SOUTHWESTERN ROAD TRIP | Charming America Travel

Greetings from the Southwest! I’m thrilled to share my road trip through the beautiful desert of California and Arizona and the charming places I stopped at along the way.

The purpose of my trip was to go with my parents and sister to her graduation at the Arizona State University she had studied online through the Starbucks College Achievement Program which pays for the bachelor degrees for their employees, my sister graduated with a nutrition major and I’m so glad I could be there to see it. See more of in the video of our adventures:

Even if Jonas had to stay behind in New York, it turned out to be a once in a lifetime family road trip! Nostalgic of the camping trips the 4 of us took when we were children to the places near the Grand Canyon. The desert holds a certain beauty that I almost had forgotten about until faced with it’s cactus forests and red rock canyons that have an enchantment all their own.

CABAZON, CA

After a mandatory Disneyland day, our road trip began in a loop starting in Orange County and heading east towards our first pit stop in Cabazon, CA near Palm Springs. Most famously known for the roadside attraction of the Cabazon Dinosaurs which are steel and concrete dinos made in 1975 that you can actually go inside of.

When in Cabazon you MUST stop at Hadley’s Fruit Orchards for a date shake. I’m not kidding when I say I dream about these shakes, there’s just something so perfect about the creamy caramel cold beverage in the heat of the desert. I’m so glad this historic farmer’s market has stayed in business since 1930s and even in a new location still delivering the same wonderful assortment of nuts, dried fruits, and jams all locally produced in the California sunshine.

TEMPE, AZ

Across the border into Arizona, south of Phoenix, we came to Tempe where my sister would be graduating at ASU. This college town was electric with students celebrating their achievements. The historic Mill Avenue District in downtown Tempe certainly had it’s charms and any sort of food you could want and we had a delicious afternoon treat at a board game themed cafe, appropriately named Snakes & Lattes.

SEDONA, AZ

Changing our direction towards the north, we made an afternoon stop in Sedona, Arizona and our jaws dropped at the first sight of the red rock formations. Sedona has long been known as a spiritual destination, a place that is said to promote healing energy and is filled with new age shops.

PAGE, AZ

Not far from the Grand Canyon, Antelope Canyon can be found, just outside of Page, AZ. This slot canyon formed over a million years of water erosion and the Navajo name for Upper Antelope Canyon is “Tse’ bighanilini,” which means “the place where water runs through rocks.” To see this phenomenon, you have to take a guided tour and we had a very knowledge guide take us through the lower canyon, who also helped us take some amazing smartphone photos. She also was very cautious of safety not only for ourselves as we ascended the steep stairs, but to preserve the beauty of this landmark that the Navajo protect.

CALICO GHOST TOWN, CA

Saying bye for now to Arizona, we headed westward into the Mojave desert and after staying one night outside Las Vegas, made a final last stop in Yermo, CA. Calico Ghost Town is a living history museum of an old west mining town and is like stepping back in time.

Thank you for coming along with me on a charming southwestern road trip, hope you enjoyed the ride, partner! It was a once in a lifetime trip with my family I’ll always remember and though saying bye for now is hard, it’s better left said is the in lyrics of Roy Rogers, the singing cowboy:

Happy trails to you,
Until we meet again.
Happy trails to you,
Keep smiling until then.

-Lindsay Dianne

P.S. Have you ever been on a western adventure? I’d love to hear about it and hope to take Jonas along with me next time!