After the high of the Grand Canyon, the road home was lackluster….but still found some beautiful hikes along the way.
My first destination after the Grand Canyon was Flagstaff which I had never been to so I was going in blindly. It was only a couple hour drive but plenty of places to stop on the way. First hike we decided on was called Red Mountain trail and located in the Coconino National Forest. The sun was pretty hot so a nice and easy 1.5 hour hike was perfect.
Second hike of the day was right outside of Flagstaff called Rocky Ridge Trail which is a 5.5 mile out and back moderate trail but with lots is trees for shade. I really enjoyed this one because there had been a fire last season but there was some regrowth already happening 🌱 (life is amazing).
After a full day of hiking Luci and I went to find a place for the night to rest and plan for the next few days. Driving into flagstaff was beautiful with the sun setting on the mountains surrounding the city. Unfortunately there was ZERO BLM land around and didn’t seem very camper friendly, but not to worry, Cracker Barrel is always there to save the day 😋 (they always allow rvs/vans/trailers to park behind the store for free 7 days a week and is mostly safe)
The next morning we head out to hike Fatmans Trail which is called that because there are pretty tight spots you have to squeeze through to proceed on. It was a 1.5 hour moderate hike and Luci had a ton of fun exploring!
After a lunch break and a nap we did some grocery shopping and planned our next hike of the day. I chose a 4 mile “outdoor classroom” trail called the Tom Moody Trail where we saw remnants of a rail line that was used to harvest timber in 1908, mini waterfalls, tons of beautiful trees and a scary tumbleweed (according to Luci).