Exploring Northern Arizona and Utah

After three days of dove hunting in southern Arizona we wanted to extend out trip and enjoy some new areas. We mapped out a fun loop back to Northern California so we could do some site seeing on the long drive back. Having Jax (our dog) with us changed some of our activities so he could join but I wouldn't have wanted it any other way.

Day 1 Flagstaff, Arizona

Leaving Yuma Arizona we drove north through Sedona which we had visited a couple times in the past and headed up to Flagstaff, Arizona. We had heard a lot about this town and wanted to check it out for ourselves. While on a wine tour in Sedona we learned about Flagstaff and the different things to do there. I had booked a dog friendly hotel in advance at La Quinta which had a great area for Jax to walk around when we got there. After we got out luggage in the hotel room we took a walk downtown to explore. We really enjoyed the lighted streets, restaurants, bars and shops all full of patrons. After walking down a few streets we settled on a restaurant that looked appetizing! We ate at The Mcmillan and both enjoyed our cocktail and dinner!

It had been a long day of driving and after dinner we headed back to the hotel to get some rest.

Day 2 Horeshoe Bend and Zion National Park

We woke up and grabbed a coffee and breakfast burrito from a local coffee shop near downtown and hit the road.

Looking back we wish we would have stayed 2 nights in Flagstaff because there was a lot to see and more places we wanted to check out. There were a few breweries that would have been fun to check out as well as seeing more of the city during the day. Also, I wanted to drive up to Snowball their ski mountain and check it out. But... There is always next time.

We hit the road heading to St. George Utah. However, on the way, I wanted to check out Horseshoe bend. This is located near Page, Arizona. Another spot that would be fun to explore more of. There are lots of activities to do such as: river floating, kayaking, house boating on the lake Powell, hiking, and so much more! We made a pit stop at Horseshoe bend which was dog friendly!

Its a small entrance fee and then you can walk the trail at your leisure. It was short walk less than a mile to horseshoe bend.

This picture doesn't even do it justice! Well, obviously, I mean I am using an iPhone camera... This was an incredible experience. From my view I could see the flat lands behind it all the way to the skyline. The water seems a bit low this time of year. We were visiting in December, but people kayak down the river and experience it from an entirely different perspective. That is definitely something I would love to do one day!

We walked around and took pictures from different spots and enjoyed the beautiful creation. I could put about 20 pictures on here but I will just show you a couple of my favorites!

You can see the dark clouds coming our way and the temperature was dropping. We decided to head back to the truck and carry on since we still had a couple hours until St. George. Once on the road again, it started snowing which was a fun change but added some time to the drive.

On the way to St. George we stopped at Zion National Forest. Originally we were hoping to see the Grand Canyon on the way from Flagstaff, AZ but the south entrance was the only one open so we would have had to drive there and see the park and drive back out the same way adding about 4 hours of driving to an already long driving day. Unfortunately we had to miss it but we will be back. Zion was nothing but spectacular! Plus, both entrances were open so we were able to enter on our way into St. George and exit closer to St. George so it worked out better!

I loved all views of this place! Also, since it had recently snowed we got to see some snow on the tops of some of the mountains which gave it a whole different look! We had stopped at a grocery store before getting into the park and got sandwiches and snacks and pulled off and ate lunch with a view.

We then found a dog friendly trail and took Jax on a much needed walk.

We even got to see some nice big bucks! This place was beautiful! The north end was closed so we came in the East and exited the South but it was a great couple hour stop to explore what we could during out road trip! Obviously, you could spend days hiking and exploring but we were limited on time due to Austin needing to get back to work and also due to have Jax and him not being allowed on most trails.

Overall, the experience was perfect! We then drove the rest of the way to St. George Utah and checked into our hotel. We stayed at Tru by Hilton which was also dog friendly and had a free breakfast! After checking in we took Jax for a walk around the hotel and then headed to find some dinner. We ended up checking out a recommendation that was perfect! It's called Cafe Sabor. I would link it but their website isn't great. You can find it on Yelp and they have great photos on there. This place was packed!! I mean every table was full. We walked upstairs and sat at the bar which was perfect for us. The bartender made us great margaritas and helped with recommendations. Everything was great! I think I must have been a bit tired because I didn't take one photo...

Day 3 Exploring St. George, Utah

We woke up that morning and I took Jax on a walk to stretch his legs. When we got back I met Austin downstairs and we ate the continental breakfast. This was full service! sausage, waffles, eggs, potatoes, donuts, cereal, yogurt. They did a great job and one of the few places that didn't let covid restrictions stop them from treating their guests. After breakfast we headed to Pioneer Park. It was just a short drive through town and at the top it overlooked the entire city. If you hike up past the parking lot you get to see some of the great rocks. Plus there are hiking/biking trails even past that which we explored to get Jax some exercise.

After climbing around Austin tried to get skinny and fit through some narrow areas.

Jax watched from above while I checked it out. He made it pretty far but had to come back out. This was a fun adventure exploring the area for a few hours. There are more areas to check out nearby that I had looked up.

• Quail Creek State Park

• Red Hills Garden Desert

• Sand Hallow State Park

• Snow Canyon State Park

After a couple long days of driving we decided on Pioneer park which we enjoyed and then we checked out some public land hunting areas to get a feel for different roads and the map. We ended up doing some hiking from some of those areas. Then explored around town and different neighborhoods. At this point it was afternoon and we decided to check out a brewery. It was an old firehouse transformed into a brewery called Station 2 Zion Brewery. They have two different locations but this one was right in St. George.

We ended up doing a flight and trying out the different beers. Then we played some pool and talked with some other locals. It was a great place to stop in and we would definitely recommend it!

After hanging out here we decided on a restaurant called George's just a short walk down the street. It was a reliable recommendation and a town staple with a lot of history. Most people recommended it as a place you have to try. The food and service was good but nothing spectacular about the experience just a good hometown favorite! After dinner we headed back to the hotel and jumped in bed. We had a long 11 hour drive waiting for us in the morning.

This trip was a great mixture of dove hunting, which you can check out here, and exploring all in one trip! We enjoyed some time to ourselves and saw some new places together! I can't wait for our next adventure!