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Southwest Vacation Ideas From A Local
16 Plays13 days ago
SW native Brittany shares her favorite, sometimes off-the-radar places to visit in Arizona and New Mexico. Come, find your new favorite destination during this episode that offers SW vacation ideas for winter and summer!
Follow Brittany on her blog: https://travelthesouthwest.com
Recommended
Transcript
Brittany's Perspective on Southwest Travel
00:00:01
Brittany
because
Challenges in Reservation Communities
Exploring Hidden Gems in the Southwest
00:00:03
CHANTELLE KINCY
Hi, welcome to Go Far Girl. Thanks for being with us today. We're back with Brittany, which if you missed her episode last week, be sure and go find it because it was super awesome. So Brittany is the founder of Travel the Southwest, a travel blog dedicated to hidden gems across the American Southwest.
00:00:18
CHANTELLE KINCY
She was raised near the Salton Sea and now she's based in Arizona. So she brings a deep personal connection to the region with a focus on Southern California, Arizona, New Mexico, Utah, and Colorado,
00:00:29
CHANTELLE KINCY
Brittany highlights lesser-known destinations, state parks, scenic byways, indigenous lands, and small towns, offering travelers a richer, more respectful way to explore. Her mission is to promote mindful travel that supports local communities, honors native cultures, and celebrates the natural beauty and diversity of the region.
00:00:48
CHANTELLE KINCY
So in this episode, Brittany is going to talk to us all about... the American Southwest, her favorite hidden spots, great ah road trip itineraries for us, and just really how to make the most out of a trip to the Four Corners region.
00:01:01
CHANTELLE KINCY
So Brittany, welcome back. Thanks for hanging out with us again.
00:01:05
Brittany
Thanks for having me.
00:01:06
CHANTELLE KINCY
Yes. I'm so excited to dive in because I've been to, you know, like different pinpoint spots in the Southwest, but I don't feel like I've ever had like an official like Southwest vacation.
00:01:19
CHANTELLE KINCY
like to where I've like driven around. I've kind of like flown in one place, gone here, flown in one place, gone here. So I'm excited to get kind of a bigger picture and an overview and definitely some juicy trip ideas.
00:01:32
CHANTELLE KINCY
So what is, you know, what do you think people often like get wrong or don't know about the four corners region? What, let's just start with the misconceptions or where people go wrong when they're planning a trip.
00:01:46
Brittany
Yeah, well, it's so hard to say go wrong because every trip has its own purpose, right? I mean, if you're going for a conference, I get It it is so hard to possibly see and do everything that you want to do in one trip. So I'm a big fan of planning for the second and third trip and telling myself, hey, I'm going to come back. So that way, any FOMO that creeps in, like I can just tell myself, it's okay, I'm going to come back, right? So that's one thing that helps me out a lot.
00:02:09
Brittany
Another thing I would say, though, as far as like what you can actually do to plan is One over planning in general is so hard because you just don't know how you're going to actually feel on the day of.
00:02:21
Brittany
I've definitely done this with myself and she's nodding her head case you're listening up with with road trips where it's like, oh, we're going to do this.
00:02:23
CHANTELLE KINCY
Mm-hmm. Guilty.
00:02:28
Brittany
We're going to this. And then you're like, OK, I looked up my Google Maps and it shows that from this point to this point, it's only six hours of driving. I'm from the Southwest and we drive a lot. Right. So you're probably coast like, oh, my gosh, six hours.
00:02:39
Brittany
But that's pretty normal, right? Six hours of driving. But then you're not thinking about bathroom breaks. You're not thinking about eating. You're not thinking about actually stopping. And what if you see something cool on the side of the road that wasn't planned? Right.
00:02:50
Brittany
So I'm a big fan of one planning in zero days in general. And then two and zero days. What I mean by that is not having anything specifically planned for that day. So it's kind of like a buffer, especially if you're traveling for a longer period of time.
00:03:04
Brittany
which I know usually in the United States, you only get like seven to 10 days off at a time. So I totally get it if you don't have that. But if you can build in those buffer days, because I often find out about these really cool things from locals or from people that are around the area. And then I get invited to things and then i'm like, this is so cool and better than what I would have had planned anyway. So big plan of planning in zero days and also just planning less per day.
00:03:30
Brittany
um you wouldn't believe how many clients I have will say, is this it? And I'm like oh no, trust me, this is going to be plenty because you're going to want to rest.
00:03:36
CHANTELLE KINCY
This is the skeleton. this is
00:03:38
Brittany
because I'm like, trust me, you're going to want to rest. And honestly, that's when all the magic happens anyway, right? It's like when you get invited to someone's house or, you know, or invited to a party. And most, that's another thing too, I would say is like, let yourself be a little more open to saying yes to things that maybe you wouldn't normally. And I totally get it as a woman, if I'm traveling solo, I'm a little more on guard.
00:03:59
Brittany
But if you assess the risk and you're like, it's probably going to be okay. Let me give you an example. I drove from Phoenix to Flagstaff with a friend who had never been to Arizona before. So I was like being her little tour guide.
00:04:11
Brittany
And we happened to see a sign that was a powwow actually happening. And in the last episode, I talked a little bit about that, but basically a powwow is ah gathering usually by a tribe or by several tribes but it's open to all right so they said it was happening and i was like have you ever been to a powwow before and she said i don't even know what that is and said all right so we're turning right we're going into this and then we ended up being there for the whole day and they were just she was just so excited she's like i have no idea what's going on well this is great and people were just coming up to her because they they didn't know who we were so they're just like oh thanks for being here And they like pulled, they had extra lawn chairs for us, which I thought was so sweet.
00:04:31
CHANTELLE KINCY
Yeah.
00:04:47
Brittany
And they were giving us food and like every like, like Navajo grandma was trying to give us stuff. And also people from other tribes were there. It was great. So I just don't think like you can always plan for the coolest things that happen.
00:05:00
Brittany
So yeah, I would definitely give yourself time, be open to saying yes and deviating from your plan. And then related to that, um also with money, and this is like a financial thing, but also when you're booking, it's helpful.
