{"id":9539,"date":"2019-08-20T10:31:06","date_gmt":"2019-08-20T16:31:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ozapato.com\/mx\/arizona-baby\/"},"modified":"2019-06-20T11:04:28","modified_gmt":"2019-06-20T17:04:28","slug":"arizona-baby","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ozapato.com\/mx\/arizona-baby\/","title":{"rendered":"Arizona, baby."},"content":{"rendered":"
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[English below]<\/p>\n

Tras siete meses en el pa\u00eds de los mariachis y tacos<\/a>, lleg\u00f3 el momento de cruzar a Estados Unidos y seguir nuestra ruta hacia Alaska. Para ser honestos, no ten\u00edamos demasiadas ganas de dejar M\u00e9xico atr\u00e1s, pero el tiempo apremiaba -supongo- y no pod\u00edamos dormirnos en los laureles.<\/p>\n

Cruzamos a Estados Unidos por Tecate, pueblo m\u00e1gico y lugar de origen de la famosa cerveza mexicana. Tuvimos un peque\u00f1o contratiempo en la frontera, y es que hacia un par de meses Meli hizo una escala en Los \u00c1ngeles de camino a M\u00e9xico cuando regresaba de Hait\u00ed y las autoridades estadounidenses comenzaron a contar sus 90 d\u00edas de permiso a pesar de que s\u00f3lo pas\u00f3 por el aeropuerto de L.A. haciendo una escala. Tras unos minutos de nervios y confusi\u00f3n, logramos hacerles entender cu\u00e1l era la situaci\u00f3n y una oficial muy amable nos ayud\u00f3 a finalizar el tr\u00e1mite y entrar al pa\u00eds.<\/p>\n

Hab\u00edamos planeado m\u00e1s o menos una ruta por Arizona, Utah, Nevada y California, para despu\u00e9s seguir subiendo por la costa rumbo norte. Estados Unidos es un pa\u00eds tan grande y con tantas cosas para ver, que tocaba escoger qu\u00e9 ver ahora y qu\u00e9 dejar para otra ocasi\u00f3n.<\/p>\n

Lo que s\u00ed ten\u00edamos claro e hicimos nada m\u00e1s llegar, fue comprar el pase anual America the Beautiful National Parks and Federal Recreational Lands Pass<\/em><\/a>. Por 80$ tendr\u00edamos un pase de entrada v\u00e1lido por un a\u00f1o para toda la red de parques nacionales del pa\u00eds. Teniendo en cuenta que normalmente la entrada a cualquiera de ellos ronda los 35$, es un negocio redondo para un roadtrip as\u00ed. Adem\u00e1s si uno no lo firma, puede incluso vend\u00e9rselo\/regal\u00e1rselo a otra persona despu\u00e9s.<\/p>\n

El calor era tan sofocante el d\u00eda que cruzamos, que hab\u00edan emitido una alerta para esa zona de Arizona. El term\u00f3metro marcaba 42 grados a las 9 de la noche, as\u00ed que decidimos seguir manejando hasta bien entrada la noche con tal de seguir un rato m\u00e1s con el aire acondicionado de la camioneta. Una locura.<\/p>\n

Nuestra primera parada fue Sedona, un peque\u00f1o pueblo que sirve de base para visitar varios parques nacionales y multitud de hikes de diferentes niveles.<\/p>\n

La primera tarde decidimos tom\u00e1rnosla con cierta calma, el sol segu\u00eda fuerte as\u00ed que quisimos dejar pasar las peores horas de calor refresc\u00e1ndonos en un r\u00edo. El plan era ascender a Cathedral Rock justo antes del atardecer, para conseguir esa luz tan especial antes de que el sol se escondiese por detr\u00e1s de los ca\u00f1ones.<\/p>\n

Nos tom\u00f3 como una hora y media llegar a la cima y cuando llegamos tuvimos el lugar para nosotros solos durante una media hora larga. Fue divertido subir con Tikla, la peque\u00f1a ten\u00eda una energ\u00eda impensable para su corta edad, aunque hubo lugares donde tuvimos que cargarla porque no pod\u00eda trepar.<\/p>\n

