Author: karenxiao

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Zion National Park

I went to Zion over Thanksgiving break with Anna, Amy, and Margarita two years ago and we had an amazing time, so I was excited to go back again this time with Willy. In a funny turn of events, Anna ended up flying down from SF and joining us in addition to roommate Willy who was already here from LA. All of us had already been to Zion except brother Willy, but we had an amazing time even for our second time.

Almost same crew, two years apart, better iPhone camera quality
Left: Karen, Anna, Amy, Margarita in Nov 2018
Right: Karen, Brother Willy, Roommate Willy, and Anna in Oct 2020

Angel’s Landing

Angel’s Landing is one of the two signature hikes in Zion, and it’s really no joke. The entire first half is a series of pretty steep switchbacks, followed by a mentally terrifying section up a narrow path where you have to hold on to a chain all the way to the top. Willy was on his butt for many parts of the second half because it was just so scary to stand up.

The view from the top sure is worth it though! Here are some pics of me at the top of Angel’s Landing from my trip in 2018:

The Narrows

The Narrows is probably the most unique hike I’ve ever done. The hike essentially takes you along the Virgin River through the narrowest part of the Zion Canyon, at times submerged chest-deep in water.

We didn’t get a chance to do The Narrows hike this time because we were short on time and there was also a toxic cyanobacteria infestation in the Virgin River (though plenty of others were doing it regardless of the toxic bacteria). However, if you’re here during the right time of year (when there aren’t flash floods) and not during an infestation, this is definitely my favorite experience in Zion.

In 2018, we went in November, so the water was pretty cold. We rented special wet suits, boots, and hiking sticks from a rental place in Springdale right outside the park and even with the cold temperatures, we had an amazing time!

Biking

Personal cars aren’t allowed on the main scenic drive (to get out to hikes like Angel’s Landing and The Narrows), so the only way to get there is to take the Zion Shuttle. Last time we were here, we had a reasonably easy time just standing in line and getting on the shuttle, but this time, due to Covid, there was an online shuttle reservation system and because of limited capacity, it was really hard to get a shuttle ticket.

Instead, we ended up getting bike rentals and biking into the park which turned out to be an amazing experience!

We probably biked a total of just under 20 miles (it’s about 15 miles out to The Narrows which is the end of the Scenic Drive and back). It’s slightly uphill on the way in but mostly downhill on the way back. You can also put your bike on the shuttle at any point if you get tired, but we had a really great time just biking the whole way in and out.

Bike rentals: we ended up getting up at 5am to get bikes from Zion Outfitter which is first come first serve (they were sold out by 6:30am), but there are some other bike shops in Springdale that might be a bit further out and offer online reservations.

Camping

Last time, because it was so cold, we couldn’t camp and stayed at an Airbnb nearby, but the weather this time around in early October was perfect for us to camp two nights in Zion. We stayed at the South Campground (one of two open because of Covid), which had lovely views of the Watchman and was next to the Pa’rus Trail where we went on a nice post-dinner walk.

Our greatest discovery of this trip were these instant hot pot kits that we got at 99 Ranch in Las Vegas. You literally just add water and a chemical reaction set off in lower compartment of these containers heats up the hot pot. Our campsite smelled like mala spice for quite a bit afterwards, but it was a delicious dinner.

Campsite reservations: similar to the shuttle reservation system, there’s an online system to book campsites and especially on popular weekends, they go quick. Luckily, Roommate Willy is an experienced Coachella ticket buyer and was on the site right when reservations got posted 2 weeks before and booked us a campsite.

Until next time, Zion

The first time was great, but second was even better and if I can, I would definitely come again.

Angel’s Landing, 2018 and 2020
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Bryce Canyon National Park

Bryce is one of the smaller of the national parks in the US and also not as frequently visited as its more popular neighbor Zion, but with its fun hoodoos and colorful red and orange rocks, it is easily one of my favorites. It’s about a 1.5 hour drive from Zion, so both times that I’ve visited Zion I’ve also tacked on a trip to Bryce.

