2010 Trip out West

First of all, welcome to my new blog!!! I am so excited that my first post gets to be about this trip!! Especially because I have been planning & patiently waiting for this trip for about 6 years now!!

Why 6 years you ask? Well, because while I was planning & researching, things just always came up. Things like…. A great deal to Aruba…. a cruise…. visiting my husband’s dad in Switzerland…. Disney World…. another great deal to Aruba, etc etc. The trip got pushed back for one reason or another over the years. The last reason being our destination wedding in Aruba (totally understandable!). I can’t really complain though because we have been to so many great places in that time!

This trip was so worth the wait. This experience was everything that I thought it could be & more! Everything was just so amazing & inspiring for me. And of course a photographers dream!

Day1-We flew into Phoenix, Arizona & stayed in Sedona for a couple days. All I can say is, GORGEOUS! I really loved the red rocks & just thought that the whole area was so beautiful!

Day 3-Our last morning in Sedona, we got up at 4:30am and went on a hot air balloon ride. We booked through Northern Light Balloon Expeditions with Blair as our pilot & they were awesome!

After our balloon ride, we hit the road! On our way to Monument Valley, UT we stopped at the Grand Canyon to eat our lunch.

Monument Valley was unbelievable! The rock formations are so massive. I was in awe!

This image below my husband took of me…

Day 4-I got up early the next morning to watch the sunrise. A-MAZING!

Back on the road again & off to Mesa Verde National Park, CO! Goodbye Monument Valley!

Up & Up & Up we go…..inside Mesa Verde….

Scars from a forest fire that happened back in 2002.

Yummy!

Day 5-We got back on the road bright & early after a nights stay at the Farview Lodge, heading to Moab, UT. We saw a bunch of deer grazing on our way out of the park.

Arches National Park

The Red Cliffs Lodge in Moab is a great place to stay! Very quiet with breathtaking views!

Day6-The next day we rented a jeep from Canyonlands Jeep Adventures. My husband had been looking forward to this day for months! …me, I was just along for the ride. We ended up off-roading the entire day and had so much fun!! I think this was one of the highlights of our trip! If you are ever in Moab, definitely do this!

Day 7-we woke up to a cold & wet morning. Today our plan was to drive 8 and a 1/2 hours to Jackson Hole, WY. We just knew we would end up hitting some snow. 80 degree weather to snow? craziness!

We stayed at the Rustic Inn for 2 nights while in Jackson Hole, Wyoming. The rooms were in separate buildings that looked like cabins. Very cool. The room rate included breakfast & the cook was amazing!! Some of the best breakfasts that we had the entire trip!

Saw some moose the first night!

Day 8-We spent the entire day driving around the Grand Teton National Park. We saw sooooooo much wildlife it was insane! Everywhere we looked their were moose, elk, deer, & Bison. We even saw a wolf & a bald eagle! Unbelievable!

Day 9-We drove back to Salt Lake City, UT. We spent 1 night there before getting on a plane to go back home.

Day 10-Time to go home!

What a great great great trip! We saw so many incredible things, traveled through 5 different states (Arizona, Colorado, Utah, Idaho, & Wyoming), and shared an experience together that we’ll never forget!

This is probably my longest post EVER! But such a great trip deserves an extra long post!! Hope you enjoyed!

  1. Jodi Schlosser says:

    Alison I have been to just about every location you posted! All of the pictures are BEAUTIFUL! I actually have a picture of me, my mom, and my sister standing in front of that Grand Tetons Monument.

    Great job girl!

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