National Parks: Forgotten Treasures

by Gabrielle Warncke, Luxury Travel Advisor

US National Parks can be overlooked or forgotten as a destination as we focus on more exotic locations to explore; I am personally guilty of doing exactly this. When I was eleven years old, my parents took us on a road trip around the US for three weeks to explore our amazing National Parks. I was young enough to be awed and inspired, and old enough to remember all the unique experiences. As an adult, I’ve spent the majority of my travels exploring the natural beauty of other countries. Last summer, one of my dear friends and I decided to do an old-fashioned road trip to include Lake Powell, the Grand Canyon, and Sedona. What a fun adventure it turned out to be, and I was reminded that our National Parks are treasures to be discovered and even rediscovered.

We started our trip in Phoenix where we picked up a rental car to head north to the Lake Powell/Page area. We stopped in Flagstaff for lunch at a local favorite, MartAnne’s, a small eclectic Mexican café with lots of character. As we continued our journey north, we made a spontaneous decision to take a scenic loop and visit Sunset Crater Volcano and old Pueblo Ruins before continuing on to Lake Powell — a great way to break up the drive.

Lake Powell
The first morning in Lake Powell, we took an amazing float trip down the Colorado River starting at Glen Dam, followed by a midday hike at Horseshoe Bend. We tried our best to get that perfect photograph to include the entire bend. We even laid down at the very edge with our cameras hanging over the edge, trying to perfect the shot! In the afternoon, we took off on another unplanned adventure drive and found the Navajo Bridge and Vermillion Cliffs.
On our second day, we visited the famous Antelope Slots with our amazing tour guide. We are both a bit into amateur photography, so we opted for a non-traditional tour that went to four different slots rather than just the famous Upper Antelope Slot. This turned out to be one of our best decisions of the trip. We had a private driver guide, and it gave us a completely different experience than those who only do the Upper Antelope Slot. We did do the main slot with the crowds of tourists which was slow moving and single file line down and back through the slot, but the highlight was when our guide took us to explore the less famous slots all the while sharing tips for getting the best pictures and adjusting our camera settings.

Grand Canyon
After lunch at the local Chill-N-Grill known for their burger and fries, we headed south to our next stop: the Grand Canyon. However, in true road-trip fashion, we made a slight diversion to stop at the Little Colorado River Gorge to take in the scenery. By late afternoon, we reached the entrance to the Grand Canyon and had our first view of this natural wonder at Desert View – Watch Tower viewing area. This first view was just as spectacular as an adult as it was when I was a child. However, the highlight of our trip to the Grand Canyon was our private guide on our full day in the park. Carl had been a lifetime ranger in multiple National Parks, but spent most of his years at the Grand Canyon, guiding rim to rim hiking groups. He was a wealth of knowledge, from the layers of sediment in the rock to the flora along the trails. The day we were with Carl, the Grand Canyon was clouded over from the rim, but as we started to descend into the canyon the view was spectacular. We learned that fewer than 10% of tourist actually go below the rim, and we decided they are definitely missing out.
Before leaving the Grand Canyon the following day, we rose early to catch sunrise over the canyon and followed it with a helicopter ride. Viewing the canyon from a helicopter was another highlight of the trip; the variation of the colors as we flew over the vastness of this natural beauty left us speechless.

Sedona
We ended our trip by heading to Sedona. This area is known for its red rock formations, and a plethora of hiking opportunities. We opted to play tourist and did the famous Pink Jeep Tour. It was definitely a lot of fun, and we discovered exactly how rough the terrain would be on your rental if you decided to go off-roading without incurring the cost of replacing the car! Our unexpected treats included an unplanned visit to the Palatki Ruins, and the best little local restaurant called the Coffee Pot where they have 100 different omelet options.

Our old-fashioned road trip was a complete success, and we’ll definitely be planning another in the future.