4 October 2020 - Grand Canyon National Park, Arizona, USA

Continuing the road trip we headed off on Route 66 to get our kicks. Ultimately, we arrived at Flagstaff where we stayed at a hotel as camping was getting a little old.

 We spent most of the next day hiking the south rim of Grand Canyon National Park. I had a distance goal for the weekend of 10 kilometers and that was a perfect distance for an out and back from the Visitor Center to the Village. It was moderately crowded so we had to mask up. This came as no surprise because the park had recently reopened after being closed for a few months of pandemic lockdown.

We ended the day with a stopover in nearby Williams, AZ, and enjoyed a wine tasting and walking some of the historic Route 66.

14 May 2020 - Coconino and Prescot National Forests, Arizona

I had originally had planned a few days off for EDC Las Vegas but that has been postponed. Having sheltered in place since March 12, I wanted to go out camping and try "boondocking" or "Dispersed Camping" in a national forest or on BLM land. A few years ago I started learning that many of the western united states were mostly public lands, owned by us tax-payers. One of our rights is to go out and camp for free in these areas. The time limit is usually 2 weeks before you have to leave the area.

The next day we drove to Flagstaff and then onwards to Sedona. The drive from the mountains to the desert proved to be quite the treat with terrain and geography. During my move to California in 2015, I passed through the town of Flagstaff, AZ near the Grand Canyon and had made a mental note to return and explore the region further when I could find some time. Today, was the official day that the state of Arizona had lifted stay-at-home orders (back home in Cali still locked). It will be interesting to see if history shows this to be the right or wrong move. We're still being careful, wearing masks in stores, and keeping our distance from others.

After Sedona, we headed off towards the Prescott National Forest to try and get another free campsite. Unfortunately, most spots were taken thanks to it being a Friday afternoon. We ended up staying at a local Marriott.