Arizona Adventure

Join myself, my husband Leighton and 8 year old daugher Harriet as we spend 2 weeks motorhoming across the incredible state of Arizona.

Travel Day!

We were up early this morning to set off to Heathrow and Harriet was very excited. She even got dressed without being asked!

All went pretty smoothly except some confusion over where meet and greet parking was located! Almost resulted in Leighton and I getting a divorce, but thankfully we quickly moved on.

Despite the recent travel chaos at Heathrow and other airports, it was pretty quiet in Terminal 5 this morning. As we were taking Harriet wheelchair, we had some special assistance which gave us a slightly shorter queue for check-in. It also meant we could drop our bags off before the official time.

I had prepared all our documents in advance, including vaccination records, testing records and USA Attestation forms. I was also using the VeriFly app, which is supported by BA, and check-in was a breeze!

The security line was pretty short, and we would’ve been done in 10 minutes, if we have forgotten to take out the laptop!

When they had establish that we weren’t trying to sneak anything dodgy onto the plane, we headed for some lunch.

We picked Giraffe because it had a pretty short line. The food was okay, but the gluten-free option was a bit sad. The service was excellent though!

Our gate was in section C so we had to take the transportation train over. Even though we had plenty of time, it’s surprisingly how long it takes to walk from one part of the airport to the other.

By the time we got to our gate, they were already starting to pre-board the plane. We were able to get on first so that we could leave Harriet’s wheelchair to be put into the hold.

We had pre-booked our seats at the back of the plane to make sure that we had three together, and next to a window. It’s been a long while since I’ve been on a long haul flight, and the seats are much roomier than I remember. Maybe it’s just a fact of how cramped shorthaul flights have now become .

The flight was pretty uneventful, there was lots to watch and listen to on the entertainment system. I had pre-ordered gluten-free meals for me, lactose free meal for Leighton and a child’s meal for Harriet. All the meals were on board, which I know sometimes doesn’t happen. I was grateful to be able to have safe food to eat, although I would say the quality was variable! The “cucumber and mint sandwich” was particularly inedible!

Thankfully Harriet managed to get a couple of hours sleep because I knew she would struggle to make it to the hotel otherwise. I wasn’t sure how she’s was going to cope with a long flight, but she was an absolute superstar and it was very easy.

When landed in Phoenix we disembarked the plane last, to give them chance to bring up Harriet’s wheelchair. Then we were escorted to security and able to use the “wheelchair lane”. It was all very quick and everyone was super helpful once again.

We picked up our bags easily and we were out of the airport in around 1 hour from landing.

We grabbed an Uber to our hotel, which was also easy, once we worked out how to get to the exit of the airport. I have been to Phoenix airport many many times, and I have been caught in this problem over and over. Their signage has not improved in the 12 years since I was last year. Although you think I would have learnt by now

We checked into the Doubletree Hilton Mesa hotel for one night, before we pick up our motorhome tomorrow. After a few snacks from the hotel shop, we all crashed around about 8:30 pm local time.

I am so delighted to be back in USA, and excited for our adventure

My day started early…… at 2 am. Not my choice! Harriet woke up full of beans. Despite my best efforts to try to get her back to sleep, at 4:30 we gave up and just got up. When I say we, I mean me and Harriet. Leighton had a leisurely lie in until 5.30am……

We had to wait until 6 am for breakfast, by which point we were all absolutely ravenous.

The hotel offered a buffet breakfast, it was a little confusing to work out exactly what was included, but we all had enough to eat.

We still had a bit of time to kill before picking up our RV, so we had a little stroll around the hotel grounds, and got all our belongings ready.

The Cruise America rental office was just five minutes Uber from our hotel. The Mesa office is actually their headquarters, and there parking lot was full of newly purchased RVs in various states of conversion.

Usual check in time for new RV pick ups is around 1 pm, but I had called and requested an early check-in. They they were able to accommodate us at 10 am.

We were given an orientation of the van, and the staff were really helpful and friendly. We’ve hired personal kits (blankets towels and pillows etc), and a kitchen kit (crockery, utensils and cutlery). So they were all brought to us. The vans are set up for anyone to be able to use . So things are pretty simple but there are quite a few different elements to consider, such as gas water electricity sewage etc.

Although we have a motorhome in the UK (called Colin), this “New Colin” is quite a bit longer is significant about wider.

We set off, with a little bit of trepidation, but Leighton soon got to grips with driving. I’m not sure if I will drive myself, but if I do, it’ll be on the open road only!

It was so lovely to be back on the road again in the Southwest. I love watching all the changing scenery, never knowing what’s around the corner. It’s my happy place

We had to do our big shop to pick up all the bits and pieces you would need for a trip. The van doesn’t come with any provisions so we had to buy everything, from hand soap to foil, to condiments etc plus food of course.

