Flagstaff, AZ

Downtown Flagstaff at Christmas 

Brian, his friend Forest, and I! :)

Our next stop was to Northern Arizona University to visit Brian. He was expecting us to be there that coming Saturday, but I decided to surprise him on that Wednesday. So after a few fake texts and pictures that were taken days before, pretending we were still in Utah, I surprised him! Such a fantastic few days in Arizona. It was FREEZING. One night we were walking back to his dorm and it was 7 degrees out. Downtown Flagstaff is the most adorable little town. We walked around and checked out the local art shops and went to a coffee shop. Back in the dorms we played multiple games of Settlers of Catan. It was so great to meet all of his friends; they're all really amazing. Brooke wanted to take the SAT one more time before applying to schools for next fall, so it worked out perfect that there was one on Saturday at the University. While Brooke was taking the SAT, we tried to find anyone that was willing to lend me their season pass, so I could go up to the local mountain. Since they're was so much snow practically everyone with a pass was going! So we didn't end up finding one, so instead Brian and I ended up going to the cute diner in downtown flagstaff and getting a big breakfast. Once Brooke was out we played another great game of settlers...even though Brian won. Saturday night we went to see the Warren Miller annual film showing in Flagstaff. I see it every year with my family and it was really nice to not miss it and get to see it with Brian-since we also saw it together last year. The next morning we woke up early to head to San Diego to stay with Natalie! Kinda strange to be driving on ice, praying we wont slide, to end up hours later in sunny San Diego! :)

~Elaina

Zion National Park, UT

Unpacking, reorganizing, and repacking up the car!

Photo By: Elaina Keegan

Photo By: Elaina Keegan

We drove into this park just as it was getting dark and as we were driving through all the zig zags, all we could see was the silhouettes of massive mountains and the face of them gleaming in the moonlight. Considering the conditions of the previous two parks the idea of camping
seemed out of the question until we looked at the temperature and were so excited that we might be able to camp!! We took the first turn for a campground we saw and what do you know, there were people there!! It was such a lovely surprise especially since it was one of our last couple nights by ourselves before we stay with friends and family in California. The second we parked the car in our camp spot, it was like second nature again. It was like we never had a break from camping. We set up camp and started making dinner. It felt so amazing to be camping again. We got all bundled up for the night. It ended up getting down to the low 20's in the middle of the night. When we woke up we went on the riverside walk that takes you to the narrows and were so bummed when the ranger advised us to not go in the narrows cause of warning signs of flash floods. So we went as far as we possibly could. It was absolutely stunning. We stayed on the river for hours because it was so beautiful.  Usually thats a pathway is packed with people, but we were alone on the river with only a few other people passing by. It was amazing. After, we went on a hike to the Emerald Pools.  This time of year there's not much of a waterfall, but we did see a lot of beautiful wildlife.  

There was a storm coming in that night so we had to get a motel in the local town. It was perfect because we cleaned out our car and got reorganized before the last leg of our trip. Still in the camping spirit, we made peanut butter s'mores in our hotel room with our camping stove... Shhhhh. They were delicious! The next morning we woke up to head to Arizona!

Bryce Canyon National Park, UT

With Bryce it was the same story- we got in late and woke up to a magical scenery we had never seen before- but this time with a lot more snow! We headed into the park planning on just driving around because hiking wasn't exactly possible without snowshoes. Although all the trails were covered in a thin layer of snow and ice there were a couple little treks to higher viewpoints we just couldn't resist. Since neither of us expected to be hiking we had on our uggs and converse but we thought we would give it a shot anyways. Needless to say they were some clumsy, slippery little hikes but the views at the top of them were incredible sweeping views of the infamous Bryce Canyon Amphitheater that were well worth it.  Headed to Zion National Park next! 

Arches National Park, UT

We got in to Moab late so we had no idea what the views were like outside until the next morning- we walked outside of our room and were in complete awe. There were massive red mountains surrounding us! We headed straight to Arches first thing and were so excited to be back in a National Park adventuring around and taking pictures and videos. 

One of the points along the drive were these double arches that we climbed up to where we had a stunning view. The red red rock formations with the green brush and the white dusting of snow made the view all the more beautiful and dramatic. Getting to see it in the winter is so beautiful! Also cant wait to come back in the summer without the snow so we can rock climb. Such a great start to all the national parks in southern Utah! 

Santa Fe, New Mexico

This happens way too often. 

A little blurry but coolest state entrance sign we have seen!! 

     Santa Fe was a spontanous addition to our route and we could not be happier it worked out the way it did. Last night we stayed in a hostel(weird writing about a place when it actuallly just happened-hah!) that was different from any we had stayed in before. It was more along the lines of a commune compared to the others that were more occupied by international travelers. There were fridges filled with food that were up for grabs for anyone and we even had our own assigned chore to do in the morning.

     As we headed downtown we were in awe of how every building from banks to grocery stores kept consistent with the city's distinctive architectural style. Even though the looks varied every building seemed to be made with adobe brick- such a beautifully unique place. Since we drove in late the night before it made our first look at the downtown all the more dramatic. We instantly got such a good vibe between the musicians on every street corner to the strong Native American influence in the artwork and jewelry. It is by far our favorite shopping of the trip and we both had an awesome time doing some Christmas shopping. It's starting to hit show close to home we are getting(we no longer feel as special for having a California license plate)- such a bittersweet feeling. 

Dallas, Texas *Thanksgiving*

     While we were on the east coast and trying to figure out what we could do for Thanksgiving(we considered looking on Craigslist for a family to spend it with) Elaina got in touch with her family friend Chris who was kind enough to welcome us for the holiday. Such a great feeling to know we had a house to stay at and a family to spend Thanksgiving with. We got there early enough to get a thorough tour of Dallas from the daughter Erica. She drove us by houses that looked like castles- everything really is bigger in Texas! We stopped by Hyde Park and walked around- all the Christmas decorations were up and everyone was out with their families. Also, on the way back we saw the fence of George Bush's home. At night we went back out to see the Highland shopping center lights which were absolutely insane- rows of completely lit up trees. Thanksgiving dinner was absolutely delicious- its fun seeing how different families make it their own.
     It was both of our first Thanksgivings away from home and we could not have asked for a better place to spend it. We had such an amazing time with Chris, Steve, Erica, and Zach and could not thank them enough.

Baytown, Texas

     In between Austin and Dallas we stopped by Baytown, about an hour outside of Houston, to visit my(Brooke's) cousin Jenna who recently moved out there. It was such a treat to get to see her because we have lived so far away from each other our whole lives. She has two dogs, a German shepherd puppy and a beautifully colored weiner dog, that we were both so excited to play with. We went to a local restaurant down the street and got a little taste of Tex-Mex. So great how much family we have been able to visit because of this trip. :)