A Quick Guide to Visiting Havasu Falls

I'm still letting it sink in that I just got back from visiting Havasu Falls - it's easily one of the most beautiful and majestic places I've ever been. I've wanted to make a trip out there for the past 5 years and seeing its popularity grow finally got me to plan a trip. I've gotten a lot of questions from friends about my visit so I thought I'd put together a quick guide to visiting Havasu Falls! (I'm working on a few more detailed posts with planning tips, hiking tips and lessons learned, so be on the lookout for those.) 

Follow me to Havasu Falls!

Getting Permits For Havasu Canyon

Before you get too excited about discovering this blue-green oasis, you'll need to secure an entry permit in order to go. You can get permits for visiting Havasu Falls by reserving a campground site or a room at the lodge. Campground reservations for the year open February 1st - be ready for a calling spree. My group of four plus me were calling the different phone numbers endlessly for the first week of February before one of us managed to get through. At that point they only had availabilities starting in August, so make sure you have a few backup dates ready when someone answers the phone.

Campground Phone Numbers:

• 928-448-2141
• 928-448-2121
• 928-448-2174
• 928-448-2180

Lodge Phone Numbers:

• 928-448-2111
• 928-448-2201

Mooney Falls was more challenging to get to but worth it because no one was there.

Setting a Budget For Your Trip

Things quickly add up! Decide if you want a rugged or more comfortable trip when visiting Havasu Falls and book everything accordingly. My group started with six and then turned into two so things became much pricier since we opted for the more luxurious options. This is what the three day trip cost us:

• RT Southwest flight for 2 - $175.92
• 4-day Car Rental - ~$220 (we stayed an extra night in Vegas before flying back)
• 2-night stay at Havasupai Lodge (includes entrance fee x2, environmental fee and tax) - $401.50
• Helicopter out for 2 - $170

We brought snacks for the hikes but ate a few meals at the cafe there. Food cost is definitely inflated but if you're looking for a hot burger at the end of your hike, it may be worth the $10. There's also a small grocery shop if you don't want to carry all your food throughout the trip. 

Got to Havasu Falls early and had the whole place to ourselves.

Planning Your Itinerary For Havasu Falls

We did this trip in 3 days but I would have loved an extra few days to explore more and make it to the Colorado River. June to August is considered their monsoon season where thunderstorms and flash floods can happen unexpectedly - we definitely encountered the tail end of this season and experienced some thunder, lightning and rain on our second day. The weather was a pretty solid 90-100 degrees but make sure you account for rain if you plan on visiting during these months.

Day 1:

• Fly into Las Vegas and pick up rental car (4 hour drive to Hualapai Hilltop)
• Hike into Supai Village (8 mile hike; took close to 4 hours)

Day 2:

• Hike to Navajo Falls, Havasu Falls and Mooney Falls
• Thunder and lightning had us turning around at 3:00 PM

Day 3:

• Helicopter out (expect 5 hours of waiting)
• Drive back to Vegas

Fara, our adopted puppy who hiked the whole way in with us!! <3

Be Flexible!

It's important to have a general schedule when visiting Havasu Falls but leave room for change. You may get lost while driving to Hualapai Hilltop or it may start to rain while you're at the waterfalls. Do your research and be prepared! (Shout out to @johnonelio for answering my endless questions!) Look for my next post that will go into more detail with planning tips.

xo, el

Summer Is For Adventure: That PNW Life

My first trip to Oregon was an incredible experience with amazing company. Over the course of 88 hours we drove 987 miles (90% of it done by Jeff), visited 7 cities, enjoyed 9 scenic destinations and ate at 8 different places. Not too bad for a trip that was less than 4 days long. Planning this trip took me more days than I care to share but every hour was worth it. It’s not easy to pack years’ worth of destinations into just a few days, especially when it involves that PNW life.

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Not to be overly sentimental, but this trip wouldn’t have been the same without the people I went with. Young Money and Jeffrey Falls totally let me take control of our itinerary and didn’t say a word despite my Nazi-like planning tendencies. Young was a rockstar at booking all of our accommodations and Jeff was a stud for handling all the transportation. Most importantly, we stuck together and never lost our cool even when we ran into, or rather, fell into deep waters ;)

So if anyone needs help on recommendations I think I have more than enough suggestions for ya! I hope some of you can appreciate this mapped out route of our trip’s adventures, and I also hope you all enjoy the photos from this beautiful place <3

Meet Me at Mountain Home Inn

Happy Birthday dearest sister Diane!! Seems like it was ages ago that we were enjoying a weekend getaway at Mountain Home Inn, huh?