This trip, the Willys and Anna and I drove over to Bryce for a day in between camping at Zion. Last time I was here was two years ago when I third wheeled Dora and Jtran and spent about two days here before heading to Zion to meet up with Anna, Amy, and Margarita.

Left: me, Anna, and the Willys in Oct 2020
Right: me third-wheeling Dora and Jtran in Nov 2018

Rim Trail

There’s one trail that basically goes around the rim of the Bryce “amphitheater” that’s relatively flat, very easy to walk, and also will give you amazing views of the hoodoos all the way around. We saw lots of families and older people walking this trail, but it’s generally just a very fun and scenic one to walk or run.

Walking the rim trail along the “Amphitheater”

Queen’s Garden & Navajo Loop Trail

Queen’s Garden is probably the most popular trail in the park and had the most crowds both times I went, but it’s truly so spectacular because it allows you to walk through the hoodoos and see the rock formations up close from the top of the amphitheater down to the bottom.

The Willys and I in the “Navajo Loop” section of the trail in Oct 2020

There’s a pretty steep section called “Wall Street” that’s basically a set of really steep switchbacks that takes you down into the hoodoos, and last time Dora, Jtran and I did it in the afternoon almost around sunset and the light hitting the hoodoos made them look super cool.

Dora and I walking down “Wall Street” in 2018

Peekaboo Trail

Because Dora, Jtran and I had more time in Bryce when we were here in 2018, we were able to do some longer hikes. Peekaboo Trail is in a further part of the park and therefore it was way less crowded.

The trail is called “Peekaboo” because you literally wind in and out of the hoodoos and around the amphitheater like a game of peekaboo. The views are great, we got to see lots of different landscapes, and is definitely worth it if you have more time in Bryce.

Sunset, Sunrise & Stargazing

Bryce is open 24 hours, so some of the best experiences in the park are after dark where there is amazing stargazing and also at sunset and sunrise.

When Dora, Jtran and I came in 2018, we stayed at a lodge right outside Bryce, so we were able to easily drive into the park after dinner to stargaze and also get up early in the morning to watch the sun rise before breakfast (though Dora had to drag Jtran and I out of bed).

Sunrise at “Sunrise Point” and “Sunset Point”

Dixie National Forest & More

The drive from Zion to Bryce was actually super scenic and the later part included a drive through Dixie National Forest which also had a fun, short hike that we did on the way out. If you have additional time and want to spend more time in the area, it’s definitely fun to make a stop in Dixie or at this cool arch that you pass through.

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Red Rock Canyon

Red Rock is a super short 30-minute drive from Las Vegas, so since we were maintaining East Coast hours, it meant that we would finish our workday around 3-4pm PT and have a few hours before the sun set to be able to drive to Red Rock and do a post-work hike. Below are some hikes we did on different days after work.

Calico Tanks

The Calico Tanks trail was the first one we did and definitely our favorite. It has super fun and interesting rock scrambles and ends at the top of a peak where you can see Vegas in the distance and also climb up to a little cave.

Keystone Thrust

Keystone Thrust offered more expansive views of Red Rock because you hike out onto a ridge and can see the Calico Hills in the distance on one side, and the canyons on the other. It was easier and less interesting than Calico Tanks, but still very cool.

Turtlehead Peak

Turtlehead Peak was definitely the most physically challenging, with a really steep ascent at the end. The views are nice, but definitely not as interesting/unique as some of the others in the Calico Hills area.

I did this hike one day after work with two FreeWill coworkers who also happened to be in Vegas for various reasons at the same time, and it was a real workout!

Fun tip: Red Rock is on BLM land so we were able to get entry with our National Parks Annual Pass!

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Death Valley National Park

I was super excited about Death Valley because it is where most of the Tatooine scenes from Star Wars were filmed. Our original plan was to camp in the park, but even in October, the temperatures are up in the 100s and only come down to lows around the 80s at night (which would’ve made for a very toasty camping experience), so we just did a day trip from Las Vegas. Only having a day meant that we weren’t able to see some of the more remote parts of the park (like Racetrack Playa which is a 1+ hour drive from the park entrance), but regardless we were satisfied with our day in Tatooine.

