Roadtripping Arizona, Navajo County and Utah

On top of the Yellowstone visit we did a roadtrip in Arizona (+Utah) which also included some excellent national parks, national monuments and some smaller points of interest.

Here is a short recap.

Meteor Crater (Winslow, Arizona) is the best preserved meteor crater in the world and it is big. How big exactly? Well, you could fit in 20 football fields and 2 million spectators - now that's a Superbowl!

While we were visiting, the Arizona winds were high and is was really difficult to take any photos. Hold on to your hats!

In Winslow there is also one other point of interest - Standin' on the corner - which a memorial for Eagles (the band) and especially their song "Take it Easy". It is located in historic downtown Winslow by legendary Route 66.

Standin' on the Corner

Petrified Wood National park (near Holbrook, Navajo County, AZ) actually includes so called Painted Desert which is a very colorful piece of desert - unfortunately for us the wind had picked up even more since the Meteor Crater so we had to cut our visit short since it was difficult even standing straight. There are some very interesting shops around the area and I would definitely recommend visiting Jim Gray's Petrified Wood Co if you are looking for one of a kind home decor.

The wind was still very much the theme for our roadtrip as we got to Canyon de Chelly (Chinle, Navajo County) where it was very very dusty since the wind had been going on for a few days. I had to visit a local hardware store to get some air to cleanup my camera after doing a canyon drive (which I think is not worth it). I recommend doing the White House Trail though.

Spider Rock, Canyon de Chelly

From Chinle we continued our loop to the one and only Monument Valley National Park (Kayenta, Navajo County) where we enjoyed the excellent views from the loop road and did couple of short hikes (there are only couple available, at least this was the case in May) - especially North Window trail behind Cly Butte is nice in daytime.

After a day in the valley we left monuments behind and headed towards Antilope Canyon just outside Page, AZ. Page is not in Navajo County anymore so you actually gain an hour on your way from Kayenta to Page even though you are in Arizona all the time.

Never mind the time. The canyon is spectacular! And the photography tour by Tadidiin Tours is excellent deal for your bucks if you carry a dslr camera and a tripod. You should also know what bracketing is and you will enjoy your visit for sure. There will be a lot dust, though - especially if you want to make the light beams to pop. Just great, I say! Clearly my favorite stop on the whole roadtrip.

Sitting in the Beam, Antilope Canyon X

Our last stop was in Utah where we enjoyed the great Bryce Canyon National Park red rock hoodoo views for the last couple of days of our trip before heading back to Phoenix. In Bryce there are dozens of hiking trails around the park so there is something for everyone. Unfortunalety the so called Wall Street was closed for the time being.