A Little Mountain Town, Three Iconic Sites & A Much Needed Trip

What do you think of when you hear Arizona?Is it the Grand Canyon? Cacti? Heat and bones in the desert? Hahah.Those were my go to thoughts, until this past week.My best friend has been living in Flagstaff, AZ for about seven years now. I've gone up, but only for special occasions like freshman move in and senior graduation. When I first arrived, I thought, "wow, this is Arizona?! But it's lush and freezing!!?" But that was always a fleeting thought and would head back to sunny San Diego and go on with life.From all the times I've visited, I've never truly experienced where I was. I was always busy catching up with friends and celebrating the big event.Rewind to last week.I was on the phone with my friend Alysse, (part of our daily routine of our long distance relationship) when I said, "I wanna come see you. Like I want to see you and the amazing place you have called home for so long. I want to know why you fell in love and never came back home".So it happened.I bought a ticket and left on a warm, Tuesday night from Los Angeles.I arrived in Phoenix airport and was greeted with warm air and a huge hug from my friend.Her new beau drove her down to pick me up, so I got to hug him too! (+10 brownie points for first impression, hahaha).Within minutes of introducing myself, I entered into a deep sleep. (Must have been the consecutive 140 hours I spent working the week before). I missed a wild boar at the gas station and the entire, two-hour ride to the little mountain town of Flagstaff. But I was rested. And apparently needed it more than I thought...In the morning, Alysse headed off to work, lent me her car and I was left to explore my first day in flagstaff!I wandered around downtown. Going in and out of shops and talking to locals, who were all insanely friendly.One person I met was a lady who LOVED honey and mushrooms. Like absolutely LOVED THEM.

She told me about her early morning excursion into the forest to pick mushrooms for her shop and asked if I wanted to see her finds.I have never seen so many mushrooms in my life. It was madness. She placed well over two hundred, fresh mushrooms right in front of me, while explaining what each one was. Free samples were included.

