Travel Notes: Nevada, Utah, and Arizona RV Roadtrip
June was a wonderful whirlwind of activities leading to our summer adventure road tripping across Nevada, Utah, and Arizona. We rented an RV, our house on wheels, which was partly inspired by all the tiny house living and full-time RVing that I’ve been watching on YouTube. It was a ten-day experiment if “tiny house/ RV living” is for me. Bottom line is that I would do it again — for the right kind of vacation which this one was.
We covered quite a bit of ground visiting Zion National Park, Bryce Canyon, Powell Lake, Antelope Canyon, Horse Shoe Bend, the Grand Canyon, and Hoover Dam. A surprising treat – one that was completely unplanned – was a stay along Route 66.
The temperature hovered well over 100 degrees during our trip with the exception of Bryce Canyon where the temperature dropped to 50 degrees at night which made for comfortable sleeping.
The desert landscape was a curious one and not quite what I expected. The mountains and rock formations were majestic and the air heavy with desert dust. You could at times feel the grit between your teeth and spot dust devils swirling towards the sky.
When visiting during the summer, the following are a must: (wide brim) hats, sunglasses, sunscreen, and lots of water. We did a lot of hiking so I wore mostly athletic inspired wear. My sneakers were fine but hiking shoes would have given me more traction and stability during my hikes.
I love the layers of desert colors here.The Narrows is the narrowest section of Zion Canyon and was hands down the most fun. Hiking this path provided a much welcome escape from the summer heat.We rented the canyoneering shoes, Neoprene socks, and walking stick and I was really glad that we did. The depth of the water will vary and the rocks could be slippery and so the right gear and clothing will make for a safer and more comfortable hike. If you have to carry a bag, a backpack is preferable.As beautiful as Zion National Park was, this view of the red, orange, and white hoodoos at Bryce Canyon was out of this world. Hoodoos are geological structures formed by frost weathering and stream erosion of the river and lake bed sedimentary rocks.Even at high elevation, hiking among the hoodoos was worth it. But again, make sure you wear a hat, sunglasses, good hiking shoes, a bottle of water, and snacks.We went on a boat ride along Antelope Canyon at Lake Powell – a reservoir on the Colorado River – straddling the border between Utah and Arizona.Antelope Canyon is a slot canyon in Page, Arizona. Located on Navajo land, you will need to sign up for a guided tour in order to see Antelope Canyon. We booked our tour well in advance to make sure that we could get in especially with the limited time that we had. Admiring the graceful striations of Navajo sandstone carved by flash floods.You have to hike uphill from the parking lot to get to Horse Shoe Bend. Standing on the edge of the steep cliff is not for the faint of heart but the view of the meandering emerald green Colorado River was worth it.Taking in the vast and layered beauty of red rocks at the Grand Canyon National Park. The South Rim – the most popular way to access the park – is open all year.As we neared the end of our trip, we did not have a plan where we would park the RV (and ourselves) for the next two days but luckily stumbled on an RV park along Historic Route 66 in Seligman, Arizona. This cozy enclave – the Birthplace of Historic Route 66 – inspired the hugely successful Pixar animated film Cars.Named one of the Top 10 Construction Achievements of the 20th Century, Hoover Dam, located in Black Canyon (minutes outside of Las Vegas) was named after the US’ 31st president Herbert Hoover. It is the highest concrete dam in the western hemisphere at 725 feet harnessing the power of the Colorado River.
