Grand Canyon, Sedona & Phoenix, Arizona

Tim and I both have vague memories of visiting the Grand Canyon as kids. If memory serves us right, we complained the entire time, rather than enjoying the spectacle that mother nature had put in front of us. This was our second chance to enjoy it as adults!

Of course, on our way we came across another road side attraction. Located in the middle of nowhere, we stopped at the Meteor Crator, the world's best preserved meteorite impact site. It was more impressive the Corn Palace, but I had a feeling the Grand Canyon was going to be a slightly bigger hole. By the time we rolled into the park, it was getting pretty late. Having basked in the luxury of our B&B in Santa Fe, we settled on our last camp ground, Ten X, right outside of the canyon entrance. We hightailed it to the South Rim of the park, bottle of wine in hand, just in time for an incredible sunset over the Grand Canyon. The view did not disappoint and we were super grateful we managed to catch such a stunning view, all to ourselves. If you ever get the chance, we highly recommend it. There are loads of spots to stop and just gawk at how something in nature can provide such incredible colors and shapes.

We woke up early, wanting to get one more glimpse of the park before the tourists got too rowdy, and were greeted by wild elk hanging out in our camp ground. Luckily, Roux behaved herself and we packed up and headed for one last view. It was actually quite crazy how many people were already in the park and not speaking english. The Grand Canyon has become one of the top international tourist destinations and it was extremely apparent. Regardless, it was pretty amazing to roam the canyon during the day and take in it’s vastness. We snapped some classic photos and waved goodbye. Maybe the Grand Canyon is really meant for adults at sunset and a bottle of Pinot Noir.

Sedona was the next stop on our route and we were excited to experience the “Vortex” we’d heard about. Apparently Sedona has several energy vortexes, places where people feel heightened energy and spirituality. We rolled into town and couldn’t help ourselves - we immediately signed up for a Pink Jeep Tour and buckled in to check out the funky pink rock formations. Although a super touristy move, Tim had done it 20 years earlier and it was still pretty cool to check out. Our driver was incredibly knowledgable and was all about experiencing the vortex and all nature had to offer. We did leave feeling well informed and pretty zen. Excited to eat a meal without our camp stove, we headed to Dahl & Di Luca for a great meal complete with buffalo burrata.

We only had a few hours the next morning, so we headed to a small outdoor shopping center filled with mosaic tiles, lots of greenery, boutiques and restaurants. the Oak Creek Brewery Co. were kind enough to allow us and roux on their patio. A quick meal and we were on our way to meet up with Tim’s old coworkers from Bonobos in Phoenix.

Upon arrival in Phoenix we were greeted with a penthouse suite, rooftop pool, and cold beers - courtesy of Dylan, Evan and Tuft & Needle. After Bonobos, a few of the guys moved to Phoenix to work for the mattress company and were living the life! Evan happened to be out of town and offered us a free stay in his penthouse apartment, complete with any mattress of our choice and a peloton bicycle. The trifecta was complete when Paulina, the final Bonobos alumni arrived! The crew took us out in Scottsdale, with our first stop being Bandera for dinner. A local favorite, we dined on steaks and cocktails. Ready to take on the night, we headed to Counter Intuitive for drinks with the entire Tuft & Needle crew and then “out” on the town. With zero expectations, we were super surprised to find Scottsdale to be like a mini Vegas. Girls in tiny dresses, lines out the door, golf carts for taxis….this isn’t real life. No wonder people go to college in Scottsdale, I thank my lucky stars I was completely unaware this existed until after I was 30.

Arizona, thanks for the stops. You were super hot, in temperature and pure beauty.

Overnight: Ten X
Food & Drinks: Dahl & Di Luca, Oak Creek Brewery Co. , Bandera, Counter Intuitive
Fun Stuff: Meteor Crator, Grand Canyon, Pink Jeep Tour,