I spent about an hour with this lady. Soaking up her positive vibes. She was doing what she loved to do and I loved that about her. You could see her passion and excitement for life and I admired that about her. It inspired me.Before I knew it, it was almost time to pick Alysse up form work! Wooo hoooo!!I asked her, sooo, what are we doing tonight? She had an ideaAnd this is when the real adventure began....We drove out to the middle of the forest when we came to a huge hole/cave type of opening. She explained that we were about to go through that hole and go caving through the lava tubes!!SAY WHAT?!!!Okay friend, that was super cool. We just randomly leave her house and come up on this crazy cave that was formed by lava thousands of years ago.We explored the inside for about two hours or so. Alysse, Manny (the bf) and I.There was a moment where we turned off all the lights and just laid at the end of the cave.  I felt this strange sensation that I really can't describe (which is crazy because I can usually always find at least one word, but I really can't right now)...Anyways, that feeling happened. And I was all about it! I was just telling Alysse how crazy it was and she described the SAME EXACT FEELING, in the same exact spot.Coincidence? I think no.After our experience, we made our way back, climbed out of the cave, went for some Thai food and called it a night. (Anti-climatic, I know).The next morning was very similar. Alysse went to work, and I was left to venture on my own.She gave me some spots to check out, one being the Arizona Snowbowl (one of the highest peaks in AZ).So that's where I went.There was a scenic chairlift that could take you up to the very top of the mountain, so of course, I had to do it. I bought my ticket, and then realized they weren't open for another hour. So I got back in the car and drove until I found a trail head. Luckily, I didn't have to drive too far.I ended up on the Aspen Nature loop. And boy, was I happy I did.I began tow all around and soak in all of the natural beauty around me. Then I realized, I was all alone. ALL ALONE on this trial. It was surreal.It's hard to find places like this now where you can be the only human in sight for acres and acres. Especially at such a beautiful spot like this one.I took advantage of this moment and gave it to myself. I needed this time more than I thought.I decided I was going to take as long as I needed to out there. I'm used to life always being on fast forward. Needing to be somewhere, meet someone or do something. Here, none of that was necessary. I had no where to go, no one to see and nothing to do.WHAT AN INCREDIBLE FEELING.About two hours later (I think), I made my way back to civilization, where I would take the chair lift to the top of Mt. Humphrey's.That entire chairlift/ mountain peak experience was amazing as well. I mean, how could it not be?!Being above all the ponderosa pines, feeling the brisk mountain chill, being able to see most of the state for miles and miles on end, life left limitless.I had only been away for two days and I had already felt more empowered and connected to myself than I have in years.I was starting to understand how Alysse fell  head over heels with this place.The next two days were jam-packed. Now that I had myself back, I threw all caution to the wind and filled my days with anything and everything.I spent countless hours in the wild sunflower fields, a place I would happily live forever.Wandered around various forest trails.And then hit all the "big things".One night, Manny drove Alysse and I to his favorite spot in the Grand Canyon.Now I have been the the Grand Canyon before, like when I was 10 years old. But I didn't really appreciate it back then.This time, I was in complete AWE.I sat on the edge and again, just took in the moment. Dangling my feet over something so grandiose was something people dream of, and I was living it.We watched the sun set and the fog roll in. A storm was close by, and we were not trying to get caught in it.We ended that night in a wine loft, playing Uno.The following morning Alysse and I made our way into Navajo and Apache land to explore Antelope Canyon and Horseshoe bend...We started by getting 100% soaked from looking for deer skulls in the forest during a storm. Smart move...We then went to breakfast as Macy's, Alysse's favorite breakfast spot in town, and apparently everyone else's too.After getting caffeinated, we took one last exploration into a wild sunflower field, where we immediately saw a snake and freaked ourselves out. But, we still continued and hoped it wasn't one of those poisonous ones that would kill us in an instant. It didn't, so don't worry!I even got to show Alysse something new! On one of my trail explorations, I found a tire swing next to a patch of sunflowers and I HAD to show her.  I don't think I can properly describe the following series of events that occurred after finding the swing, but let's just say, it was harder to get into than either one of us expected. Alysse was a natural, and I of course, needed to literally be held almost the entire time hahahahaha. I'm still laughing writing this. It is one of those memories that will always make me smile.  Two hours later, we found ourselves at one of the most iconic and most photographed canyons in the world. The Upper Antelope Canyon.This place is a must see.I mean look at it!It was made famous by photographers. Before that, It was just a typical slot canyon the Navajo would congregate at for events.And then we made the twenty minute trip to Horseshoe bend, another iconic site for Arizona.Incredible doesn't begin to cut it.There was a small "sitting area?" On the side  of the cliff. Sheer drop all the way down.I could tell Alysse was getting a bit anxious about how close I wanted to get to the edge, but when I ran onto the cliff side seat, I thought she might die. People freaked out when they saw me do that. But I loved it. I felt so alive. And no one could tell me to stop.Again, being completely alone in such a place was a feeling like no other. It was liketime had almost stopped, just for me.Yes, it was exhilarating, and of course it was gorgeous, but it was also more. I felt alive. And limitless. I believed it too. And still do as I'm witting this.Dangling my feet over something so intimidating was more empowering than anything.I finally backed off the edge, and everyone, including Alysse, started breathing again. We checked out the rest of the rim and tried to get the "classic" shot of the bend.I think I did an alright job, what do you think?This is natural beauty folks, and I was smack dab in the heart of it.Another storm was rolling in, and we still needed to get home, pack, and drive down to Phoenix to catch my early morning flight.I packed up my things, said my goodbyes and headed into the airport...It was hard to say goodbye to this place. And now I understood why. Her little mountain town stole a piece of my heart.It's hard to explain, until you go there and feel if for yourself.So far, it's not like anywhere else I have ever been & I'm so thankful for that.I owe a HUGE thanks to Manny and Alysse for all that they did to ensure the trip went the way you just read about.Friends like these are hard to come by, and they happen to live in a place that's just has unique as them.Love you & be back soon. Ps. If you're not that into reading, are a fan on youtube videos or want to see even more of Arizona... Here's my short video I made during my time there!!https://youtu.be/HmXvmhf_YQA?t=1s