Explore Baaj Nwaavjo I’tah Kukveni National Monument

Fly into Flagstaff Pulliam Airport (FLG) this afternoon, where your Iconic Adventures Trip Leader will meet you at baggage claim and transport you by private shuttle to your local accommodations.

This evening, you will enjoy a group dinner and introductions before receiving an overview from the attending Earthjustice attorney about the organization’s work in the region, which you’ll be learning about in more depth over the coming days.

Check out of your room and enjoy breakfast this morning in Tucson before departing for the Hualapai Lodge in Peach Springs, AZ, our base for the next two nights.

Relax and unpack before walking with the group to the Peach Springs Cultural Center for a cultural exchange with our Hualapai partners.

Ash Ponders for Earthjustice

There, you’ll receive an introduction to Earthjustice’s partnership with the Tribe, how the two groups work together, and our mutual fight to protect Ha’Kamwe’ while engaging in activities like making prickly pear juice and balms from an onsite ethno-botanist.

Ash Ponders for Earthjustice

This evening, enjoy a traditional Hualapai meal catered for our group at the Cultural Center. With an early start the next day, you’re invited to stroll back to the lodge at your leisure.

Today, we embark on an all-day rafting excursion down the Colorado River led by the Hualapai River Runners.

Enjoy breakfast at the lodge before meeting your guides to depart for an hour’s drive to our put-in at Diamond Creek, with stops along the way to look at native plants.

Ash Ponders for Earthjustice

Known to the Hualapai as Ha’yiđađa, the Colorado River is revered as a life-giving source whose riparian ecosystems and clay riverbeds form the Tribe’s creation story.

Throughout the 55-mile tour through the deepest part of the Grand Canyon, your guides will share stories about the Tribe’s connection to the river — including pointing out shelters and homes that were built along the Canyon’s walls — while navigating the river.

Ash Ponders for Erathjustice

The guides use a motorized raft, allowing passengers to enjoy the experience without needing to actively paddle like other rafting excursions would require.

The first half of the trip will center on navigating and enjoying the Class III rapids before sitting back for a leisurely, rapid-free second half of the trip with storytelling, lunch along the riverbed, and a short hike to Travertine Cavern Falls. Keep your eyes peeled for wildlife along the way as well!

Ash Ponders for Earthjustice

After arriving at the pontoon dock, you’ll soar from the canyon floor to the rim on a short, six-minute helicopter ride that gives you sprawling views.

Bas Vermolen / Getty Images

You will then return to the Hualapai Lodge this evening for a quiet and relaxed dinner at the hotel before turning in for the night.

Today, you get to visit the Ha’Kamwe’ Sacred Spring in person!

Pack your bags this morning before checking out and driving 1.5 hours to the naturally occurring hot spring in the Big Sandy River Basin where the Mojave and Sonoran deserts meet.

Snacks will be provided throughout the morning before an early catered lunch near the spring under nearby shade structures.

Ash Ponders for Earthjustice

Alongside Earthjustice attorneys and local partners, the group will receive a deep dive into the background of the case while discussing the importance of water sources to the Hualapai and neighboring tribes.

Laura Berglan, attorney in Earthjustice’s Tribal Partnerships Program. (Ash Ponders for Earthjustice)

While Earthjustice and our partners were successful in securing a temporary restraining order to block Big Sandy Inc.’s lithium drilling after a five-year fight, other nearby mining operations may be active, illuminating the threats remaining to the region.

Ash Ponders for Earthjustice

As the group begins the transfer back to Flagstaff for the final evening, you’ll enjoy a short 1.5-mile roundtrip hike at the Keyhole Sink Trailhead.

Ash Ponders for Earthjustice

Traversing through a ponderosa pine forest, you’ll end the hike exploring petroglyphs engraved into dark volcanic basalt walls that depict deer herds, hunting grounds, and other key moments.

Ash Ponders for Earthjustice

After checking into the hotel, you’ll take part in a final group dinner while reflecting on your adventures and sharing key highlights from your time in northern Arizona together.

While it may be hard to say goodbye, today, the group heads home or continues their personal adventures from Flagstaff.

Following breakfast, airport transfers will be coordinated based on flight times.