If it wasn’t going to be 30 degrees Fahrenheit, we would have camped out in our VW bus that night, but we decided to keep moving and get warm. All of the hotels in the area were a bit steep, so we explored other options. After calling hotels near and far, the only thing that looked feasible was around 2.5 hours away, so we headed North. We drove our bus alongside the starlit canyon (with no clue as to what was ahead) and eventually made it to the hotel before the sun came up.

When we woke up the next morning, we walked outside and were blinded by the light. Once our eyes adjusted, we realized we had an incredible view overlooking the Northern rim of the Grand Canyon! We had landed in a very cool spot and it got us very excited to get exploring.

There was no telling what Page, Arizona offered, so we did a quick search and realized we were in the home of absolutely jaw-dropping sandstones, which reach up 120 feet above the stream bed. After getting a little educated and choosing a tour company, we headed right over to Antelope Canyon to see and capture the magnificent swirling formations.

It was so wild to surround ourselves in such natural beauty and there was something to see and absorb around every corner. We climbed up and hiked down through the caverns, for what seemed like hours (even though it was just one hour). The stone was soft and cool to the touch and the way the light came in through cracks in the walls was heavenly. Glimmering minerals, exposed by erosion, glistened as we traveled through and it looked as though the bending stones were moving, but everything stood still.

After an exciting time at Antelope Canyon, we climbed out of the sandstones and drove just a bit to Horseshoe Bend, a phenomenon that humans still can’t quite wrap their heads around. The river flows one way, then makes a quick “horseshoe” and somehow flows the opposite direction. It was so wild to see up close.

We hiked with our dog, Sunday, through the sand and all the way to the edge. We were blown away by the view and uniqueness of the bend. We could feel the energy pulling us downward and we both experienced a minute of vertigo. The vastness was incredible and everything was so picturesque.

Visiting the sandstones at Antelope Canyon and seeing Horseshoe Bend was such a wonderful way to end our trip in Arizona and we never could have expected any of it (thank you universe!). The two of us were so moved by the experience and to this day, we are so happy that we decided to blindly drive off to Page, Arizona. It surprised us in so many ways and it magically turned out to be a destination that we would accidentally (or divinely on purpose) visit again. See what happens next on our cross-country adventure here!