This was the first time that I ever visited Arizona, and something that stood out to me was just how diverse the state can be. One example is that Phoenix is in the desert and can reach temperatures of 120 (as we experienced), but then just a little further north there is a mountain that is at 12,000 ft elevation and can get over 100 inches of snow a year! That vast diversity is one of the things that makes Arizona such an awesome state to take a roadtrip through! Here is what we experienced during our time in Arizona.
Tombstone
We started our trek through The Grand Canyon State in the old wild west town of Tombstone. This town became well-known for it’s infamous gunfight at the O.K. Corral. Allen Street in Tombstone has been recreated to look like it did during its thriving wild west days. If you are into the wild west era, this is a great chance to get to experience what a wild west town might have felt like.
We watched a reenactment of the gunfight that made Wyatt Earp a household name. The acting may not have been the best, but the actors were funny and did a good job of interacting with the crowd and it was a good way to get to learn what is believed to have happened during the gunfight. (One note that is good to know before you go. There are two different reenactments in the town. One is located at the actual location that the fight took place, and the other reenactment sounds like it has a more comedic approach. We wanted to see the gunfight at the actual sight, but almost bought tickets to the other gunfight without knowing that there were two different performances.)
Tucson
From Tombstone, we headed north to Tucson and went to Saguaro National Park, where there are thousands of really tall cacti. (Or cactuses. Apparently both are acceptable but cacti is more fun to say and therefore gets my vote =) Some of the cacti we saw were around 40 feet tall! I didn’t know that cacti could even get that tall (Being from PA, the only cactus I’ve ever seen are little succulents =) So after seeing so many huge cacti, Em and I got curious and looked up what the tallest saguaro cactus ever was and found out that it was more than 78 feet tall! (That’s almost an 8 story building!) Really, the only way to try to put myself on a level plain with it was to climb up on top of the RV, and even then I was still shorter than a lot of the cacti! (I just said cacti 6 times in a couple sentences. I should probably try to stop now =)
After our adventures with the… really tall, green, prickly plants,we headed downtown Tucson to see the city, University of Arizona’s campus, and to get a bite to eat. The town and campus were pretty cool. We ate at this really cool local cafe called Chocolate Iguana on 4th. They had these awesome mint milkshakes and sandwiches. And of course you can’t eat at the Chocolate Iguana without trying a chocolate iguana (which went great with the awesome milkshakes). It was a cool little cafe that is definitely worth a visit if you enjoy eating at local places!
Phoenix / Scottsdale
Next stop on our route was Phoenix, Arizona, the 5th largest city in the US (which I am a little sensitive about since it has just recently passed Philadelphia in population. =) One thing that we learned about Arizona in general is that it is like the Florida of the west for RVers. A lot of snowbirds come down to Arizona for the winter. However, we were arriving at the beginning of June, and for some reason didn’t see a lot of RVers around (which might have had something to do with the 120 degree temperatures this summer ;)
Which is one of the reasons why our day at the Sanctuary on Camelback Mountain Resort & Spa in Scottsdale was such an awesome day and experience! We went from a really hot, stuffy RV to an amazing, beautiful resort with a spa, infinity pool, and all the AC that we could want!
After being on the road for about 5 months at this point, Em and I thought that it was time to get a massage. (You know that you are an RVer when the massage is amazing, but the huge shower almost excites you just as much =) Sanctuary’s infinity pool and their restaurant Elements have a beautiful view overlooking the red hills of Phoenix.
The staff was awesome and really friendly, which made the experience all the more awesome! For those of you who live in or travel to Phoenix, I definitely recommend a visit to Sanctuary on Camelback Mountain.
Another awesome place that we went to in Phoenix was MOD Pizza. They are a fast-casual pizza restaurant with locations all across the US and UK. However, this was our first experience with MOD and I think we found a new favorite. They pretty much let you customize everything about the pizza and make it right there in front of you as you order.
I could probably eat there a dozen times and order a different pizza each time because there are so many different options that I like! For two hungry people on the road, MOD was definitely a great choice!
