Weekend at The Wave

Last weekend Amy and I took a quick trip down to Southern Utah and Northern Arizona. We had read about a place called “The Wave” on my cousin Tessa’s blog, and decided to head down and hike it. I skipped class on Thursday afternoon and we drove to Kanab, which to me feels a little like a mini Moab. Only 20 people are allowed to hike to The Wave each day, and half of the permits are only available through a lottery system 4 months in advance. The other 10 permits are given out through a lottery the day before the hike. We called the BLM office on our way down, and they told us there were two permits that had not been given away for Friday, and if we showed up first thing in the morning we could get them and do the hike on Friday (instead of having to wait until Saturday). Friday morning we were at the office an hour early, and even though 6 other people arrived right when the office opened, the rangers gave the permits to us.

To get to The Wave, you have to drive about 8.5 miles on a washboard dirt road across the Northern Arizona desert. Once you arrive at the trailhead, it’s a 3 mile hike through a wash, scrambling over rock outcroppings and ridges, following cairns and a treasure map-like set of directions the rangers gave us. We eventually made it to The Wave, and were amazed by what we found.

After hiking back out, we continued driving east across the desert to Monument Valley. I had only been there once as a seven-year-old, and Amy had never been there.

We stayed in a hotel called “The View”, aptly named for this spectacular view from our room:

After driving around the 17-mile loop among the stone monoliths,

we headed home feeling appreciative of the beautiful place we live.