Al d\u00eda siguiente, tras una calurosa noche estacionados en el centro del peque\u00f1o pueblo de Sedona, hicimos otro hike, el Devil\u2019s Bridge. Este fue algo m\u00e1s largo y duro, a pesar de haber comenzado temprano el sol empez\u00f3 a calentar desde casi el primer momento. Nuestra peque\u00f1a Tikla aguant\u00f3 hasta cierto punto, despu\u00e9s nos toc\u00f3 cargarla a ratos.<\/p>\n

Las vistas desde el final del hike sin duda hicieron que el esfuerzo mereciese la pena.<\/p>\n

Nos fuimos de Sedona fascinados. Nos gust\u00f3 mucho esta zona; sus vistas, su paisaje semi \u00e1rido y ese encanto especial que ten\u00eda el pueblo. Un lugar recomendable sin duda.<\/p>\n

El calor no cesaba as\u00ed que decidimos apresurarnos un poco y tomarnos menos d\u00edas para visitar esta zona del pa\u00eds. Si el d\u00eda era caliente, la noche no lo era menos, y a pesar de haber comprado un peque\u00f1o ventilador de bater\u00edas, nos preocupaba el exceso de calor en la pobre Tikla, que a\u00fan ten\u00eda 3 meses.<\/p>\n

As\u00ed pues, manejamos 3 horas rumbo norte y llegamos a Page, famosa localidad por sus paisajes de ca\u00f1ones serpenteantes y el Lago Powell.<\/p>\n

Llegamos cuando ya estaba el sol a punto de caer, pero tuvimos el tiempo justo para disfrutar de las vistas en Horseshoe Bend, un ca\u00f1\u00f3n de 300 metros de altura en forma de herradura. Un lugar muy tur\u00edstico en el que si uno llega un poco tarde, se queda sin espacio en el parking para ver el atardecer.<\/p>\n

Para el d\u00eda siguiente hab\u00edamos planeado una excursi\u00f3n al Ca\u00f1\u00f3n X. Decidimos pasar del archiconocido Ca\u00f1\u00f3n del Ant\u00edlope para evitar las masas de turistas y probar suerte en este otro que en realidad est\u00e1 conectado pero algo m\u00e1s lejos. Nos encontr\u00e1bamos en pleno territorio navajo y la cosa promet\u00eda.<\/p>\n

En toda esta \u00e1rea de 71.000 km\u00b2 (es la mayor reserva en manos de una tribu de nativos norteamericanos), son los navajos quienes gobiernan<\/a> y toman decisiones sobre lo que ocurre en su tierra. Son ellos pues, quienes explotan y regentan sus atracciones tur\u00edsticas.<\/p>\n

Disfrutamos de la excursi\u00f3n por el ca\u00f1\u00f3n, ciertamente hab\u00eda muchos menos turistas que en el famoso Ant\u00edlope, aunque no est\u00e1bamos completamente solos. En total caminamos alrededor de cuarenta minutos por dos secciones diferentes del ca\u00f1\u00f3n, y la verdad es que nos supo a poco, pues al principio nos hablaron de dos horas, pens\u00e1bamos que eran bastante m\u00e1s largos y resultaron tener entre 50 y 100 metros. Adem\u00e1s salvo la gu\u00eda que era bien simp\u00e1tica, el resto de trabajadores all\u00ed presentes no fueron especialmente amables con nosotros, sobre todo la tarde anterior cuando fuimos all\u00ed a informarnos.<\/p>\n

Dejando esto a un lado, el lugar nos pareci\u00f3 bien hermoso. Adem\u00e1s en la zona hay infinidad de ca\u00f1ones similares, s\u00f3lo hay que aventurarse por el desierto habi\u00e9ndose informado bien antes, claro, y uno puede disfrutar de estas curiosas formaciones milenarias para s\u00ed mismo.<\/p>\n

Ten\u00edamos una tormenta encima as\u00ed que pusimos rumbo a Utah, nuestro periplo por el desierto estadounidense continuaba.<\/p>\n

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After seven months in the country of mariachis<\/em> and tacos<\/em><\/a>, it was time to cross the border to the US and continue our trip towards Alaska. To be honest, we didn\u2019t want to leave Mexico, but we were running out of time.<\/p>\n

