After a long summer of work and no play, Graham and I left for a winter get away to the Southwest USA, including Arizona, New Mexico, Utah, Nevada and Colorado. With gas prices getting as low as $1.60/gallon, we decided taking the green machine on the road to give us more bang for our buck. America truly does have some magnificent and spectacular places to visit.
Doing a road trip in the middle of winter has both it perks and disadvantages. It is hard to overlook the extreme cold, limited day light, frozen food and drink and treacherous roads. On the other hand the winter playground was both memorable, mind blowing and unforgettable. Due to the nature of a road trip, we spent many hours in the warmth of the land cruiser covering hundreds of miles with spectacular views. It really gave a new perspective of just how large and desolate some areas still are. In just over two weeks we looped the Southwest hitting as many highlights as we possibly could.
On average we drove for about five to seven hours a day, experiencing traffic, snow storms and windy roads that would surely drop off without remorse. Was it hard? Well luckily Graham literally lives to drive and is awesome at it, so for the most part I was able to relax, enjoy, listen to some audible books and read brochures on our upcoming destinations. It was remarkable just how far we pushed the land cruiser to its limits. We really got a taste of what it was designed to do, and it showed no defeat in snow, ice or steep back roads.
Southwest highlights
National Parks were our preferred accommodations on this trip. While camp sites were often primitive, they were usually open, somewhat accessible and did not shut their gates at 5:30pm like the State Parks. Since it was most likely too cold for rangers to collect payment, our accommodation was subsequently even free at times. I won’t mention all the places we went through but I will mention the bigger more dramatic ones. Carlsbad Caverns, New Mexico was one of our first major stops. While this was not our first underground cave tour, it certainly has been the biggest. We were thoroughly impressed at the fantastical calcite crystals that were created drop by drop, forming dramatic stalactites, stalagmites, draperies and many other formations. Graham and I were so impressed it encouraged us to hit the caverns close by San Antonio on the way home.
Mesa Verde and Aztec National Monument was also unique with 5000 archaeological sites including 600 cliff dwellings, translating us back to how the Ancestral Pueblo people lived in their world in AD 550 long before the Europeans explored North America. Here we also enjoyed snow shoeing and our first experience of camping in two foot snow at minus five degrees Fahrenheit. Oh it was cold! In the morning the condensation in the tent had frozen, so the ever so slightest brush of the tent would cause the inside of the tent to snow. We did it though, neither of us admitting to the struggle. We even pulled out are camp cooker to make a hot meal.
Our coolest thing we did was a beginner’s two day course to ice climbing in Ouray Colorado. This was our first introduction to crampons, ice axes and any technical climbing skills. A year ago a friend of mine had told me about her home town in Durango and how there are beautiful waterfalls and pools to see. Naturally I googled the waterfalls, only to find that they are frozen in the winter which is really why ice climbing sparked my interest. It looked so cool that it overtook our desire to ski and snowboard during this adventure. Sondra, our guide picked us up from our hotel both days and took us deep into the canyons to various climbs, challenging us more and more each time. We started our climbs using only crampons without anything but gloved hands to help us cling to the slippery face. The purpose of this was to really emphasize that 90%of ice climbing was done with your legs. It made us really have to rely and trust our crampons and see what they can truly do. It also forced as to lean back on our heels to rest and regain a central position before moving up. Sonora was a great guide and led us to ice climb with good basics and techniques to continue to build upon. I never thought the ability to climb up a wall of ice would be so achievable. I could do quite well too, encouraged with huge surges of adrenalin, enjoyment and sense of accomplishment. It was a surreal two days and will be in the top ten of my favorite experiences, even with my two big black toes. Lesson learned to always make sure your boots fit perfectly!
For the next few days we wound down at some friends of ours, who were super amazing hosts and wonderful company. We also gave our fist attempt at snow biking. On the ride to the trail head, I read an article about snow biking and fat biking, rolling my eyes at the comment where you burn 1500 calories per hour. We rode for about two hours and I flew head first twice into powder snow. I’m not sure if the fat tires would have made it much easier; however Graham and I were drenched in sweat under our layers. At times I was so out of breath I struggled to mount my bike to get moving. The challenge was extremely unexpected both in balance, pedaling and steering. The moment your wheel rode off the tire tread ahead of you, it was almost guaranteed that you would spin out and you had to wrestle the handle bars to remain balanced.
During the two weeks on the road we explored eight national parks and numerous national monuments and forests. To label one as the favorite would be unfair as each had its own uniqueness. Bryce Canyon was particularly spectacular with its snow-capped hoodoos (bulbous columns). Arches and Canyonlands, close in proximity showed off delicate arches and canyons, which resembled prehistoric dinosaur times. In Canyonland National Park we were able to camp at the edge of a canyon with magnificent views of the sunrise. Zion National Park was one of the only parks which we were not lonesome campers in the middle of winter. The campground was protected from the elements in a valley, surrounded by red towering cliffs. It was nice to enjoy the luxuries of running water and flush toilets. The best way to describe the Grand Canyon was GRAND. Its size was breathtaking and the park was surprisingly different in the winter time compared to the treacherous heat I had experienced during my last visit there. During our time here we also camped and managed to get up at six am in well below freezing temperatures and hauled ourselves to the Bright Angel Trail head to climb down and back up to the Colorado River in one day. Although strongly discouraged to attempt this in a single day, we managed to complete the sixteen miles and we were back before three pm. We were greatly slowed down with the snow and treacherous ice, having already returned our crampons I fell three times going down in the dark. If it weren’t for our hiking poles I am sure we would have fallen much more. Worse still, in the dark we were unaware of just how significant the drop off was on the side of the path, which could have been catastrophic. Our visit in each of the parks was sadly short, but at least now we know exactly what we want to do when we go back. Going in winter we often had the parks to ourselves, without the multitude of tourists the parks are equipped to handle in the summer months.
Our road trip was magnificent and memorable, with stories to remember for many years to come. We turned the Southwest into our own almost private winter playground, teasing us to do it all over again in the summer with even more time.
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