Triple Dog Dare You

I have always been attracted to the idea of spontaneous travel however I’ve never been one to follow through with it. There are so many “what-ifs” and potential mishaps that could occur along the way that I have always talked myself out of this idea. Around this time last year, I was experiencing rough times in my life and made the gut decision to road trip it to the Grand Canyon. Luckily I have some incredible friends who were willing to make the journey with me. My best friend Holly and I had little to no plans. We knew that we wanted to hike the Grand Canyon and we knew we wanted to hike in Sedona. Beyond those two points, we knew NOTHING. We had no clue how to get there, we had no place to stay and we had no idea how long we were staying for. It was Saturday morning and I had just completed a race for charity. Holly and I hopped into my car and pretended to know how to decode a map of the United States. It was really weird how we were able to find Starbucks….immediately. We somehow managed to find our way to a little town just outside The Grand Canyon about 9 hours after we had originally left Orange County. All we had were the few pairs of shorts and tank tops we packed and an unopened GoPro. I purchased a GoPro camera a few days prior to leaving to Arizona. If you don’t own one, I highly suggest you invest in one as I have used it every week since. We stayed up all night trying to figure out how to use it in our $50 a night motel room. It is finally the morning of and we wake up extra early to begin our long journey hiking the Grand Canyon. As were approaching the hike entrance, we drive straight into a snow storm. This would be extremely awesome had we known it snowed in Arizona. Another thing we were unaware of-the weather conditions. Isn’t Arizona supposed to be scorching hot? Adventure comes to a halt as new clothing purchases were necessary. Once we buy a few layers, we trek back to the Canyon to begin our hike. This would have ruined some peoples trips however Holly and I are able to find the humor in almost any situation. Adventure resumes. We are still freezing our asses off but were too busy admiring the absolute flawlessness of The Grand Canyon. The colors are unlike any other and pictures will never do it justice. Once we are able to take our eyes off this wonder of the world for 2 seconds, we realize the trails are closed due to the storm. GO FIGURE. This was an extremely unfortunate occurrence but once again, HUMOR WINS. If you’ve never witnessed two blondes make a spur of the moment game plan, you aren’t living! We quickly make our way back to our car and head to Sedona in hopes that the weather will allow for a hike. A couple hours later we find a beautiful trail located in Sedona, Arizona. We hike for hours on end and it proves to be worth the entire hassle of the trip. If you haven’t been, I suggest you make plans to visit soon. After our hike we spend time touring the city of Sedona and eating our body weight in chips and salsa. We locate a lovely hotel room for a great price in the middle of town and fall asleep laughing about how unprepared we were for this trip. Although there were several mistakes we made along the way, it turned out to be one of my all-time favorite trips. I wish I could refer you to the incredible restaurants we ate at and horribly decorated motels we lived in, but I was too busy enjoying life to take note. Sometimes it’s not about the destination, but rather the journey to get to the destination. I will forever remember this trip as one of the most spontaneous and light-hearted trips I have ever embarked on. When you surround yourself with great souls the outcome will always be a positive one. I encourage you to call your best friend, agree on a destination and pack your bags. Leave the stress of planning out an itinerary at home and just go. It’s a freeing experience and I look forward to doing it again. Don’t forget to pack a sweater! C’mon-I triple dog dare you. 🙂 Until Next Time, Safe Travels!