This is one of those places that you find yourself asking, “Is this place for real?”
Nearly every year over Black Friday weekend, my good friend Thoai and I go hiking somewhere. In past years, we’ve backpacked in the Grand Canyon National Park and explored Zion, Arches, and Bryce Canyon National Parks. This year (2025), we have something else in mind, a little closer to home.
On Black Friday, we piled ourselves and our dogs into the car and drove a few hours north to a rural part of Virginia. After going grocery shopping for the weekend, we checked into our Airbnb and settled in for the evening.
The next morning, we woke up early to make and eat breakfast before heading an hour further north to a really cool trail.
I’ve hiked here before, but Thoai hadn’t. And so, I knew this trail would be a fun treat for us to explore, even if it was cold outside.
When we arrived at the trailhead, we were the third car in line for 1 of the 10 parking spaces. All of the parking spaces were full. I guess everyone else had the same idea that we did. We waited in the car for about 30-45 minutes before we finally had a parking space.
Then, it was time to pack up and get on trail. We spent the day hiking to the slot canyons of the east (IYKYK). We had a blast exploring the various offshoots and squeezing through the narrow channels. The dogs loved climbing onto the big boulders. The overlook wasn’t much to write home about, but that’s ok.
After exploring the canyons, we sat down underneath the fire tower, which you’re not allowed to climb, to enjoy our lunch. The temperature was dropping quickly so we decided to make the trek back to the car.
We returned to our Airbnb happily exhausted from our adventure. I made some vegetarian chili for dinner. We had some hot mugs of cocoa and chilled on the couch the rest of the evening.
It was a great way to spend a weekend with one of my best friends and our wild dogs.
Michelle and Blaze 