I love a foreign supermarket, but when you have to buy EVERYTHING, it can be very overwhelming. The shops are huge (and I intentionally picked a “small” one). Every item has so many choices, it can be really hard to pick. It took ages!

We then headed off to our first campsite, in the Picacho. This is about halfway to Tucson, and a good first night, not too far away. The campsite is really lovely with a park and a swimming pool. There are cacti everywhere, and the camp hosts were really friendly but pretty much leave you to your own devices.

The weather has been very very hot today (36 degrees +) especially in the middle of the day, and we couldn’t stay outside for a long time. So we use the rest of the afternoon to unpack all our things and find homes for them in the van. It’s surprising how much you can pack in (full van tour will be happening in the next day or so!).

Towards the end of the day it was starting to get cooler, so we took a trip to the pool. The water was freezing but was a welcome refreshing dip. Harriet was in her element.

I cooked our first meal in the van, meatballs and pasta. It was all pretty easy. Everything is bigger in this van than ours so it feels more like cooking at home - except without all my many many gadgets! There was a slight error in that I undercooked meatballs, but as the van has a microwave it was quickly resolved. Phew!

After our early start, we were all absolutely exhausted. Harriet was practically sleeping before she got into bed, and I wasn’t too far after her.

We are forward to our first full day in the van tomorrow! It’s gonna be another scorcher!

I had a lie in this morning…until 3 am I’m hoping that we will get to grips with the jetlag pretty soon.

It was going to be another scorching day today, so we took advantage of being up early to get out and about. We headed to the Arizona-Sonoran Desert Museum.

This park is built within the desert, to take advantage of the natural environment. Many of the animals, birds, plants and insects that you see in the park are wild and been attracted by the environment they have created. It’s one of the best attractions I’ve been to. Truly world class!

There are some traditional wildlife Park exhibits, like rescued animals, and smaller creatures kept for educational purposes. But the beauty of the park is what you can see all around you as you walk through.

Most of the park is outside, so we wanted to get going as soon as possible as we knew by lunchtime it would be very hot. They had a raptor presentation 10 am in one of the more open areas of the park. We only lasted five minutes as it was absolutely scorching. We needed a 30 minute sit down in the cafe to recover from pushing Harriet’s wheelchair uphill in the full sun at 30+ degrees.

Throughout the day staff members were posted around the park giving small presentations and chatting with guests about specific subjects. Harriet absolutely love these, and they were really patient explaining information to both children and adults. They would also answer question about anything related to the park or desert in general. We happened upon a lady taking about animal skulls. We were there for over half an hour as Harriet refused to leave. I eventually had to drag her away. I think the lady more or less ran out of things to say by the end!

Very close to the park is another amazing Arizona site. The Saguaro National Park. I absolutely love American national parks, and this is one that I have not yet visited.

We picked up a National Park Passport for Harriet to record all the ones she visits.

The majority of the park is best seen by hiking/walking, but this was not an option for us in the heat of the day. There is a 5 mile unpaved drive loop, which we were able to take. The maximum length of RVs that is allowed is 25 foot, and thankfully that’s how long ours is. It was a really lovely to getting close to, what must be, hundreds of thousands of cacti.

We then drove for about 30 minutes to Tucson, where we are spending the next few days. Another trip to a supermarket, this time Walmart. It’s so easy to spend two hours just wandering around looking at all the different foods and things that you can buy. I would say Harriet probably find this less fascinating than I do!

The campsite we are staying the next few days is lovely and has pools, parks and lots of other activities for children. There are families that come here for a two week vacation because there is so much to do in addition to things to see in the local area.

I think Harriet would love to just be happy to stay in the campsite and swim and play in the park!

We couldn’t get away with not going to pool this evening, as it’s her number one on her list of fun things to do. It wasn’t as warm outside as yesterday evening and thankfully the pool wasn’t as cold either.

Our intention was to order takeaway from the onsite barbecue restaurant, but when we got back to the van we found out that our fridge was not working properly. I think it was probably more it wasn’t in the right mode, and we hopefully have fixed it

However there were some foods that needed to be eaten straightaway as they’d been sat in a warm fridge for too long. So no takeaway for us but some very quick cooking on my behalf. Unfortunately a large tub of ice cream was also a casualty - so it was sloppy ice cream and strawberries for pudding.

It’s been another very busy day, but a great one!

I woke up again at 3 am, I guess this is just my new normal now I made the most of my early rising by making American-style pancakes. I used a gluten-free packet mix, and they were excellent. This is one thing that the Americans do really well!

We had one full day in the Tucson area, and we were spoilt for choice of things to do. But I think the worst thing you can do is try to do too much and then not enjoy the things you actually do.

