I had a week off from work and decided to take advantage of the time off and go exploring with Cash!
I bought some of mine and Cash’s favorite snacks for the road trip, packed up Scout (my car), and we left Phoenix. We had about 4 hours of driving ahead of us so we left mid morning. I love driving through Arizona because you see so many different parts of the landscape. You can see Cacti, mountains, forests, and flat desert. I don’t love all the windy fast roads on I-17 but they are part of a very scenic drive. We zipped up and through Flagstaff and then made our way a bit west to the Grand Canyon. This part of the drive was interesting and new for me. It seemed like all of a sudden we left the mountains and all I could see on the horizon was a level flat ground. It almost looked like if we kept driving we would just drive off the Earth.
We got to the park around 2 pm. Unfortunately, with the government shutdown all of the National Parks stopped charging entry fees. The park rangers were at the gates just giving people maps and welcoming them into the park. The visitor center was accepting donations though in case you wanted to still “pay” for the pass.
After the gate we drove around a bit until I could find the road to Mather Point and some of the parking lots. It was a Tuesday so the parking lots were not completely full which was nice. I found a nice spot in the shade. Cash and I were both ready to stretch our legs and soak up the views. In all the excitement I forgot to remember what parking lot we were in and just decided to walk toward the rim trail. That was not my brightest moment. Regardless, Cash and I set off with a light backpack for the paved rim trail. The Rim trail is one of very few trails dogs can actually go on in the park. Dogs are only allowed on paved trails at the Grand Canyon, so I decided that is where we would start. We walked on the rim trail for a couple of miles enjoying all of the views and then walked around the “village” a bit and near the train tracks. It was such a nice and sunny day to walk for a couple of hours.
When we got back to the car we had a bunch of water, snacks, and then planned for our next move. I decided to camp just outside of the park on a Forest Service Road. I drove down the road a couple of miles and found a great spot hidden among some trees. We had a couple of hours of sunlight left so I set up my tent and made some dinner. Afterwards Cash and went for a little run and saw an elk carcass! It was kind of an eerie thing to come across in the middle of the woods. Cash wanted to check it out and sniff around but I didn’t let him get too close, just in case he could get sick from something on the carcass. Shortly afterward we also saw a coyote. Cash and I kind of watched the coyote for a little while, I think he enjoyed watching it anyway.
When we got back to the car I mapped out what I would do for the next day. I decided that we would drive back through the park and head north to Utah.
Cash and I got settled in for the night in our tent. I was excited to watch the stars and fall asleep. One of my favorite things is to sleep beneath the stars. However, this did not last long. About an hour in Cash and I started hearing the elk call through the woods. They were getting closer and closer to our site which was not cool to Cash. He started to sit up, his ears straight up listening, and then he started to growl. It seemed like animals were getting closer to our site and Cash was not having it. So I decided to just move us into the back of my car so he wouldn’t hear and smell things as easily. It worked well, I didn’t wake up until about 7:30.
The next morning I made a nice breakfast and then packed up the camp to drive back through the park and northwards.
We had several hours of driving ahead of us but I was aiming for Bryce Canyon. The drive was beautiful and the weather perfect. As I was driving through Utah I just could not stop looking out the window to see the scenery. It was rejuvenating.
I made it to Red Canyon around 4:30 and found the perfect camp spot just across the road from some great hiking among Red Canyon. I got my car set up for another night of car camping and then decided to go for a hike with Cash. The hike was short but beautiful. We walked along the Pink Ledges trail for about a mile. The red rocks, bright afternoon sun, and views were so fulfilling.
We had another restful night of sleep in the back of Scout.
The next morning I woke up early to drive and see the sunrise from Bryce Canyon. I decided that i should get there early to make it back home before the intense rain fall came down. We got to Bryce Canyon in time but it was super chilly, I wore my puffy, beanie, and gloves to wait and see the sunrise. It was raining a bit too which made it feel more chilly. The sunrise was nice though, I saw the gray dark sky turn bright and the rocks turn from black to orange and red. Cash and I walked around on the paved trail a bit (because that is the only part dogs are allowed on). We got back in the car and I blasted the heat for a bit before we headed south home. I stopped and got a nice warm latte from a coffee truck just outside the park and then stopped at another trailhead at Red Canyon to take a stroll with Cash. This was the Cassidy Trailhead. This is also known as the Outlaw Trail as it was apparently the same trail Butch Cassidy would take to evade the law. Quite a pretty place to escape to! It was nice to walk along another trail with a coffee and warm sun. Cash and I even saw some people riding horses along the trail.
After we left the trail we began our slow journey back home. I stopped multiple times to enjoy the views, stretch our legs, and refuel. We stopped just after the Utah/Arizona border to take in the views of Glen Canyon Dam. This stop was short though because the rain started to come down pretty hard. The rest of our drive was a mix of heavy winds, lots of rain, and dark skies. I stopped in Flagstaff once the rain let up to see the Bonito Lava Flow. This lava flow is a result of the Sunset Crater Volcano which produced two lava flows around the San Francisco Peaks. That area is surrounded by one of the largest Ponderosa Pine Forests in the world. I walked around a little bit, but again this park is not the most dog- friendly so we mostly took in the views from the car.
I decided that since the weather let up a little bit that we would take a more scenic route through Sedona, which I had never been to before. The drive down was on a long road that winded down to Oak Creek Canyon. In Sedona I stopped to make some dinner and walk Cash around before the last couple hours of our drive. I’d like to go back and visit Sedona another time. It was super busy when we stopped there so we did not stay long.
It was a nice drive to catch up on some of my favorite podcasts in the last couple of hours before reaching Phoenix. Even though it was not the best driving conditions I still really enjoyed the ride. There are so many geographic features to take in from the road in Arizona. So many mountains, landmarks, monuments, and plenty of rest areas to view them all.
I got home around 7 and started the dreaded unpacking process.
All in all it was a fantastic trip to decompress after a stressful first quarter of teaching and getting my masters. It was cut short because of the weather, but I plan on going back up there in the near future to spend more time exploring Utah. I live about 7 hours from Zion and Bryce Canyon and about 4 hours from the Grand Canyon. I am fortunate to live so close to so many beautiful places. While I am in Arizona I want to explore as much as I can in state and in the surrounding states as I can, and hopefully revisit some of my personal favorites along the way.
Here are some of the photos I took along the way.
Where we went:
Cassidy Trail: Red Canyon/Dixie National Forest
My two cents:
If you are planning a Southwest adventure just know that there is no shortage of places to “car camp.” A simple google search will give you a bunch of options for state parks and established campgrounds. A bit more digging will yield you with results for Forest Service Roads and dispersed sites. It takes a bit of time to search and sift through results but pay close attention to the quality of roads, capabilities of your vehicle, and the weather when choosing your site.
Also- exploring these parks and places is doable with a dog, but you will be a bit limited in the trails you can hike. That is why I try to find places just outside the park to do some more hiking because generally there are less restrictions for dogs. Also, the type of trail you are walking on is important. It gets hot here even in October so the ground may be too hot for their paws or too rough with jagged rock. Just be mindful of your dog’s comfortability and try to plan accordingly for them. Although Cash can’t use words to communicate, his body language normally does the trick in letting me know when he is tired, or his paws are getting sore. I brought some bag balm along which I sometimes use on his paws after a long day outside, this helped his paw pads.
Hannah the hiker 
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