Parks and Trekreation Day 1

(Original post date - April 12, 2016)

#parksandtrekreation
#katieandkristagowest

It’s finally here!
The trip Krista and I have been researching and planning for months. As I bought and collected various camping gear, I wondered if this trip would actually come to pass or if I was just wasting my hard earned money on a dream. It wasn’t until we purchased plane tickets that I knew it was real, but still I had no idea what adventures, hardships, and funny moments lay ahead.
Would we be counting down the hours until we were safely and comfortably back on the east coast?
Would we perish along some trail in the woods? (A thought that thanks to my mother and some other family members was constantly on my mind.)
Or would we come back feeling victorious and full of wonderful stories to tell for years to come?

Day 1 - March 24th, 2016

We woke up in Krista’s bed on the Upper West Side at 5:00am, skedaddled out the door at 5:30am to meet our Uber driver on the dark and sleepy street of a city that supposedly never sleeps. His name was Pedro and he was confused (or perhaps asleep) from the start. First not knowing where to pick us up until I called him to explain what street we were on and then not knowing how to get to LaGuardia - Terminal B. We weren’t too concerned at first because we left with plenty of time to make our first of three flights to our final destination: Flagstaff, Arizona. But after letting Pedro drive haphazardly around the maze of the airport for a little too long, we basically had to help navigate. At first he wouldn’t listen to us when we pointed him in the right direction, but thankfully, once he realized he was just going in circles, he listened but muttering to himself all the while, probably about how embarrassed he was that these two girls just out-Ubered him. Just as we were pulling up to the terminal I received a call from American Airlines saying that our second flight (Boston to Phoenix) was canceled but they put us on another one leaving the next night! This would not suffice. I was ready to throw a fit, but luckily the angry, exhausted lady at the counter got us on a Chicago to Phoenix flight instead, getting us there in time to make our original flight to Flagstaff, which she repeatedly called Flagship. So now between me, Krista and the ticket lady, Flagstaff shall forever be called Flagship. And I suggest you all do the same.

So we checked our one suitcase with toiletries and other assorted items, and hoisted up our backpacks and made our way through security with literally a few minutes to spare (thanks to Pedro, American Airlines and TSA). We boarded a flight to Chicago, on which we could not buy any breakfast which we were so looking forward to. Apparently you can’t buy anything but 3 or 4 crackers on a flight that is “less than 2 hours.” But at least we sat in the exit row which was luxuriously spacious.

At the Chicago airport, we had just enough time to snag a sausage, egg and cheese bagel before boarding the next flight to Phoenix so we wouldn’t starve before our trip really began. At the gate they made us check our backpacks, which made us nervous in case between all these flights our bags somehow got lost. They said it was because there wasn’t enough space in the overhead bins, but that turned out to be a lie as I walked to my seat and passed several perfect spots for our precious cargo. Whatever. At least we didn’t have to carry them anymore.

Once we landed in Phoenix we had a little treat of artisan ice cream. Horchata for Krista, and Peaberry Espresso for me. This may have been a mistake for our stomachs. But for the duration of this trip we often threw caution to the wind in favor of eating whatever the heck we wanted.

We were relieved to find all our bags safely in Flagship, a very tiny airport where the baggage carousel was directly to the right of our gate and in front of the car rental counter. How adorable. We rented a white Hyundai Elantra from the self proclaimed “dad-bodied” Arizonian who also gave us directions to a nearby REI where we bought fuel and more Epic bars (a very delicious meat bar that we can’t get enough of).

Then we pondered which first of many exciting, stomach-wrecking, fast food joints we should visit on this trip. We settled on Carl’s Jr. where we were mistaken for students, received discounts, and evangelized by the cashier. But we all agreed together how “God created life.” After we ate our Famous Star burgers and fries while listening to an entire Natasha Bedingfield CD over the loud speaker, we headed to Sprouts Market to pick up 6 gallons of water, tea, trail mix, apples, bread, peanut butter, more Epic bars of course, and some honey sticks which fell out of the bag in the parking lot. Krista managed to salvage a few for me. Gotta have honey in my tea, even if it is covered in parking lot gravel.

We then drove to the Grand Canyon Inn & Hotel to check in to our tiny and kitschy but quaint room which was marked #72, the Lone Ranger room.

We re-organized our backpacks a bit, and headed over to the restaurant to eat chicken fingers and mozzarella sticks. Another fine choice of sustenance.

I also made Krista take these photos with me near these metal horses and such. We’re in Arizona!

Exhausted, we showered and looked up directions for our next leg of the trip. In the bathroom was the worst bar of soap I have ever come across. It felt like I was using a chewable Tums to wash my body. Better to use the “Desert Breeze” shampoo. Krista liked the Tums soap. Different strokes I guess.