00:05:12
Brittany
Try to book things with flexible cancellation policies if you can, because if weather happens or if you just get really tired, then that way you have that flexibility. you're not just stressed out about
Seasonal and Landscape Diversity in Arizona
00:05:21
Brittany
it.
00:05:22
CHANTELLE KINCY
Love that. So would you limit yourself ah from visiting in certain seasons? I know, you know, it's the desert, most of the places, it's very hot, but you also have mountain areas in there too.
00:05:34
CHANTELLE KINCY
um So if someone can only get away in the summer, where would you help them plan a trip to? Right.
00:05:40
Brittany
Love that question, especially as a former teacher, because summer was the only time I really had for the longest time.
00:05:44
CHANTELLE KINCY
Right. ah
00:05:46
Brittany
So definitely, if you have not been to the desert before, I tell people don't try to hike or be outside in the low desert during the summer. It is too hot. Even people who are very experienced don't go out during the day in the summer. Right.
00:05:59
Brittany
But if you are coming to Arizona in the summer, Flagstaff is great. I love all the higher elevations. So if you are going to go to Flagstaff, for example, that's a great entry point for the Grand Canyon, which I'm sure you already know about. But then if you go north,
00:06:12
Brittany
You also have the whole Navajo Nation. You have Tuba City. You have Page, which is where you have that famous shot of Horseshoe Bend that you've probably seen. You're just a couple of hours from lower and upper Antelope Canyon, which is where you see those photos of the people getting those.
00:06:27
Brittany
i don't even know how to explain it without showing you, but the photo of like that you see the sun coming through and everything just looks like so otherworldly.
00:06:29
CHANTELLE KINCY
Mm-hmm.
00:06:34
Brittany
um You have... I'm pretty sure it's called Marble Canyon and Vermilion Cliffs, really beautiful national monuments that are up by the Arizona-Utah border. So Flagstaff is a great base for that during the summer. And because it's at 7,000 feet, much cooler than the rest of the state.
00:06:49
Brittany
um You also have the White Mountains, which does not get enough love. So I mentioned in the last episode that I lived and taught on the White Mountain Apache Reservation, but that whole region is called the White Mountains.
00:07:01
Brittany
And that's also about six to 7,000 feet or even up to like 12,000 feet, depending on where you are. So significantly cooler during the summer.
00:07:07
CHANTELLE KINCY
Oh, wow.
00:07:09
Brittany
yeah
00:07:09
CHANTELLE KINCY
Does that get snow?
00:07:11
Brittany
It does, yeah. We got snow actually on the reservation too. It was really fun.
00:07:15
CHANTELLE KINCY
That's cool. So it could be a winter destination too.
00:07:17
Brittany
Yeah.
00:07:19
CHANTELLE KINCY
Like.
00:07:20
Brittany
Yes, yes. And actually we have people are surprised to find that Arizona has three ski places. So we have one. Yeah, we have the Snow Bowl, which is in Flagstaff.
00:07:31
Brittany
We have one here in Tucson, which is actually kind of funny. But we have this this thing called um Sky Islands here. So there's really tall mountains in the middle of the desert, but they have high enough elevation that you can get snow on them.
00:07:43
Brittany
And then we also have one on the reservation that's actually run by the White Mountain Apache tribe. but So we actually get a really good amount of snowboarders and skiers to come during the winter. So that's like a fun fact about Arizona.
00:07:54
CHANTELLE KINCY
I never knew, especially the one in Tucson. That thing, that's that's really surprising to me. And I'm trying to visualize when I was in Tucson, like how, yeah, that's crazy.
00:08:00
Brittany
The southernmost in the U.S.
00:08:03
Brittany
I know. And and you wouldn't think so. It's actually kind of interesting. So I was like looking a little more into that. And actually a lot of that tourism is from Mexico. So we have like Mexicans living in the Sonoran desert, right? And it's actually closer for them to come here than to go, you know, into the mountainous regions of Mexico.
00:08:14
CHANTELLE KINCY
Right?
00:08:18
Brittany
So that's kind of fun.
00:08:19
CHANTELLE KINCY
Oh, that's interesting. Okay. Okay. So that's our winter destination then. Where are like some can't miss places? Where do you think, you said the White Mountains, it doesn't get enough love.
00:08:32
CHANTELLE KINCY
What are other places that don't get enough love? Because we all know the the highlights, right? We know Grand Canyon, we know Scottsdale, things like that. But yeah as someone who's lived there and who has traveled around that area, I know you know the good places that we don't know.
00:08:47
Brittany
Yeah. Okay. So definitely strawberry and pine. If you like kitschy, cute mountain towns, very, very cute strawberry and pine area. And it is higher elevation. so you could go during the summer. It's also next to fossil Creek slash fossil Springs, which is beautiful. It's like blue, green, turquoise waters. You do need to have a permit. And I think it's offered on like a random lottery basis. So I believe in April,
00:09:13
Brittany
or maybe it's February. I have to look up the specific month, but it's like, as soon as they come open, you have to apply. And I believe they are staggered. So that's one that you kind of have to plan ahead, but beautiful region. Payson is another one that if you're local to Arizona, you know where it is, but you probably wouldn't know that if you're not from Arizona, but Payson is slightly elevated too. It is very busy on summer weekends.
00:09:34
Brittany
So I would go there summer weekdays, but very cute, especially if you want like a cabin getaway kind of thing. And there's all kinds of like little waterfalls and places. Oh, the Maggione Ram. Oh my gosh. I can't believe didn't of that. Okay. So Maggione Ram is also beautiful. It's like this um high plateau.
00:09:51
Brittany
So you have, and well, ah Arizona has a lot of that, the high plateaus and the canyons. But this one is really interesting because You can basically drive around the whole Maggio Rim.
00:10:02
Brittany
Like if you have the time and it's really gorgeous and there's all these different views viewpoints and vistas and there's small towns all throughout. Like there's Little Green Valley, which literally probably looks more like where you live in Washington.
00:10:13
CHANTELLE KINCY
Mm-hmm.
00:10:13
Brittany
i mean, there's there's so much diversity in the state. And even here and in Tucson, near Tucson, there's, I want to say it's called Madera Canyon in the in the south of us here. There's also in the mountain range closer to Mexico that looks like the Scottish Highlands.