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It’s the year of your dirty 30 (oops, was I not supposed to reveal that?) so I want to dedicate this post to you :) We’ve had plenty of ups and downs over the decades of growing up together, but I’m so thankful to have you in my life as a sister, friend, and mentor. I’ll save all the real gushy stuff for your birthday card, but I did want to finally post some photos from your engagement weekend!

Don’t think I forgot what a PITA you were to deal with leading up to that day. I think Franklin and I both learned our lesson to never try to surprise you again.. and don’t even get me started on poor Kristine. Anyway, despite the many fires that occurred within 12 hours of your surprise engagement, it really was wonderful to be a part of it.

I hope you know how much I love you and that I’m always here for you. Happy birthday! <3

Summer Is For Adventure: Play Hard

Yay! Summer is here!!

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Wait, I don’t really have a summer..

:(

It’s always bittersweet when summer arrives. On one hand I’m thankful for the extra hours of daylight so I’m not leaving the office when it’s already dark. But it’s also a depressing thought to remember the days when I used to have summer breaks. Sigh. I guess it just means I have to try that much harder to make sure I have plenty of adventures while the sun is still out!

Although it isn’t a far adventure, Baldwin Hills Scenic Overlook is my of my favorite spots to hit up these days. It’s the perfect distance from my place for a run with an added booty blaster of never-ending steps at the end. It just feels like such a gem in the middle of all the LA crowds and it has a great view of all over. It also happens to be one of the largest remaining open spaces in the Los Angeles Basin and the only remaining natural habitat in the middle portion o the Ballona Creek Watershed.

A less local trip I have planned is Oregon! I’m SOO excited to finally visit after years of wishing. I still have a week left before the trip so if you have any must sees/dos, please send them to me! I’ll also be visiting Sin City the weekend after I return from Oregon. I was so, so lucky to be selected to enjoy a complimentary weekend courtesy of Yelp! I’ll be chillin’ at shows, snoozin in Aria, nommin’ on delicious food, and much more. You can definitely expect to hear more about it.

Finally, another trip coming up near the end of the year is ICELAND. I’ll be going on a guided tour with my Mom so most of the itinerary is planned for the most part, but again, if anyone out there has an absolutely-must-visit suggestion, don’t hold back. So as you can tell, while I believe strongly in working hard, I absolutely believe in a balanced life :)

Exploring Spring: Work Hard

As I mentioned a few posts ago, I’ve been working on a couple of projects lately so I wanted to share what I’ve been up to. Back in December I joined the Social Media Club LA board of directors and serve on the programs team. Social Media Club as a whole was founded in March 2006 to host conversations around the globe that explore key issues facing our society as technologies transform the way we connect, communicate, collaborate and relate to each other. SMCLA was founded in July 2008 and focuses on the unique mix of entertainment, technology and culture that makes Los Angeles an epicenter of the next digital evolution.

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The programs team is responsible for executing monthly events around digital and social media related topics, including panels and networking mixers. We’ve already had four great events. Our June event is dedicated to the rise of the animal celeb on Instagram and we have some exciting panelists, one of which is Geordi La Corgi! So message me if you’re interested in attending, or you can reserve your spot through this Eventbrite link. It will take place on June 23rd from 6:30PM to 9:30PM at General Assembly DTLA.

Just last week I was invited to be a part of the Rocksbox influencer community! I’m now officially an #RBITGIRL and can’t wait to receive my first Rocksbox. They even set me up with my own code elleluxoxo so anyone who uses this code to sign up will receive their first month free. Rocksbox is basically a subscription service that lets you rock the latest accessories without draining your bank account. I’ll be posting about it in more detail soon so stay tuned :)

Those who know me know about my love and passion for all things BIRDS. Through my employer, The Wonderful Company, I was able to make a generous donation to the Los Angeles Audubon Society and in return I was invited to attend their annual members meeting this past weekend. It was fun to be able to meet others like myself and see the amount of time, energy and passion they put into this organization. There really is so much you can do to help preserve nature and wildlife, and a lot of it stems from education and awareness.  I learned about the opportunities to volunteer and get involved, so if you're interested let me know!

Finally, thank you to Pabst Blue Ribbon for starting my week off right and sending me lots of goodies! I rarely drink beer and PBR is one of two that I actually do enjoy, so I appreciate the lovin' :)