November 2023
November marked year three of Desert Thanksgiving, a new holiday tradition we started since moving to Pootah where we go hiking in the desert over Thanksgiving.
The first year we moved we went to Capitol Reef National Park in Southern Utah, a personal favorite, but we didn’t have the experience, the cooler, or the wherewithal to pack our own food to avoid crowded, limited restaurant options.
The second year (last year) we went to Zion National Park, where we perfected Desert Thanksgiving thanks to our investment in a Yeti cooler so we can pack pre-made Thanksgiving food, paper plates, and disposable silverware we’ve been stocking up since peak COVID and have our own little Thanksgiving buffet in whatever Best Western hotel we stay in.
This year we went on an epic road trip in Arizona to the Grand Canyon featuring detours in Flagstaff, Sedona, and Petrified Forest National Park. Having been to peak desert Arizona earlier this year on our trip to Phoenix, I have to say I prefer northern Arizona. Sedona, if you take the horrendous traffic out of the equation, is absolutely beautiful. It’s a tourist town for sure but a stunning one at that. Flagstaff is kind of its own island but was also picturesque with multiple public parks and a nice downtown area. It even snowed while we were there. It’s like the desert but with four seasons. Northern Arizona, I am a fan.
On Thanksgiving day, we hiked almost 20 miles round trip down to the bottom of the Grand Canyon and then back up. Some people rent mules and do this, but we prefer to travel on foot. The trail had bathrooms with vault toilets throughout, which were surprisingly clean and definitely convenient. Besides the fact that most of the trail is exposed, something about peeing near the river at the bottom of the Grand Canyon seems wrong. So we were grateful for the bathrooms and the beautiful scenery as we hiked half the length of the entire Rim to Rim trail to this little beach on the Colorado River. Hiking the whole thing rim to rim requires an overnight backpacking trip (unless you’re a crazy fit trail runner), and we just weren’t prepared to do that on this trip. It is a goal for next year, though. Not the ridiculous trail running, the one night backpacking trip.
And so we hiked 4,000+ feet down to the bottom then hiked back up. It look all day and it was amazing. We must’ve looked legit and/or horrible by the end of it because two different sets of people asked us if we hiked rim to rim even though we didn’t have any backpacking gear with us, just our day packs. That was validating.
Unsurprisingly, the Grand Canyon was a bit touristy. We saw A TON of underprepared people on the trail. That type of elevation gain is no joke, even if you were going only a short ways on the trail. The mule poop and pee puddles alone make Ugg boots a less than ideal choice of footwear. To each their own, I suppose. Overall, it was an absolutely incredible experience and we’re excited to go backpack the whole rim trail soon.
It just goes on forever and ever.
All those rock walls in the back have switchback trails to get back up to the top.
We hiked down to the bottom where that green patch of trees are in the middle.
Next stop, Sedona
In Sedona we did a shorter hike to a vortex (there are several in Sedona) that’s supposed to have special energy that resets your chakras or something. I’m not sure if it’s a load of hooey or not, but I will say sitting at the top of the climb had me feeling the most at ease, calm, and peaceful that I’d felt in a long time. Placebo effect, if nothing else.
November isn’t quite done yet. Last stop, Petrified Forest National Park
Petrified Forest National Park is in the middle of bum-F nowhere about three hours east of the Grand Canyon. It looks like the moon and has petrified wood. If for no other reason than its location, it’s a one-and-done park, but it was a cool way to spend a half day nonetheless. No grandiose hikes here, but plenty of opportunities to walk around on space mud and see some ancient rock and wood.
Erosion is wild.
A huge hunk of petrified food. I was about to punch the teenage girl I saw SITTING ON THE ANCIENT FOSSILIZED WOOD. People suck sometimes.
The mood mud was THICK and is still caked all over our hiking boots.
You may be wondering, “What is petrified wood and how does it become petrified?” Allow me to lay some facts on you courtesy of the informational placards at the park.
How to become petrified wood
The area where Petrified Forest National Park currently exists used to be a huge river. Rewind to 218 million years ago. A tree lives near the river there.
The tree falls down and the river floods several times over time, filling the tree with silt and other nature debris.
Over time, mineral rich water flows through the fallen tree and the regular tree innards are replaced with minerals (mostly quartz).
Over even more time, erosion brings the fallen tree back to the surface, where it is now a log partially made of minerals. Different minerals create different colors in the petrified wood, but they’re all pretty neat.
*Please note some wood can petrify as quickly as just a few decades. Other wood takes millions of years. Some mineral logs are late bloomers.
Bonus fact for you if you made it this far!
Did you know there are elk in the Grand Canyon?
Way, way back in the day the contiguous United States had several regional types of elk throughout the land, including one species native to Northern Arizona (and New Mexico if memory serves me correctly). When the European settlers came, they killed all the elk. Then someone said something to the effect of, “Hey, there’s elk nearby in the Rocky Mountains. Let’s bring them to Arizona and they’ll repopulate.”
Wrong.
They did bring in elk from the Rockies, but those elk were not used to the Arizona environment and they didn’t fare very well. They had a hard time finding their own food and water and became way too reliant on humans for survival. Elk bumming humans for sustenance continues to be a big problem near the Grand Canyon because they’re not afraid of people and get mad when you don’t feed them, kind of like squirrels. They waltz right into town and expect to be fed and drink nasty puddle water, and it’s obviously not ideal for anyone - elk or human. We saw one right outside our hotel with his antlers stuck in string lights in a tree on the sidewalk. Needless to say, the Grand Canyon elk predicament is quite sad, and I prefer the elk in the Tetons.
