Discussion: Sloth Goes Places - Arizona and Utah

This Week’s Topic: Sloth Goes Places - Arizona and Utah

Back in March, Sloth went on an adventure, a Disney Adventure to be exact. He was very excited, as his last adventure was back in 2019, and he's eager to share the highlights with you. 

DAY 1: RED ROCK WELCOME

This was a LOOOONG travel day. Sloth had to make his way to the airport way too early. He flew from O'Hare to Phoenix International Airport, where we had a little family reunion. Then we boarded our motor coach and made our way to Sedona. We stopped off twice along the way. Once to check out the saguaro cacti and again to visit Montezuma Castle. After we checked in at the Enchantment resort, we had a welcome dinner and received an extra special pin celebrating our 4th Disney Adventure. 

DAY 2: HIT THE TRAIL!

We were surprised to awake to snow. Who knew it would snow in Arizona in March? The good news was that it didn't interfere with our off-road tour of Diamondback Gulch. Rollercoasters are nothing compared to this. After, we made our way into Sedona for lunch, where I was really surprised to get a little birthday celebration. The guides knew our original trip back in October was to celebrate my birthday, and it was very sweet of them to give me a pin and a special dessert. We walked around Sedona, bought some crystals (you know there are four power vortices there), and ate some prickly pear ice cream. 

DAY 3: GRAND DISCOVERY

After breakfast, we hopped on the bus and traveled to Bearizona Wildlife Park. It was a lot of fun! On another leg of this journey, we stopped off in Williams, which is part of the legendary Route 66, and Mather Point, which was our sneak peek at our final destination -- The Grand Canyon. After a quick view of the canyon and dinner, we met with a Navajo family who do educational programs. It was wonderful! They shared their music, signing, and dancing with us. 

DAY 4: THE MIGHTY CANYON

We went on a guided tour along the South Rim of Grand Canyon National Park. It was was awe inspiring, to say the least. Then we watched the sunset on the canyon. It's amazing how much the view changes due to how the light is hitting it. 

DAY 5: WESTERN MONUMENTS

Back in the bus as we travel to Horseshoe Canyon. It was a bit of drive, but there were so many stunning things to look at along the way. Since the Navajo Nation is still closed due to COVID, we could not visit Monument Valley Park, but we did a tour of Horseshoe Canyon, climbed up to Teardrop Arch, and were able to get a good look at all the monuments. After, we had a cookout in the canyon. You can see Kiersten made some fry bread, and we dined on Navajo tacos. I was really excited for dinner, because I read about Navajo tacos in two books recently and was curious about them. I will say, they were delicious. After dinner, we sat fireside and were entertained by a local band called Dark Sky, who treated us to a mix of traditional and contemporary songs. On the ride back to our villas, I just drank in the sky. It's been a long time since I've been able to see that many stars. 

DAY 6: MOSEY OVER TO MOAB

Another bit of a ride, but well worth the trip. One fun thing they did, was we recreated the scene from Forrest Gump, when he stops running. It was hilarious, and also very cool to be in a location where so many films were shot. The same could be said for Moab. In fact, the resort we stayed at had a little movie museum, which I visited after our horseback ride along the trails made famous by John Wayne. 

DAY 7: NATURE'S FAULT

This day was spent in Arches National Park. Wow! The formations are epic. I did the easier tour and explored the Window section of the park, while other people in our group hiked to the Delicate Arch. We later went into Moab, ate, and shopped. It's a nice town. Then it was time for our final group dinner. We had a singing cowboy, which was fun, and even made s'mores and sang together around the campfire. 

DAY 8: HAPPY TRAILS

We traveled to our final destination together - Grand Junction Regional Airport. That's 3 states and over 1,000 miles in 8 days. I have to say, this was the smallest airport I ever visited. It took less than 5 minutes to get through the TSA line (which is some sort of miracle). It was sad to say goodbye to Kiersten and Sloth, but I know we will see each other again soon. 

THE PINS

Each day had a theme AND a collectors pin. 

Have you visit any of these places? 
Let us know in the comments!