Ooh Aah Point, Petrified Forest & The Long Road Home
By Day 12 of a 14-day road trip, we were officially entering the "we've seen a lot of cool stuff, but we're also ready to sleep in our own beds" phase. 😂
But we still had a few more stops to squeeze in!
Ooh Aah Point at Sunrise
Our second night at the Grand Canyon was at Thunderbird Lodge, right inside the park.
It was definitely one of the more expensive hotels of our trip, but the location was worth it. Being able to stay right there in the park was pretty awesome.
Then came the alarm...
5:00 a.m.
We were up early to hike to Ooh Aah Point before the heat and crowds arrived.
We drove to the Visitor Center and took the Orange Route shuttle to the South Kaibab Trailhead, where the hike begins.
And let me tell you—bring water!
We had our CamelBaks, sun hats, and walking sticks, and I'm so glad we did. The trail is steep, and remember that what goes down must eventually come back up. 😂
The views were absolutely worth the early wake-up call.
We Left the Grand Canyon Early!
Here's something I love about traveling with a little flexibility.
We had originally booked two nights at Thunderbird Lodge, but after exploring the South Rim the day before and completing our Ooh Aah Point hike, we realized we had checked most of the things off our Grand Canyon list.
So...
We checked out a day early.... I know, I know... how could we leave the Grand Canyon early, but it was time to start heading home.
And they actually refunded our unused night!
The Meteor Crater We Skipped
One stop I had really wanted to make was Meteor Crater.
Have you ever looked it up?
Because WOW.
How cool would it be to stand in the actual spot where a meteor slammed into Earth?!
But the admission price had gotten high enough that I just couldn't justify paying that much for what would have been a fairly quick stop for us.
I'm sure it's incredible, though.
So I'll ask you...
Have you been to Meteor Crater? Was it worth it?
Because it's definitely still on my "maybe next time" list!
Standing on a Corner in Winslow, Arizona
Of course, we couldn't drive through Arizona without stopping in Winslow.
🎶 Take it easy...
If you're going, make sure you actually map your way to Standin' on the Corner Park. It's easy enough to find, but you want to make sure you're headed to the right spot for those iconic pictures.
It's a cute little area with shops, restaurants, and plenty of Route 66 charm.
And the best part?
It was only a few minutes off the interstate, so it was an easy way to break up the drive without adding a huge amount of time.
Petrified Forest National Park
From Winslow, we headed toward Petrified Forest National Park.
And I'll be honest...
By this point, we were tired.
When you hear "Petrified Forest," you probably imagine something completely different than what you actually find here.
At first, we weren't quite sure what we were looking at. 😂
But once again, the GuideAlong app came to the rescue.
It explained what we were seeing, the history behind the park, and why these giant petrified logs are actually so fascinating.
The landscape was completely different from anything else we'd seen on our trip, and I'm glad we stopped.
We may have been tired, but we still managed to explore, see some incredible petrified wood, and check another National Park off our list.
Harvey House
We also stopped to explore a Harvey House, which was such an interesting piece of history.
Fred Harvey played such an important role in the development of travel in the American Southwest, and now I'm honestly curious enough to watch some of the movies and read a few books to learn more.
Sometimes the random historical stops end up being the ones that send you down a whole new rabbit hole!
And Then... We Were Done. 😂
I had originally planned for us to continue through Santa Fe.
The architecture.
The historic square.
The hotels.
The food.
It all looked amazing.
But as we were leaving Petrified Forest, Byron gave me the news every road-trip planner eventually hears:
"There are no more stops. I'm ready to go home." 😂
And honestly?
I couldn't blame him.
So Santa Fe went onto the list for another trip.
We ended the day in Albuquerque, staying at a basic hotel right off the interstate.
Nothing fancy.
Nothing exciting.
But at that point, our only requirements were:
And sometimes that's all you need.
The Final Stretch
This was the point in our trip when we stopped trying to squeeze every possible attraction into the itinerary.
We had already driven across the country, visited National Parks, hiked through rivers and canyons, stood in four states at once, explored Route 66, and made a whole lot of memories.
There was no need to see everything.
Sometimes you just need to know when it's time to head home.
And we were definitely getting there. ❤️
Getting closer to home...
Safe travels and happy memory making!
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