The Wandering Dogtor

 A magnitude of incredible that can't be described.  I've saved this page for last, mostly because I want to dedicate some time to doing this park justice, but understand it is so much more than I can say. Zion has been the top of my National Parks Bucket List for as long as I can remember, and it really was an ethereal experience. Looking back on these pictures honestly feels like a dream, and I'm so lucky to have experienced all that I did over the two days I spent hiking here. I have never been so tempted to pack up and move somewhere in my life. Okay, I say that every time I go somewhere. But, I meant it more this time. There is something about this region of the country that resonated deep in my soul and I cannot wait to go back. The minute you drive into the park is jaw-droppingly beautiful, and there is so much to love and feel and experience. 10/10 would recommend, and take me back with you when you go.  Angel's Landing  It's really fun. It's kinda scary...

 I recognize this isn't a National Park, but it's my blog. So.  This town has everything I care about, honestly- Good hiking, good food. That's it, that's the whole list. Sedona has such a peaceful vibe and it just feels good to be there. There are so many hikes to pick from, and there is a shuttle that goes to the main ones so you don't have to worry about parking. But, that shuttle runs on Thursday through Sunday, and I was there on a Tuesday. I only got into one minor parking lot yelling incident at a result, but we'll get to that.  All of the trails were equally gorgeous, and the contrast of the greenery with the orange rocks and the blue sky was so overly-saturated with color that every photo looked like it had a filter on it.  Devil's Bridge via the Dry Creek Trail Head  If you were to pick a photo from a trail most people would recognize as Sedona, it would be this one. I started this hike at dawn (7am), since it's VERY popular and I wanted to get...

It took me half a day to understand why this park is called the Petrified Forest  I have a habit of not really looking too much into places before I go, because I like to be pleasantly surprised. So, I research the hike ratings and reviews and blogs, download the maps, and don't look at a lot of pictures because I like to see things for myself the first time. So, after a half a day of not one forest in sight, I caught a glimpse of the 220 million year old tree trunk that looked like a geode in the light and said, "Oooohhhhhhhh, got it". Not a forest anymore, guys. Not that I thought there would be a forest in the middle of what's currently a desert, but I hadn't stopped to ask the why of the name yet. Sorry to spoil it for anyone.   This park was much different than the others I've been to in that it can be appreciated fully without a lot of hiking involved. There's a north and south entrance, and the park map has just about everything on it in terms of wh...

 It really is Grand.  This was my first time seeing the Grand Canyon, and I was not prepared for the sheer extent of how large it is (you would think the name would give that away). The other thing I wasn't ready for was the landscape driving through the park. If you asked me which state this picture was taken in, Arizona would not be my first, second, or third guess. Speaking with a tour guides a couple of days later, they said the East entrance of the Southern Rim is much better than the South entrance in terms of number of people trying to get into the park at once. I had no wait at the East entrance, so I'd take their word for it. Also, the North rim of the canyon is closed in the winter, and accessible from a whole other place a few hours away, so don't confuse the two on accident.  Desert View Watchtower  Coming in the East entrance, the first view of the canyon is the Desert View Watchtower. It's a brick silo looking building (what a Midwest thing to say), and...

 Hoodoo Magic  I had big plans for a lot of miles on this day. I'd picked out three loops, two of which were connected, and thankfully decided to do the longest one first in case it took longer than anticipated. Smart move, self. The day AllTrials and I planned was the Fairyland loop (8 miles, 4 hours), and adding the Peekaboo loop (5 miles, 3 hours) onto the Navajo loop and Queens Garden Trail (3 miles, 1.5 hours). I'm a fast hiker- I could do it before night fall. The snow had other plans, and thankfully I had a hiking buddy that day to witness me falling into thigh deep snow drifts every other step.  Fairyland Loop  The main trail head to this hike is on a closed section of road in the winter, but you can access it from the Sunrise Point parking lot via the Rim Trail. This loop starts at the top, overlooking hoodoos below and views spanning the canyons for hundreds of miles beyond that. This was stunning to experience, as the drive into the park was very unassumin...

 Deserves more time than I was able to give.  My flight from St. Louis took off on time, and I was grateful given flights have been so unpredictable lately. But, then we had to land in Kansas City due to ice on the window that looked like a crack... So, my hiking time was cut short on this one, but I'm thankful I still was able to see what I did. I fell in love with the Southwest the second I pulled into this park. Golden Hour in the desert is just *chefs kiss*    Hickman Bridge  I basically dove out of the car after missing some daylight at the trailhead. This is a 1.7 mile hike, and takes about an hour. It goes to a spanning bridge-like rock formation you can walk around and under, and then takes you back the same way. The parking lot was a little small, so I could see it filling up on busier days. There was a little snow on the ground, but I didn't need my microspikes or anything drastic. And the elevation change was only 700ft and very gradual. The hike star...

This trip was for the dogs (literally) Due to some shift switching at work, I had a couple extra days off at the beginning of November, and decided for no particular reason to go to Hot Springs National Park. It's only about a 6 hour drive from St. Louis, and dog friendly, and an easy park to cross off the list, so it was a win all around. I decided Saturday I was leaving on Monday and that's what we did. I found an adorable dog friendly BnB and the pups quickly made themselves comfortable. Moose had traveled with me before on a couple of road trips, but this was Kolache's first time out. For an almost 5 month old puppy, he did great!  Hot Springs National Park  Our first day of the trip consisted of hiking most of the day. The dogs were into it, and the fall colors were much more vibrant than the fading Missouri season. We parked at the Gulpha Gorge campground, and made a loop of the Gulpha Gorge trail to the Goat Rock Trail, and wrapped back around on the Upper Dogwood Tr...

Welcomed change of pace- Pink Jeep Tour After nearly a week of travel, 50+ miles of hiking and 1500+ miles of driving, sitting in a car while someone else drove was something I had to get used to. If I had to change the logistics about one part of my trip, it would have been this one. This tour was amazing, I most certainly don't regret it. But, it did back-track from where I'd come from (Page, AZ as I realized the first time I drove through it), so I could have maybe switched some stuff around and spent less time sitting in the car that day. BUT, I digress. The tour was great and I'm glad I did it, even though it did require me to sit still for several hours in a van with other people (who were all lovely and I have not one single complaint- that isn't even sarcasm). Horseshoe Bend  I've seen many photos of this landmark, and none of them fully do it justice. This is located in Page, AZ and has a HUGE parking lot and a paved trail out and back that's about a mi...

  Going Solo  I wrote more about why I like to hike by myself in the About Me section, but long story short, I like to function on my own schedule (as in waking up before dawn to hike) and take the time to myself to introspect as I go. I also like to hike pretty quickly, take a lot of pictures, and go more miles in a day than people with better sense. So, going alone is great for me in many ways.  Going Safely  Safety is my number one priority when going anywhere. In addition to listening to too many true crime podcasts and hiking horror stories, I also have the voices of my friends/family/strangers in my head saying, "You're going where? Alone? By yourself? Have you been there before? Does anyone know where you are?" I want to feel safe, and I want my friends to be able to check in on me when I have no cell service. I LOVE going off the grid. Not having cell service for several hours at a time is my ideal situation, but if something were to happen and I needed to ge...