If it was just Leighton and I, we probably would’ve just stayed local and tried some of the amazing food in the area (Tucson was the first UNESCO City of Gastronomy). We might have driven to the top of Mount Lemmon which is a 9000 foot elevation. Even though it is currently 30 degrees in Tucson, there is snow on the top of Mount Lemmon.

With Harriet in tow, we didn’t think she would find that was very exciting. She would like the snow but not the 90 mins plus or so each way it would take to get to the top.

And although she loves to eat, a food tour of Tucson would not be her idea of fun either.

So the first thing we did was drive-by the Airplane Boneyard, which is a famous feature of the Tucson landscape. You can see it from the top of many of the local mountains. There are thousands of planes are stored here. It’s quite an experience to drive past rows and rows and rows of aircraft.

Then we decided to drive even further south to visit the historic town of Tombstone. I was in two minds about whether or not this would be a little bit too cheesy, but I thought that Harriet would find it fun.

The drive down was actually lovely, some nice landscapes and driving through small American towns, which is my one of my favourite thing to do. I love seeing all the different shops and stores along the side of the road.

Tombstone was very touristy, but I actually really loved it. Although they have taken full advantage of the history of the town, a lot of the buildings are actually original. There are loads of different museums, buildings, shops and restaurants that you can visit while here. There are several free and paid flight re-enactments that add to the atmosphere.

We watched some of the free entertainment, and wandered around the streets. There were lots of people who didn’t appear to be part of any entertainment that were also dressed up. If you want western goods or memorabilia, this is the place to get them!

We had some lunch at a barbecue restaurant, which was very yummy, and as per normal, huge portions.

We headed to a section of the town called Old Tombstone. It’s a little theme park area with some free and paid-for attractions. Harriet enjoyed some shooting games and panning for gems. And I put Leighton in jail, where he belongs!.

The final thing we did was to take the historic trolley around the town. It was a 30 minute journey to see all the main areas and the guide was excellent describing the history of the town including how it got its name. I won’t try to retell I’ll let you Google that one!

There was loads more we could have explored and you’d need a least a full day or even longer to see everything. I’m glad we came.

Another detour to Walmart on the way home (our fridge is still a bit dodgy so we have been told by CruiseAmerica to buy a cooler until they can look at it tomorrow!). And then we went to EEGEES. It’s an Arizona institution that sells frozen fruit slushies. Well it’s more closer to a chunky sorbet because you can’t actually drink it? you need a spoon to eat it. Leighton and I shared a medium-size piña colada flavour, and it genuinely could have fed four people.

Once back at the campsite, at Harriet’s insistence, we had a swim before heading back to the van for tea on our patio.

Today was our longest driving day of the trip, projected to be around 4.5 hours.

Ive intentionally kept the driving distances to 2.5 hrs or less between campgrounds. It makes for a much more enjoyable, relaxed trip.

If you look at suggested RV itineraries online, many of them will have multiple 4 hour plus driving days, and often moving campsites every day. If you want to “see” a lot, that is the way to do it. But I think that just packing in the sights to tick them off a list is not the best way to travel. You end up feeling rushed and exhausted and need a holiday to recover! You can never “see it all” so we decided to pick some essential sights that we will prioritise and then a few extras that we’ll get to if there’s time.

This one longer drive day is strategic. We could have broken it up into two days but would have had to sacrifice something else on the trip.

We left early (for those keeping track I woke up at 4.20am….so some progress). I had spotted a gluten free bakery/cafe en route so we decided to stop.

The food was excellent and amazing that I could eat it all. They also had a large collection of baked good to take away. I could have bought everything but I settled for a variety of cupcakes for us to share.

I hadn’t really heard much about the route we were travelling. It’s not really on the major tourist trail. I had seen one of two blogs saying the road was quite pretty.

They totally underestimated it! It was stunning.

We travelled through so many different landcapes - red rocks canyon, mountain passes, evergreen forest, farmland and everything in between.

The highlight was Salt River Canyon. A place I hadn’t even heard of until a few weeks ago (and I used to live in Arizona and have researched a lot!). In any other state, or even country, this would be a national park and overrun with tourists. This was only marked by a small rest area with less than a handful of cars. Mental! It was a great place to stop for lunch though.

We also stopped in the little town of Show Low to play in their City Park. It was adorable and even had an accessible zip line.

In the end, with all the stops, the journey took us 9 hours. We knew it would be long but taking our time and stopping often made less stressful and tiring.

We spent the evening at out site. Somehow we seem to have acquired the largest site in the park! We have room for 15 people to sit. It’s a shame it was very windy so we didn’t really sit out.

This evening we played a few rounds of Uno and did Harriet’s obligatory covid test. Followed by an early night for all after such a long day.

This morning started off with me undertaking some urgent work. I needed to help a customer who’s holiday had been cancelled in the last few day. I made the most of my early rising (4:30 am) to get this done.

