Travel: Arizona

After leaving New Mexico, I cut into the top of Arizona near the Petrified Forest National Park. I drove the park from East to West along the main road.

The views in this park are so clear that you can see up to 100 miles away. The colors of the dirt and grasses feels a little other worldly sometimes.

I drove along the park and stopped at the visitor center for my token and a few overlooks. I did two smaller hikes there. The first one I did was called Blue Mesa. You descend down into piles of bluish bentonite clay and walk over crested hills.

An older park guide at the beginning told me the best spots to go and take pictures.

The second shorter walk I did was called Giant Logs. It is behind the museum near the south entrance to the park. This was a collection of some of the most colorful logs in the park gathered together on a simple paved path. I was there right when the park was closing so I got to do the loop alone.

That night I slept in Joseph City and got some pad thai from a food truck in the town square. I took one of my favorite pictures of the trip below with the reflection of the mural and route 66.

Early in the morning, I drove west to Sedona to meet a friend. I had an amazing iced latte and avacado toast at Creekside Coffee. I spent the morning drawing and catching up in my sketchbook while overlooking amazing red rock sculptures.

After breakfast, I met my friend Stephen in Red Rock State Park to do some hiking.

It was a brutally hot day, but we made it through and continued on to hike Devil’s Bridge trail.

I was chugging so much water as I went along this path. The very end was a lot of stairs. I met a nice couple that took a picture of me on the bridge itself. We hiked out together and afterwards, they actually used their off roading jeep to get us to the main roads.

After the long hike, we got dinner that night in west Sedona at Pisa Lisa! And for desert we snagged ice cream at Rocky RD Ice cream. After the heat, the ice cream was exactly what I needed. I slept at a Harvest Host golf course that night peacefully.

In the morning we headed to Salt Rock for brunch. I had a delicious sandwich and cocktail to kick off a morning wander through shops in town.

After a wander, we headed south to Phoenix. We got tickets to the Desert Botanical Gardens. This was definitely one of the better gardens I’ve been to in the US and so unique. The beginning gate opens with Chihuly sculptures that mimic cacti.

There are different areas that explain all the types of plants. And the sheer size of the saguaro was impressive.

I was obsessed with all the flora coming off the cacti and the textures and colors. It was unlike any plants on the east coast so I was in heaven.

That evening for dinner we found Bitters Cocktail Bar. We split some mac & cheese and I had two cocktails. My favorite was called “Bitter Ex” which was made of vodka, habanero, mango, falernum, & lime. The restaurant was in an innovation center complex which had plenty of parking and public art. I found a shady spot under one of the buildings and called it home for the night.

I have to say, I did NOT sleep well in the van that night. Phoenix was way hotter than I was prepared for in May. I’d like to go back to Arizona in early spring and do some more hiking and site seeing, but my little tin can was not built for comfort in that kind of heat.

In the morning, I got Black Rock Coffee Bar at the suggestion of an east coast friend before heading west to LA.