Phoenix, needles and sunsets

All good things…

My carry on bag, around the world trip of 2017 was phenomenal. It was 3 months of travelling, which felt like forever at the beginning, but as it eventually started rolling to an end there were some pretty intense feelings.

So, I did what any reasonable adult would do.

I got a tattoo in Phoenix, Arizona. I think it’s safe to say my parents were thrilled.

Ok, so it wasn’t exactly a spur of the moment thing. I had actually been planning on getting a tattoo for a couple of years, and just hadn’t had the right moment and opportunity. In Phoenix we were staying with a friend of one of my travel buddies, who has many many tats, so we decided it was a cool time, and she took us to her favourite people. It was a really great experience. If you are thinking about getting inked in the US of A it’s worth noting that tipping is a thing for your artist. Coming from the south pacific this was something to get my head around. I went with 20% because my artist was really lovely and professional.

After tattoo-time we wandered off to check out the sights and sounds of Phoenix. I’m going to be honest, it’s not exactly a hotspot of attractions. The list of ‘things to do in Phoenix’ is odd and mostly museums and places with red dirt and cacti. We managed to get a solid chunk of red dirt seeing in, and even met a new lizard friend.

Would you believe that ‘Hole in a Rock’ is one of the top things to see in Phoenix on the cheap-to-free list? I mean, it’s a nice rock. Very red. Interesting textures. Nice view of the sunset.

It was a pretty great spot to sit and reflect on the past 3 months and think about our experiences. And there were some iconic looking cacti, which was a nice reminder of where we’d arrived.

And I licked a cactus, which I always wanted to do when I saw cartoons with classic cactus shaped cacti in them. I live life on the edge.

After a relaxed evening sunset watching, we decided to get in one last party, so headed into town for a night of dancing and good laughs. I was still on my Project #NoBeersies2017 drink-free year but had a blast dancing, and could also to be a sober driver afterwards.

Phoenix was our last major stop, and it’s a solid way from most places. The drive to LA was a full day, so to kill the time we made up a fantastic game. Country Bingo. You listen to the radio, and have a sheet of classic country music related themes and words. Like tractors and Jesus. We won. In about 1-2 hours.

It was a full on emotional journey driving into LA. We all knew it was our last day away, and that the real world was about to sucker-punch us in a few short days, and the evening absolutely played up the mood. Look at that nostalgia-inducing sunstrike-open-road vibe. Iconic. I should sell this one as a stock image.

And then this sweet as sunset past Manhattan Beach pier to the west, where home waited over the ocean.

There were tears, many utterings of love, and very deep sighs.

And of course, comfort food in true U S of A style as we waited for our flight out. Thanks, In n Out. (Shout out to the secret menu and the Animal style fries!)

Without trying to play into the stereotypes – it was an outlook-altering experience, a once in a lifetime trip, with friends who are like family now, to places I never dreamed I’d love as much as I did, in breathtaking countries, with tear-jerking landscapes and views that were like a 360 degree postcard, and I wouldn’t exchange it for anything in the world.

And yes, coming home felt like I was physically filling up with a warm fuzz.

xo cait

(oh, and shout out to Auckland airport for the water fountains! No single-use bottles for this gal!)

The *Freaking Mind Blowingly* Grand Canyon

Hands up if you first heard about the Grand Canyon in the USA back when you were still in primary school?

I certainly did, and I’ve wanted to see it ever since.

It’s kind of a big deal (pun intended), and everyone knows that the Grand Canyon is massive. What they don’t necessarily tell you is how awe-inspiringly, jaw-droppingly, breathtakingly beautiful the whole of Grand Canyon National Park is.

No photo will ever do this place justice (trust me, I took hundreds, and looked at a lot of average postcards).

It is simply impossible to capture the essence of the place.

It’s not flashy, it’s not lush, it’s hard and rough and raw in the most powerful way.

Here, let me try (and fail) to give you some idea of what it’s like…

Vegas, Land of WTF

Within an hour of passing the city boundaries, we decided that the most appropriate tagline for the city was “…. well…. that exists….”.

I’m going to be honest, I’ve never ‘got’ the Vegas hype. Gambling isn’t my thing, drinking loads from weirdly shaped vessels isn’t my thing, and pointless excess isn’t my thing. Vegas is pretty much the zero waste minimalist’s nightmare.

In saying that – it’s an experience, and I am always up for new experiences. So here we go!

The sum total of my participation in the gambling side of Vegas was putting a dollar in one of the handle pulling machines and pulling the handle until I was out of cents. I didn’t ‘win’ anything, but that wasn’t why we were there! We were there to see the ridiculous and obscure, and see it we did! We were also on a budget, so almost everything we did was free. Nice!

West Coast Wandering

Canada bade us farewell in the early hours of the morning as we lumbered onto a train and off into the sunrise. I love trains, they are a magnificent beasts that can haul such impressive volumes of people and goods, and I was excited to take a train rather than flying as the carbon footprint is much smaller. On future adventures I would like to travel slightly slower and use trains and busses more for this same reason.

Much as I adore trains, I struggled to love this one through my bleary hatred of mornings. 4am wake ups are not my favourite thing, and are one of the most glaring downsides of public transport – it goes when it goes, not necessarily when you want it to go.

Oh, Canada!

Canada has long been on my list of countries to visit, mostly because it is so widely known for its beautiful yet accessible wild spaces. If you have read many of my blog posts you’ll have picked up on my love of the environment and outdoors. I adore getting out into the hills and seeing the glorious expanses this world has to offer us. Every time I step into the wilderness I am reminded of what I am defending when I try to minimise my negative impact on this incredible planet we call home. Canada drove that home yet again.

We landed in Edmonton at an ungodly hour of the night and were overwhelmed by the kindness of a new friend we had made in Iceland a few weeks before when she drove out to the airport from a party at her house just to fetch us. She then proceeded to offer us a bed for the night, followed by a guided tour of the river by canoe the next morning.

Of course we jumped at the chance to see the city from a different angle, and early the next morning we slathered on the sunscreen and headed to the river.