Once that was sorted we heading out for the day, via the supermarket. Harriet doesn’t understand why we are going to a shop every day It’s partly because our fridge is still on the blink, and partly because we just love seeing all the different kinds of foods.

Our destination today was Petrified Forest National Park. The park has two entrances so you can start at one end and drive right through to the other. It’s a really well organised park and there are stops along the single road which you can pull off to see different viewpoints and access hiking trails.

The park is split into two areas, firstly the Petrified Forest area and secondly the Painted Desert area. They do sort of merge at points, but each section has a slightly different focus. We decided to start at the Petrified Forest end as I had heard that the Painted Desert was more spectacular so that would be a better place to end.

We took a trip to the visitor centre which is always useful and interesting. Harriet enjoyed learning about the different dinosaurs and creatures that they had found in this area. We also took a walk amongst the “giant logs” and saw Old Faithful which is one of the largest petrified trees, with a base over 10 feet wide.

We then set out on our drive, stopping at various places at overlooks and other interesting areas. The scenery in the park is pretty spectacular and was even more stunning than I was expecting. We stopped to see a large tree that had fallen over a river, and had petrified in place.

We then stopped at another point called Jasper Point. It was a last-minute decision as we were going to just pass by, but I’m really happy we did as the view was stunning. We stayed there to eat our lunch - definitely lunch with a view.

We woke this morning to absolutely freezing temperatures. Thankfully the van was nice and cosy, but there were some interesting ice sculptures caused by a leak in the campsite. Harriet couldn’t believe she was holding an icicle, when a few days ago we had been sweltering in the heat.

Today we started off getting our kicks on Route 66. We headed to Winslow to the corner made famous by the song Take it Easy, by the Eagles.

It is absolutely obligatory to take a picture “standing on the corner in Winslow Arizona“. It’s a super cute little town with several nice souvenir shops. There was also a lovely diner where we got some drinks. I had a traditional orange creamsickle soda. It was delicious!

After a short stop there we headed to another route 66 Classic site, the Arizona meteor crater. Harriet has been desperate to visit this site since seeing it in a book we have at home. It did not disappoint.

I had heard from several people that it was a little bit overpriced and a tourist trap, but we didn’t feel that at all. The exhibits inside were really interesting and engaging, and lots of things for children to get their hands on. The crater itself is in essentially a big hole, but the sheer size of it (over a mile wide) is very impressive.

After a spot of lunch in the meteor crater car park, we headed to another interesting site. Walnut Canyon National Monument is both a stunning location, and also full of history. It was the home of native American people who built cave dwellings into the side of the canyon walls. You can walk down into the canyon and see some of the dwellings close up, but we didn’t have time, and I didn’t think Harriet would be able to cope.

We arrived at our next campsite, in Williams, around 4 pm. We didn’t want to arrive too late as there’s lots of attractions here which we knew Harriet it would like.

There are several parks, jumping pillow, a train and a pool. This pool is indoors, which is just as well as it’s pretty cold. So Harriet played in the park while we set up and then we had a lovely swim in the pool.

The pitch we had booked had a gas grill and we decided to embrace our American campground life, and barbecue up some food. Leighton insisted on lighting a fire and siting out even though it was 7 degrees!

We finished the evening with s’mores although it was really a bit too cold. I left Leighton outside tending to his fire and went to bed!

This morning started very similar to yesterday. Firstly, it was very cold, and also saw us head to another Route 66 town.

Williams was the very last town to be bypassed when the Interstate took over. As such it has lots of history associated with The Mother Road.

The town is full of historic (and touristy) buildings and relics. I loved it! I have been to the Grand Canyon on three previous occasions and never made it to Williams. I was led to believe that it was a bit run down and uninspiring. Once again I had to disagree. I thought it was quite charming.

A couple of the more modern businesses had Trump-Pence posters proudly displayed. So maybe it’s a place for a short visit rather than somewhere to linger for too long!

The next place on our agenda was Bearizona. A West Midland Safari-style animal park only with bears and buffalo instead of lions and giraffe.

In fact, my discovery of this place planted the seed that started this whole trip. I thought this was somewhere that Harriet would enjoy and I so I decided to see if an Arizona-focused trip was viable for a family holiday. (Spoiler alert, it is ).

It was a pretty quiet day when we arrived, and we went straight into the Safari. There was only a handful of other cars driving around with us so we could take our time and see what animals we could find. The first animals were mountain goats and Harriet was quite perturbed. She said “I thought we were going to Bearizona, not Goatizona”

After that more exciting animals quickly followed. We saw junior bears, several different species of wolves, deer, Buffalo, and adult black bears.

You can drive around as many times as you like, but we just stuck with the one time on this occasion.

