SNAPSHOTS: VEGAS, BABY

Ok, so, I had never been to Vegas before. But I love NYC with all the lights and craziness, so I figured - how different could Vegas be? Right? Um, yeah. Personally, I think Vegas is like NYC on steroids. And maybe it was just because we just spent a week out in the quiet desert, but Vegas was a bit overwhelming when we first arrived. So many people. So much going on. But we warmed up to it after a while. We walked the strip, stuffed our faces, tried our hand at some slots (no such luck), had muuuuultiple frozen hot chocolates at Serendipity, and saw a Cirque Du Soleil show. It was actually a lot of fun!

p.s - this is the last of our trip photos. Phew, we made it through!

STAR LIGHT, STAR BRIGHT

Boo is a star guy. Well, he’s a space guy. He’s always pointing out constellations and star names and planets to me. And I’ve shown you some of his moon photos before (1, 2), but while we on our trip he dabbled in a little star photography. We still have a lot of learning to do (a bore stable tripod and better lenses would probably help, too), but I still adore how these came out. You don’t get views like this near the city. 

**all photos taken by Boo!

ALL-AMERICAN ROAD TRIP: ARCHES

I don’t know why I’m going so out of order with all of these, but I am. So before Bryce and Zion, we spent a day and a half at Arches. We actually got  up waaaay before sunrise to start our hike to Delicate Arch. In the dark. Now, I am already the least steady person on my feet. I’m clumsy. And I have no balance. So stumbling around in the dark on a rocky trail may have been one of my worst nightmares. But it was good we got started so early, because we were able to see a whole lot more of the park. Landscape Arch was one of my favorites!

ALL-AMERICAN ROAD TRIP: BRYCE CANYON & ZION NATIONAL PARK

Continuing on with road trip goodness…

We didn’t get to spend much time at this canyon, as we just stopped as we were passing through. But, even with the little time we spent there, I LOVED Bryce Canyon. Don’t get me wrong - the Grand Canyon is so majestic, and beyond words. But Bryce Canyon just seemed so unique. Maybe one day we’ll get to go back and hike and explore it a bit more. I can only imagine what it is like from below, if it’s this beautiful from above. 

Oh man… Zion. It was our last hiking stop before heading back to Vegas (again, I’m going out of order here). And I was running on very little that I had left in me. My body was so over it. We were beat. Tired. Exhausted.  But we pushed through and some how managed to make it to Scout Lookout along the Angels Landing trail. We also finished the day with a quick ad easy, quiet walk along the river. It was a nice finish to a weeks worth of hikes and explorations. 

ALL-AMERICAN ROAD TRIP: ANTELOPE CANYON

Mesa Verde may have been my favorite hike, but Antelope Canyon was one of my favorite sights the entire trip. Once you block out the crowds of people being shuffled through, you get completely lost in the twists and turns and wavy patterns of this slot canyon. The colors, and light, and shadows - I just wish we had more time (and a tripod handy) to really capture it all. 

ALL-AMERICAN ROAD TRIP: DESERT WANDERER

dress: Buffalo Exchange

boots: Lulu’s

sunglasses: Warby Parker

ALL-AMERICAN ROAD TRIP: GRAND CANYON, HORSESHOE BEND, & MESA VERDE

I’m posting things a bit out of order here. But I just want to fit everything in so that it doesn’t drag out for too long. So lets first head back to the Grand Canyon. Our second day there, we put on our hiking shoes and headed down into the canyon. Because of our schedule, we were only able to get a few hours in before we had to turn around and head back out. But even though we only made a dent into the canyon, it was still pretty crazy to look up and realize just where we were. I mentioned before that the photos just don’t  do it justice. Well, neither do words. I will say one thing though - going down is so deceiving. It seems sooooo easy heading down in, it feels like you could easily go further. Until you remember you have to turn around and head back up. Yeah. 

But onto the next…

We didn’t take very many photos at Horseshoe Bend, but we did spend a lot of time here. And it was quite mesmerizing. We planted ourselves right on the edge, ate our snack/lunch, and watched the boats and kayakers on the river below. 

If you have never heard of Mesa Verde (I hadn’t until Boo mentioned it), it is a National Park in Colorado with all of these preserved ancient Pueblo cliff dwellings. It’s pretty flipping’ cool. So after getting up close and personal with one of the cliff dwellings (Spruce Tree House), we headed out on a hike to discover some petroglyphs and to see some of the the other houses from afar. 

I think Mesa Verde was my favorite hike on the entire trip. Just because it was pretty different from the others. We walked a couple of miles along the cliff edge, squeezing through tiny spaces in between large rocks and climbing over tree roots to make our way to the Petroglyphs. There were a lot of oohs and aahs along the hike itself, before even getting to the main attraction. 

Stay tuned tomorrow (and next week) for even more road trip adventures. 

ALL-AMERICAN ROAD TRIP: MONUMENT VALLEY (AND AN OUTFIT)

dress: Buffalo Exchange

jacket: Forever21

scarf: thrifted

boots: Lulu’s

ALL-AMERICAN ROAD TRIP: ROUTE 66 & GRAND CANYON

Oh man, you guys. Do I have a crap ton of photos from our road trip (official amount - crap ton). Hopefully I don’t bore you, but you’re going to be seeing a lot of them over the next couple of weeks. You’ve been warned. 

So, we started out with the first day driving from Vegas to the Grand Canyon, stopping along Route 66 on the way. I loved Route 66. So cute. I was running all over the place, discovering all sorts of cutesy little spots. We actually stopped in both Saligman and Williams. And didn’t leave until we got some BBQ, of course. By the time we got to the Grand Canyon, we spent the whole second half of the day driving the scenic route, stopping at all of the look-out points. I swear, no camera can actually capture the real beauty of that place. No pictures do it justice. If you have never been, it should definitely be on your bucket list!

P.S - because I know someone will ask, my overalls are thrifted Levi’s.