We entered the US through the Tecate border, a pueblo m\u00e1gico<\/em>, and the hometown of the famous Mexican beer. We lost a bit of time at the border due to the fact that a couple of months before, Meli had a layover in L.A while flying back from Haiti to Mexico and the American authorities started to count the 90 days she had on her visa even though she had only stopped at the airport for a few hours to catch a connecting flight. After a few minutes of stress and confusion, we managed to explain the situation and a very nice officer helped us renew her visa and enter the country.<\/p>\n

We had more or less planned a route: we were going to go through Arizona, Utah, Nevada and California, and later continue up the coast towards the North. The United States is so big and there are so many things to see that we had to go about it differently, make our choices well in advance and leave the rest for another trip.<\/p>\n

The first thing we did as soon as we crossed was buy the America the Beautiful National Parks and Federal Recreational Lands Pass<\/em><\/a>. For $80 we would have a pass valid for a whole year in all the National Parks of the United States. Taking into account the fact that the entrance fee to any one of the parks costs about $35, it\u2019s a great deal for a trip like ours! And, if you don\u2019t sign it, you can even sell it or gift it to someone else later \u2013 but don\u2019t say it was us that told you this.<\/p>\n

The heat was so suffocating the day that we crossed, that they had issued a warning for this part of Arizona. The thermostat marked 42 degrees Celsius at around 9 at night, so we decided to keep driving until much later so we could enjoy the air conditioning for a few more hours. It was crazy.<\/p>\n

Our first stop was Sedona, a small town that serves as a base to visit a few National Parks and do tons of hikes of different styles and levels.<\/p>\n

We decided to take it easy during the first afternoon, the sun was still hot and so, we spent the hottest hours swimming in a river. The plan was to climb to Cathedral Rock right before sunset, to catch that amazing light right before the sun hid behind the canyons.<\/p>\n

It took us one hour and a half to climb to the top and when we got there, we were alone for about thirty minutes. It was super fun to do that hike with Tikla. She had an energy that we wouldn\u2019t have thought possible for her young age, although there were moments that we had to carry her because she couldn\u2019t scale a few steep rocks.<\/p>\n

The views at the end of the hike made all the effort worth it.<\/p>\n

We left Sedona, fascinated with the place. We loved this area; the views, the landscape and this special vibe of the town. We\u2019d recommend a visit there without a doubt.<\/p>\n

The heat was still at its peak so we decided to fast forward a little and spend less days in this area of the country. If the day was hot, the night wasn\u2019t any cooler, and even though we had bought a small battery fan, we were worried about the effects of the excess heat on the poor Tikla that was only three months old.<\/p>\n

We drove three hours towards the North and reached the town of Page, famous for its canyons, its landscapes and the Lake Powell.<\/p>\n

We got there when the sun was about to set and we had just the time to enjoy the views of Horseshoe Bend, a 300 meter high canyon in the shape of a horseshoe, like the name suggests. It\u2019s a very touristy spot and if one gets there just a little bit late, there\u2019s not a single parking spot left.<\/p>\n

We had planned a tour in one of the canyons, Canyon X, for the following day. We decided to skip the super-famous Antelope Canyon to avoid the tourist masses and try our luck in a canyon that\u2019s part of the same system but that\u2019s located fa bit further out of town. We were in the middle of the Navajo territory and things looked good.<\/p>\n

In the whole 71.000 km\u00b2 \u00a0area (it\u2019s the largest reserve in the hands of a northern American native tribe) the Navajos are the ones that govern<\/a> and make decisions about what happens on their land. They are the ones that exploit and manage the canyons as touristic attractions.<\/p>\n

The tour throughout the canyon was nice. There were certainly less people than in the famous Antelope Canyon, although we weren\u2019t exactly alone. We walked about 40 minutes in total throughout two different sections of the canyon and the truth is, it seemed a bit short. The canyons were about 50 to 100 meters long and since the guides mentioned that the tour would last two hours, we had naturally assumed that the canyons would be a lot longer. Furthermore, besides the guide that was pleasant, the other employees hadn\u2019t been really nice to us, especially the afternoon before, when we went to gather all the information we needed to plan our visit.<\/p>\n

Other than this, the place was beautiful. This area holds tons of similar canyons, it\u2019s only a question of going out to the desert -after getting well informed, of course- and enjoying these millennial sandstone formations for yourself alone.<\/p>\n

There was a storm coming our way, and so we headed to Utah, our adventure through the American desert continued.<\/p>\n