Like other similar Safari parks, there’s also a walk-through area where you can get up close and personal with the residents.

Here we saw some brown bears, that were very active out and about. We also saw some adorable foxes, sea otters and an American badger.

There was also a keepers presentation we saw a number of different unusual birds. The we got to meet Peter Quill the porcupine. Harriet was transfixed by him and waited until right at the very end so she could have her photo taken with him.

After a quick lunch at the park and finishing up some of the other exhibits such as Jaguar and elk, we had seen everything that we wanted to. It’s a lovely park, maybe slightly smaller than I was expecting, but very well done. We were lucky he was pretty quiet in the park we didn’t have to queue will wait for anything, we could see all the things I wanted to. The animals in the walk through were pretty active so that was fun too.

Final destination for today, was to be there inimitable Grand Canyon. As I said, I have been here before, as has Leighton. But it was Harriet’s first visit.

I know from experience that not all of the canyon views are the same, and I made a special effort to take her to one that I think gives the best first impression, Mather Point.

It did not disappoint and the views were stunning. It’s impossible to convey in any photo or video how Grand it really is. The scale is almost impossible for your eyes and brain to comprehend. I have said many times that the Grand Canyon isn’t the “best” thing about Arizona. I still stand by that but I would also say that I think I love the Canyon more with every visit. Many people don’t get to see it once and I feel very fortunate that I have been here multiple times. (It probably won’t even be my last).

We took the internal park shuttle across to the Grand Canyon Village, where the majority of the lodging is located. The lodges here, Bright Angel Lodge and El Tovar are historic buildings that have been here pretty much since the park was opened.

I really love that about the Grand Canyon, and they’ve done a great job in blending the existing historic buildings with newer or modern buildings. It does really feel like it hasn’t changed that much over time.

We took the shuttle back to an area on the rim close to Mather Point for sunset, partly because it was a short walk on the van. We had the spot almost all to ourselves. It was getting pretty cold and Harriet was practically wearing all the clothes that she owned including hat, scarf and gloves and a blanket. We knew that weather conditions were going to be an issue on this trip, with there being such a huge difference in the temperatures of the place we were visiting. However despite the fact that we bought three very full cases, we still seem to have not bought everything that we needed!

Sunset was, as always, spectacular. But the most exciting part for me was that we saw a large group of birds. It was hard to tell if they were turkey vultures or California condors, as they do look very similar from a distance. We got the binoculars out and I’m still not 100% convinced, but I like to think that they were condors, as they are more rare. If you have a look at my very small photo, and think you can tell what it is, do let me know!

Shortly after sunset we headed back to the campsite. We are staying in the park overnight which is very convenient, and means we can see more of the canyon in the morning.

My intention was to get up for sunrise, but I really don’t think I have suitable clothing. It’s due to be -6° in the morning. I would also have to catch the shuttle to avoid having to wake up Harriet. I’ve seen the sunrise before, and it was lovely, so I don’t feel like I’ll really miss out.

We’ve packed a lot into our first week of our trip, and the next few days will be a little bit quieter, as we have a bit more rest and relaxation. We are staying in the same campsite for 3 days so a lot less driving for Leighton. But don’t worry still plenty of exciting things to come!

It’s half way through our adventure and it seems like we have been away for weeks!

This morning Harriet and I took a stroll around the campsite to try and see some wild life. Often deer and elk are found right amongst the vans. Unfortunately they weren’t out for us today.

We headed back to the canyon and to the visitors centre. Frustratingly it was closed. The attitude to Covid here is very strange. Masks and social distancing have practically disappeared (except for public transport), but there are services and attractions that are still closed. There doesn’t seem to be a really good rationale for this. It’s not hugely affected our trip but is just something we have noticed.

Luckily we are able to get Harriet’s National Park passport stamped at the store.

We drove out of the park along Desert View drive. This 30 mile road has multiple view points and allows you to exit through the East entrance to the park.

We stopped at Moran point and Desert View as you get very different views of the canyon from these. At Desert View there is a watchtower that is an iconic Grand Canyon landmark. The view of the Colorado River is the best from here.

Driving out if the East entrance towards Highway 89 is possibly my favourite drive in the world. You come down from the higher elevation and can see the Colorado River cutting a deep, narrow channel below you. Photos and videos cannot do it justice.

We decide to eat lunch at Cameron Trading Post. It’s almost a right of passage to stop here. I have visited here on all of my trips to this area. They serve traditional Navajo Tacos which are delicious. Unfortunately they are not gluten free and they had absolutely zero knowledge on how to provide safe food for me (they said they could leave off salt and pepper on request ). So I left Leighton and Harriet to their delicious food and I ate in the van

The drive from Cameron to out next stop, Page, is also pretty spectacular. You pass through the Vermilion Cliffs which are simply breathtaking!

