On May 20, we set off on a road trip to the Southwest with Katie’s dad Marshall. We didn’t have an itinerary, just a general sense of where we wanted to go and a few people we wanted to see. It was one of the best trips of our adult lives! Here are a few things we learned along the way:
1. Take the side roads; they are more scenic and less stressful.
We didn’t get on an interstate until Day 5 of our trip when we left Sedona and headed south into Phoenix. It was fantastic! Leisurely drives at 50-65 mph with gorgeous sights and scenery along the way.
In Colorado, we stopped at Garden of the Gods on our way to Florissant:
After leaving Garden of the Gods, we took some pleasant roads to Rolling Thunder Ranch in Florissant where Katie’s childhood swim coach Dawn lives with her family:
And, after leaving Florissant, we saw more beautiful sights … babbling brooks, rolling hills, striking snow-capped mountain peaks, and lakes:
We also found a very friendly wild rooster:
2. Visit the local Visitor’s Center whenever you can.
We found a very helpful gentleman in Blanding, UT, who helped us get acquainted with the town--cool walking paths/running trails, sights surrounding the town, but not much in the way of good restaurants (we agreed with that assessment).
The next morning, we took the very scenic route to Natural Bridges National Park, Valley of the Gods, and Goosenecks State Park in southern Utah:
Natural Bridges National Park
Valley of the Gods
Goosenecks State Park
Oh, I almost forgot ... we also saw the Bears Ears. Can you find them in this photo?
3. Eat local.
We didn’t eat at a chain restaurant (aside from a Fred Harvey House at the Grand Canyon) until the last meal of our trip when we stopped at an Arby’s in Dodge City, KS (we just wanted to get home at that point). We had some amazing meals--especially in Colorado.
In Manitou Springs, we had a delicious meal at The Keg Lounge (recommended by the drunk man who checked us in at the Eagle Motel). Matt and Dad were happy with their meals, and Katie had a delicious veggie burger with curry mayonnaise. The best part was their house salad with homemade Italian dressing, which Dad and Katie both ordered with their meals. Yum!
In Gunnison, CO, we had a fresh, nutritious, Asian-inspired meal at Twisted Fork. It was probably the best meal of our trip (although we did have some good chicken fried steak in Eagar, AZ). Matt and Dad enjoyed their meals; both ordered the Vietnamese tacos. Katie had the fresh veggies and noodles with a carrot ginger dressing. Yum!!!
4. Go for runs/walks around the cities/towns you’re staying in.
We did this at almost every stop, and it led us to finding some unique restaurants, as well as delightful running/walking trails.
In Gunnison, Katie and Matt found Twisted Fork on a run through downtown.
In Blanding, UT, the gentleman at the Visitor’s Center informed us that we could run from our motel to the Nation of the Four Corners walking trails.
In southern Utah, we all walked to see each of the natural bridges at the park, and for the third and final bridge, all three of us hiked down to see it up close:
Matt and Katie saw a doe and two fawns on their run/walk on the South Rim of the Grand Canyon shortly after sunrise.
In Tempe, Matt, Dad, and Katie trekked around Arizona State University in 90-degree-heat (!) seeing all the ways the university has changed (a lot!!!) since Katie graduated in 2006. Here’s a photo of us on Palm Walk:
5. Build in time with loved ones along the way. On this trip, we got to see Katie’s childhood swim coach Dawn and her family (as mentioned), as well as Matt’s nephew Lucas, who lives in Phoenix.
Here are some photos from Dawn and Shelly’s Rolling Thunder Ranch:
We had lunch with Dawn and Shelly at Maggie’s in Cripple Creek, CO, where we had some snow briefly (the only precipitation we had on our whole trip):
In Phoenix, we had dinner and lunch with Lucas, Matt’s nephew, and we got to meet his sweet dog Dexter:
6. Here’s the most important take-away from our trip. Don’t make reservations anywhere. It allows for a more leisurely pace, and you never know what amazing accommodations you might come across.
For example, on our first night, we got to stay at the Eagle Motel in Manitou Springs, CO, where Katie’s dad and mom stayed on their road trip with Fred and Patty Gilligan a few years ago:
We hadn’t intended to stay in Gunnison, CO--we were hoping to make it a little further to Montrose, CO--but it was one of the prettiest cities on our trip, and we wished we could have stayed longer.
But the mother of all jackpots when it comes to lodging happened at the Grand Canyon. We arrived on the east side of the South Rim around 4 p.m. where Matt got his first views of the awe-inspiring landscape.
It was a Tuesday night, prior to Memorial Day, so we thought we might have a chance of landing a room in the Village. We also joked that rooms might cost as much as $500/night. As we made our way further into the national park, the roads got more crowded, and we struggled to find parking. We didn’t struggle to find elk though. Those big creatures were all over the place, happily munching on vegetation and ignoring stupid tourists who invaded their space.
Side note: Elk can be mean. The woman at the front gate told us to stand far enough away so we can cover the elk with our thumbs. Even that was difficult because they sometimes blocked our paths.
Back to the story: When we did finally find a parking spot, Matt made a beeline to the nearest hotel for a bathroom. This happened to be El Tovar Hotel, made famous in National Lampoon’s Vacation with Chevy Chase.
Dad and Katie followed at a slightly slower pace, and when we all convened in the hotel lobby around 6 p.m., we asked the front desk clerk if she had any rooms available.
“Well,” she replied, “I’ve got one queen room and … the Presidential Suite.”
We looked at each other sideways and couldn’t resist asking, “How much is the Presidential Suite?”
“It’s $575.00 a night, including tax.”
We howled with laughter, shaking our heads. But right at that moment another hotel clerk handed our clerk a small slip of paper. She glanced down at it and smiled brightly at us. “Actually, we’ve just dropped the price to $375.00 a night.”
“What?” we exclaimed, “We’ll take it! How much is the queen room?”
“The queen is $350.00 a night, including tax.”
That’s right, folks. The queen room was only $25.00 less than the Presidential Suite. We decided to share the cost of the suite with Dad, which allowed us to enjoy some extraordinary views:
That night, while enjoying the magnificent starry sky from our enormous private deck, Matt made the astute observation that the stars truly aligned to allow us to have such an amazing stay at the Grand Canyon. Had we arrived any earlier, the price of the Presidential Suite would have been a little too high for our tastes ($375 is pretty darn high anyway), but if we’d arrived just a few minutes later, we would have missed out … because a woman arrived right after us hoping to switch rooms for a better view. We’re pretty confident she would have jumped at the chance to upgrade to the Presidential Suite for a mere $25.00.
In the morning, Katie awoke at 5:30 and watched the sunrise from the deck. Then, around 6:45, Matt and Katie had a 4-mile run/walk along the the south rim, which was peaceful and quiet at that time of day.
Afterward, we convinced Dad to enjoy room service breakfast on our gorgeous deck. The food was fabulous (Dad had buckwheat pancakes!), and the views were astounding.
Before we checked out, Matt took this photo of Katie on the deck. Can you see her?
So there you have it … a fabulous, leisurely, adventurous road trip with family. We were thrilled to stay under budget and even more thrilled that we could share this experience with Dad. We had lots of laughs, played lots of games on the daily car rides, and made so many memories. Here’s to our next family adventure! We are looking forward to it!
