This post will lay out where I camped and what I did in May of 2022 while in Sedona, Arizona. These tips and tricks will help you have a great time when you head out there.

My top things you should do in London, if you only have three days!

My food tips for eating around Copenhagen, Denmark!

As I mentioned in my post, The Troubles of a Solo Traveler in Islamorada: A Fiasco at Sunset, I decided to go to Homestead, Florida, since there were two National Parks within 30 minutes from there, and it was close to the Florida Keys. This post will give you more background on my trip and my travel review of Homestead, the Keys, and South Beach/ Miami.

I had three main goals on this trip to Florida, besides not catching Covid, and they were:

Biscayne National Park

Everglades National Park

Snorkeling (Praying I would see a shark!)

And I achieved all my goals! 

In this post, I will discuss all my snorkeling trips, where I went, how much I paid then, and if it was worth it. I will also discuss the mishaps, my combined love and fear of snorkeling, and the importance of taking care of the ocean…..

After work one afternoon, I headed to the preserve, which was about an hour away. The drive was pretty straightforward until I saw I was driving straight into a massive thunderstorm. I debated just turning around but stuck it out and finally made it to the preserve.

Once I got to the visitor center, I saw it was closed, and they had modified hours because of Covid. Outside the Big Cypress visitor center, though, is a boardwalk where you can walk and see alligators. When I pulled into the parking lot, I saw a family with their cat on a leash. I didn’t think too much about this situation; I ran into them later. While walking the boardwalk, I saw more alligators than at the Everglades; there were like ten or so just hanging out on the grass and in the water below the boardwalk…..

This blog post will only talk about Ernest F. Coe Visitor Center.

But I also debated whether I wanted to drive up to Shark Valley. It was about an hour or so from Homestead, Fl. Shark Valley has a 15-mile loop where you can bike or go on a tram ride to the Observation Tower. The tower is the halfway point on this loop, where you can get out and climb up the 45-foot observation deck and experience panoramic views of the Everglades.

This sounded cool, but in the interest of time, I decided to go to the Ernest F. Coe Visitor Center, the park's headquarters. Once I arrived, I went straight to the visitors center to speak to my ranger friends (if you are new here, one thing I love is talking to the rangers!).

I started traveling solo because I had no like-minded friends and was fed up with myself for always waiting for someone to do something with me.

I have previously mentioned that you should NEVER wait for a person to travel with you. Take that trip!

"But Bel, I don't want to go alone!"

But baby, you aren't alone; you have yourself. She wants to go on that trip and learn, see, do, and experience new things. She also wants to know about you, and she wants you to learn about herself too. I learned this lesson in my late 20s or early 30s, and I wish I had known this much sooner.

We resumed hiking again but then stopped. It was getting too sketchy to hike, at least for me. When I sat down again, I saw these teens wearing white Nike sneakers, crop tops, and no water trying to hike through the snow we had been hiking in.

So, what does one do when it's raining like crazy in the Grand Tetons? Bring your rain gear!

In the morning, I got lucky. It wasn't raining yet, so I could make coffee. I hadn't gotten much sleep the night before, nor did I have breakfast before I started my adventure.

Last time, we discussed the start of my solo trip to the Grand Tetons and my hike up to Inspiration Point, which was, of course, inspirational! We also discussed the Cascade Canyon Trail and Hidden Falls. Be sure to catch up on this experience if you haven’t already read it.

After taking a quick side trip back down the mountain to Hidden Falls, I decided to it was time to set up camp before the storms came in.

I started my day sometime between 5:00 and 5:30 a.m., taking one last shower since I didn't know when my next shower would be. I headed to my car and started the trip to Grand Teton National Park Visitor center, about a 20-minute drive.

The sun rose over the mountains on my right as I left town. It was one of the prettiest sunrises I have seen in a long time. The sky broke from the darkness and clouds to produce different shades of blues, pinks, and yellows. I pulled over on route 189, the road you take to head to Grand Tetons, and watched the sunrise for a few minutes. The water was so still that it reflected the colors of the sunrise and the mountains. I didn't realize that the place I pulled over was a National Elk Refuge until I saw a sign.

Once I checked in and got my life semi-together, it was time to explore Jackson. The first stop was getting that famous picture under the arch of horns. My boss and my coworker told me I needed to take a picture with that and send it as proof of life. The town has this old-time rugged feel to it. Yet, it also feels like one of those Hallmark Christmas Movies of a small village where you repeatedly run into the same people.

After my exciting drive around Yellowstone Lake, I headed to Hayden Valley. It’s a scenic drive in Yellowstone where you can spot wildlife such as buffalo, grizzly bears, wolves, coyotes, and other types of wildlife Right before I got to Hayden Valley, I saw a lone buffalo on the right side of the road in a field covered in snow in the distance.

I pulled over and got out of my SUV, then stood in awe. I have never seen a buffalo this close before. I was at a safe distance, protecting the animal and myself. But I was in awe.

A strange feeling came over me, and a voice came to me saying, "Keep looking both ways." I wasn’t sure what that was about, but I slowed down even more (I was doing 30 before but was now doing about 15-20).

To my right was Yellowstone Lake. The waves were choppy and coming into shore at a pretty good clip. To the left was the woods with trees covered in white from the snow. I listened to the voice and kept looking both ways every 5 seconds. It was like watching a tennis match without a ball going back and forth.

Who is the most famous bear? You might say Smokie the Bear or Yogi Bear, but have you heard of Bear 399?

My tips and tricks from my Moab Road Trip 2020

Every hike, I bring a day bag filled with the items below. It doesn't matter if the trail is just 3 miles or a full fifteen.

While on my solo travels through Grand Teton National Park and Yellowstone, I picked up some information I want to share with you….

Heading out to bear country? Here are my tips for you!