Dante’s View

This was our first stop of the day and was about a 30 min drive one way just to get out to this viewpoint. There isn’t much of a hike, mostly just a walk from the parking lot but it was worth getting the view from above Badwater Basin (which is the lowest point in North America and which we will visit later)

Twenty Mule Team Canyon

This hike might not otherwise have been that exciting for the average person, but I was super excited to do this because many scenes from Star Wars were filmed here.

Check out our photos versus a scene from A New Hope:

  • R2 and C3PO in Star Wars: A New Hope

Zabriskie Point

This is probably the most visited point in the whole park. The views were cool, but it probably only took us 10-15 minutes to park, walk up the paved path, and look around. There are some hikes around here but we didn’t do them because we thought they were similar to the ones in Twenty Mule Team Canyon.

Devils Golf Course

We took a quick stop at Devils Golf Course on the drive out to Badwater Basin. It’s basically a huge expanse of salt crystals that have formed into cool formations. Willy licked the crystals – they’re salty, but sharp, and probably would be painful if we fell on them!

Badwater Basin

The lowest point in the United States & North America at ~300 ft below sea level! This is basically a huge salt flat and looks super cool (but it was SO HOT we could only manage to walk around for a few minutes before escaping back to our air conditioned car)

Artist’s Drive & Artist’s Palette

This was another fun drive and relatively short hike up to Artist’s Palette which features these cool, colorful rock formations. This area was also used in a couple scenes in Star Wars:

  • R2-D2 in Star Wars: A New Hope

Mesquite Sand Dunes

I didn’t really realize there were sand dunes in Death Valley, but this was a cool stop because in the middle of all these vast rock formations and salt flats, there’s just a huge mass of sand. Here are Willy and I trying to be R2 and C3PO:

These aren’t the droids you’re looking for

That’s a wrap!

Cheers to a fun (and hot) day in Tatooine, er, Death Valley!

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Valley of Fire State Park

Willy and I did Valley of Fire on our first weekend as nomads in the Southwest and LOVED it. It was an easy hour-long drive from Las Vegas, and had some views that were really out of this world.

Fire Wave Trail

I’ve always wanted to go to The Wave in the Vermillion Cliffs but they have a crazy lottery that’s nearly impossible to get a permit for. Fire Wave is basically a smaller version of that, so I was excited to do this for since I didn’t see myself being able to do the real thing anytime soon.

This was the first hike we did in the morning (and we were glad we did it early because there’s almost no shade). It’s a short hike but worth it for the views – we felt like we were on Mars!

White Domes Trail

White Domes is one of the most popular trails in the park, and the highlight for us was definitely the slot canyon (Willy was VERY excited, and not just because the slot canyon offered shade). There were also lots of random boulders scattered around that are fun to scramble as well. We almost got stuck on top of one, so if you’re gonna try to climb, make sure you can also climb down.

Mouse’s Tank

This hike was short and relatively easy and we did it in maybe 30 minutes, the views were nice, but not too different from the other ones we’d done at this point. One of the cool parts about this trail is that there are petroglyphs – we were able to see them really up close!

Fire Canyon

There are multiple trails in the Fire Canyon area and we did a very short one that took us out to this viewpoint. Overall, a short and easy but fun one!

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Colorado River Kayaking, Emerald Cove, Arizona Hot Spring

We did a series of day trips across different weekends from Las Vegas. These were all in the Lake Mead area on the Colorado River near Hoover Dam (sadly the actual dam was closed due to Covid so we couldn’t see that)

Kayaking the Colorado River to Emerald Cove

On our first weekend as nomads in Las Vegas, Willy and I did a day-long (~8 mile) kayaking trip on the Colorado River from Willow Beach with a stop along this really cool-looking cave called Emerald Cave.

