My Super Exciting Southwest Trip

Great sunset in Santa Fe

Southwest trip was great and amazing experience for me. All extension students visited New Mexico and Arizona states through October 10th to 16th. We learned Native American culture, saw historical buildings, visited many museums and ate delicious local food. I was impressed by three things; beautiful town Santa Fe, fabulous nature Grand Canyon and fantastic local food.

First, I was impressed by Santa Fe. There are three reasons why I was moved Santa Fe. This city is the oldest capital city and also the third largest art market in the United States. Meaning of Santa Fe is “Holy Faith.” First of all, I saw a lot of jewelries included turquoise, silver and gold in Santa Fe. I wanted to buy turquoise pierced earrings for myself and souvenirs but that were too expensive for me, so I gave up to purchase them. However I bought two pierced earrings which were not turquoise but cheaper than it. I like them! Second, I visited some old churches. My favorite church is the Loretto Chapel because inside of chapel was so beautiful. Stained glass was especially gorgeous. There was the staircase in this chapel, but it doesn’t have center pole! Furthermore, it was built without nails. I couldn't believe it when I heard facts from a teacher. Third, my favorite part of Santa Fe is atmosphere and townscape. There were many gift shops, restaurants, old churches, interesting museums and historical buildings. Historical buildings are called adobe. Adobe is a mixture of mud and straw shaped into bricks and dried sun. Many souvenir shops and restaurants are made from adobe. These architectures looked like sand castles. If I were in Japan, I couldn’t see them. So I was lucky to see adobe architectures. In addition, Santa Fe has a lot of colorful souvenirs such as decorative objects, chillies and clothes. It was fun to just see them. When we had to back to the hotel, we saw great sunset. I took some pictures because it was nice scenery. Santa Fe is one of the beautiful and historical cities in the United States. If someone travel somewhere, I recommend Santa Fe.

Second, I was inspired Grand Canyon. I really looked forward to visiting there before coming back to Spokane.

Magnificent view of the Grand Canyon

My first impression was more magnificent than I had expected. How huge it was! It was amazing view that I have ever seen. The following day, I had free time a whole day, so I could move freely. In the early morning, I went to Hopi Point in order to see sunrise with my group. It was so cold, but we saw beautiful sunrise. I couldn’t believe that I was in the Grand Canyon. After seeing sunrise, we backed to the hotel, then we went to Mather Point Visitor Center in order to rent bicycle. We enjoyed riding it about five hours. It was excited to ride a mountain bike. While in the day, we went on a picnic. It was fun because I haven’t went on a picnic since I was a junior high school student. After eating lunch, we visited some museums and learned history of the Grand Canyon. According to the data in the museum, Grand Canyon is 1,840 million years old! I was surprised about that. Then we went to Yavapai Point to see sunset. It was beautiful and gorgeous scenery. There were many people who are from all over the world at Grand Canyon because it is one of the world heritage sites in the United States. I was extremely happy to go to Grand Canyon until I graduate from university. If I didn't visit wonderful place, definitely I wouldn’t go to see sunrise and sunset on the same day. Through the day, I felt actual nature. I can’t experience if I were not only in Japan but also in Spokane. This day was one of the my best memories forever. I will never forget view of the Grand Canyon ever. 

Finally, I ate a lot of delicious local food. I have four favorite food.

Delicious food

First of all, I like burrito. It is Mexican food. I ate burrito four times during Southwest trip. The most delicious burrito was that I ate in Albuquerque. I chose beef burrito. I couldn't finish eating all because of too much meals for me but it was delicious! Next is veggie and beef kabob. I ate it at restaurant in Arizona. All of clerks sang musical song such as Disney songs, Wicked’s songs and other musical songs. I felt in the real musical. Before kabob was served, I had many appetizer. So I was so full. Third, I had sandwich at the hotel in Santa Fe. It was so nice because this restaurant was in the hotel! It included squash, goat cheese, grilled onions, tomatoes and so on. It was little expensive but nice to eat. Last delicious food is Tortilla bowl. It served taco tortilla bowl, lettuce, tomato, beans, avocado, cheese and onion. It was strong taste but good. I’m already missing these food. 

Through the Southwest trip, I felt traditions, cultures, histories and nature. There were amazing opportunities to learn Native American in New Mexico and Arizona states. If I didn’t apply for the extension program, I absolutely couldn’t visit Southwest and meet fabulous people there. I was proud of having irreplaceable experiences. It was super exciting and wonderful travel.