Guest post: Trip to Havasu Falls with @natalieallenco

 

"Our three day journey began in my room; cramped with five restless kids who eagerly woke up at the crack of dawn to pack away our goods in the car for our trip to Havasu Falls. Completed with a coffee, an Einsteins bagel, and a pillow for the car ride — we were ready". 

Today we are happy to share with you this colorful story by Natalie Allen (@natalieallenco, website). Desert based academic, photographer, and yoga teacher running with the wolves. Enjoy!

Four hours had passed by the time we finally reached the rim of the Grand Canyon. We staggered outside of the vehicle to take one good look over the world beneath our feet before we settled down with our backpacks. Not really sure what we were getting into, we immediately started our trek down the canyon walls with only hope, love, and excitement to see what was at the end of our trail.

Immediately noticing the environment, I couldn’t help but feel I was in the middle of a Clint Eastwood film. “This is it. This is the ‘Wild Wild West’”, I thought. I stood in shock with how beautiful the mules' hair stood against the colorful dirt and laughed at how small Reyce’s body looked within the canyon. Continuously smiling to myself in response to my already-amazing-experience, we trekked onward.

2 miles went by.

5 miles went by.

7 miles went by.

The sun was finally beginning to hide behind the canyon walls, forcing the dirty sweat beads on my forehead to finally dry. All of our Nalgenes were near empty, our stomachs churning from hunger, and our shoes so dirty my mother would cry. Nonetheless, we finally reached the outskirts of Supai: a town at the bottom of the Grand Canyon housing land for the Havasupai tribe (Havasu means “blue-green water” and pai “people”.)

Just a few steps beyond our current placement was our campground — our home for the next couple of nights. We crossed a fallen tree trunk over the river to set up our tent and turned on our stove for a much-needed meal. Freeze dried macaroni and cheese for dinner? Yes, I’ll take it.

We slept soundly that evening.

 

The next morning we briskly arose from our tents to make some hot coffee/tea. Another darling puppy had randomly greeted us at our campground, keeping us great company throughout our breakfast time.

The next few days were absolutely full of magical sights. We swam around Havasu Falls, climbed down a sketchy ladder to play in Mooney Falls, and did a whole lot of relaxing. Nothing can compare to the sweet smell of fresh air while doing ABSOLUTELY NOTHING! Ahhh — the best Spring Break there ever was.

Oh… did I mention I fell into a muddy ditch flat on my back and got the wind knocked out of me? Yeah… well, I did. But it was worth it.

Until next time, Havasu.