It was a hot day (~100 degrees!) so being able to take short dips in the cold and very clear water was really nice. Sadly, I jumped into the water with my phone on me and killed my phone so basically the only photos we have from this day are the ones above that were taken on Willy’s phone.

Blissfully swimming in the river while my phone was slowly drowning

Willy and I found this guide from REI and this was probably the most useful in planning our trip:

Kayak Emerald Cave near Las Vegas

There are some tours that will transport you from Vegas, include the kayak rentals, and has a guide that will take you, but we had a car and it was easy to get a rental ourselves and do things on our own time instead of with a tour group so we opted for that. We were able to get a rental from this place right on Willow Beach.

The thing that we didn’t have a chance to do that we’d love to do next time is canoe camping. We saw lots of people canoeing up the river and camping along the banks and it looked super fun!

Arizona Hot Spring & White Rock Canyon

On a different weekend, we drove back to the Lake Mead area and this time, instead of kayaking up the Colorado River, we did a hike out to the river along a trail.

There were two hikes that both end up at the Colorado River: Arizona Hot Spring (which was closed at the time we went, but would’ve been really cool because it passes through a hot spring), and White Rock Canyon which we did instead.

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Nomads

The weekend in March that Covid blew up and New York City went on lockdown, Willy and I bought a next-day flight and flew home to Atlanta. At the time, it was mostly at the behest of our mom (who, based on all the news about the virus from China she had been reading from WeChat, with much foresight predicted that it was only a matter of time before NYC would become the next epicenter of the virus). Most of our friends and coworkers at the time kind of thought we were overreacting by flying to Atlanta to “escape” the pandemic. But sure enough, within a few weeks (even days), troves of our New York friends had done the same and “fled” the city as well.

By July, when things were starting to stabilize in New York, our leases were expiring, and no end was in sight for the work-from-home situation, Willy and I and our respective roommates made the decision to pack up our stuff in storage and be homeless for at least the remainder of the year (or however long the situation was gonna last). It was a relatively easy decision for us: my company had already gone remote optional forever, Roommate Willy who worked at Facebook was going to live in LA with his family. Brother Willy also worked at Facebook, Sterling was moving back to Atlanta permanently (which was on his mid-term plan anyways), and Nick also worked in tech so had a relatively lenient remote policy.

Las Vegas

Willy and I did a search across the US for places we might want to temporarily call home and ended up buying one-way flights to, of all places: Vegas.

Basically all of our friends and coworkers reacted with some mixture of surprise, disbelief, or mostly confusion. But here are the reasons why Vegas was actually an ideal place to ride out the pandemic (in order of things that were important to us):

  • Proximity to nature and outdoor activities – Vegas is a 30-minute drive from Red Rock which meant we could easily do post-work hikes, and easy day/weekend trip from some of the most amazing parks in the area such as Zion/Bryce, Death Valley, Grand Canyon, etc.
  • Reliable wifi – it’s a big city so we knew we were going to have reliable wifi and not be in some random mountain town with no cell service and no internet connection
  • Good weather – a lot of places further north were going to start to get cold, and Willy and I love the heat so we loved that Vegas was warm and sunny (I don’t think we’ve gotten a single rainy day)
  • Asian food – turns out, Vegas has one of the best Chinatowns in the country and just generally has great food options. We love Asian food, obviously
  • Affordability – understandably, no one was going to Vegas in the middle of a pandemic so we were able to find pretty cheap housing
  • Transportation – many other places would’ve required that we have a car to get around, but we were able to do Vegas by mostly walking or Ubering during the week and getting rental cars for the weekend

Other places we considered:

  • Seattle and many places in California would’ve been at the top of our list, but the fires that broke out early fall basically eliminated most of those options
  • Salt Lake City was our other biggest contender but it lost to Vegas on weather, Asian food, affordability, and transportation

With that, Willy and I set off on our exciting adventure in the American Southwest. The last time we were really here together was when we were kids, so we were excited to explore this corner of the country that we otherwise wouldn’t necessarily have had the opportunity to really spend much time in.

