Hello, hello, hello, this is Joanna speaking and it’s the 31st of October and I would like to tell you about something that happened, well, something like two months ago, which is my trip to the United States.

It wasn’t my first trip to the United States, but I visited some new places this time. So what places did I visit, why did I actually decide to go to the United States, to that very particular state, and what were the two places we visited again after our 2018 trip? And what was the biggest highlight for me personally during the entire trip?

This is what today’s podcast is going to be about. And at the very end, I’ll share some useful and, I think, interesting idioms and collocations related to today’s topic. So let’s go.

This trip to the United States was actually an idea that came to me about two years ago. And what was the spark? What triggered the entire idea? Well, a TV series called Yellowstone. Some of you might have seen it. It takes place in Montana. And Montana was indeed the place we really, really wanted to visit.

Everything else we planned was around Montana. We flew to Las Vegas and then went up north through places like Yellowstone National Park, Grand Teton National Park, and so on. Then we headed back south through different states this time, like South Dakota. Montana was the main reason we decided to go — the series, the scenic views, and the idea of vast, open landscapes.

As I mentioned, Montana was just one of the places on our list. We also wanted to visit Yellowstone National Park and Grand Teton National Park, both absolutely stunning. We also revisited two places we had been to before.

One of them was Zion National Park. We first went there back in 2018, but we didn’t do the famous Zion Narrows Trail. This trail literally goes through a river. The name of the river is Virgin River. You literally have to walk in the water the whole way.

Back in 2018, we weren’t prepared for that. We didn’t have the right clothes, shoes, or gear. This time we came prepared. We had walking sticks, neoprene socks — super important because the river was freezing cold — and proper shoes because the stones under the water were really slippery.

We even had dry clothes and shoes to change into afterwards because the water was sometimes up to our waist. When we left the river, we were completely soaked. And it was amazing. The views were breathtaking. The whole experience felt very unique.

We walked about seven kilometers one way, then turned back — roughly fourteen kilometers in total. The further we went, the fewer people we met. And I think that was the best part of this trail, to be honest.

The second place we revisited from our 2018 trip was Monument Valley. It is located in an Indian Reserve in Arizona. We stayed at a hotel called The View.

And honestly, they couldn’t have picked a better name. We woke up before sunrise to see it rising above the valley. It was beyond words. Absolute silence. Complete calm. This golden light slowly touching the rocks.

If you Google Monument Valley Sunrise or Monument Valley National Park, you’ll see what I mean. It was truly beyond words.

After that, while everyone else went for breakfast, we decided to drive around the valley. Most people do this as part of a paid tour or excursion, but we had our own four-by-four car. So we could go ourselves, without any extra help.

It was around 6:30 in the morning and there was literally no one else there. Not a single person in the valley, in the national park, or even among the local vendors — they hadn’t opened yet. It was magical. Raw. Quiet. Sometimes unreal.

If you Google it, you’ll really know what I mean.

Then came the highlight of the trip, at least in the plans — Montana. We didn’t spend enough time there, I have to admit, and that’s why we’ll definitely go back one day. Hard to say when exactly, but one day for sure.

The state of Montana is huge. We couldn’t see all the places I knew from the Yellowstone series because it was simply impossible. We had just a couple of days and still didn’t see enough.

There’s also Glacier National Park in the north of Montana, right on the border with Canada — another place I would love to visit one day. That’s just another reason to go back to Montana.

There’s a high probability that next time we visit Montana, we’ll also go to Washington — not the city, but the state — and hopefully Alaska. Let’s hope so.

The most surprising part of the trip for me personally was something different. Something we left as a cherry on top. We had been there before, back in 2018, but we didn’t see it at all because it was so foggy. Visibility was basically zero.

You could see maybe a meter and a half ahead. Just a thick milky fog. So we decided to go again this time. And the place I’m talking about is the Grand Canyon.

We went to the Grand Canyon — to the north — in 2018, and we were surprised by the fog. So this time we decided to go to the south. The North Rim, by the way, was closed for the season after a huge fire that destroyed everything just a few months earlier. Every single building, every facility — all gone.

We went south and stayed in a hotel just fifty meters from the edge of the canyon. It sounds unreal, but it was very real. Waking up and walking out there in the morning felt surreal, not to mention the stargazing at night. Absolute hit.

The next day we started early because we wanted to hike the Bright Angel Trail, which goes from the South Rim Village down to the Colorado River. It’s a long, steep trail with many rest houses and water points along the way — all set up for hikers — but still extremely demanding.

Going down feels fine, but going up is brutal. You don’t realize how tough it will be until you have to climb back. You keep going down and down because you feel strong, and then you have to return — and the climb up is relentless.

That day it was forty degrees. Extreme heat. The Grand Canyon is basically a desert, not a forest. There’s almost no shade, barely any trees or bushes to hide under — just rocks, dust, and heat.

It was absolutely amazing. We walked down fourteen kilometers to the river. Surprisingly, the river was colder than we expected. Maybe the view at the river wasn’t jaw-dropping, honestly. We saw more beautiful views on the way down. But it was still worth it.

We even had a quick swim in the Colorado River — not too wild because the current was very strong. It wasn’t recommended to swim, but we could cool down a bit before climbing back up.

That swim was refreshing because the water was freezing cold. And with forty degrees around us, it helped a lot.

We started going up again — another fourteen kilometers — and the difference in height was 1,300 meters. If you climb mountains from time to time, you know that’s a lot. Maybe not extreme, but definitely demanding.

There were no flat surfaces, just a steady climb up and up. And the closer we got to the top, the steeper it became. But still, it was all worth it.

I’m not sure whether it was the views or the feeling of accomplishment, but it felt like a hidden gem. Very few people made it to the river because it required a lot of strength and preparation.

We were well prepared — we had clothes to protect from the sun and heat, plenty of food and water, electrolytes, salts, and energy gels to make sure we had the strength to climb back up.

At some point it felt like we were the only ones there — going down or up — because there were so few people. That made it even more special.

To witness the Grand Canyon from within — that was my highlight. I didn’t see that coming, to be honest. I thought the Grand Canyon was the ultimate tourist attraction — something you just look at from the top.

But going down, being inside it, reaching the Colorado River, and then climbing up again — that was something else. Truly amazing.

Sometimes the heat pushed our limits, but we were rewarded with countless incredible views on the way.

That was my biggest highlight — not looking at the Grand Canyon from above, but walking through it, reaching the river, and seeing it from the bottom. Something I truly recommend, though it’s definitely strenuous.

So that was my American adventure. Another one. It wasn’t our first time — we went there in 2018 for a classic American road trip, then twice more to different locations. This was our fourth visit, and definitely not the last.

Montana, Monument Valley, Zion National Park, the Grand Canyon — all absolutely gorgeous. Even though Yellowstone didn’t impress me as much as I expected, it was still breathtaking and enormous.

This trip reminded me how small we are compared to nature. During sunrise, during the solo hikes, during stargazing, during the climb down to the Colorado River — it all made me feel humble and grateful.

It also reminded me how good it feels to finally do things you once only dreamt about. It feels absolutely wonderful.

Thank you very much for listening. I truly hope you liked this episode. Let me know if you’ve been to the United States, and whether you’ve seen any of the same places I mentioned.

I’d really appreciate your comments, shares, or a follow on YouTube or Spotify. And if you liked my podcast, leaving a review would mean a lot.

Until next time — speak to you soon. Ciao, ciao.