Page is the gateway town to Glen Canyon and Lake Powell. This is my favourite place in the whole world. I lived and worked here as a student.

We are staying at the campsite in the National Recreation Area so we have great views from our pitch. We are here 3 nights so I’ll share more pictures in the next few days.

Thankfully the weather here is a lot warmer than the last few days. We enjoyed eating outside of the first time on this trip as it was neither sweltering nor freezing!

This morning started a bit later than others. We had no rush to be anywhere so took advantage to catch up on rest.

We headed to the Carl Hayden Visitor Center at the Glen Canyon Dam. It was lovely to see it open as it’s been closed all through Covid. Harriet was happy to be able to get her pass stamped.

The Dam is the first of 7 in the Colorado River basin and an important provider of hydro electric power for 30 million American across the western states. You used to be able to go down and see the turbines at the base, but sadly that’s not available right now.

We watched people board the boats for the Colorado float trips that we would be doing later on today.

It’s very noticeable at the Dam, in particular, how low the lake is. When in lived here in the late 90’s, it was at the top of the white ring (known as Full Pool). Now it’s so low that it’s in danger of dropping below the level needed to produce power. There are lots of political wranglings currently about the future of the Dam and the whole Colorado River water system.

We made our way to check in for our river float trip. I’ve done this trip before and I love it. It’s a smooth water ride that takes you from the Dam to the start of the Grand Canyon system.

The raft floats down through the canyon which starts at 750ft above you and ends over 1500 ft high. You feel very small in a little boat right at the bottom!

To get to the bottom of the river you have to take a bus through a 2 mile tunnel hollowed out of the canyon wall. Harriet was really fascinated by this!

There are lots of interesting rock features and wildlife to see on the float trip. One of the most famous is that you sail around the infamous insta-worth spot, Horseshoe Bend.

This trip was a little different to ones I had taken in the past. It was very very windy! The wind whipped the water right up and we got quite wet at times. The water is a really cold so it was quite an experience. Harriet thought it was hilarious!

The trip is about 3 hours long with an 45 min bus journey back at the end. It’s very fun but tiring!

There’s a restaurant in Page that has lots of gluten free options so we decided to eat there rather than cook. The food was great but mine was so big, I did the traditional American custom of taking half away in a box. I think it’s a great system as it means you don’t feel forced to eat too much and you have dinner again for tomorrow

The last task of the night was some prep work for the Easter Bunny. Harriet has been overly excited about Easter even though we have barely mentioned it. Easter USA style is a bit different and there are no big chocolate eggs and Easter baskets are all the rage. So Harriet will be having a traditional American Easter this year. I hope she’s not disappointed….

There was some late evening stress when I thought I’d lost my purse and had to rush back to the store to look for it. Thankfully I was just very tired and had put it safe unconsciously!

I’d like to say that we all crashed pretty early but one excited 8 year old was awake until 12.30am. Wish me luck for tomorrow!

We awoke this morning to a visit from the Easter Bunny. Harriet was delighted with her haul and enjoyed an egg hunt around the outside of the van.

We spent the morning looking around my old haunts. The Boat Rental office is now backroom offices, and the new office is waaaay down at the waters edge.

My old dormitory is still there and doesn’t seem to have changed much. It brought back a lot of memories.

We took a brief trip into Utah. Despite my Arizona focus on this trip, Utah is my favourite state. It’s even more stunning but Arizona has more that is suitable for the age that Harriet is right now. There was huge temptation just keep on driving to Bryce or Zion canyon but we’ll be back for another trip I’m sure.

The reason for our little detour was the visit the Grand Staircase-Escalante Visitors Center. Dinosaurs have been discovered in this area and Harriet was able to learn all about them here.

The rest of the afternoon was spent pottering around Page. We took some pictures of the lake and surrounding area and went shopping for souvenirs.

This evening we had a special excursion planned. An 4x4 ATV adventure. We were able to get out and about in the hills and canyons surrounding the town. It fabulous to see some of the rock formations up close. I picked sunset intentionally so we could get the best light on the rocks. It was very bumpy and dusty but a lot of fun!

Once we were done it was time for a quick tea and off to bed!

We left my lovely Lake Powell today heading back south towards Flagstaff.

As is the case in most of Arizona, there were some lovely views on the way. We were able to stop and take some pictures overlooking Marble Canyon and the Vermillion cliffs. You can see the Colorado river on it’s journey at the start of the Grand Canyon system.

We made quick stop at a local art installation called The Painted Desert Project. There are many abandoned building along the highways. This project has transformed a dilapidated motel with paintings from local artists.

We took another detour to visit to two more National Monuments. Although they have separate designations and focuses, they are linked.