2002 when we were just some dopey kids
Willy and I at Bryce Canyon National Park

Some of the places near Vegas we visited:

Our route:

Our favorite Vegas spots:

Basically 5 minutes from the Vegas Strip is Spring Mountain, the “Chinatown” of Vegas. I write Chinatown in quotes because the Spring Mountain area just has endless and endless strips malls full of Asian businesses of all kinds, not just Chinese: Vietnamese, Korean, Thai, etc. We honestly probably ate about 80% of our meals in Chinatown, so this is basically just a list of our favorite Vegas Chinatown spots.

We spent most of our time in Shanghai Plaza and Chinatown Plaza:

  • Shanghai Plaza
  • Chinatown Plaza & 99 Ranch Market
  • 888 Korean BBQ – I can very confidently say that this is hands down the best all-you-can-eat Korean BBQ place I have ever been to. For less than $30, you get an unlimited amount of different cuts of meat like beef, pork belly, shrimp, veggies (they even have a pork belly flight with 8 types of marinated porks).
  • Sweethoney Dessert – the most amazing and biggest menu of Asian desserts I have ever seen with fun outdoor seating overlooking Shanghai Plaza
  • Dagu Rice Noodle – this is a chain from China and its first US location is in Las Vegas. They have great rice noodles
  • Weera Thai Kitchen – fun, delicious, hip Thai place
  • Sakana Sushi – all you can eat sushi with amazing fish-to-rice ratio. I had actually come here once before when I landed in Vegas and was driving through to Zion, but still great this time even though we ordered way too much food

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Quebec City & Montreal

Thanksgiving flights home are always super expensive, so since I see my parents quite a lot and Thanksgiving is so close to Christmas, the last few years, I’ve gone on a trip during Thanksgiving with my friends instead of going home for the weekend. This year we mobilized a little late and flights were pricey, so we decided to do a roadtrip to Quebec City and Montreal since they are very drivable distances but also make you feel like you’re in Europe without having to fly to Europe! Check out adventures from my trip with my Delta Gamma sistas Margarita and Amy!

Sun Nov 24 – Drive to Quebec City

  • ~8 hours from NYC, with a pit stop at Woodbury Commons for some quick outlet mall shopping!

Mon Nov 25 – Quebec City

Breakfast/Coffee –Cafe Saint-Henri

  • Cute cafe in the very hip Saint Roch neighborhood (we didn’t have time, but walk around if you have time!)
  • Great coffee
  • Donuts (vegan-friendly!)

Montmorency Falls

  • Large waterfall ~15 min from Quebec City
  • Zipline and some hikes are closed in the winter, but can still walk across the bridge over the waterfall

Île d’Orléans

  • Island with lots of artisan shops
  • Short drive over a bridge from Montmorency Falls, nice views of the falls
  • Cassis Monna & Filles
    • Award-winning cassis (blackcurrant liqueur)
    • Cute farm with nice views. Restaurant/cafe are closed in the winter, but would be a really nice place to hang out/chill in the summer!

Ice Skating – Place d’Youville

  • This was so fun and so magical, especially around Christmastime!
  • The rink is really small, but very cute with Christmas decorations around
  • Skate rentals for ~$10

Dinner – Chez Victor

  • Great burgers and amazing poutine (including vegan-friendly poutine!)

Tue Nov 26 – Quebec City

Old Quebec

  • Fairmont Le Château Frontenac
    • Nice bar inside for drinks
  • Quartier Petit-Champlain
    • Red door from the Korean drama Goblin

Brunch – Cochon Dingue

  • Super cute restaurant in Quartier Petit-Champlain with great brunch food

Plains of Abraham

  • Park with nice surrounding views of the river
  • Went for a run here – it was a little icy, but really nice views!

Dinner – Le Don

  • Vegan restaurant with Asian-inspired dishes, great cocktails, and trendy ambiance

Wed Nov 27 – Montreal

Drive to Montreal (3 hours)

Lunch – Olive et Gourmando

  • Very cute cafe with soups, sandwiches, and pastries
  • Can be a bit of a wait, so put down your name and walk around the old town

Notre-Dame Basilica

  • Amazing light show that happens every night, tickets $25
  • Celine Dion got married here!

