Guests: Expected and Unexpected

Day 60 (September 22, 2021)

We drove to Phoenix to pick up Veronica. As we drove into the airport, we got a text: "we're by door 7 in terminal 4."  "We?" we thought? That doesn't make sense, we're just picking up Veronica right? But when we got to the airport... Josh was there too! He'd flown all the way from Chicago to join us for the next week of our trip!

We were beyond surprised by the new addition. We somehow managed to squeeze both of them and all their stuff into Blue. The back seat was much tighter than we expected, but we think it will work for the next week.

We ordered burritos and enchiladas from a Mexican restaurant in Phoenix, then ate dinner on the floor of our AirBnb. We're both so excited to have friends along with us!

Day 61 (September 23, 2021)

After rearranging everything in Blue in order to create a more comfortable seating arrangement, the four of us headed off  to Sedona for a Pink Jeep tour! These vehicles can climb over some serious terrain. We traveled along the Broken Arrow trail, which led us over rocks, up steep climbs, and down the "devil's staircase."

The Jeep periodically stopped to let us get out and explore the beautiful surroundings. 

Our tour guide "Parky" was great, and taught us a about the local history, along with some interesting facts about local plants and animals. He also knew some great spots for photos, and some tricks to make them extra fun.

After the photo spots were visited, the trail became extra exciting. We traveled down some seriously steep rocks, much rougher terrain than any of us realized was traversable in a Jeep!

The whole tour was something else. And sharing it with friends made it even more of a treat.

Day 62 (September 24, 2021)

Another day with Josh and Veronica! Before they joined us, we had a pretty consistent system in place. We've had to make some adjustments, but so far everything is working well.

Our Pink Jeep tour guide Parky recommended that we head to Lake Powell for some swimming, so that's what we did. Along the way we stopped by Horseshoe Bend, a spot that Veronica had on her list of places that she wants to visit. After a short walk, we arrived at a set of 1,000 foot cliffs overlooking a bend in the Colorado River. 

An hour or so past Horseshoe Bend we got to Lake Powell and had lunch near Lone Rock. We were advised not to drive very close to the lake since the road turns into deep sand, so we walked a half mile or so to find a good spot to swim. In retrospect, we're pretty sure Blue could have made the drive. 

The water felt fantastic! Lake Powell is much warmer than the mountain lakes we're used to.

We rinsed off in the provided showers that had water pressure so high it felt like small daggers on our skin. Then hopped back in Blue for a couple hours on our way to Zion National Park. We arrived close to dark, and all of the spots were full in the dispersed camping area we were planning on staying in. We looked a bit further and found a small, steep road up to the top of a ridge. It was probably the most challenging drive so far on this trip. At one point we definitely did not have all four wheels on the ground, and Nolan almost got her stuck in a large rut in the road. Luckily, with a little guidance from Josh on the outside of the car we made it to the top and found a lovely spot to make some BBQ chicken with peach jalapeño jam and spend the night.