Just a few minutes after taking our first look at the astounding beauty of The Grand Canyon, I looked over at Christy and said, “I think it would be a sin to go your whole life without seeing this”.
That was a weird thing to say.
The weirdest thing about that statement is that I don’t think it’s an exaggeration by any means. In fact, after I said it, I was taken aback because it was almost involuntary. I’ve thought about that phrase at all the other natural wonders I’ve seen since then, and I’m starting to think it’s true.
The magnificence of Grand Canyon National Park is truly overwhelming. Christy and I found ourselves belly laughing in the car as we left. We shared our favorite parts of the park and both admitted to each other that we somehow thought The Grand Canyon was just some pull-off overlook where you snap a quick picture (if you ever thought that, you’re not alone lol).
Imagine our surprise when we saw what we called “National Park DisneyLand”.
Considering that was our first National Park stop of the trip, we knew we were in for a treat.
We spent a lot of hours planning this trip. Well, we spent a lot of hours planning an anniversary vacation 8 months prior that was canceled thanks to the world shutting down.
Our first time out west was truly life changing. We want to share our experience for other people that may be considering a similar trip but don’t know where to start.
We had discussed doing this many times before actually going through with it. We were understandably nervous and didn’t want to make a mistake.
Thankfully, our anxiety did us a favor and we had almost no issues during the excursion. Anything that did go wrong was completely out of our control so all we could do was make the best of it.
Because we planned so well and felt confident that we maximized our time (for the most part), the following is an overview of our stays, routes, and tips for anyone looking to adventure in the western U.S..
The Itinerary
Christy and I are not strangers to traveling. Both of us have been up and down the east coast. We have both been overseas.
However, this one felt different than our previous trips. We weren’t going to some large city where you pack your best clothes. There was no time spent scouring the internet for the cheapest concert tickets, only to pay double after fees.
This time we were going out of our comfort zone. Our plans involved lots of driving and putting a lot of faith into Google.
This photo of course does not show all of our stops and the additional places we went in the surrounding areas, but this was our route. The red dots along the map indicate where we stayed each night (two nights in Utah).
Our week looked like this:
- Day 1 – fly into Phoenix late, stay at Airbnb close to airport
- Day 2 – up early, drive to Sedona, stay in Flagstaff, AZ
- Day 3 – up early, drive to Grand Canyon, drive to and stay in Page, AZ
- Day 4 – sunrise Horseshoe Bend, drive to Bryce Canyon, stay in Orderville, UT
- Day 5 – day at Zion, stay in Orderville, UT
- Day 6 – morning at Zion, drive to Las Vegas, stay in Boulder City, NV
- Day 7 – morning at Hoover Dam, fly out of Vegas in afternoon, home at night
Admittedly, we packed it in. We had a lot of driving and it was clearly aggressive planning. Even though we drove 1,000+ miles, we were completely satisfied with our time spent at each park. Of course you can dedicate multiple days to each location, and we will definitely be back in the future. However, we managed to hike 7+ miles in each park, buy gifts in the visitor centers, eat, and not feel rushed at all.
What if we got a flat tire? What if something went wrong with a reservation? What if we ran out of gas?
These are scenarios that we should all think of and know that we have a solution should one of them happen; but we can reduce the likelihood of issues by careful planning.
The Planning
We were not experts when it came to visiting National Parks. Of course, we had always dreamed of seeing some of the great ones including Yosemite, Yellowstone, and Rocky Mountain. We even grew up by Great Smoky Mountains National Park, and visited it many times.
But with limited knowledge going in, why did we plan an entire trip almost solely based on National Parks?
The answer is simple: Instagram
Just kidding.
Christy and I always loved the outdoors. We hiked regularly but were new to camping when we took a 4 day trip in the Blue Ridge Mountains. During this trip, it felt like the nature of our soul shifted. As soon as we got home we were longing to be outside again.
Thus began our desire to explore the world and see what beauty there is to find. Our original trip was going to be filled with skyscrapers, sporting events, concerts, etc., but we were now after natural wonders instead of man made structures. We started by looking into The Grand Canyon. After some research, we discovered how close Zion and Bryce are, and we were sold!
So yes, research did include Instagram. It also included Facebook, YouTube, and Reddit.
For me personally, I got the majority of travel tips from Reddit. Christy, primarily got advice from Instagram and various Google searches. There really is no wrong way about where you get your information from, as long as you spend time double checking it against other sources.
