Asra Yousuf

What does it take to do a solo trip? It takes you, of course. But it also takes friends who constantly nudge you on and push you forward when you are at the verge of chickening out. It takes a Dad, who when I told him, “I might skip the Grand Canyon because it might get too exhausting”, encouraged me (rather fueled me) by saying- “You’ve gone all the way and you won’t see the Grand Canyon. What’s the point then! Such a shame!”. It takes a mother to tell you to “Drive safely!” more number of times than exclaiming “Why, in god’s name, did you have to go alone!”. It surprisingly takes a lot to do a solo trip, eh!

I have travelled alone before- for conferences, and interviews, and for crashing at friends’ places. But I wouldn’t count them as solo travels, since there was always the sense of security of a familiar place or a familiar face at the other end. In this case, never before had I set foot in Arizona, nor did I know anyone there- which made the whole idea so much more intimidating. And it took a fair share of nudging and overcoming fears to make it real- starting with skepticisms about the weather (who would think it snows in Arizona too!), to delaying booking flights since there wouldn’t be any turning back then, to inviting a friend to come along and only then realizing how badly I wanted to go solo, followed by the awkward conversation asking her to cancel her plans. It was definitely a journey before a journey!

And last weekend it ultimately happened! When I finally returned the Toyota RAV4 which was my companion for the trip, at the airport, did the feeling sink in that I had done it! I might be overdramatizing it but if you had lived in my head for the past month and experienced the thoughts and irrational fears that had passed through my mind, my sense of achievement would feel justified. The sense of achievement also came from how utterly gorgeous Arizona turned out to be- far exceeding my expectations. The pictures hardly do any justice to this place. The red rock scenic byway drive from the Village of Oak Creek to Sedona, when you get the first view of the red rock buttes, literally takes your breath away. How can something so bare and rugged be so beautiful!

Through my four days driving through Arizona- from Phoenix to Sedona to the Grand Canyon and all the way back, I came to experience all that solo travelers often rave about- the sense of liberation, conversations with strangers, the freedom to make your own plans and the freedom to not keep up with them. When I drove out of Sedona and got my last view of the towering red rocks in the rear view mirror, a part of me wanted to hold on to it and not let go. As I try to relive those gorgeous sunsets, the rows of the majestic saguaro cacti, and the canyons that stretch into the horizon, a few themes stand out from my solo travel experience:

In Conversations with Strangers

The time it took me to fly from San Francisco to Phoenix was equivalent to the time I stood in line at the rental car center. Somehow Phoenix was exceptionally busy for a Wednesday night. While it was no fun standing in a queue, lugging a heavy backpack at 11 in the night, it had its good bits. In front of me was a woman who was traveling to attend the wedding of her eldest daughter and was looking forward to a family reunion with her 6 grandchildren. Behind me in queue was a rather sweet and welcoming couple traveling from Salt Lake City to meet their daughter in Tucson, who had just started college. Along with them were their two younger kids- bored, hungry and sleepy. From conversation on California, National Parks, the pandemic, to discussing why India doesn’t have a presence in the olympics, they made the wait so much more bearable.

Then there was Mark, a salesman at a fine rugs shop in Sedona. Standing in a small balcony over looking a square with a Turkish vibe, he told me about the shop, things to do around town, his love for Sedona, and even gave me a tour of rugs from different countries for the fun of it. 

I also discovered that an advantage of solo travel is that you get to skip the hour long waits at popular restaurants and opt for dining at the bar. The other enjoyable aspect is that you inadvertently end up listening to conversations happening around you. So as I sat enjoying my pizza at Picazzo’s Italian Kitchen , watching the winter Olympics on the screen, sitting sandwiched between two old couples it was interesting to observe their dynamics, and how patient and understanding they were with each other.

I also happened to reconnect with a next door neighhbour from undergrad, with whom I had last spoken to six years ago and who happened to be living in Phoenix. We ended up meeting for dinner and had some great conversations over delicious enchiladas followed by a walk around Tempe town lake. 

It’s about the journey and not the destination

The drive to the Grand Canyon and back was one of the most beautiful memories of the trip. The journey went through the winding roads of the Oak Creek Canyon, followed by the interstate 40 and then route 64 up to the Grand Canyon. Instead of coming back the same way, I decided to do the loop and instead continued on route 64, along desert view drive and then joined route 89, followed by route 89A. This turned out to be one of the best decisions! There were moments on this drive that I found myself alone on long stretches of the highway, moments that made we wish I had someone to capture the beauty that I was driving through- from canyons, to mountains, to deserts. While Grand Canyon was the destination, the journey leading up to it turned out to be equally rewarding.

Rolling with evolving plans

Sedona is a hiker’s paradise and instagram is witness to that. It has something for everyone. From the Cathedral Rock hike, known for the best views but also for the scrambling climb, to the devil’s bridge where people wait for hours to get a shot on the bridge, to the bell rock trails which have breathtaking views of the red rock butte. While I am hardly any hiker, you don’t go to Sedona and not do a hike. However, given the popularity of the trails, all I found were overflowing parking lots and streets with cars lined up for a mile from the trailhead. I tried Soldier Pass twice, Bell Rock Trailhead, Devil’s Bridge Trailhead but with no luck. I decided to do the Devil’s bridge trail via the Chuck Wagon Trail starting at the Mescal Trailhead, which was a longer route but at least I found parking. 5 minutes on the trail I realised that it wasn’t the best idea. There wasn’t a soul in sight, the trail seemed to fork into multiple paths without clear directions and I had no cell service. I decided to head back to the trailhead and opted to do the mescal loop partially- which was less popular but more open with a clear route. It was indeed a bummer not being able to make it to devil’s bridge but the views on the Mescal trail made up for it.

I am definitely returning to Sedona someday (after all, got those trails to park at and eventually hike on!). Till then, off to finding newer experiences in still newer places.