00:10:29
Brittany
I mean, you just kind of have to be driving around. Yeah, I was surprised too. I actually found it on accident because the I-10 was closed. So we had to go all the way down near the border we're like, what is this? So there's there's all kinds of stuff if you're just willing to drive around and explore. And that's, I guess, another tip I would give too. If you do have more time or flexibility, give yourself a couple more days than you think because you're probably going to want to find you know, something else to go check out too.
00:10:54
CHANTELLE KINCY
Yeah, I know when we were in Tucson, um my husband really wanted to drive down to Tombstone because he just wanted to check that area out. And then somehow I stumbled across Chiricahua, which was definitely out of the way. But oh, my gosh, one of my favorite places we've ever been.
00:11:09
CHANTELLE KINCY
Just these big, you know, rock formations and the yellow lichen on them and hiking all around. Just so, so beautiful. We didn't see another human being the when we were there, which was also super cool.
00:11:23
CHANTELLE KINCY
So I think that goes back to what you were saying too, just leave time for the unexpected kind of things. And I do not regret taking the time to drive out into the middle of nowhere to find this place because it was just so unique. I've never seen anything like it. It was super, super cool.
00:11:38
CHANTELLE KINCY
So that that just feeds right into what you're saying is just always look for those little unexpected places because you never know. And get out of the towns, right? Like get out of get out of Phoenix. get out it Like Tucson's great.
00:11:52
CHANTELLE KINCY
So many fun little places to eat and things to do, but like get the heck out of there.
00:11:57
Brittany
Totally. i i know it's easier ast said than done because I'm also a girl who likes comfort now. So I totally understand, but you can actually find amazing. If you do, if you are into resorts and things like that, there's so much of that in these rural places too. And sometimes they have even better views because they don't have things obstructing them. Like, especially actually on reservations, I should mention that a lot of reservations have casinos and on tribal lands have casinos and resorts. And a lot of times they have like nothing blocking the view because development is limited there.
00:12:26
Brittany
Like, um, you know, uh, land development. So it's, that's really a cool tip to actually stayed at.
00:12:31
CHANTELLE KINCY
That'd be cool even for night skies, huh? Because you wouldn't have less development around you.
00:12:34
Brittany
Yes.
00:12:36
Brittany
Yeah. Less smog, less pollution. Um, like Isleta is outside of Albuquerque and that was, that's a tribe owned and ran resort. And it is gorgeous. I went to a conference there and just happened to be able to book there and I was like, Oh, I'm definitely saving this one.
00:12:51
Brittany
So now I'm telling everyone about that. But yeah, Arizona has so much and not even, i'm just thinking too, like, so Chiricahua usually is known by the rock climbers, right? You have all kinds of people who go like lead climbing and stuff out there.
00:13:00
CHANTELLE KINCY
Right.
00:13:01
Brittany
Um, but we have like, I'm trying to think like we have other little towns too. And of course now I'm blanking on them. i had them just a minute ago and now they're gone. But yeah, and whatever season you want to come like fall, people are actually surprised to find that we have, oh, Oak Creek. Oh my gosh. Okay.
00:13:16
Brittany
So everybody knows about Sedona, but there's a stretch of land between Sedona and Flagstaff called the eighty nine a Um, don't be a passenger. If you get carsick drive it, if you get carsick. Okay. But it's beautiful.
00:13:29
Brittany
It's very windy. And during the fall, you have all these aspens and all these other deciduous trees in the valleys and the canyons that change color. And it's absolutely gorgeous, especially because in the fall, you also have all the rainfall from the summer.
00:13:41
Brittany
So there's like, all the rivers are full and it's like, you would never know you're in Arizona.
00:13:43
CHANTELLE KINCY
Ooh.
00:13:45
Brittany
So that's another one too, depending on what season you're going, I'll send you to to a different place for sure.
00:13:50
CHANTELLE KINCY
Yeah. Oh my gosh. I love that. I want to talk about New Mexico a little bit more though, because we touched on it in the last episode and you've piqued my interest.
New Mexico's Cultural and Natural Highlights
00:13:59
CHANTELLE KINCY
So talk about Taos.
00:14:01
CHANTELLE KINCY
Let's, let's get more into this.
00:14:05
Brittany
Okay, well, I love Taos. First of all, Taos, if you do like cute little towns, it's definitely that. It's got that Pueblo-style architecture everywhere. Like, you feel like you're in the Southwest. You know how some places just have ah feeling? And I feel like New York has, or New York, excuse me, New Mexico does a really good job of doing that. Like, Santa Fe is...
00:14:24
Brittany
You feel like you're in New Mexico, right? Like there's these Pueblo style houses there too. You see the chilies outside, like stacked, hanging out.
00:14:30
CHANTELLE KINCY
Mm-hmm.
00:14:31
Brittany
Everyone's selling hatch chilies. It's really cool. Taos is really neat because not only is it this super cute town that has really gorgeous accommodations, you have the mountains right there. It's really like the start of the Rockies.
00:14:43
Brittany
And then you have the Taos Pueblo Indian community, which is just six miles outside of the town of Taos. So very accessible, especially if you have a car. And I do recommend if you're going to visit the Southwest in general to have a car with you, it's just going to give you so much more flexibility, which I know if you're from the U.S.,
00:15:01
Brittany
That might not be as hard, but in case you're listening abroad, because we do have a lot of European tourists come to Southwest, you will want to rent a car because it will just give you so much more freedom to go to places like Taos that are kind of quote unquote out of the way.
00:15:13
Brittany
But yeah, so that's that's really pretty. And then if you go during fall, which I highly recommend, there is this circle of enchantment, which is this basically road trip. And you go through all of these beautiful places, Angel Fire, which is another big tourist spot for snowers and skiers and snowboarders. And then you also have all these other little cute towns, Eagles Nest, I think is one of them. And they have all these lakes. And it's just ah spend the whole day doing that. Don't plant anything that day.