I also used a variety of blogs that I found just by googling various keywords and questions I had.
In terms of Reddit, there are tons of subreddits you can use to help prepare. Some of the ones I used for this trip are:
If you use any of these, I would suggest visiting their sidebar, top posts of all time, and searching the subreddit by questions you have that others may have answered in the past.
Finally, if you know of anyone that has been on a similar trip, know of anyone living in a particular city, or see someone is currently at a place you want to visit, simply ask them for advice! We love chatting with other people about places they have been or are planning to go.
The Details
Overall, there is not much, if anything, that we would change about our trip. That’s why we hope to help others by giving peace-of-mind through our experience. Some of the most unnerving decisions you can make are the ones you have to plan far in advance, such as tickets, hotels, rentals, etc. Here is how we approached each item:
Plane Tickets
We simply used google flights to find the cheapest price. Once we pinpointed a date and location, the easy part was picking flights. You can always live a little risky and hope for a cheaper price at a later date. That can easily backfire, so we suggest picking a max price you’re willing to pay and go from there.
We now subscribe to Scott’s Cheap Flights. It’s a great resource and can save you boatloads of money. We subscribed to them during their Black Friday deal and then took a trip to Colorado in January with flights less than $100. Check them out!
Rental Car
Everyone is different. I personally don’t mind driving in most cases, so we have done some pretty hefty trips along the east coast. With that experience, I was ready to take on the challenge of driving for long periods of time on this trip. Therefore, we rented a nice car so we would feel safe.
We used Kayak to find the cheapest price for rental cars. I looked through different 3rd party sites but all the pricing ran together. We purposefully went for a midsize SUV instead of a sedan. Since we would be in an unknown territory we wanted to be safe.
Alamo was our rental agency and gave us a 2021 Chevy Equinox. Neither of us are picky when it comes to vehicles, except wanting something reliable! The car was fantastic and we had a smooth ride the whole way.
Airbnb
One modern resource that we use for every overnight trip is Airbnb. We literally have not stayed in a hotel together since our honeymoon (are resorts and hotels the same?).
We of course had to book these ahead of time, so we really had to hope for the best in terms of locations and accessibility for what we wanted. Also, we wanted to try to find some unique stays while we were there.
Night 1 – we wanted to go cheap and by the airport. This one was meant for nothing other than a shower and a mattress. It succeeded.
Night 2 – this one was actually a suggestion from some of our friends! We saw the best sunset of our lives at this place. So fun and unique!
Night 3 – this place was great (brand new!) and we highly recommend it. 7 minutes from Horseshoe Bend!
Night 4 & 5 – our only multi-night stay! If traveling to Zion, most people will probably stay in/around Springdale. We stayed out here because we wanted the unique stay, it was closer to Bryce Canyon, and the drive through Zion’s east entrance was spectacular.
Night 6 – yes, we chose to stay outside of Las Vegas. Mainly because it was closer to Hoover Dam, but also because we don’t gamble.
There are hotels in all of the areas we went to. There are also camping options in the parks as well, but unfortunately they were out of season during our trip.
For hiking in each park, we used AllTrails for our planning. We researched each park, got an idea of trails based on reviews, and then asked park rangers for advice. Always ask the rangers for advice before going on a hike. They helped us greatly because some trails were closed due to ice. This will save you time in the long run.
Final Thoughts
Overall, we feel confident that we made the best use of our time and would advise for anyone to follow our same route. If you can, check out Antelope Canyon! We were told it was sadly closed during Covid, but we’ve since heard the lower area is open. It’s right by Horseshoe Bend so no excuse to miss it!
There are far too many places to name in the surrounding area that everyone should visit. We still have a list of National Parks in Arizona, Utah, and Nevada that we didn’t get to visit. Some include:
- Canyonlands National Park
- Capitol Reef National Park
- Petrified Forest National Park
- Arches National Park
- Great Basin National Park
To add those locations to the trip is certainly possible but may be a lot to take on. We suggest scouring Google Maps for a while to map out your plan.
We hope this information is helpful for any beginners or veterans who may be looking to take a special trip. Feel free to reach out to us with any questions and check out our additional blogs about specific parks, hikes, and tips on all things travel.
The world is a beautiful place full of gentle hearts and kind spirits. Go experience it!
Restless Soles 
2 thoughts on “A Beginners Wild Week Out West”