Amy Packer

Thanksgiving has always been with friends and always been in Chattanooga for 15+ years, so when everyone's plans changed this year, we thought maybe we'd be solo for Turkey Day. We even floated the idea of driving to Sedona to see the Weltys, but that would be 4 days of driving for 2 days in town. So we were pumped when the cheap flights appeared and could still have Thanksgiving with close friends, just in an entirely different locale.

Our Thanksgiving Day festivities started with an outing to nearby Raven Caves, only 10 minutes down the road. Holden had been keen to see a keyhole cave, which Sedona is famous for. Thankfully we found a small one close by and it was such a fun way to start the day. It was next to a creek lined with Aspen, golden in this late fall. We ventured through this very small cave system where I could always see some bits of light, which is the only kind of cave I want to crawl into.

After we finished exploring the caves, we swung by Bell Rock, a huge formation near the main road. Katie and Kyle said it was definitely worth checking out, so we were eager to scramble around and see what we could get into. We nearly bit off more than we could chew.

We all had fun climbing around the various ledges and worked ourselves up higher and higher, in part to get away from the crowds. At some point, we assumed we could find a way back down to the main trail on the back side of the rock, so we continued scurrying our way up, over and through places where it seemed not many had ventured. We followed a few promising paths down very sketchy slabs & ravines that all turned out to just get us further away from any sensible route.

We were very truly in a place that seemed really not great. Nate again ventured out further to investigate while I made the boys drink some water in the shade. I was very glad we had enough sense to bring a bag with the two most important supplies: water & Nerds Gummy Clusters. At this point Holden was starting to get anxious about our predicament. I told him, "It's gonna be fine. Worse case scenario, we have to call 911 and they send a helicopter to get us off of this thing." To which he responded, "THAT'S THE VERY BEST CASE SCENARIO!!"

After Nate's last recon mission failed to find a safe way forward, we begrudgingly turned around and made our way back to the sketchy ravines and crumbling pathways. Needless to say, we were all relieved when we finally arrived back on safer ground. Shout-out to our level-headed boys and the makers of Nerds Gummy Clusters for getting us back safely.

After that prolonged adventure, we made it back to our Airbnb for a quick rest and shower, then headed to the Weltys for Thanksgiving lunch. While the adventures and new scenery were fantastic, getting to spend time with these friends in their new home really was the highlight of the trip. We all ate too much turkey and all the favorite sides.

Before we sliced up the pies, Kyle and his boys took us up to Cow Pie Hill so we could watch the sunset light up Cathedral and Seven Warriors monuments. Golden hour really is something else in these parts.

We made our way back down, ate too much pie and spent more time outside by the fire with Kyle and Katie while the boys all played more video games. Everyone was very content.

Eventually we said our goodbyes and traded hugs then made our way back to the Airbnb for our last sleep before heading out.

Tomorrow: Grand Canyon & VegasRead more

With Papa along on the trip, Nate and I had something we rarely get while traveling -- the opportunity to do something for just the two of us! When we started talking about things to do in Seward, we had different ideas. He was pretty keen on whale watching while I was more interested in seeing glaciers. As luck would have it, a friend recommended an excursion that gave us both. While it was one outing, I split it into two posts because they were both so extraordinary.

We headed out with Liquid Adventures on a small boat with 7 other passengers & 3 crew/guides. They told us because of the winds, we would be heading to Northwestern Fjord, a little further out into the fjords than planned. The entire ride was incredible, but entering into the fjord was jaw dropping. I stayed outside in the front as long as I could, soaking it all in.

Eventually they made us come in to gear up for getting on the water. Our day was unusually warm, so we were able to mostly wear just rain gear. The captain pulled up to a rocky beach and we all hopped off, getting our first glimpses of the glaciers and the ground they cut while the crew unloaded the boats. I picked up a few rocks that I thought the boys would like and we headed onto the water.

It took us a few minutes to get used to tandem kayaking, but we eventually found our groove. Our guide took us along the edge of the fjord, pointing out waterfalls and rock formations. The scale of Northwestern Glacier is truly incredible. It took some squinting to realize one of the bigger tour boats was up next to the glacier, when I saw that my jaw nearly dropped as I began to understand the magnitude of it.

As we paddled closer, chunks of ice started floating by. We paddle up to about half a mile from the glacier before we felt the glacial wind really rev up. At that point our guide redirected us back down the fjord and we bid farewell to Northwestern Glacier and assumed that we would be done. Wrong-o!

We paddled a couple more miles and much to everyone's delight, a couple of harbor seals popped up, keeping tabs on us the second half of the trip. Eventually we rounded a corner to discover huge rock-like figures or what our guide called "zombie glaciers." These are glaciers that have broken off from the top half, but reconstituted to form something kind of new. Still ice and rock, just a little mixed.

We finished this part of the morning with a picnic lunch of delicious burritos wraps while sitting on our kayaks in the middle of the fjord. Truly an amazing and unforgettable experience.Read more