00:15:41
Brittany
And each one, I just stopped, took photos, hung out, enjoyed the forest. And the cool thing is because elevation changes at each stop, You get different trees that are in different peak foliage.
00:15:52
CHANTELLE KINCY
Oh, cool.
00:15:52
Brittany
You get a slightly different view. Yeah, so that's really that's really pretty. So I'd say spend the day for that. There are also all these other little towns that you can use Taos as a home base. And also I'll say when you are going to Taos or if you're looking into it, look at the time of year because they have many arts and music festivals too.
Diverse Experiences in the Southwest
00:16:09
Brittany
So you'll see artists come from all over the Southwest. to sell and showcase at Taos. And especially if you enjoy like turquoise jewelry, artisan handcrafts, you know, that's actually one way that many Native American communities make their livings is by selling artisan work.
00:16:26
Brittany
You'll see a lot of it for sale in Taos. So that's another really cool thing if you're interested in that.
00:16:31
CHANTELLE KINCY
So cool. Seems like, you know, there's this whole cliche thing that we always say in travel that everyone rolls their eyes about, but there's something for everyone in the Southwest, you know?
00:16:42
CHANTELLE KINCY
But it sounds like there is because you can have like these really adventurous, you know, multi-day day hikes or these, you know, rock climbing, things like that. But you can also have your art scene. It's a good foodie scene, I assume, in some of these places.
00:16:58
Brittany
Oh yeah, for sure. Taos has some amazing restaurants. And i mean, all these places do like Tucson is actually a city of gastronomy. I know were talking about New Mexico now, but Arizona is as well.
00:17:09
Brittany
um I think that each place has its own. So New Mexico definitely has a lot Tex-Mex, right? Like if you go to Santa Fe or Albuquerque, especially, you'll see that. And then as you start heading more North, which Taos is more North, it's kind of closer towards Colorado, you will see I say it's more cosmopolitan, honestly, but really good Mexican food there. i'm trying to think of all the places I actually went, you know, it's so interesting. I went to a Peruvian restaurant of all places in Taos.
00:17:34
Brittany
That was so good. It was like a Peruvian steakhouse and talked to the owner and she said, yeah, I'm from Peru.
00:17:36
CHANTELLE KINCY
Ooh.
00:17:38
Brittany
I moved to here 20 years ago. I said, all right, I'll open a restaurant. So Taos just attracts the most interesting people. You know, you just have the greatest conversations, which is a big part of travel for me is meeting people.
00:17:50
Brittany
um So yeah, definitely if you're a foodie. And I mean, we mentioned Scottsdale. So I feel like no matter what you like, oh, wine. Oh my gosh, didn't even touch on wine yet. Okay, northern Arizona and northern New Mexico have an amazing wine scene. And it's so interesting because it comes from when the missionaries came back in like 15, 1600s, you know, when this was still part of like Spain and Mexico kind of um this region was so Catholic missionaries came and they wanted wine for communion.
00:18:18
Brittany
So they actually planted vineyards. And some of these vineyards are hundreds of years old, like actually older than our country, which is kind of cool to think about. So yeah, you can go if you like wine, this there's like a huge route through New Mexico and Northern Arizona that you can do. So literally, I hate saying something for everyone too.
00:18:35
Brittany
Because it's so but because everybody's so different. But whatever you like, honestly, you can find something for that. And I wouldn't say that every town or experience is for everybody, but definitely whoever you are. And I think that's a big thing, too, is like travel is self-awareness, right? Knowing who you are, what you like, what you don't like.
00:18:52
Brittany
That definitely helps to make sure that you have a better trip, too.
00:18:56
CHANTELLE KINCY
Yeah, I think that's important too, because there's definitely things, you know, that appeal to different people. So if we're talking like soft adventure, right? I know that you mentioned soft adventure a lot. So tell people what you mean by that and then kind of where you would guide us. And like soft adventure with a nice bed, right? Like I'm not trying to sleep on the ground anymore. I'm over it.
00:19:17
CHANTELLE KINCY
I don't, you Yeah.
00:19:20
Brittany
Yeah. Okay. So soft adventure for me, I'll give an example. So I went to Utah for Zion National Park, which all of us probably know about, but did you know you can go extreme river tubing in the river by Zion? I did not until I went.
00:19:37
Brittany
And honestly, anything with the word extreme, and it kind of makes me go, Ooh, I don't know if that's for me.
00:19:42
CHANTELLE KINCY
Yeah, that's not for me.
00:19:42
Brittany
Soft adventure. So soft adventure, let me just explain. Soft adventure is when it's like a little uncomfortable, like your heart kind of goes like, oh, I don't know. It's kind of scary.
00:19:53
Brittany
But it's not something that's like going to require you to have usually, usually a certain level of fitness to participate. So I would say the extreme river tubing, it was not really that extreme. It was just because you have like in rivers, me give example. Arizona, by the way, we have two wild and scenic rivers, which is a big deal about our state.
00:20:10
Brittany
But also just in in the Southwest, there's actually there are many rivers. It's kind of amazing. So there's a lot of kayaking here, canoeing here. And by Zion National Park, what's special about that is you have these these tubes, like lazy river tubes. You can think of it like that, except for there are rapids. So the river water is a little bit higher. I just think I heard people go up. um but But it's actually not as scary as you think. It's more so funny as long as you can swim, right?
00:20:38
Brittany
But let' make sure you can swim. But yeah, I thought of my tube probably like six times, had to go find it again. It was honestly really fun. It was honestly hilarious. So I like stuff like that where I can like have fun and I'm not going to be Like super super concerned about not having the skill for it. And I'm sure people can relate.
00:20:54
Brittany
um or like maybe even just your body type. I know there have been times where I've gone on tours and things been like, Oh, I don't know if I can actually do this. Like, do I have the level of fitness? Is my weight going to be a problem? I know that's something that many people can be like really self-conscious about. I think, especially as women.
00:21:10
Brittany
just internalized in us for so long. So I, I tend to look for soft adventure because I'm like, okay, I know I can do this unless it's something I'm specifically training for it. And that's a little bit different because the trip is like that purpose, but yeah. So soft adventure is like that. And then also,
00:21:24
Brittany
kayaking and canoeing. If you are willing to do that or go whitewater rafting where it's like a little more on the adventurous side, but you have people with you and it's not like you're something you're doing on your own.
