This spring turned out to be the season of chasing waterfalls for us. Our third, and final, waterfall we visited was Sycamore Falls outside Williams. Tucked away in the Sycamore Canyon Wilderness and flowing only a couple months out of the year, this was yet another adventure we had put off until we got an SUV. It was a cool Saturday after a couple days of rain so we were lucky enough to have the canyon mostly to ourselves - minus a couple climbers. Despite the clouds, the blue green water, similar to that at Fossil Creek, stunned. We were surprised by how short of a walk it had been from the trailhead to the falls so we walked the along the rim for awhile to admire the views of the canyon and pools of the clear, blue green water. Our work schedules have unfortunately been completely opposite lately - in the last two and a half weeks we haven't had a single day off together! Hopefully we'll be able to get back out and explore other incredible places, like Sycamore Falls, together again soon. Any recommendations for northern or central AZ adventures? Comment or send us a message!
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One of the perks of having a higher clearance vehicle (we bought a brand new Forester - check out Instagram if you missed it!), and a deciding factor in our car search process, is all the places in northern Arizona we can now (safely) access! Our Honda Accord has brought us so many great memories and carried us to the most incredible places but we've definitely pushed it to its limits (maybe even past!) more than once or twice. It was time to say goodbye and hello to hikes and vistas only available to those with SUVs. Grand Falls, or "Chocolate Falls," was one of those places we longed to visit but avoided in our Honda. The majority of directions to this seasonal spectacle suggest a 4x4 or at least an SUV. To our surprise, the seldom maintained Indian Road 6910 was nothing more than slightly washboarded and totally passable in any old passenger car. So glad we were finally able to check out another one of northern Arizona's natural wonders!
It's been a while since our last post. Since returning from our cross country trip back home, we've been pretty idle. After a year and half in Flagstaff, this place has started to feel like our home (for now). Because of that, we've caught ourselves taking for granted this incredible corner of the country where we live. Between falling into familiarity with Flagstaff, new jobs, and the stresses that come with life in 2017, our introverted natures got the best of us. This last weekend, however, we pushed ourselves to check something off our "Flagstaff Bucket List" and explore somewhere new: Navajo Nation. So we actually just explored one teeny, tiny corner of Navajo Nation. At a whopping 27,000 square miles, that's all we could do in one day. We'd passed through on our way to Telluride last year but hadn't actually taken the time to explore it. Our first stop was Elephant's Feet, a hard-to-miss roadside stop along 160. Being off season, we had these two, towering mountain pillars to ourselves. There's nothing more to do here that stretch your legs and admire the unique formations but it's definitely worth the stop. After, we had decided to catch the sunset at Coal Mine Canyon. Fifteen miles south of Tuba City, although it's just a short jaunt off 264, it's not the easiest to locate. It's unmarked and the last 1/4 mile of the drive is not on a distinguishable road. Regardless, it's passable in our new Subaru Forester but our old Honda Accord would have done just fine as well. Despite the brief difficulty in locating the canyon, the trouble is beyond worth it! There are a lot of canyons in this part of the country but this is probably my favorite one we've seen so far. Even though it was a Saturday night, we had the canyon to ourselves. It was indescribably peaceful and deafeningly silent. On the ride back home, we both agreed that it was exactly what our adventurous, but equally homebody souls needed.
This post is long overdue. The last two months have been crazy between the busy season at work, moving into a new position, and a jam packed October! A trip down south, my parents in town, and finally one of my very best friends, Megan, planned a visit over her fall break. I met Megan the same day Johnny and I met. We were assigned to the same new student orientation group and spent the first week of college going to events and enjoying Bagel Boy as we got used to our new surroundings. Megan has been with us every step of the way from introduction to becoming official to standing alongside us at our wedding so after over a year of living so far apart, it just felt right to have her hanging out with us even if it was just for the weekend. On Friday evening, we decided to head down to Arizona's wine country and check out a winery that's been on our list for awhile now. We sipped on a moscato while the golden light faded and watched the sun sink behind the the bush laden, Verde valley hills. Flagstaff isn't the only part of Arizona that's absolutely beautiful in October. It's probably the best time of year to visit Arizona in general. The weather could not have been more perfect to explore the vineyard and relax in the fading sun. While Megan is one of the most low-key, chill people I know and she insisted on wanting to "just hang out" during her visit, I was so happy when she mentioned visiting the Grand Canyon late Saturday afternoon. I didn't want to push any agenda on her visit but felt like she would regret not going to see one of the most iconic American landmarks. We quickly packed our things (many cameras, some snacks, and our favorite Pendelton blanket) and made the short hour and a half drive to the south rim to catch the sunset. Despite living so close, this was only our second time visiting the Grand Canyon and our first sunset there. Any time of day, this place is a stunner but to watch the jagged edges of the canyon turn soft pinks and purples is truly something I hope everyone gets to experience at least once. While Megan's visit was short, it was full of adventure but also kinship. If you haven't already seen her photography, you've got to check it out. I feel so priveledged to have witnessed her work grow from taking pictures of our tiny dorm room sophomore year to creating beautiful works of art for brides and grooms, families, and friends. Photography isn't an interest our friendship grew out of but grew into and I'm so thankful to have a supportive, inspirational friend like her. Come back soon, Megan, and the invitation is open to anyone else who'd like to visit us here in northern Arizona!
After a weekend down south visiting my grandma, my parents joined us in Flagstaff during our favorite time of year. The aspen shed their leaves a little earlier than expected but hiking Inner Basin still did not disappoint. Last year, we had tried to hike Inner Basin only to be chased out by an incoming storm so we were excited to get back out there this year with my parents in tow. They were champs! Remembering back to our first few weeks in Flagstaff, I know just how hard the transition to 7,000 ft. elevation can be but despite being low-landers, they were amazing! After 4 miles, much of which was at a somewhat steep gain in elevation, we were pooped and spent the rest of the day recovering and baking an apple pie (this is turing out to be a tradition whenever my parents visit Flagstaff in the fall). The next day we headed out to one of our favorite, lesser known places in Flagstaff: Hart Prairie. After we arrived and hiked the short distance to the old abandoned cabin we love, we were devastated to learn that it had recently been fenced and caution taped off due to thieves harvesting its warm, ancient wood and subsequent collapse. My stomach sank as I thought about how horribly a few people had disrespected this admired, historic building. Despite the devastation, we enjoyed sharing one of Flagstaff's hidden gems with my parents and even got a few (totally adorable) snaps of them. Our October was filled with travels and visits from family and friends and although we're happy to have our routine back to normal, sharing Flagstaff has been one of the greatest parts of living here.
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