A couple days ago, I made the trip from Denver to Phoenix. I took back roads a majority of the time, which made for some hairy moments. I ran into some weird rain/snow/sleet coming through the Rockies around Vail and passed a couple of overturned trucks. It was great inspiration to concentrate on the road.

After getting out of the mountains, I drove through Arches National Park in Utah which is beautiful. I got into Phoenix later that night where I quickly learned that Arizonians are, to generalize, crazy drivers in slick, dark mountain passes.

My first full day in Phoenix was spent in two very different ways: Antiquing by day and monster trucking by night. Yep. Monster trucks. I met up with some friends from the good ole’ Nort’ Dakota to enjoy a noisy evening of Monster Jam at Chase Field in Downtown Phoenix. It was a lot more fun than you’d think despite the outrageous beer prices.

Afterward, ventured to one of the weirdest bars I’ve ever seen called The Duce. Imagine a karaoke bar that married a boxing ring who gave birth to a thrift store that plays shuffle board and drinks hard shakes.

To cap off this post, I’ve made a Pinterest board of places that I’ve enjoyed throughout my travels thus far. I’m sure I’ll continue adding to it, so if you’re a devout Pinner, you can follow it here.