Oak Creek, Page, Grand Canyon, Mexican Hat, Indian Creek, Moab, Canyonlands, Arches... Phew!

It's difficult to justify sitting inside staring at a screen when you're in the Southwest. However, after many days in a row of climbing and exploring every square inch of sandstone, Camille and I have finally decided that we need a rest day. That means it's time to sip on some coffee that was prepared by someone else, edit photos, update the blog and wash some very sandy clothes and sheets.

Hope you've got some spare time set aside!

I think last time we spoke we were climbing and hiking our way through Sedona, Arizona. We did one more hike while we were there: to Devil's Bridge. It was cool. Didn't see the Devil though.

Heading north, we stopped for a cold night up in Oak Creek Canyon. The next day we tried out some of the climbing there. Being at a higher elevation we were climbing on basalt rather than sandstone. The climbing was different and fun. I tried a few 5.10 hand cracks that made me work much harder than expected.

Here's Camille working on an unknown route with which we started the day.

Then we drove towards the Grand Canyon! We found an awesome spot to camp outside the park in the Kaibab National Forest. We've been having fires every night which have helped keep us warm when the temperatures plummet with the sun.

We've even very successfully cooked popcorn over the fire in the cast iron pan.

Then we drove to that big ol' hole in the ground. 'Tis still Grand!

Here's a view of the Colorado River from the Desert Tower.

The Desert Tower.

A happy French girl who kept saying "It's not possible".

Hungry and human-acclimated Elk.

Sometimes we take photos together...

The canyon at sunset.

Some pictographs during our hike down the Bright Angel Trail. Fun fact: petroglyphs are depictions that are carved or chipped into stone while pictographs are painted onto the stone.

Mule Deer in Indian Garden.

On our way towards Plateau Point. The hike was just over 12 miles roundtrip.

The most purple cacti I've ever seen.

The view of the Colorado from Plateau Point.

The view of the South Canyon Rim, looking back at the trail we just hiked.

After a couple days hiking around the Grand Canyon we were satisfied and ready to move on. Next logical stop was Horseshoe Bend, just outside of Page, Arizona. A very popular spot for photographers due to the easy approach and spectacular view. Here's a couple variations of the Bend.

Heading farther north we found ourselves camping outside of Page, Arizona right next to Lake Powell. We had the place to ourselves.

Lake Powell was spectacular. It was like a mirror, reflecting all of those wonderful desert colors.

Sunsets have been consistently mind-blowing.

That night we crossed over the border into Utah and camped next to a rock formation called Mexican Hat, just outside of the town of Mexican Hat... Here's Camille showing off the splendid hat.

From the top of the hat you can see our home on wheels. On the horizon you can barely see Monument Valley. We decided to skip that stop due to entrance fees and guide-mandatory hiking. There will be plenty of free monuments to see on our journey.

We drove up to a spot called Moki Dugway for a nice view of the valley.

From the top we could see our next destination: Valley of the Gods.

Valley of the Gods was incredible. A scenic 17 mile drive through some magnificent formations. There are established climbs on some of these towers, but the rock quality is low and we value our lives.

View of Monument Valley at sunset from Valley of the Gods.

Then we drove North some more and stopped at Indian Creek, the #1 destination for climbing sandstone splitter cracks. On the way in we said hello to a group of 20 or so deer.

Camille tried to get a close-up shot and ended up covered in mud.

Another stupid sunset...

Then we climbed some cracks! Camille is very very new to splitter crack climbing but she picked it up quickly and learned to embrace the physical, more-than-slightly painful style. A great stop on the journey for sure.

Just past Indian Creek is the Needles sector of Canyonlands National Park. In the winter, the park is free to enter but all services and visitor centers are closed. The solitude we had while exploring the park was magical; only a handful of other visitors were there that day.

We did all sorts of shorter hikes around the park. 

I dub these rocks "The elephant and the toadstool".

The view of "The Needles" from afar.

3 totally different layers stacked together in one photo. Such a spectacular, geologically interesting area!

We visited "The potholes". An area where lots of little organisms manage to survive and thrive in the harsh desert environment. Here's Camille documenting the snails as they peruse the bottom of this still-wet pothole.

Then we drove north to Moab and camped outside of the town. The next day we visited the Island in the Sky sector of Canyonlands.

Here's Camille in front of the Mesa Arch.

An ancient Puebloan granary on the side of Aztec Butte.

The White Rim below us carved out by the Green River.

The next day we explored Arches National Park. It has a bunch of arches. It's beautiful.

Today we were considering finding a place to climb but it rained pretty heavily last night. When sandstone gets soaked it becomes very very fragile. Climbing on sandstone after rain can break off holds and be very dangerous. So we'll formulate a new plan. Maybe drive to a new location?

If you're looking for a way to waste more time while at work, you can peruse the posts from my last visits to Arches and Canyonlands:

Arches (4/14/16)

Canyonlands (10/6/17)

Tucson, Phoenix and on to Sedona

So we found a nice spot to camp in Tucson at a lookout on Mt. Lemmon. Turns out it's also a popular spot for kids to go and play loud music and drink. Luckily they didn't stay too long and we got a good night's rest. Also the moon setting over Tucson was pretty rad.

Unfortunately the next day was way too cold and windy to go climbing so we abandoned those plans and drove to Phoenix. The bartender the night before recommended some hot springs outside of the city so we drove there as we were both looking forward to a shower/soak.