00:21:35
Brittany
There's so much of that here too. Like we have the salt river tubing, um, which is more relaxed. You all put tubes together, but that's still an adventure because you have to know where to get in and out. And if you don't, you're going to float forever.
00:21:46
Brittany
and then you have like the whitewater rafting where you go to salt river at a different point um, more North in Arizona, and then you kind of go down. So it just depends on, on what you want to do, but I see South adventure as something you don't really have to train for or have advanced skills or fitness for.
00:22:02
CHANTELLE KINCY
So Salt River, that's where there's wild horses, right? is that those Is that the spot?
00:22:07
Brittany
That's right. Yep.
00:22:09
CHANTELLE KINCY
ah i
00:22:09
Brittany
It's, South river's
Encounters with Arizona's Wildlife
00:22:10
Brittany
huge.
00:22:11
CHANTELLE KINCY
I know. I feel like I have to go to the Salt River every, like, until I find those dang things because I want to see the wild horses.
00:22:20
Brittany
I got so lucky because I, so I actually had, there were wild horses on the rest too. So we saw those all the time, right?
00:22:25
CHANTELLE KINCY
Oh, cool. Okay. Okay.
00:22:26
Brittany
And it was actually kind of amazing. Like, so my housing, my teacher housing, here was my teacher housing. I lived in Tottenham, the reservation in case you haven't heard the other episode yet. So I lived in Tottenham reservation and then the land behind me was not developed.
00:22:40
Brittany
It was all wild, gorgeous. And there's these like canyons and mountains in the back. I should show you a photo, honestly.
00:22:45
CHANTELLE KINCY
What a dream.
00:22:45
Brittany
It's really beautiful. Uh, it really was. And so sometimes i would just be like having my coffee or like a drink at the end of the day. And I'll just see horses like running in the distance and be like, can't believe this is real.
00:22:56
CHANTELLE KINCY
I'd cry.
00:22:56
Brittany
And I... I know. and and Yeah, all the time. Like I said, I cry all the time. um But Salt River, there are Salt River horses that are protected. And I actually got really lucky in seeing them because we happened to go to, I want to say it was Lake Pleasant. There are a few lakes in Arizona. And we went because, ah funny enough, I also randomly win things. I ran i won this...
00:23:18
Brittany
how explain It was like this tube thing, but it was a hard tube. It was like ah a circle shaped boat, a bowl shaped boat. was like, this thing is hilarious. We got to take it out. So we went to the lake specifically for this purpose.
00:23:29
Brittany
um And honestly, don't know how we scared away the horses because it was absolutely ridiculous. But anyway, we saw the wild horses there while I was on this stupid tube, which is even funnier because like, here I am being completely ridiculous and I can't even stand upright. And then I see these horses and i was like, this is the most majestic thing. And of course I can't take a picture right now.
00:23:47
Brittany
Ah, um So sometimes you just get lucky, but definitely seasonally, if like depending on when you're going to go you can see them if you know what part of the river to go up because they do migrate a little bit.
00:23:59
CHANTELLE KINCY
That's so amazing. I know I'm so like, always want to see wildlife wherever I go. And I feel like i'm I always call myself like the anti-Disney princess, like how Snow White will just like beckon all the animals and like I somehow repel them.
00:24:13
CHANTELLE KINCY
like People are like, this is the highest concentration of mountain goats in the world. I'm like, funny, I've been here for two weeks and I haven't seen one. Interesting. So I'm on a mission to see the wild horses.
00:24:26
Brittany
We'll definitely have to come back again and we'll have to like, like, let me know when you're coming and then I'll track and see if we can figure out where they're at.
00:24:33
CHANTELLE KINCY
Oh, you can track them. Well, I didn't know we could cheat. That's even better.
00:24:37
Brittany
I mean, you can't track like, I don't, mean, at least what I know of, maybe they're tagged.
00:24:40
CHANTELLE KINCY
Could you put an air tag on one of them for me?
00:24:41
Brittany
I don't think they are, but that would be, that would be amazing. Just put a air tag on them. That's funny.
00:24:46
CHANTELLE KINCY
Yeah, I love that. um Okay, so what do you say the one spot in the Southwest that every woman should visit at least once? Like, i I know that's that's killer, but...
00:25:00
Brittany
Okay, that's, yeah, it's hard. And I know it's hard because everybody likes different things. But if I could only pick, okay, I'm gonna go about like a region. I feel like that's easier. If I can only pick one region, i would probably say the Flagstaff Sedona region, just because between that, you're gonna see like five different biomes. You're gonna see, oh, Montezuma's Castle.
00:25:21
Brittany
that's another point too. Okay, so yeah, I would say that region because Montezuma's Castle, by the way, is really close to that. And that's like this really extensive ancient cliff-dwelling And if you go there, which is already super cool because it's so well preserved and you can see where people live for thousands of years, but then you go and there's this guy who plays the flute. And it's like, if you cry easy, like actually don't come to the Southwest if you don't like to cry. Cause I cry all the time.
00:25:44
Brittany
i It's like, everything is so beautiful. It's like, how can you not? um But yeah, Montezuma's castle was so cool. And I would say that with like Sedona and because Sedona is really gorgeous and it's popular and touristy
Tourist Spots vs. Natural Beauty
00:25:56
Brittany
for a reason, right?
00:25:57
Brittany
You've got to go, you got to see it.
00:25:57
CHANTELLE KINCY
Right. And that's the problem with some of that touristy stuff, right?
00:25:58
Brittany
um
00:26:00
CHANTELLE KINCY
They're like don't do touristy stuff. But like, that's why you do it because it's amazing.
00:26:04
Brittany
Yeah.
00:26:05
CHANTELLE KINCY
Otherwise it wouldn't be that popular anyways. So you have to do it.
00:26:08
Brittany
Oh yeah. I'm not anti-
00:26:10
CHANTELLE KINCY
Yeah.
00:26:10
Brittany
I'm not anti-tourist. Like tourism is responsible for feeding so many people, you know, and like, so I'm not anti-tourism.
