Until the first week of May we were unsure whether or where we would be going on vacation, but at the last possible minute we made a decision. So amid the whirlwind of finishing our school year and planning a homeschool graduation ceremony for our church's homeschool group, we somehow managed to plan, clean the house, shop, and pack up for vacation.
We decided to go to Arizona this year - it's been 7 or 8 years since we visited, and the kids don't even remember going to the Grand Canyon. I'm just going to do a fly-over view of the highlights of our trip!
The Grand Canyon
We made a "quick stop" at the Grand Canyon before making it to our actual destination of Phoenix. It was really neat for the kids to see the canyon when they will actually remember it at these ages! On the way we listened to a few talks from Answers In Genesis about some of the current creationist research and theories surrounding the Grand Canyon, and it made this visit even more interesting for us.
Confession: I always feel a little underwhelmed looking down at the Grand Canyon, at first. But I think it’s only because it is just impossible to understand the scale of it. We did spot a helicopter in the canyon this time, and it looked smaller than a gnat. It’s just hard to understand how deep it really is. I’d love to go to the bottom someday. Looking up from the bottom might help my brain understand better.
We were also a little amazed to see lots of people leaving the trails and walking on rock outcrops, with a drop of hundreds of feet right behind them, as they stood on a mere four square feet of flat ground! And it was windy. I couldn’t point it out to them without being rude, but people die at the Grand Canyon every year by falling in. If you visit, just…don’t be stupid. There are lots of perfectly safe places to get good pictures at the top, climbing around on slippery rocks is really not necessary.
Saguaro National Park
We decided our main destination would be Phoenix because it's relatively close to Saguaro National Park. We basically planned this whole trip around going to Saguaro, and it was such a pretty place!
Saguaro National Park was really beautiful, the classic desert landscape. The desert can feel so dry and empty, but Saguaro is full of interesting plant life (and I'm sure animal life too). We got there early in the morning, when we could hear birds chirping among the cacti, it was so quiet. I wish I could explain to you the scent of desert air in May, it’s like no other scent I know, floral and woody and dry.
I took so many pictures, but I felt like I couldn’t capture the sheer amount of saguaros in this one little section of the park! They were everywhere, and some were so tall. Saguaros grow about an inch every year - they don’t even start to grow arms until they are 50-80 years old. The tall saguaro I’m standing beside in the photo below is probably around 150 years old.
One thing we didn’t know before we went - there are actually two separate sites for this park that aren’t connected. We were very confused when our map apps were leading us two different places, until we figured it out. The west site has three times more saguaros than the east site, but some on the eastern site grow fatter!
Joshua Tree
We decided to take a one-day trip to California to see Joshua Tree while we were so far south, since it's only about 3 1/2 hours from Phoenix. This was my first time ever visiting California! The gas was expensive, and it was hot in the desert, and there were wind and solar farms all over the place, but other than that it didn't feel as foreign as I expected (what can I say, California has a reputation).
Joshua Tree National Park was a very unique place to visit! Joshua Trees are actually not a tree at all, they are a yucca-type plant. They grow very slowly, similar to the saguaro cactus, and we even saw a few of them still flowering. We entered the park from the east and drove through to the west entrance, and I quite liked going in that order…we went from the Colorado desert to the Mojave desert, and from mostly cacti (including a “teddy bear cactus”) to Joshua trees everywhere! Some of them were so tall, and some areas so thick, that they looked like pine trees from a distance. It felt a little bit like a Dr. Seuss landscape.
One thing we wondered about as we saw a few dead “trees” was what the inside of the trunks looked like…the ranger at the west entrance answered that question. Apparently the trunks are good for almost nothing - the insides are spongey, and when they are dried out they’re still very fibrous, and they can’t be burned. Just interesting to look at, I guess!
Palm Springs
On the way back from Joshua Tree we looped around and visited Palm Springs - I am so glad we drove through there, because it was a very interesting town. As you drive, the surrounding desert is so dry, and the air so dusty - but suddenly you see snow-capped mountains in the distance, and before you know it you are tucked away next the the hills, driving through palm-tree lined streets. I don't think I've ever seen surroundings change from desert, to mountainous, to almost tropical so fast!
Palm Springs is a natural desert oasis, and it's surrounded by parts of the Aqua Caliente reservation - we decided to take a little hike into Andreas Canyon, which is on the reservation.
I am not exaggerating when I say that Andreas Canyon was probably one of the coolest places I've ever been. This is a natural fan-palm oasis, and feels more like you're in Hawaii than in the middle of the Mojave desert. The palms are so tall, it's surrounded by tall rock walls, the water is bubbling and crystal-clear, and the air is sweet-smelling and refreshing. It was just gorgeous! We hiked on the trail, took a bunch of pictures, waded in the water, and enjoyed the unique atmosphere of this place!
Apparently there can be rattlesnakes near the oasis, but we didn't see any - October to May is supposed to be the best time to go to avoid snakes. We stayed about an hour, but I could have spent much longer there. If we are ever in the area again, I would definitely go back - it's worth the entrance fee (about $60 for our family of 7), even for an hour.
Phoenix
We spent some time just relaxing on this trip as well, which was much needed. We spent an entire day at our hotel's water park, we went on an evening desert walk, and walked to a European pastry place for breakfast. Having a little down-time between visiting national parks on this trip was so nice.
Petrified Forest National Park
On the way out of Arizona we detoured to check out Petrified Forest National Park. This park used to be a national monument, and got upgraded to a park in 1962. It's a very overlooked park, but I'm glad we stopped there - it was so interesting! There wasn't any single big sight to see, but as you drove through the park there was petrified wood just everywhere. We have some petrified wood areas in my state, but the sheer amount of petrified wood here was pretty amazing. I probably wouldn't go out of my way to go there again, but it's worth a stop if you are driving through, and it's one more National Park that we can cross off our list!
I've been to Arizona four times in my life, and I think this was my favorite trip there. We were able to see so much, we went in May when it wasn't ridiculously hot yet, and we worked in some relaxation days, which is the key to a good trip in my book. It was a much-needed and inexpensive vacation for our family this year, and proof that you don't have to spend alot of money or go too far to have a worthwhile vacation - there are so many interesting places in the U. S. that are worth seeing!
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