From Saturday, March 18th 2023 to Sunday, March 26th, myself and 3 of my good friends traveled the American Southwest and saw as many natural wonders as we could. Along the way, we visited Las Vegas, Death Valley National Park, Mojave National Preserve, Joshua Tree National Park, Phoenix, Sedona, the Grand Canyon, and finally Petrified Forest National Park. We were constantly on the move, but our tireless driving, hiking, and camp-hopping was well worth the chance to witness some of the most beautiful sights nature has to offer! Scroll on to see some pictures taken during the trip.
The first day of our trip was spent in Las Vegas, as it has the most accessible airport in the Southwest. We arrived mid-afternoon and spent most of the day picking up our rental car and buying supplies at REI and the grocery store to prep for the rest of the trip. We then settled into our hostel, which was located across the street from the above hotel/wedding chapel. We got to witness the aftermath of an Elvis Wedding, in which an Elvis impersonator binds a lucky couple in holy matrimony. Once we were sufficiently rested, we ventured out to the Vegas Strip to see the sights and wander around some of the city's iconic casinos.
We walked through the Bellagio and Caesar's Palace, where I snapped the above pcture of statues within a fountain. As we are generally a group of risk-averse and thrifty guys, none of us engaged in any gambling, but it was still an interesting experience to walk amongst the hustle and bustle of Las Vegas. We were very hungry and it was quite late by the time we ate dinner, so we stopped at a nearby Tex-Mex place in the Strip. It was incredibly overpriced and not very good. If you ever get food in Vegas, make sure to eat before you go to the strip!
The morning after, we left the hostel as early as we could and drove the rental car straight across the Nevada border into California. We stopped at Death Valley National Park, and the first thing we did was hike part of the Golden Canyon. Once we reached the peak, I was struck by the beauty of the golden vista and had a hard time believing what I was seeing was real! After we were done sight seeing, we set up camp and made sandwiches by the bonfire.
Our next day was spent ascending the Kelso Dunes in Mojave National Preserve. My boots got absolutely filled with sand and it took me forever to pour all of it out! This was my first time climbing a sand dune, and it was very tricky to get a solid foothold while making the climb. After we were done playing in the sand, we spent the rest of the day driving west until we stopped to set up camp in Joshua Tree.
The unique beauty of Joshua Tree is captured wonderfully in the above picture I took of our camp, as the trees and landscape there look almost alien. Unfortunately, the good weather shown in the picture did not hold up for the rest of our stay there. Our hiking and sightseeing plans for the following day were nearly ruined by wind and cold rain. This was incredibly unlucky, as the park only gets 4.4 inches of rain per year.
After making it out of Joshua Tree, we crossed another state border and ventured into Arizona. We settled into our hotel in the outskirts of Phoenix and treated ourselves to our first hot meal in a few days at an authentic Mexican restaurant. The al pastor tacos I ate there were by far the best things I ate the entire trip. We recovered and recharged in Phoenix and saw some sights in the surrounding area, but our minds were thinking head to the main attraction: the Grand Canyon.
Seeing the Grand Canyon in person was more breathtaking than I ever could have imagined. The sheer scale of the canyon is hard for the mind to comprehend. I consider myself lucky to count myself among one of the millions of visitors the park gets per year! We didn't do any intense hikes, instead taking in the views with the rest of the tourists.
We caught a bit of snow during our visit, which made setting up camp a bit tricky and some of the trails slippery, but otherwise it wasn't too much of an issue. One fellow visitor to the park made a tiny snowman that he left on the trail, which was a funny sight to stumble upon.
The final attraction on our list was Petrified Forest National Park. The wood at the park had fossilized over the millennia, turning it into an incredibly unique crystal-like substance. I also learned a good bit about the illegal petrified wood trade, as the park staff informed us that it's disappointingly common for people to steal petrified wood from the park grounds and fence it online.
Finally, we wrapped up our trip by taking Route 66 to Albuquerque. We got to our hotel, packed our bags, and heading to the airport the next morning. It was the conclusion to an unforgettable trip that we will cherish for a very long time!