The first one we visited was Wupakti National Monument. This area protects a series of well preserved Native American buildings and dwellings. The largest area is something akin to a town centre with numerous buildings and meeting places. It’s not hard to imagine how they were utilised 1500-1000 years ago.

They had an junior ranger programme taking place today. Harriet was keen to compete a work book about the site and earned a lovely badge.

We moved on to the Sunset Crater National Monument, although it’s presence was noticeable as soon as we came off the highway. The soil for many miles is black underneath the vegetation.

The Sunset Crater is youngest in a string of volcanos that created the San Francisco peaks in Flagstaff. 1000 years ago there was a huge volcanic eruption, the crater was created and completely changed the local landscape.

It’s incredible how little has really changed at Sunset Crater since then. Trees and vegetation have started to regrow but the lava fields are still very much visible.

The eruption had a big effect on the people at Wupakti and actually improved the quality of the earth. So they were able to increase agricultural productivity and caused a boom in population in the area.

The drive from the highway through Wupakti and Sunset Crater was fascinating. So many landscape changes in a such small area. We could even see out towards the vast Painted Desert that we visited last week.

After exploring these two fascinating sites we headed to our campsite in Flagstaff. Despite its 7000ft elevation it was much milder than it has been the last few weeks. We had another BBQ and Leighton enjoyed tending the fire late into the evening.

We left Flagstaff today and headed towards to Sedona. The route we took was via Oak Creek Canyon which is considered among the most scenic drives in the whole of the US.

It’s as scary as it is beautiful with a series of very sharp hair pins bends descending quickly into the canyon. Vehicles over 30ft are not allowed to pass. Thankfully at 25ft we were fine.

Of all the places we have visited on this trip, the photos and videos do not do this justice. You cannot get the depth of field needed to appreciate it and don’t show the soaring red rock mountains behind the trees.

We arrived in Sedona just before lunch and scouted out a site for us to park the van tonight. We haven’t booked a campsite instead we are “boondocking”. This is essentially wild camping on free land with no facilities.

There are lots of reasons for this. Firstly there are very few campsites in Sedona and those that exist are very expensive. I also wanted to be able to experience what it was like so I can better advise customers.

After finding some possible sites we headed back to town for lunch. We visited a highly recommended spot that offers gluten free Tamales. It was very popular and our takeaway took almost an hour. It was good but probably not that good!

Our intention was to drive around some of the sites of the town for a hour or so, but the traffic was horrible. It’s much busier here than it has been in the past.

There are several parts to Sedona and the main village is largely aimed at tourists. It’s a huge street filled with cute shops and restaurants selling everything you could want.

It’s a really pretty town boasting lots of unusual art work, with the stunning background of red rock monoliths.

This afternoon we had booked a Pink Jeep tour. Unlike the ATV we had earlier in the week, this was driven by a professional. We were taking far out to the wilderness for fabulous views of the red rocks in all directions. Being at sunset meant we got the best of the light to accent the incredible colours of the landscape.

We then had to make a quick get away to try and get to a boondocking site before it got to dark. We were lucky to find a suitable site not too far from the road. We hope we will have a peaceful night!

We survived our night Boondocking. Although we were parked near other vans we didn’t see or hear anyone.

This morning we headed to Red Rock State Park on the outskirts of Sedona. It’s walking park with number of short hikes and trails.

The visitors centre (Harriet’s new favourite type of place) had a Junior Rangers programme to help learn about the park.

Outside there was a small hummingbird garden where we sat in the shade to compete the Junior Ranger booklet. The amount of wildlife we saw in this small area was insane. Especially as it was just behind the building and people were often walking past.

The most exciting thing we saw was a kings snake. He just ambled across the path with not a care in the world. Of all the time that I have spent in Arizona, this is the first time I have seen a wild snake.

We also saw hummingbirds, a Northern Cardinal (funny looking bird with a red plume), geckos and a desert spiny lizard. It was so much fun and we’d only walked about 20 metres.

Harriet competed her booklet and was sworn in as a Junior Ranger. They actually had a little ceremony where she had to repeat a promise. It was adorable!

After all that excitement we headed for lunch. We went to a gluten-free, dairy free bakery in Sedona. I was excited to be able to have a sandwich and a milkshake, without worrying about cross contamination. I love milkshakes but most of them in the US have malt as an option, which means all their equipment is contaminated. It’s too much hassle to get them to clean it every time you want one.

After lunch we drove to the airport in Sedona. This doesn’t seem like a very exciting place, but it offer is one of the best views of the whole town. You can see so many other rock formations from here, plus many of the buildings.

It’s an interesting fact that if you submit planning for a building in Sedona, you have to show a swatch of colour of the exterior paint. They will only approve colours that are muted and have a low level of reflectivity to maintain a certain look and ensure that most buildings blend in with the background. It makes a difference because the whole town feels very calm and there are no in your face banners or buildings. For this reason their McDonald’s is the only outlet in the world with green arches instead of yellow. Apparently the council have said that they are able to change it back at McDonald’s have chosen to keep it as it is so unique.

