The morning after the race, we got to sit and drink good coffee that Kris brought and chat and rehash with Renee. We packed and cleaned everything up and headed out by about 10:00 am. Kris and Renee had a hellish drive back to Denver, and we’re headed to Flagstaff! Time to get this road trip started for REAL! 

We filled up the car with gas and headed south! 

The drive really wasn’t much to talk about – there were a few prettier parts and some less-pretty parts, but the desert is always cool. 

We stopped for lunch at a Subway in Tuba City, and ate on the road. I was thinking we’d have a little town to wander for a minute, but that wasn’t a thing. 

A bit later we got to Flagstaff and found our hotel. We checked in and immediately took showers and chilled out for a while before heading out for dinner. 

Dinner was at Lumberjack Brewing. Descent beer and grilled chicken sandwich. Then back to the hotel – we’re EXHAUSTED. So exhausted we managed to not take any pictures…

Funny enough, at dinner we were talking, and we realized we had both had the thought, “Huh. I think I could live here” while we were driving around. Interesting…  Then, bedtime. Yay! 

The next morning, I woke up realizing that I had managed to actually sleep well! No more twitching and feeling all weird. 

Got up, made a cup of coffee… Eventually, Matt got up too, after I’d gone to the car to grab our hiking packs. 

Matt got us more coffee, we grabbed the rest of our crap, and off we went to the Grand Canyon!

The drive was kinda pretty, all ponderosa pines and wide open vistas. 

We got to the visitors center and got out of the car… Holy hell, it was cold and windy! The car was reading somewhere between 14 and 17 degrees on the drive out, and I don’t think it was much warmer when we got there. Brrrr!

The visitors center was still closed when we got there, so we walked for a bit along the south rim trail. The views were pretty, but it was so cold and windy it wasn’t super enjoyable… 

Then we drove to the Bright Angel Trailhead and hiked INTO the Grand Canyon for a couple miles. 

It’s interesting, walking into the canyon. It’s a bunch of switchbacks, all more or less the same… It’s boring, but it’s not. It’s the same, but everywhere it’s just a little bit different. 

We didn’t make it far, maybe a mile and a half down, but it was worth it. The hike out was less unpleasant than it would seem – I actually warmed up finally. 

Afterwards, we got back in the car and drove towards Desert Towers, stopping at Gateway Trailhead. The views were a little different, but mostly the same. We stopped at a few overlooks, and headed back to Flagstaff. 

We got back to the hotel and showered, then headed to town for beers and dinner. 

Mother Road Brewing Company was awesome. Good vibe, good beer…

Then we went to Dark Side Brewing for another beer and food… The pizza was great, the beer was meh. 

We walked back to the car and came back to the hotel. Tomorrow, Sedona. And hopefully some warmer weather….