﻿What’s up guys, my name is Ryan, I want to show you my favorite places
in the American Southwest, so here is my Southwest top 10.
The Southwest is one of the most beautiful regions in the USA, it's made up of states
such as Arizona, New Mexico, and Utah. From the turquoise waterfalls of the Grand Canyon,
to incredible rock formations, the Southwest is just waiting to be explored!
Let’s start this video off in Moab! This may be one of the best places to go if you want to be at
the center of the action! There’s so many things and places around Moab you can do and explore!
One of my favorites is the Fisher Towers! It's just about 40 minutes outside of Moab.
Its home to Titan Tower which is claimed to be the largest free standing rock tower in the US
with a prominence of 700 feet. Freaking crazy. You can do about a 4 mile round trip hike and
experience all the towers from below! It's such a cool hike with incredible views! Also
nearby is Castle Valley which is home to impressive mesas and the Castleton Tower.
Another cool spot right outside of Moab is Corona Arch. I remember the first time I
saw this place was in Devin Supertramps' video where they made a giant rope swing off of it.
To get to the arch it's a fairly easy hike of 2.4 miles round trip. If you want to avoid the heat,
I recommend doing the hike early in the morning or in the evening. It's such a beautiful arch,
when you stand under it you realize how huge it is.
The nearest National Park to Moab is Arches. It's located a few minutes outside the city.
It’s home to Utah’s most iconic symbols, the delicate arch. To get to the delicate
arch it's about a 3 mile round trip. When I reached the arch I was amazed by how big the
delicate arch actually was! It was huge, and it was surrounded by this rock bowl. I had a
good time exploring the area and witnessing one of Utah’s most famous locations. Arches
National park is also home to more beautiful rock formations that you have to check out.
After, we are going to head over to the San Rafael River Canyon. Also known as the
little grand canyon, this beautiful area is about a 2 and a half hours drive from Moab.
To get the best views there are several look out spots to get incredible panoramic views.
You can also explore the canyon by foot or horseback. Whichever way you
decide, the experience is amazing! If I’m being honest, I think this place is just as good,
if not better than the Grand Canyon! Definitely less people and the views are just as good.
Another stunning place in Utah is the landscapes outside of Hanksville. You really feel like you're
on a different planet out there. One cool place is Swing Arm City! This is a definition of a dirt
biking paradise! Some of the world’s largest natural jumps are located here. The ridges and
unique dirt formations went on forever! Another place that is right nearby is the Factory Butte.
It's an isolated 6302 foot summit right in the middle of nowhere! The mud flat that
leads up to the summit looks like something out of interstellar! Such a wild place!
The area is also home to one of the coolest rock formations in Utah. It's this jagged hoodoo rock
that shoots straight out of the dirt! It's surrounded by an amphitheater of cliffs
and it creates a one of a kind location. I couldn’t believe the conditions I had,
the clouds looked like clouds you would see in a cartoon! I loved the white stripes in the black
rock, you could see all the layers and thousands of years of erosion at work! When we walked up to
the hoodoo it was surprisingly big! The drive to this rock formation was freaking tough,
but it was worth it in the end and I still can’t get over how unique this spot was!
After, we're going to explore Monument Valley. Located right on the Arizona Utah Border,
Monument Valley is known for its towering sandstone buttes
and is often the backdrop for many movies. It is hard to believe how tall these buttes
are until you have seen them in person! They tower a whopping 1,000 feet above the desert
floor and are said to be millions of years old. The Navajo legend describes these buttes
as carcasses of past defeated monsters. One of the best views of Monument valley
is Forrest Gump Point. You'll get that iconic shot where Forrest decided to end his run.
Afterwards, we are going to visit the Grand Canyon.
Known as one of the seven natural wonders of the world. It is a one mile deep,
277 mile long gorge that has been carved and sculpted by the Colorado River. The Grand
Canyon is home to endless activities and forms of exploration. When visiting you can hike,
drive, bike, raft, camp, and so much more to fully experience what this creation has to offer. Nearly
5.5 million visitors come to the canyon every year and it's easy to see why.
While we are still in the Grand Canyon, we're going to head over to Havasupai.