After taking a few pictures at the airport, we drove through Oak Creek (not to be confused with Oak Creek Canyon that we drove to yesterday). The road between Sedona and Oak Creek is a scenic byway, and you pass many of the most famous red rock structures in the area. Cathedral rock and bell rock are two of them. I’m sure you can work out which they are from my pictures.

On our way to the next campsite we stopped at another national monument called Montezuma Castle. Its a large and impressive cliff dwelling built high up a rock

wall. It was five stories high with 20 rooms! A series of ladders was needed to climb it as it is over 100 foot from the base of the wall.

It was built by the Sinagua people, but white settlers thought that it was an Aztec building and so it got the name Montezuma Castle.

I have to say they chose a perfect spot for their dwelling. It’s really picturesque, there are loads of pretty trees, and it’s right next to a lovely river.

Harriet and I enjoyed a stroll around the park. It’s really small so easy to see in 45 minutes or so. It was the perfect spot to break up our journey.

We ended the evening at a campsite at Cave Creek. This was a last-minute addition to our schedule. We were due to spend the evening in Sedona, but when our accommodation fell through there, I decided that we should get a little bit closer to Phoenix for the last day or so of our trip.

It turned out to be a serendipitous choice. The campsite is absolutely lovely, we arrived just as the Sun was setting and it was stunning. The pitches are all surrounded by cacti and desert plants. It’s also a very dark area. That meant we were able to finally get some stargazing, something we’ve been trying to do for the majority of this trip. Arizona is well known for its dark skies, but we haven’t had much success with weather or location during this trip so far.

It was also exciting to sit out in the dark in hear animals and insects scurrying about in the undergrowth. We managed to see a few little critters with a torch, but we weren’t 100% sure what they were.

We couldn’t have asked for a better penultimate evening.

Today was our last full day. We had a lazy start. Being so busy is catching up with us!

There are quite a few things to do in the wider Phoenix area but many involved being out in the blazing sun. It was hot today so we didn’t fancy that.

Harriet asks everyday to go a park, and I had previously booked-marked a local park that I thought might suit.

The McCormick-Stillman Railroad Park is located in Scottsdale, one of the cities that make up the Greater Phoenix area. There was a lovely covered park also a few small attractions. There was a little train ride, a carousel, model railway and museum.

Everything was free except for the train and carousel and they were only a few dollars. I imagine the park is very popular with local families but on a school day it was so quiet. Harriet practically had the place to herself!

The model railway room was huge and incredibly detailed. It’s managed by a local enthusiast group and you can see how much work they have put into it.

The museum was even more fascinating with the main feature being a presidential train used in the early to mid 20th century. It was really interesting to see how they would have travelled across the country in those days. It was the perfect low-Key afternoon and just what we wanted.

We headed about an hour away to the other side of Phoenix to our final campsite. Lost Dutchman State Park is located in the Superstition Mountains, just to the east of the city.

I had spend some considerable time choosing our campsite tonight to get the perfect pitch - reading reviews, looking at photos and you tube videos. I don’t care if that makes me a control freak, I nailed it!

We had a final supper just after sunset and started the sad task of packing up the van. We’ll be sad to say goodbye to “New Colin” tomorrow.

We are home! The final day was a long one.

We woke at Lost Dutchman State Park and the morning views were as good as the evening ones.

We spent the morning clearing the van and packing. It’s amazing what you amass over 14 days!

Our final destination before finishing our trip was to visit Goldfield Mining town. It was an old western town with a number of shops and attractions to visit. We took the train ride which gave a history or gold mining in the area and offered some lovely views.

Once we had finished our exploring, we needed to empty the van of waste and replace the petrol and propane we had used. Then we took the van back to Cruise America. They have been brilliant to work with and I’m more than happy to recommend to my customers.

We called an Uber and set off to the airport. We were on schedule to check in with plenty of time. Then halfway there Leighton realised he still had the van keys so we had to go all the way back. Thankfully we discovered them there and not when back in the U.K!

Eventually we got back to the airport and check in was very easy. There were no additional Covid measure needed to travel. It was like the old days!

Our flight was great and the crew were superb. When one of the lactose-free meals I ordered for Leighton didn’t arrive, they brought him food from business class!

We landed and cleared security and baggage very efficiently. Our car was ready to pick up from meet and greet and we were soon on our way. We couldn’t have asked for anything to go more smoothly.

We are home now and shattered but happy. It was an amazing trip and I’ve loved sharing it with you all.

Thank you for sharing our epic Arizona Adventure!

I’ve had a few people contact me about booking a similar trip. I’d love to help you, get in touch!