00:26:15
CHANTELLE KINCY
yeah
00:26:17
Brittany
And I think also things are popular for a reason, right? Like if you know what you like and you know, you're going have a certain view or you like architecture, like, you know where you're going to go. Like you're not going to go to Paris, for example, and not see the Eiffel tower.
00:26:29
Brittany
If it's your first time, you just got to go see it.
00:26:31
Brittany
And then afterwards you can go off the beaten track if you want, but yeah, you to see it
00:26:31
CHANTELLE KINCY
Right.
00:26:33
CHANTELLE KINCY
Yes. Yeah, I agree with that. So I think that the Southwest too, it's just so beautiful. It always looks like... a different world to me. I was lucky enough to be there this spring and see the cactuses in bloom, which I hadn't ever seen before.
00:26:50
CHANTELLE KINCY
And ah just changes everything, right? Like every time you go, it's just different. And every sunset is different. And the shadows are different on the mountains. And I think it's one of those places that you don't have to Photoshop.
00:27:02
CHANTELLE KINCY
I think a lot of times you see places and then when, you you know, on Instagram or social media, when you get there, you're like, oh that was really altered. But I think the Southwest, everywhere I've been is just so naturally gorgeous that it It really is just that beautiful.
00:27:19
CHANTELLE KINCY
You just, so you're lucky to live in a place.
00:27:23
Brittany
There's a meme.
00:27:24
CHANTELLE KINCY
ah good yeah. Yeah.
00:27:26
Brittany
ah I agree with you. I was just going to say there's this meme like reel that's going around that says like, you know, when you go to Saguaro National Park or something nearby, which is also gorgeous. It's like five minutes from my house. I mean, of course go there.
00:27:38
Brittany
But then it's like the best sunsets I've always seen have been like when I'm in a Target parking lot and you look out and you're just like, oh my gosh, like it's just like red and glowing. And you're like, why this is not happening when I don't have my camera with me?
00:27:50
CHANTELLE KINCY
Exactly, exactly.
00:27:50
Brittany
Dang it. Like it's it's always about It's always how it goes. so But yeah, but there are some things you can do, by the way, if you do like photography. Desert's also great for that, right? I mean, increase your luck. Go out during golden hour or even in the morning when you get that really softer blue light or red light, depending on when you go out. So I mean, there's there's all kinds of stuff you can you can do or see. But if you love natural beauty and animals, oh my gosh, where I live specifically,
00:28:15
Brittany
I live in Northeast Tucson. I regularly see in my backyard, bobcats, javelina, which are like little wild pigs.
00:28:21
CHANTELLE KINCY
I just finally saw one for the first time.
00:28:21
Brittany
I see little bunnies. Oh, aren't they so funny? They're just such funny little creatures.
00:28:26
CHANTELLE KINCY
They're so cute.
00:28:28
Brittany
Yeah. So I, yeah, if you love animals, um, there are some scary animals though as well, you know, so always check your shoes. There's scorpions and rattlesnakes here. It's part of life.
00:28:38
CHANTELLE KINCY
Yeah.
00:28:38
Brittany
um Yeah. so check your shoes, check before you pick things up off the ground, you know, be careful about that. But otherwise, like, i hate to say there's something for everyone. Oh, it's so cheesy, but it's true though. It's like, no matter what you like, if you like water parks, there's that. If you like hiking for days and seeing not a soul, there's that. It's in the four corners specifically, that region, just like where all the the borders interact I mean, you'll see places that arers so aren't but also are not overrun by tourism yet.
00:29:07
Brittany
You know what I mean? Like Taos, I would say, is one of those that it's popular. People know it, but it doesn't feel like it when you're there. you know And same thing with Oak Creek.
00:29:14
CHANTELLE KINCY
Yeah.
00:29:15
Brittany
it doesn't It doesn't feel like it's known. And if you like camping, oh my gosh, Southwest is a dream for you.
00:29:22
CHANTELLE KINCY
What about the Four Corners actual monument? Is that, um quote unquote, worth it? Is that a big letdown? i mean, I know there's stuff to do in the area, right? But like, would you take time out of your itinerary if you only had this, you know, finite amount of time?
00:29:40
CHANTELLE KINCY
Would you make a point to go to that spot?
00:29:44
Brittany
You know, it's funny is I've been past that thing like probably six times and I've never gone.
00:29:49
CHANTELLE KINCY
Okay.
00:29:49
Brittany
I've always been like, ah so my answer is no, it's not worth it for me.
00:29:51
CHANTELLE KINCY
yeah
00:29:52
Brittany
but But I think but I can see why, like if you European and you're coming over, that's really cool. Right. Like having the four states. um And I mean, if if you're just like into i mean, there is some history to it. That's pretty cool.
00:30:03
Brittany
But yeah, to me, it's not just because I I know what I like. And that's another thing, too, is like I know what I like. I like wide open spaces or I like rivers and lakes and that's that's what I wanna see and wine and like, I know what I like.
00:30:16
Brittany
So I think that you need to know what you like, cause I mean, otherwise you're gonna get FOMO all the time because there's something cool like every mile you're gonna be stopping forever.
00:30:23
CHANTELLE KINCY
No, for sure. That's true. And you kind of touched on it a little bit. I want to go back to safety just for a second for people who don't know people that don't live in rattlesnake country, people that don't check their shoes for scorpions.
Safety and Health Tips for Travelers
00:30:33
CHANTELLE KINCY
Um, the one thing I know for sure about Arizona, any time of the year, you need to stay hydrated, drink more water than you think you should, um, turn back on your hike when you get to half your water, even if you're not at your destination. um You know, hike first thing in the morning or or in the evening. Don't go out in the middle of the day. Even if you think you, oh, it's just hot.
00:30:53
CHANTELLE KINCY
It's not just hot. Like, you're going to die. um What are some other things that people that aren't from there that we don't think about?
00:31:02
Brittany
You're so right. And I also just want to say, sadly, there was just in the news the other day that someone passed away here from exactly that.
00:31:07
CHANTELLE KINCY
I saw that.
00:31:08
Brittany
They went out.