Dinner – LOV

  • Very trendy and hip vegan restaurant with amazing food and cocktails

Thu Nov 28 – Montreal

Ski – Mont Tremblant

  • Really cute town with restaurants, cafe, and apre-ski funsies

Dinner – Happy Lamb Hot Pot

  • AYCE hot pot for $25 in Chinatown

Fri Nov 29 – Montreal

Bota Bota Spa

  • Very cool boat docked in the Old Port that was turned into a spa
  • Steaming outdoor hot tubs, saunas, and relaxation rooms with amazing views of the Montreal port, especially great during the winter when it’s cold outside but steamy in the pools

Lunch – Tommy Cafe

  • Very cute cafe with a modest menu of avocado toast, sandwiches, etc. and great coffee

Dinner – Le Majestique

  • Hip bar/restaurant with a $22 hot dog and massive wine bottles
  • Cool ambiance, and lively clientele

Drinks/Dancing – Suwu

  • Dancy bar with great music

Sat Nov 30 – Montreal

Lunch – KazaMaza

  • Incredible Middle Eastern food
  • Try ALL of the dips, lamb chops were also amazing

Jean Talon Market

  • Farmers market with fresh fruits, vegetables
  • If you plan on getting maple syrup or other things to bring home, get it here for the best price and quality!

St-Viateur Bagel

  • Bagel shop that’s open 24 hours and makes fresh bagels all day long
  • Montreal bagels are sweet because they’re boiled in honey water and less dense than New York bagels

Sun Dec 1 – Drive back to New York

Schwartz’s Deli

  • Smoked pastrami sandwich for the road!

Drive ~6 hours back to NYC

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Arizona/New Mexico

Wed May 23

10:09pm – Land in Albuquerque

Hotel: Isleta Resort & Casino (11000 Broadway Blvd Se, Albuquerque NM, 87105, United States)

Thurs May 24

6am – HOT AIR BALLOON RIDE!

  • Rainbow Ryders – www.rainbowryders.com (5601 Eagle Rock Avenue NE, Albuquerque, NM)
  • Awesome hot air balloon ride watching the sunrise over Albuquerque with a champagne toast and snacks afterwards

Hang in Albuquerque

Drive to Las Cruces/White Sands (3.5 hours from Albuquerque)

  • Stopped by Elephant Butte Lake on the way
    • Got our car stuck in the sand and had to get pulled out by a kind stranger
    • Went for a quick dip in the freezing cold lake
  • Drove through town of Truth or Consequences, named after a radio show
  • Bought groceries in Las Cruces before heading to campground

Aguirre Spring Campground

https://www.blm.gov/visit/aguirre-spring-campground

Fri May 25

9am – Wait in line to get White Sands camping permit when visitor center opens

  • Only 10 camping permits given out per day, we got in line at 8:30am and there were already 3 groups ahead of us

Pine Tree Trail Hike, Aguirre Springs

White Sands National Monument

  • Tried to hike Alkali Flat Trail (5 mile loop trail), but it was way too hot (over 100F)
  • Camp!!!

Sat May 26

Saguaro National Park (5 hours from White Sands)

  • Hiked Hugh Norris Trail
    • https://www.alltrails.com/trail/us/arizona/hugh-norris-trail

Sleep ideally on Mount Lemmon at Spencer Campground

Fallback sleeping option is Catalina Campground

Ended up going to a trampoline park and staying in Tucson (Residence Inn)

Dinner: Agustin Kitchen

Sun May 27

Tonto National Forest/Superstition Mountains (3.5 hours from Tucson)

Drive to Scottsdale

  • Dinner: In-N-Out
  • Hotel: JW Marriott Scottsdale Camelback Inn Resort & Spa
    • Super cute little casitas, awesome pool, and really pretty resort with mountains all around

Mon May 28

Hang out in Scottsdale/Phoenix

10:28pm – Flight home 🙁