Road Trip: Arizona

We left a few days before Dan's birthday and headed out to New Mexico. Instead of traveling on the highway, we decided to pass through Tonto National Park, check out the Petrified Forest, and then get to Albuquerque in the evening.

Of course right as we left there was the typical desert scenery that you get used to spending time in Phoenix. Personally, I love desert plant life (from a distance) so I enjoyed the view as soon as we left populated areas.

Pretty soon after leaving town, the elevation started to slowly climb and the plant life started to change. More and more trees, less cacti. At one point, on the left side of the road it was forest like and on the right side it was desert like.

ROAD TRIP!!!

Hi all!

I have been BUSY! Oh me oh my. Dan and I just got back from a longer than expected road trip this week. Originally the plan was to go to Albuquerque to visit a close family friend, Dan (who actually married us!) and then head up to Bryce Canyon and the Grand Canyon.

Dan and I decided that after we spent some time in New Mexico, we should go to Austin, Texas. A handful of years ago, Dan went to Austin for a work conference and loved it. He's been talking about taking me there ever since and I figured, hey! We'll be so close, why not just drive there? From there the plan was to go to Dallas, Oklahoma City, and then over to Four Corners, Bryce Canyon, then to the Grand Canyon and back.

But, that's not what happened.

How Did That Get In LA? The Culver City Scenic Outlook

Over the holiday break, Dan and I decided it was time to stop lounging around so much and enjoy the sunny, warm weather we had.

We decided to go on a hike and I mentioned how I wanted to check out the hill in Culver City that we can see on our neighborhood walk.

I looked on a map and figured out it was most likely Kenneth Hahn State Recreation Area that we were seeing and decided to see what the little spot of nature was doing in the middle of Los Angeles, well off to the side at least.

So, we set off on our adventure.

Joshua Tree

Before the government shutdown (luckily) we went to Joshua Tree for the first time. We went with another couple, Dorian an Elizabeth, and their adorable dog, Rocco. It was a great trip and easy planning. She is a vegan and he's vegetarian, so it was fun to come up with food ideas instead of frustrating. Yay for vegans!