00:31:08
CHANTELLE KINCY
Yeah.
00:31:09
Brittany
They went out too late in the day. And this was someone from Arizona. It wasn't even a tourist.
00:31:12
CHANTELLE KINCY
Yeah.
00:31:13
Brittany
So sometimes you can get too confident when you live here.
00:31:13
CHANTELLE KINCY
Yeah.
00:31:16
Brittany
um Yeah, well exactly. Everything you just said, water and then also um sunscreen. If it it sounds silly, ah especially like if you have like complexion, like I do, i have to put on sunscreen, honestly, like every 30 minutes to an hour with how high the UV is.
00:31:22
CHANTELLE KINCY
Oh yeah.
00:31:32
Brittany
And I honestly, I just don't hike like in the low desert here. I don't hike basically from mid-May until September. It's just too, it's too hot. It's not even fun. Right.
00:31:43
Brittany
If I have to do something outside, I'm doing it really early in the morning, like really, really early before the sun gets up or late at night. There's just no other way to really do that. Don't mess around with that. It's not worth it. Do stuff that's indoors or go north. That's what everybody here in Arizona does. If you live in Phoenix or Tucson.
00:31:59
Brittany
You're going to the White Mountains and you're going to Greer, Flagstaff, or even down south, like ah Mount Lemon here in Tucson. I mean, there's a reason those places are popular by locals, right? It's because we just know that's the only way for us to be outside.
00:32:12
Brittany
ah But sunscreen is real, is a real thing because you don't want to get skin cancer um or even just getting sick from sunburn. Like you can actually get really sick from getting sunburned, dehydrated. You can ruin the rest of your trip.
00:32:24
Brittany
So that's a thing too. And then, um, and then also if you're traveling solo, if you are staying at a hotel or even like a campsite or glamping site by yourself, um, I know we haven't really touched on that yet, but I know you have a lot of solo travelers, women, um, solo women travelers in your audience.
00:32:38
Brittany
I would say, make sure that not only your door locks, but I would put like If you can't put a doorstopper in the bottom, that's another safety thing too. And also make sure someone always knows where you are, especially if you're hiking, like make sure that someone is extra aware that you're going hiking, let them know the trail, share everything. I actually share my location with my husband because I'm like, you know, if that something ever happens to me, I want him to know exactly where I'm at.
00:33:00
Brittany
And then I also have a Google doc with my itinerary and I update it all the time if I change my plan so he knows where I'm at too. So yeah, those are all just safety things.
00:33:08
CHANTELLE KINCY
Yeah, I think that's smart. Traveling solo doesn't mean you're completely on your own, right? You're out there on your own, but you do need to have a connection to the real world somewhere and someone that is actively monitoring. My kids follow me, i location. They, um, all three boys follow me.
00:33:25
CHANTELLE KINCY
And, um, I was in hot Springs, Arkansas a couple of weeks ago I got this call at like two in the morning. And, uh, my son says, what are you doing right now? I said, what I'm sleeping.
00:33:37
CHANTELLE KINCY
It's two in the morning. He goes, Oh, well, your location's in the middle of the lake and it hasn't moved in like three hours. Well, my hotel was next to the lake. And so I guess my pen just looked like I was in the middle of the lake.
00:33:48
CHANTELLE KINCY
And he was just like, i was just making sure because you haven't moved in a long time, you know? And so I was like, oh, that's sweet. But just that, that little bit of having someone know that we'll check in and kind of, you know, realize they haven't heard from you or realize that you are setting out is, is so important. um And then rattlesnakes um were not flipping over rocks or pieces of wood that we find um wearing shoes that kind of go up over our ankles Um, what else as far as that kind of stuff goes? Cause I don't, I mean, we don't have rattlesnakes here either.
00:34:23
Brittany
Yeah, it's a hard one. it's i forget too about that. So with the sandals or shoes thing, I also don't take that advice because I hike in sandals. So I have just have to be extra careful.
00:34:34
Brittany
But another thing I you know, I know I'm going in screen here, but also I hike tech tip typically I hike during the winter when they're not as active anyway.
00:34:42
CHANTELLE KINCY
Right.
00:34:42
Brittany
So that's another thing too. I don't really hike down here during summer. But if you are going to go out even spring, if it's warm enough, they're active. I would say, yeah, over the ankle. That's also better anyway. If you're going hike and wear boots over the ankle, especially if you're not used to the rocky or terrain, that's good.
00:34:57
Brittany
um And then and another thing that's just kind of a kind of a fun fact, but also good for you to know, even ah rattlesnake's head, the venom is still active for two years after, even if you were to sever its head.
00:35:07
Brittany
I know it's really gross, but I'm telling you this because...
00:35:08
CHANTELLE KINCY
yeah No, I knew that. That's crazy. Yeah.
00:35:11
Brittany
you did know that okay well in case you're watching and listening and you didn't because even if someone like because a lot of times like ranchers and stuff they'll sever the head so that way their livestock isn't you know accidentally finding it and try to eat it or whatever and they'll bury the head which is also weird kind of a weird thing but now you know so yeah so it's it's still venomous two years after so you don't want to mess with that and also baby rattlesnakes
00:35:20
CHANTELLE KINCY
Yeah.
00:35:32
Brittany
So if you're especially out during spring or early summer, baby rattlesnakes don't have a way to regulate how much venom they release. So baby rattlesnakes can actually be more dangerous than an adult rattlesnake.
00:35:42
Brittany
So that's another thing too. And also they don't know when to use their rattle all the time because, you know, they're still learning, they're still growing it.
00:35:48
CHANTELLE KINCY
Right.
00:35:48
Brittany
So i would just, uh, just be really, really careful and, uh, and definitely don't, I know that I want to say, I know that no one would do this, but don't mess with any animals. Don't feed any animals just in general, because,
00:36:01
Brittany
Even if something seems friendly, you just never know. Like wild animals are wild, right?
00:36:05
CHANTELLE KINCY
Yeah. And we don't talk about these things to like scare you or be like, oh, don't hike in Arizona because there's rattlesnakes.
00:36:09
Brittany
Yeah.
