American Dinner Theater run by the Navajo. This was an interesting cease on our journey. Our Navajo frybread tacos had been scrumptious. However past the meals, it was so attention-grabbing to find out about Navajo customs and historical past. We realized how they made the yarn to weave stunning rugs and had been handled to Native American music and performances, together with a flute, drumming, and dancing.

Lake Powell—The Final Playground

Our final journey additionally sadly marked the top of our journey, nevertheless it was additionally essentially the most stress-free and serene strategy to wrap all of it up. We had been heading out for a ship experience on Lake Powell.

Lake Powell is a man-made reservoir positioned on the Colorado River. It crosses the border between Arizona and Utah. The lake is 186 miles lengthy and has almost 2,000 miles of shoreline. In keeping with the Metropolis of Web page’s web site, that is longer than the entire West Coast of the U.S.

You may think about it’s the place to be within the sizzling Arizona summer season. Between its pure magnificence and limitless recreation, it is the proper location to go fishing, kayaking, paddleboarding, or boating. There are sundown dinner cruises and multi-million greenback houseboats.

For our tour, we had been on a patio “tri-toon” boat from Antelope Level Marina. In the summertime, a lot of these boats are in style for teams to hire as a result of they’ve a full kitchen, a toilet, a grill, and likewise a waterslide. They may pull them as much as a seashore after which camp there.

Our captain, Ken Reynolds, is the Basic Supervisor at Antelope Level Marina. He took us by a really totally different a part of Antelope Canyon from what we had seen on foot a day earlier. The partitions of the canyon went up about 100 ft from the water. The sunshine and the blue sky made for stunning reflections from the cliffs because the geese danced in entrance of the boat.

We additionally acquired a short have a look at the mouth of Navajo Canyon, the place the partitions soar up over 400 ft. I believe all of us loved the contemporary air and breeze on our faces as we took in one more spot of marvel.

48 Hours Left This Mother Wanting Extra

Earlier than I knew it, we had been off the boat and again on our small Contour Airways flight again to Phoenix earlier than I acquired on one other airplane certain for New Jersey.

That flight gave us one final journey although. We flew over part of the Grand Canyon. Whereas I’ve seen it from the bottom, there was one thing about seeing it from the air that was really awe-inspiring.

This journey left me wanting extra as a result of 48 hours simply wasn’t sufficient time. It left me eager to expertise extra of not solely Web page, Arizona however the entire many different magnificent locations america has to supply.

I missed my household, however I additionally loved assembly new folks, seeing new locations, and doing issues alone. I went to mattress after I needed to. I did not produce other duties or children to drive round. It was the break I wanted (albeit too brief!). However but I used to be nonetheless Mother. The second evening, my 14-year-old texted asking for assist together with her homework simply minutes after my 11-year-old requested if she may FaceTime to say goodnight.

They had been definitely jealous of the locations I acquired to see and the issues I acquired to do. We’re already speaking about going again, but in addition together with most of the different pure wonders inside a brief drive of Web page: Zion Nationwide Park and Bryce Canyon Nationwide Park. I can not wait till my subsequent journey: with…or with out my household.