A recent road trip with my gal-pal Ms. Scarlett, a brassy broad and long-time resident of Scottsdale who never lost her Long Island accent, reminded me of how intimate and romantic our National Parks can be in winter.
Our nearly 800 mile excursion, dubbed A Very Thelma and Louise Christmas, was similar to past adventures shared with lovers and significant others. Although I dearly love Ms. Scarlett and we travel well together, alas, there was nobody to snuggle under the covers. But if you and your snuggle-bunny enjoy historic hotels, majestic views, exceptional dining and snowflakes dusting your eyelashes, then you might want to pack your bags for a National Park winter getaway.
Our adventure through the American Southwest began at Sky Harbor Airport and we quickly exchanged Ms. Scarlett’s Mercedes-Benz 420 convertible for a rented Toyota RAV 4. We were headed for higher elevations and nasty weather and needed a vehicle with all-wheel drive. If we got caught in a blizzard, then we wanted to be prepared and stocked the vehicle with warm clothes, wine, vodka and honey-liqueur.
Our first night found us at the historic Weatherford Hotel in lovely Flagstaff, Ariz. Established in 1897, the hotel offers of variety of rooms decorated in turn-of-the-century style with most having ensuite bathrooms.
We relaxed with a beverage on the wrap-around veranda while waiting for our friends before sitting down to dinner at Criollo Latin Kitchen. Criollo’s offers Latin-inspired food using locally and sustainably grown ingredients whenever possible. We savored fire-roasted jalapeno and bacon nachos and mojo-marinated pork tenderloin. The friendly and knowledgeable staff expertly paired wines with each course.
We left the pines of Flagstaff in light snow showers and headed for The View Hotel at Monument Valley Navajo Tribal Park. Along the way we stopped to photograph several art installations as part of The Painted Desert Project.
We checked into our room, sipped champagne, and watched as snow-flurries obscured the distant monolithic mesas. Christmas dawned and the new-fallen snow glittered and crunched beneath our boots. We were eager to explore the red sandstone wonders.
Our next destination, Ruby’s Inn at Bryce Canyon National Park, provided inexpensive and adequate accommodations. The menu in the dining room offered standard cowboy roadhouse fare, filling and comforting. Utah’s liquor laws are sort of strange and you can only enjoy an adult beverage when you order food. We enjoyed local micro-brews, Squatter’s Pale Ale and a Provo Girl Pilsner, with our burgers before retiring to our room.
Bryce Canyon in winter is magnificent and the fresh snow highlighted the scenery’s jaw-dropping beauty. Crowds were non-existent and ours were the only footsteps at the Natural Arch overlook. We could hear the whisper of snowflakes brushing through the conifer boughs.
We drove through thick flurries of snow to our next destination, Zion Mountain Ranch. Our cozy cabin offered two comfortable king-size beds, a propane-fueled fireplace, skittish deer in the front yard and views of the resident bison herd and the distant mountains aglow with the light of sunset.
Dinner at Chez Bison, the Ranch’s on-site restaurant, was fantastic. We brought our own wine, paid the minimal corkage fee, and were seated at a long communal table in a comfy well-designed dining room heated by a crackling wood-burning stove. The pear and prosciutto salad, with crumbled bleu cheese and candied pine nuts, sprinkled with a delicate buttermilk dressing, was a masterful medley of sweet, salty and savory. The bacon-wrapped bison filet was tender and moist. A nearby tablemate, a thoughtful dog owner, begged for the bone that remained from my perfectly grilled elk chop.
Zion National Park was the most crowded place we visited but not uncomfortably so. We hiked along the Virgin River and marveled at the frozen rivulets glistening on the sheer canyon walls. Along the way we stopped to chat with a lesbian couple (from California, naturally), and their young son. Afterwards, we enjoyed a picnic of bread and cheese and a variety of salamis accompanied by a Zinfandel chilled in a nearby snow pile.
What was neat about Bryce and Zion is that we were able to drive through the parks and view the scenery at a relaxed pace from the comfort of our private vehicle. During the peak season, visitors are required to board a shuttle in an effort to reduce air-pollution and congestion.
We pressed on under sunny blue skies to our final destination, fabulous Las Vegas! (You didn’t think Thelma and Louise would fly off into a canyon a second time, did you?) We stayed at the Flamingo Hotel and relinquished our cash to the one-armed bandits and blackjack tables. The grand finale of our trek was dinner with long-time friends at world-renowned chef Thomas Keller’s Bouchon Bistro.
I am compelled to divulge that Ms. Scarlett is a fairly notorious woman with many friends in the food and wine industry, including a staff member at Bouchon. In a phrase she’s greased, and we were treated like royalty.
We sipped our absinthe-infused cocktails before being seated at a linen-covered table in the high-ceilinged dimly lit dining room. The appetizer was an icy platter laden with treasures from the sea – oysters, mussels, clams, prawns and lobster. We segued to our Salade de Gésier de Canard et Homard before carving into our entrees: Poulet Rôti, and the evening’s special, Gigot D’Agneau Roti. What’s so great about roast chicken and leg of lamb, you’re wondering? All I can say is there’s an indescribably delicious reason why Chef Thomas Keller is world-renowned.
Dessert was a variety of delectable treats, including Tarte au Citron, Profiteroles drizzled with a chocolate and red wine reduction, Crème Brulée, and eggnog-flavored Pot au Crème. Our wine was a lively but reticent ’08 Châteauneuf-du-Pape.
We were presented with the bill for our three-hour multi-course dinner. I was girded for the inevitable exorbitant tab, but was very pleasantly surprised to discover everything but our wine had been comped by the restaurant. Our waiter was tipped handsomely.
If an 800-mile road trip is not for you, then you may want to consider beginning an extended weekend in Las Vegas and driving the 2 or 3 hours to Zion and Bryce Canyon National Parks. You and your snuggle-bunny will be glad you did.
Visiting National Parks in the winter has the advantage of fewer crowds, a slower pace, and greater privacy – a stress-free way to enjoy our great natural treasures. As once explained to me by a cute Park Ranger, the people who visit the parks off-season are either “nearly deads or newlyweds”.
A final word of caution. Be prepared for winter driving conditions. Call ahead for any information about park closures or highway conditions, and prepare accordingly. But by all means, go!
Note: The names are fictitious. The places and events are real.
Lodging
Weatherford Hotel
http://www.weatherfordhotel.com/
The View
http://www.monumentvalleyview.com/
Ruby’s Inn
http://bit.ly/1eHl9Xv
Zion Mountain Ranch
Flamingo
http://bit.ly/1am4OCN
Dining
Criollo Latin Kitchen
http://criollolatinkitchen.com/
Chez Bison
Bouchon Bistro
National Parks
Bryce Canyon
http://www.nps.gov/brca/index.htm
Zion
http://www.nps.gov/zion/index.htm
Tribal Parks
Monument Valley
http://bit.ly/1amwg6v
Weather
National Weather Service
Miscellaneous
The Painted Desert Project
http://on.fb.me/1j6iQk3