00:36:10
CHANTELLE KINCY
I just think it's all part of being aware of where you're going and doing a little bit of research and making smart choices. Right. And so that's how you have a good vacation is by not dying and not, you know, not making the rescuers come down a cliff looking for you and all of those things, too.
00:36:26
CHANTELLE KINCY
So it's not to say like, oh, there's all these dangerous things. Don't go. It's just like be aware of your surroundings and make good choices.
00:36:35
Brittany
Definitely. And seasonally, seasonally, it makes a difference too, right? So when you're going to come here, likely it's not even going to be a problem because you'll probably be coming to Arizona or the Southwest. If you're coming to the lower elevations during the winter or early spring when it's nice here,
00:36:50
Brittany
And they're usually not out and about yet, or at least not as as much. They're hibernating during the winter. They're starting to wake up in the spring. If you're out during the summer, which is when they're most active, it's when all the, all the cold-blooded things are most active and all the bugs are most active.
00:37:03
Brittany
um Yeah. You don't want to be outside anyway. So go North and it won't be as much of a problem. Like if you go to, cause that's just the lower desert, right? If you go to where my mom lives, for example, Pinetop Lakeside area in White Mountains, they don't have rattlesnakes.
00:37:16
Brittany
It's a completely different environment, right? You've got black bears, you've got a forest, um but black bears aren't even that scary. Honestly, you can just like make some noise and they run away.
00:37:22
CHANTELLE KINCY
No.
00:37:25
Brittany
It's not really a big deal. So yeah, I think it's good to be aware, but definitely don't be scared of that stuff because there's animals everywhere, right? There's always, every place has its own thing to be afraid of. And if we're just afraid, then we'll never go anywhere. So be aware, but don't let it stop you for sure.
Empowering Women to Travel
00:37:41
CHANTELLE KINCY
I think that is the best piece of advice right there, right? Be aware, but, you know, don't be afraid. Just go out and do your thing. um What words of encouragement would you give for women who think – travel isn't for them, adventure travel isn't for them, that are maybe being held back a little bit by those fears.
00:37:58
CHANTELLE KINCY
We want all of our girls to go far, right? So what would you tell them? What's your mindset as far as just like, take a deep breath, get out there and go?
00:38:11
Brittany
Well, one thing that helps me just in general, this is not just for travel, but just for anything I want to do. This is going to sound morbid, but I promise you it's not right. Okay. So the one thing is I never know how much of this life I have left, right? You never know how many days you have your Days are numbered, but you don't know how by how many. So that gives me a lot of urgency to do as much as I can and experience as much as life has for me while I have it.
00:38:34
Brittany
And I think especially like with my grandma passing away suddenly and then having my first big international trip within such a short time of each other, that just showed me like you can't wait for a perfect time because that time might never come.
00:38:44
CHANTELLE KINCY
Thank you.
00:38:48
Brittany
And I also think that perfect is an enemy of the good. So that's not my quote. That's someone else's. But I just think like, you know what? I am going to go right now. And this is just going to be the best time because I'm choosing for this to be the best time. And also that's with your mindset too, of like, I am going to have a good time. That sounds silly, but I will even say that if I'm in like a bad mood, like if I'm traveling with myself or with my sister, like I'm going to have a good time today. Dang it. Like, even if I'm in a bad mood, because yeah saying it sounds funny, but it's, you can control a lot of how you respond to things. So, um, so yeah, so I think having that urgency of like, now's the best time.
00:39:22
Brittany
And then choosing to have a good time, no matter where you are or what happens. Like if it's raining, okay, great. We're going to just switch up our ah our itinerary. And that's why I said also at the beginning to build in flexibility, right? So I think, yeah, having the right mindset and attitude and then not waiting because it's just, there's never going to be a perfect time for anything. you just got to do it.
00:39:41
CHANTELLE KINCY
Preach, girl. Just go. I love that. Thank you so much for sharing with us. um You've got so many great spots linked out here that we could start adding to our Southwest itinerary.
00:39:55
CHANTELLE KINCY
um What's your go-to? You live there. So if you're wanting to like get away without getting away, where where would you go? ah Back up to the White Mountains or farther?
00:40:06
Brittany
Yeah, I would probably go to the White Mountains also because my mom's there, right? So I'm visiting.
00:40:09
CHANTELLE KINCY
Right. Right.
00:40:10
Brittany
Now that I'm not next to her anymore, I do like, I actually really am overdue for a trip there. I need to do that. um But I love that. I love mountains. So I would also probably go to Flagstaff. I went to actually went to college in Flagstaff. And so that place is always going to have a special place in my heart.
00:40:24
Brittany
um But I also am trying to get out more here near Tucson too, because there's so many places I have not even explored yet that are south of here. So that's like my next little series of adventures.
00:40:32
CHANTELLE KINCY
Yeah.
00:40:35
CHANTELLE KINCY
Very cool. And tell people again where they can follow you so we can keep track of your adventures in the Southwest and help plan our own trips there. What's your website?
00:40:45
Brittany
Sure. my website is travelthesouthwest.com and you can find my Facebook group as well. If you search travel the Southwest, you'll find it. And then you can also just message me on Facebook too. If you see Brittany Roberts slash Verlinage, that is me. And you're welcome to message me with questions.
00:41:00
Brittany
If I have an article, I'll send it over to you. If I have a resource, I'll send it to you. And then, um, and then, yeah, that's a great place to start.
00:41:07
CHANTELLE KINCY
That's awesome. And then Brittany is also a travel agent, which she was being kind and not mentioning a whole lot because I am as well, but this is her expertise area. So I know that she would be more than happy to help you build out a wonderful itinerary for that area too. And you would have the benefit of having it done by a local and someone who's super passionate about it. so if this is speaking to you and you still feel a little overwhelmed, um you know a girl now, so you know someone that can help you out. So don't hesitate to reach out to me and I can get you in touch with Brittany or just reach out to Brittany and we'll put together the best itinerary for you.
00:41:42
CHANTELLE KINCY
So thanks for hanging out with us today. It was so great talking to you again and we'll see you guys all soon.
00:41:49
Brittany
Thanks for having me.