The hot springs place was... unique... to say the least. Sort of homemade outdoor setting in the middle of nowhere. Oh well, we paid for 1 hour in the communal bath area, which also was nude-only bathing. In this area was an array of random tubs laid about where you would choose whichever tub suited you.

It was a fun, new and interesting experience for sure, but we were beyond happy to be clean again. We then drove to some BLM land to camp for the night.

Next day we found some climbing in Phoenix at an area called Tom's Thumb. The climbing was on desert granite, which was fun round granite covered in massive crystals. An aggressive hour long approach got us to the climbing where we put down a 2-pitch 5.6 rad route that was really fun. It was Camille's first time climbing on granite and she did awesome.

Then we drove towards Sedona and camped on some BLM that night. We finished the drive in the morning. Holy moly Sedona is beautiful. The town itself is incredibly touristy but the surrounding red rock sandstone cliffs and spires are spectacular. 

The first day we did a nice 4.7 mile hike around some of the cliffs. We stopped a lot because every 20 feet was photo-worthy.

About halfway through the hike we found this incredible formation in the sandstone. There was a huge arch on the ground and then a smaller window above it.

When you climbed inside this formation it felt like you were on another planet. It was something I had yet to see in all my exploring of deserts thus far. And the lighting was incredible!!

Then on the hike back we found a large group of female Mule Deer accompanied by this one protective buck.

The next day we found a spot to climb. Another hour long approach filled with brutal scrambling and cacti to avoid at every step. Then we got to the route. Camille's first route on sandstone! She did awesome once again. It was a 3-pitch 5.9. To get to the start of it, you had to crawl through a tiny tunnel. New for me!

Pitch 1.

Sizing up pitch 2.

The summit! Awesome views!

Sorry, I'd provide more details but Whole Foods is closing and we're about to get kicked out. Until next time!.

Back to America and Heading West

So the cold temps were too much for Camille and I. Our two options were to either:

1.  Wait 2 days without climbing until the weather warmed so that we could climb a couple days more before leaving Mexico
2. Leave Mexico right away and spend the couple cold days driving in a warm car

We chose option 2. The plan was to drive from Mexico straight to Big Bend National Park in the US. Unfortunately, between a weird glitch in Google Maps and an oversight by me, we drove several hours north towards the border on a road that didn't actually cross the border. Thankfully we were stopped by some Mexican soldiers before we got too low on gas. The conversation went like this (in Spanish):

Soldier: Where are you going tonight? (It was like 8PM at this point)

Us: Across the border, to Big Bend National Park

Soldier: With your car???

Us: Yep!

Soldier: That's not possible. There's no border crossing on this road

Us: There's no bridge over the river?

Soldier: Nope, no bridge

Us: Shit

Soldier: Laughs to himself

So we retraced our path a couple hours south, then drove north again towards Del Rio, USA, slept on the side of the noisy highway, and properly crossed the border the next morning. In the morning we ate pounds and pounds of fruit and Camille made guacamole from our avocados assuming they would confiscate all of our food. Luckily the border at Del Rio was super quiet. After some confusion about passport stamping, fees, and cancelling our vehicle permit, we were back on American soil and heading towards Big Bend.

Big Ben was awesome! Lots of amazing geological features which Camille really enjoyed. We also saw plenty of wildlife including roadrunners, a coyote and a baby mountain lion!

I think one of the highlights was the hot springs. A quick hike from a parking lot leads you to a quasi-constructed "bath" at the edge of the Rio Grande. The water was a consistent 105°F and absolutely wonderful after a couple days of not showering.

It was really interesting bathing in a hot spring next to the Mexican border. If you wanted, you could jump into the Rio Grande and swim the 20 feet to the other side and be on Mexican soil. I'm not a good swimmer, I was just in Mexico and the river was cold, so this feat was not attempted. After a couple hours in the hot springs everyone left and Camille and I had the place to ourselves. The stars were spectacular in Big Bend! Definitely worth the stop.

We did plenty of hiking the next day.

The Santa Elena Canyon was beautiful.

The day after we did a quick hike in the morning before hitting the road again. We stopped at several visitor centers and they were all closed. I wonder why?

We drove to Las Cruces, NM to spend the night. We found a nice camping spot on some BLM land above the city. The view of the setting moon and the city lights was awesome.

The next morning we drove an hour north to White Sands National Monument. We hit a border patrol checkpoint right before the monument. When we told the man we were heading to the White Sands he explained that it was closed due to the Government Shutdown. Oh... that's why the visitor centers at Big Bend were closed. All National Parks and National Monuments are now closed until Congress can get its act together and pass a damn budget. This could put a huge wrinkle in our plans to visit a bunch more national parks. I hope they approve things soon and get that silly government back up and running smoothly.

Either way, there was a spot on the highway near the National Monument where the sand was spilling over the fence. Lots of other people who were disappointed that the park was closed had stopped here to get a glimpse of the White Sands. So we also perused and had an awesome time frolicking through the beautiful white dunes, in painfully whipping winds. Thankfully this little hop over the fence made the drive worth it.

Now we're at Crooked Tooth Brewery in Tucson, Arizona editing photos, updating things and planning next steps. We think we'll climb tomorrow outside of Tucson then start making our way north. Camille saw that the Grand Canyon is still open during the shutdown so maybe that will be a stop for us in our near future!