Aaron waltzed into my room on Friday night to infer about a day trip he wanted to do out to the eastern outskirts of Arizona. The continued lack of snow in Flagstaff was his driving force for the trip. The forecast was predicting snow out there so we knew we had to take a chance to explore a beautiful part of Arizona that neither of us had seen. I quickly agreed to tag along on this grand day trip he had planned.
Sunset at Petrified Forest on Dec. 17th, 2017
Hannagan's Meadow and Aaron's Ford Escape on the snowy Arizona road.
Getting on the road around 8 A.M., we knew we had a long day ahead of us. Our first stop would be to Big Lake among the White Mountains. About half way to the lake we started to see some small signs of snow and eventually there were light flurries as we traversed a spectacular winding forest road. The further we got the more snow came down and by the time we reached Big Lake it was completely covered in snow and the lake was frozen over as well. Aaron and myself couldn't contain our excitement for the snow, stopping every couple miles to hop out and snap some photos. The lake was definitely big and uniquely set among pine trees and tall grass weighed down by the continued snowfall. We explored Big Lake for about an hour then took a much needed lunch and beer break. Continuing on, our plan was to head farther east to Alpine and then turn south to Hannagans Meadow. The snow started to come down harder as we drove. We reached the Hannagans Meadow Lodge and decided that we didn't want to risk pushing on for the risk of getting stuck in the snow. As we sat in the car at the lodge, we are about to leave when we see this beautiful Malamute that came right up to the car and stuck its head in to say hi. I snapped a few photos of the pup and we both were struck by how majestic that dog was and totally in its element. Leaving the lodge, we headed back to Alpine. We stopped at the Bear Wallow Cafe to grab a coffee and try to figure out the plan for the rest of the day. We decided that if we left as soon as possible that we could make it just in time to catch the sunset at Petrified Forest National Park. Crossing our fingers we would make it to the park in time, we finally arrived just before the sun completely set only for the ranger to tell us they close at 5. Knowing we only had minutes to shoot any photos, we pulled off at the first spot we saw and tried to get what we could. The amazing colors at sunset are staggering, so we still managed to get good photos. Homeward bound, we watched as the last of the sunset lit up the San Francisco Peaks way in the distance.
The beautiful Malamute we ran into at Hannagan's Meadow Lodge.
We knew going into this trip that it would be a long haul, but it sounded worth it and we were not wrong. There's so much in Arizona to explore, you just have to look a little deeper and you can stumble a gorgeous place not known by most. Overall, I wouldn't recommend this as a day trip unless you are really pressed for time. The whole trip took us about 11 hours from door to door and we spent around 8 of those hours driving. However, don't let that scare you away from exploring this part of Arizona. It is absolutely spectacular and completely blew me away, especially in the snow. The whole time we were out there we couldn't stop commenting on the beauty all around us. Get out there and explore somewhere that intrigues you. The best part about any adventure is the unknown.
Sunset on the gorgeous landscape that is the Petrified Forest.
Upturned boats on the dock of Big Lake
Aaron chasing the last of the light at Petrified Forest.