Arizona - November '24

We entered Arizona after a night in Kanab, Utah, near the Best Friends Animal Sanctuary where we played with several dozen of the 600 orphaned cats for a day (they also have hundreds of dogs, pigs, horses and other animals who've been rescued due to natural disasters and other reasons), a beautiful 6,000 acre facility amongst canyons and red desert that also has been the scene of many western movie sets back in the 1940's-60's.

The Glen Canyon Dam is an impressive feat of engineering, dispersed camping on Lake Powell was an unexpected delight, and kayaking and hiking up Antelope Canyon on Lake Powell were all pre-highlights to the Grand Canyon and our brief backpack down and back up 4,600 feet on the Kaibab trail to the Colorado River to camp at the Bright Angel Campground. I was fortunate to run the river both as a 15-year old coming of age, and on our honeymoon 33 years ago. The Grand Canyon inspires like nowhere else on earth, no matter how many times you go.

Besides these areas and of course Sedona (tons of great hiking though crowded), the high desert of Coconino Forest, including Humphreys Peak (12,600 feet!), Walnut Creek National Monument, Sunset Crater National Monument, Tuzigoot National Monument, Dead Horse Ranch State Park, and an epic steep bike ride to the ghost former mining town Jerome, were all super fun adventures along our way south to my brothers place in Phoenix. Along the way we saw 3 bobcats, a tarantula, road runners, and more bighorn sheep.

Stopping at my brother's historic apartment building afforded us a chance to stay put for a week, get an oil change, spend precious time with my nephews and just take in city living in perfect 70 degree temps. Pretty nice for late November! We attended a concert of one of our favorite musicians Mat Kearny, and took the plunge in a robo taxi (after surveying several strangers at a bar and at the concert on their experiences with Waymu), a driverless taxi company. Thankfully it was not as scary as it sounds, though we only traveled a few miles and at 11:00 at night. We'll see if we do it again to the airport in a month.

On we wander, towards a planned one month rest in southern California.