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Looking at these pictures makes me feel sore all over again, haha! One of the things I really wanted to do on our trip was go horseback riding. Originally, we planned to do it in Zion National Park, but the company we were interested in wasn't open until the following week. So we decided to do it in Monument Valley! I can't think of a better way to see these amazing monuments! 

Monument Valley is Navajo land, so the road through the valley is very rough and only Navajo can live there. We had a Navajo horseback guide, and he was so kind. He had never left the area, and didn't even know where Florida was when we told him where we were from. 










The views from our horseback ride were incredible. There is no way to see the Valley fully in your car. (Pro tip! Take Dramamine if you are prone to motion sickness! The road is nauseating.)

Below is my money shot! Our horseback tour was at sunrise, which made for awe inspiring photos.


The stable was very primitive! They had an outhouse...like one with the moon on it and everything. And there was no door to the outhouse, so that was interesting. 


Thankfully, we stayed at a lovely hotel right outside the park. Goulding's Lodge has been there forever, but it was spotless, modern enough, and had AMAZING food. We loved staying there.

Running from the indoor pool back to our room in the freezing cold will always be a fun memory for us! Plus, the hotel had forged a few trails around the area, and so we were also able to work in another hike after resting from our horse adventure. 






Did you know people like to stack rocks on trails? I still don't get it, but it's cool looking anyway. 

Funny thing happened while we were staying here! Monument Valley is in Utah, just over the state line, boarding Arizona. While we were there, the time changed for Daylight Saving. So, we started off in Nevada in one time zone, drove to another, the time changed....but Arizona does not observe Daylight Saving...Utah does...So we were very confused! You might say, well, you are vacation! What's the time matter! I'd agree, if we were at the beach or something, but all of our activities were scheduled with tour guides and outdoors, so the time did very much matter! 

Leave a comment below and tell me what you think about horseback riding! Have you been able to do it anywhere neat?

Horseback Riding in Monument Valley | Day Four

Monday, March 30, 2020


File Horseshoe Bend under totally unexpected! It's such a neat spot. I had imagined it'd be a quick place to pull over a snap a photo, but it ended up being much more than that. There is a fee to park, and limited facilities. The parking lot is actually about a half a mile 'hike' to the bend. There are fenced in portions, but there are also tons of places you can walk right up to the edge. (Another day of being nervous watching people risk their lives for Instagram shots.)

It's spectacular and huge! In the photo below you can see a boat in the upper right of the bend and maybe that will help you see the depth of this. 




Lower Antelope Canyon was the only place I requested be added to our itinerary. I'd seen it in photos and knew I wanted to go! I am SO glad we went because it was incredible. 

Antelope Canyon is on Navajo land, so you must have a Navajo accompany you. We had an excellent tour guide and he even showed us the best places to take pictures. He knew exactly what settings to use. While the pictures are incredible, just be aware that this is 100% a photo op. That's what you are paying for. (Also, this was another place that only had portapotties!) 




Our guide would even just take our phones and take the pictures for us. He really knew what he was doing, so we were all happy he offered.







I have about 4,000 photos from Antelope Canyon, so I really held back here. Our guide told us in the summer these canyons are so popular they can have 500 people down there at a time. I felt crowded as it was, and our group was only 8, followed closely by another group of 15. 

I included that last photo so you could see just how inconspicuous this canyon is! Same with Horseshoe Bend - you would never know they were there unless you just happened upon it. I had to imagine what the early settlers and native people thought when they found these places hundreds of years ago. 

Leave a comment below if you've seen these places, in real life or on Instagram!

Horseshoe Bend & Lower Antelope Canyon | Day Three

Wednesday, March 25, 2020

In the second installment of our 10th anniversary trip (here is day 1), here are some scenes from the Grand Canyon! Neither of us had been before, and I was truly blown away. This is going to sound dumb, but the Grand Canyon is so much bigger than I ever thought. It's so vast, and incredible. 

As I mentioned in the Zion post, I am afraid of heights. I almost forgot I was afraid of heights until going on this trip! I stayed really far from the edge when possible, but it was other people that made me a ball of nerves this entire day. So many people were taking huge risks for photos! 





completely fake smile. I was so nervous, and it's laughable because I'm very far from the edge, despite how it looks here.







We stayed at the Bright Angel Lodge within the Grand Canyon National Park. It was very nice, and recently updated. We did have to pay extra to have a private bathroom. Additionally there is no air conditioning, so be aware of that if you visit in the summer. We were so cold after stargazing that I slept in all my clothes and piled on 2 blankets! 

Leave a comment below if you have ever visited the Grand Canyon, and were surprised at the size!

Scenes from the Grand Canyon | Day Two

Monday, March 23, 2020



Blake and I just got back from an epic 10 year anniversary trip! Choosing a destination was challenging at first, because we typically go for more tropical destinations, which isn't always practical in February. Blake mentioned that he had always wanted to do a big Grand Canyon trip-something that I had never considered.

Once the research began, though, I became really excited about it! He did most of the planning, so that made it really fun for me. Long story short we had an amazing time, and I have the travel bug more than ever! 

(A quick note on traveling during the coronavirus threat: we weren't worried, and aside from wiping down our plane seats with a disinfecting wipe, didn't change anything about our planned trip.) 

We flew in Las Vegas, a place I have ZERO desire to ever return to, and stayed one night since we were arriving so late. It was a cheap flight, and we were able to pick up our rental car and get some groceries for the week very easily. 

The first full day of our trip we spent in Zion National Park! 

My pictures are kind of all mixed up in this post, but here is a quick run down of the day:
We started off at the visitor's center and made a quick pb&j lunch at a picnic table. Then we headed up into the park to do two trails! 

The first was the Canyon Overlook trail, which was challenging for me as I am afraid of heights. The trail was very fun, and the views were incredible. There were several places, though, where I had to psych myself up to continue! Most of the trail had railings, but quite a few places did not. And, I really had to find it in me to cross a bridge that did not look reliable. The view at the end made it all worth it, and I was really proud that I conquered a fear. 
















The second trail we did is called the Upper Emerald Pool trail. It was also a bit challenging because going towards the pool was entirely uphill. This one also had a great payoff with a very serene grotto at the end.








We absolutely love hiking, so Zion was a perfect place to start the trip! You could easily spend more than one day in the park. Just outside of the visitor's center are shops and restaurants, so that was very convenient. We stopped for dinner as we made our way out of the park. 

Interestingly, in Utah, you cannot order alcohol without also ordering food! 



That night, we stayed in a tiny house! It was SO cute and I decided I could totally live in a tiny house. If I had two tiny houses that is. I'd need a seperate one for my office with all my Cricut stuff, haha. 

But truthfully, it was the the perfect way to end our first day. We sat by the fire, drank rum and cokes, and got to see SO many stars. 




I have so much more to share! After all this was just day one. Stay tuned for our next stops at the Grand Canyon, Monument Valley, Sedona and a few more fun places. 

Leave a comment below if you've ever visited Zion or another national park! We've got an annual pass for the national parks-so let me know where we should go next!

A Day In Zion National Park, Utah | Our 10 Year Anniversary Trip

Monday, March 16, 2020


Hello!

Hi friends! I'm Kristen, and this is the Life and Style of an early 30's Floridian living the Best Life Ever, with her husband and three pugs. Runner | Avid Reader | Small Shop Owner

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