We are arguably experts at packing, but like most activities, when you haven't done it for a while, you get out of practice. It was so easy to only have what we had for a year. No guess work. Now I open my shirt drawer and enter vapor lock. But one thing is for sure, it sure is liberating knowing we don't have to do laundry on this journey.
Our new furry friend (Albus) was hoping to tag along.
When we booked our spring break adventure in December we were off to Park City for a week of snow fun. But my knee injury last month forced a change of plans. Nicole put on her last-minute-planning hat and mapped out the perfect road trip from Salt Lake City through the Southwest to Albuquerque.
Zane was super excited to get airborne again. He even got to sit in the cockpit before takeoff!
Before we get in to the adventure, this is probably a good spot to do a little look back. It's been 9 months since our return, and this time last year we were road tripping through Tuscany, Italy. Life is as it was before the journey. The memories are fading, but come back in flashes here and there. I had an emotional moment of remorse at work not long ago as I thought back on how much I missed being with our family and that it felt like a family member had passed. So much of our focus and energy went in to the trip, and now it's over.
Day One/Two - Bryce Canyon
Feels great to be back on road with the family. Everyone has fallen right back in to the hey day of travels.
As we drove past this trailer pulling a classic car, we busted out laughing to see a giant monkey in an adirondack chair. (Pleepleus' long lost cousin.)
On the road again....
Just over nine years ago, our third child was born, and named after one of our favorite places on the planet, Bryce Canyon. Nicole and I last visited this natural wonder nearly 20 years ago and not had a chance to make it back. And here we are, with three kids in tow.
Our intent was to take a picture of Bryce next to every mention of "Bryce". This proved unsustainable.
Bryce pointing to "Bryce Point" lookout.
We arrived as the sun was setting and was pleasantly surprised by the snow that was clinging to life in the shadows.
Bryce refused to raise his arms in celebration of his canyon. Autumn took care of that!
We stayed just outside the park at the Best Western Ruby's Inn. Unlike our reliance on Airbnb when traveling abroad, we elected to take a more traditional path and booked a series of one night stays in motels along our Southwest road trip. No fuss, no risk... And... Entirely free! That's what one years worth of credit card points gets you!
When checking in, I asked if it's best to eat in the hotel restaurant, or somewhere else. The front desk lady looked me up and down and said, "If I'm right, you'll probably want to visit the diner next door. It's 'kid friendly'". One step in the family friendly establishment and it was clear the front desk lady had misjudged us. Back to the hotel for a nice buffet dinner.
We woke the next morning in total darkness to catch the sunrise. After all, that's what you do at Bryce. Unsurprisingly, our sore luck with visiting the must see destinations for that amazing view persisted and we were treated to muted grey skies and an underwhelming sunrise. However, it was well worth the freezing temperatures as we nabbed some sweet shots.
Bryce Canyon is.... Breathtaking.
Bryce Canyon and all of this region looks so unnatural. It looks fake. It's as if Disney was hired to craft an entire region of the United States.
After a bit of trouncing thru the snow and red mud it was time to hop in the car and drop down in to Arizona.
A bit of camera fun...
We came in from behind not realizing we were scofflaws.
Mossy Cave has cool stalagmite ice sculptures.
Doesn't that look like the Rocky Mountain Railroad roller coaster ride from Disney?
We rolled in to Page, AZ, the epicenter of Lake Powell water vacations. After a Mexican dinner with massive goblets of margaritas, we passed up an opportunity for donkey basketball, to catch the sunset over that Dam Overlook. This was an unexpected joy. We particularly liked how the sides exposed the many layers.
Day Three - Waterhole Slot Canyon
Woke up to visit the Waterhole slot canyon on a private Navajo land. This is the second tier tour and we're super happy we found it. The now world famous Antelope Canyon was fully booked, but is so overcrowded you don't have any time to explore and take pictures. We wished our guide knew the slightest bit about the rocks and plants, or really any thing we were curious about. But no matter, it was a blast. We could have spent all day in the canyon.
This sign is sort of indicative of the lack of polish with this family run business.
On our way out of town we were going to stop at horse shoe bend, but our world travel mentality kicked in and when we saw it cost money and there was a line, we drove on... Sawa.
Next stop, Monument Valley, the back stop of nearly every western ever filmed, along with the classic National Lampoon's Vacation.
The drive through northern Arizona and Utah is simply beautiful...
We rolled in to Gouldings Inn with a couple hours to spare on daylight. We took a quick peek at the famous Monument Valley area and then decided to divide and conquer, Nicole took the boys to the pool, and Autumn and I went in search of the best sunset view. After a quick re-creation of the famous Forrest Gump scene, Autumn and I ended up back at the visitor center wondering why everyone flocks there for sunset as the sun sets in the wrong place for the best shot. Oh well, still captured some cool shots.
Our "Villa"
View from our porch
Gift shop view
So I went running...
Google Night Sight is pretty darn impressive for taking sunset / sunrise pics.
A couple words about our accommodation... Nicole nailed it. She booked us in a one room "Villa", which would have better been described as a cottage. But no matter, the front porch looked directly at the famous monument views.
Day Four - Monument Valley
The following morning was the main event, a driving tour through the otherworldly Monument Valley. It's really cool what hundreds of millions of years of ocean sediment, subsequent uplift, and millennia of water, ice, and wind can create. What normally takes regular folks 90 minutes to meander through the park, took us three hours. Good times.
Because dancing is better in front of famous places.
So is rocky stacky...
West Coast is the best coast.
Oh no... Pleepleus!
This place is called "Artist Point". So we did as told. Everybody had five minutes.
It's really difficult to mess up a decent picture in Monument Valley.
Next stop, Cortez, Colorado to visit Mesa Verde National Park. But it wouldn't be a Long Family road trip if we didn't somehow find a way to fit in another Forrest Gump recreation, a stop at a diner for Navajo Tacos, a short hike at Gooseneck State Park, a four wheel drive trek through the Valley of the Gods (the unseen Monument Valley), and a photo op at The Four Corners*. We even had enough time for some more pool time, and an excellent Thai dinner.
It's a Navajo Taco. I think the intent is there, the execution was average. Ample Cholula sauce helped.
Album cover?
Day Five - Mesa Verde
It would seem we were two weeks premature in our visit to Mesa Verde. The main event is to tour one of the three cliff dwellings. To our dismay, they don't start until mid April. So after a couple of stops at some overlooks, we started our four hour drive to Albequerque for a morning flight back home.
Officially being sworn in as Junior Rangers.
One of several pueblos (villages) tucked in to the cliffs of Mesa Verde.
Quick Cold Stone Creamery stop in Durango on our drive back to Albuquerque
And..... we're done.
Post Script Thoughts
- Between school, friends, work, music, volleyball and dance, it's been hard to find quality Autumn time these days. This trip reminds me and Nicole how much we love spending time with her in a free spirited frame of mind. I particularly love going on photo explorations with her.
- The United States is such a great place to explore. It has everything. Whereas most countries are known for one, or perhaps a couple of climates and interesting landmarks, and a fairly homogeneous culture, the States have it all. The Southwest, in particular, is a truly magnificent place to explore. We sure are lucky to have it in our "backyard".
* Joey, our Navajo waiter at the diner, was right - Four Corners is boring, but sort of something you just have to do.
All for now... Next Stop, Bend, Oregon (this July)