I graduated RIT with a BS in Biomedical Engineering and an MS in Public Policy in May of 2018. I was excited to return to Bose as a full-time Research Engineer in June, but before entering the real-world Alberto and I planned a week-long road trip from Denver to Phoenix.

On May 16th we jumped on a plane from Rochester to Denver. We rented a small Nissan Sentra and stayed in a shared Airbnb in the heart of Denver. Our first day and a half was marked with the Denver Botanical Gardens, Larimer St, Union Station, RiNo Art District, the Central Market and several restaurant and brewery spots along the way. Our last night in Denver, we went to our first dispensary and relaxed on the Airbnb patio looking forward to the rest of our adventure.

The next day we drove through the Rocky Mountains to get from Denver to Moab. The Sentra worked hard to get up and over the steep mountains of I-70, but we were both excited to take in the views of Vail, Telluride and Aspen.

When we arrived to Moab, I navigated us to Corona Arch, a short trail to a secluded arch outside of the national park. Moab is at 4,000 feet of elevation so it was a nice way to get acclimated without hiking anything too strenuous. This was also Alberto’s first introduction to hiking and experiencing this part of the world so one of the best parts of the hike was watching him light up at seeing the red rocks, cairn field and huge arch. That night, we slept in a glamping tent site in the heart of Moab and fell asleep to the sound of the nearby creek.

Arches National Park, Double O Arch

Total Distance: 4.1 mi
Total Elevation Gain: 649 ft

We arrived at Arches the next day excited to see what was in store for us. I had picked out the Double O Arch trail after reading that it was a little less populated than Delicate Arch and some of the other trails in the park. A short distance from the trailhead of Double O Arch is Landscape Arch. Being that this is an easy walk from the parking lot, most tourists come to this arch, take their pictures and turn back around. Luckily for us, we had another two miles of secluded trail that offered a different view at every turn.

When you get to the highest point on the trail, still about a half mile from the arch, you can look down to your left and get your first glimpse of Double O Arch. I’m not sure what I expected, but for some reason the idea of two arches on top of each other hadn’t crossed my mind. I remember thinking how amazing and interesting nature is and how lucky I was to be able to experience it.

We continued on to get an up close view of the arch and, again, Alberto was jumping off the rocks and acting like a kid – I think watching him was my favorite part of the trail.

We were both so happy and enjoying ourselves so much that we didn’t want to turn back. We decided to to hike a little further to the Dark Angel which, unbeknownst to us, turned out to be a sandstone pillar, rather than an arch. That didn’t matter, we stopped for a snack of grapefruit and nuts and took a moment to take it all in.

When we finally returned to our car, we didn’t want to leave. We kept exploring a bit more and saw Pinetree and Tunnel Arches. We went out for Mexican and then returned to our “tent” for the night, ready for whatever the rest of the trip was going to bring us.

Canyonlands National Park, Slickrock Foot Trail

Total Distance: 2.4 miles
Total Elevation Gain: 149 ft

The next day we only had a couple hours in the morning before driving to Zion, so we decided to do a short hike through the Needles District. Unfortunately the Needles are in the opposite direction of Zion, so perhaps not my best planning, but we still enjoyed the short trail. The Needles is much less visited that the main district of the park, Island in the Sky, so it was nice to have almost the entire trail to ourselves.

Slickrock Trail was an easy stroll that offered nice views of the canyon. It was flat the entire time so we bounded from rock to rock, only seeing one other couple along the way. It was a nice hike to get us moving before sitting in the car for 6 hours.

Zion National Park, Angels Landing

Total Distance: 5.0 mi
Total Elevation Gain: 1,488 ft

The first time I experienced Zion was with my family when I was growing up. My parents brought my sister and I to hike Angels Landing and while I can’t conjure vivid memories of this hike, I can say the feeling of awe that I felt from this hike stuck with me for the next 10 years. This is why when I was planning our post-graduation hiking trip, Angels Landing was the first and only hike that I knew I definitively wanted to do.

In my typical fashion, I got us up bright and early in order to catch one of the first shuttles to The Grotto Trailhead. While it wasn’t a full shuttle just yet, we arrived at the trail around 8am and there were already a good amount of hikers there.

Upon starting the trail, instantly I was taken back to memories of the switchbacks. I loved this part of the trail as a kid and I felt the same way 10 years later. I loved the feeling of climbing so high in such short spurts and having incredible views of the canyon to distract you from the burning in your legs the whole time.

When we arrived at the last half mile of scrambling, I was taken aback at the thought of my parents taking my sister and I here as kids. My dad is already afraid of heights, but to also have to worry about the safety of two young kids must have been terrifying. At the same time, I imagine they wanted to give us an unforgettable experience and, in that regard, they absolutely succeeded.

Luckily for Alberto and I, the trail hadn’t filled up too much by the time we reached the scrambling and we were able to make our way to the top without too much stop-and-go.

The view from the top of Angels Landing is absolutely breathtaking. You’re already exhilarated from the climb up, and then you end with your climb with 360 degree views of the canyon. We just sat at the top taking it all in. I reflected on how fortunate I was to have done this hike as a kid with my family and to now be back here, newly graduated, and awaiting the next chapter of my life. But most importantly, I reflected on how much I had accomplished in my life so far, and realized that none of it would have been possible without my parents support.

Lower Antelope Canyon

This is without a doubt one of those places that you need to see to believe. But, it’s also one of those places that nowadays may be considered a tourist trap. That said, I had learned about this place from my sister only a few months prior and after seeing her pictures I made sure to put this on our places to go.

This place was undoubtedly beautiful. However, the experience was somewhat hindered by the need to take an over-crowded tour into the canyon. Not only was it hard to get good photographs with all the people, but it was somewhat disconcerting to be in such a tight space with that many people, especially with all the stories of flash floods. Needless to say, it wasn’t a place where you really feel connected to nature, rather it feels more like a tourist attraction. What’s nice about the tour, however, is that the guides know the best camera settings and areas for taking the best photographs.

Grand Canyon National Park, Rim Trail

On our way from Page to Sedona, we made a quick stop at the Grand Canyon. We didn’t do any hiking, but it was the first time Alberto got to see one of the 7 wonders on the world!

Sedona, Devils Bridge

Our last leg of the trip ended in Sedona, Arizona. We stayed in a shared Airbnb pretty far outside of Sedona since everything was too expensive for us new graduates. We hiked the famous Devil’s Bridge trail on a very hot day, but we were sad to see our trip coming to an end. We wrapped up our last night with a drink at the Enchantment Resort during sunset.

This was such a nice way to end my undergraduate experience and enter into the working world.