Special thanks to my friend @the flying dutchmen for helping me out with footage,
he made a 40 minute walking tour of his hike to Havasupai falls, which I’ll link
in the description. Havasupai translates to the people of blue and green water, and
you’ll understand why when you get there. To get into Havasupai, you need to make a reservation,
although it is scheduled to be closed until 2022. Once we are able to visit again, the hike
is about 11 miles one way to the falls. On your journey you’ll pass through the Supai village
which is the most remote community in the 48 states, you can only walk or take a helicopter
there. Pretty crazy! After Supai it's about a 2 mile hike to Havasu Falls! I think it's one of
the coolest waterfalls ever with its combination of turquoise blue, orange, and green colors! The
falls is about 98 feet high and there’s a pool at the bottom to cool off in. If you keep going,
you’ll come across Mooney falls, it's the tallest waterfall in the canyon with a height of 190 feet.
You can take a somewhat sketchy path to get to the bottom of the falls! If you keep hiking,
you’ll make it to Beaver Falls which isn’t nearly as tall but a rewarding place to mark the end of
your hike! Havasupai is just such an incredible place and I hope we can visit once it reopens.
While we're still in Arizona, we are going to visit Sedona. Located in the north of the state
about a 50 minute drive outside of flagstaff, Sedona is the perfect mixture of red rock
with green pine forests! One thing interesting about Sedona is that it's believed to be home
to Vortexes, which are centers of energy that are perfect for meditation, self exploration,
and yoga. All of Sedona is considered a vortex, but one of the strongest centers of energy is at
the Vortex of Bell Rock. People claim that there’s just something magical there that
energizes you as you hike the rock. Even if you're not into vortexes and meditation,
Sedona is also a great place to go hiking and other outdoor sports! Such a special place!
After, we’re going to New Mexico to visit Shiprock. This may have to be one of the
most random and unique rock structures I’ve ever seen. Me and my brother Nick went here
a few weeks ago and it lived up to the hype. What I think is so interesting about Shiprock,
is the volcanic spines that lead up to it, they are these massive rock walls that seem
to go on forever. I’ve never seen anything like it! The rock is sacred to the Navajos,
they named it the rock with wings! From far away the rock doesn’t look that big,
but up close it's huge with a height of 1,583 feet. It's such a bizarre place!
After, we are going to visit Lake Powell! Now Lake Powell is one of the coolest man made lakes
in the world! It's a reservoir that is located in Utah and Arizona. It’s been called America’s
lost national park because you feel like the Grand Canyon, except it's filled with water!
Lake Powell was created back in 1960 when the Glen Canyon was dammed up. A lot of my family
and friends will rent a houseboat and go boating down here for weeks during the summer. I can’t
think of a better place to go wakeboarding, and it is a mecca for cliff jumping and
water sports! Lake Powell is such an incredible place I hope you all can experience it someday.
A super cool spot right outside of Lake Powell is HorseShoe Bend! It’s
this picturesque section of the Colorado river surrounded by massive cliff walls!
Another nearby attraction is Antelope Canyon, located about twenty minutes from Horseshoe Bend,
Antelope canyon is one of the most impressive slot canyons in the world! From outside,
the area just looks like normal desert landscape, but as you descend into the
slot canyon, you’ll witness some of the most beautiful sculpted sandstone. The canyon was
formed by flash floods and thousands of years of erosion! What a wild place.
For our last destination, we're going back to Utah to visit Zion National Park. Now Zion is
out of this world! Pictures and video don’t do it justice! It's home to steep red rock cliffs that
are thousands of feet high! It’s hard to believe. One of my favorite and most famous places in Zion
is the hike to Angel’s landing! It's about a 5 mile round trip hike that’s famous for its sketchy
chain trail that leads to the top of Angel’s landing. I recently did the hike, we crossed
the bridge over the virgin river and headed up the trail. We went up some steep switchbacks,
then went through a small canyon and did even more switchbacks until we reached
the top before we started Angels landing. Angel’s landing is famous for its thousand foot drop offs
and chains that lead the way! I did the hike in the winter time so it was icy at times. I brought
my 360 camera so I could get every possible angle on the trail! I was able to reach the
top and the view blew my mind! I was able to see all of Zion’s canyon! It was surreal! I will say
the trail was pretty crowded even in the winter so be prepared for lots of people if you do it.
Well That is it for my Southwest Top 10! I barely scratched the surface, you could
spend your whole life exploring the southwest and still have more to find! Maybe I’ll do a part 2.
Let me know where your favorite place in the Southwest is in the comments below! You can find
me on Instagram and Tiktok at shirley.films, it's Ryan and we will see you later!