Sedona
Sedona is exactly what I picture when I think of Arizona. It has the perfect red rocks, amazing sunsets, and super bright stars at night! The red rock mountains really are the perfect postcard picture. Around Sedona, we went to Montezuma Castle (an awesome Indian cliff dwelling), Chapel of the Holy Cross (a really pretty church that sits on top of a hilltop), and Devil’s Bridge Trail (a cool natural rock formation).
A good chunk of our day was spent hiking to Devil’s Bridge. We had to park a little bit further away than the closest parking area because of our RV, but it was still only about a 4 mile round hike. Well… it was supposed to only be a 4 mile hike, but on the way back I may have missed the sign for our trail and turned our 4 mile hike into a 7 mile hike. (Which is not always the most enjoyable thing when it is 100+ degrees out.) Fortunately, I have the coolest wife who didn’t complain once for the extra miles and sunburn. But the view from Devil’s Rock was awesome and really worth the 4 mile (and probably even the 7 mile hike) to get there. The actual bridge part of the rock is wide enough to walk across and not feel too scared. For anyone planning to hike out to this awesome sight, I recommend starting as early in the morning as you can in order to beat the heat. The trail is relatively flat and easy going, but there isn’t much shade until you get to the actual bridge. (I also recommend paying attention to the trail signs to make sure you are on the right path on your way back =)
After Devil’s Bridge, we stopped back into Sedona for some water and food. (Definitely make sure that you have plenty of water with you before you do a hike in the desert =) In town, we found this really cool acai bowl shop. Now I know that Em loves acai bowls, and I also knew that I just made her walk an extra 3 miles in both directions, so I figured that this would at least make up a little bit for those extra miles we had to walk. I’m not sure if it was the bowls or if we were just really hungry from our hikes to Montezuma and Devil’s Bridge that morning, but the acai bowls tasted extra good! So if you are ever in Sedona and like weird amazon berries, I definitely recommend stopping in at Berry Divine. (And if for some reason you don’t think that they taste too good, try wandering around the desert for 7 miles and then come back and try them =)
Since there was still a decent amount of daylight left (and Em and I didn’t have any water in our RV to take a shower) we decided to go to Slide Rock State Park. Slide Rock is exactly what it sounds like. It is a natural water slide made from the river smoothing out the rocks. Is it cool? Well, that is a great question. See, we made the mistake of trying to go during 4th of July weekend, and not only was the state park’s parking lot full, but the sides of the streets were full for at least 2 miles in either direction. And there definitely wasn’t any room for a 39 ft RV to park anywhere. So we didn’t get to try out the natural waterslide, but we did get to have the fun of trying to squeeze the RV through some pretty narrow areas on our drive out. (I am pretty sure that there were times that we had only about four inches on either side to spare). But we made it out without a scrape, and got to see some really pretty views on our drive! So maybe next time we find ourselves in Sedona and it isn’t the 4th of July we can try our luck at Slide Rock again =)
Williams
Next, we drove through Flagstaff and headed west toward the South Rim of the Grand Canyon. But we decided that before we got to the Grand Canyon, we should take a little break from the RV and go some place to celebrate the 4th of July. That is how we found an incredible VRBO in Williams, AZ.
Em and I love getting to travel around the US and see well-known sites, but we have found that some of our favorite memories have been made in some of the lesser-known areas. Williams is a great balance of small town, but is also very well equipped for traveling tourists. The town itself is the last town before the south rim of the Grand Canyon and is actually called “The Gateway to the Grand Canyon.” There is even a train that runs from Williams to the south rim of the Grand Canyon so that you don’t have to fight the traffic and crowds when driving. Historic Route 66 runs directly through the 3,000 person town and has an awesome downtown area filled with diners and Route 66 memorabilia stores.
Em and I were lucky enough to be in Williams for their 4th of July parade and fireworks. It was an awesome celebration, and a great feeling getting to see the whole town come together to celebrate the birth of our nation.
The VRBO we stayed at in Williams was incredible! The owners were extremely friendly and accommodating (and there was plenty of parking for our RV! which is always a plus) – even giving us wine and chocolates when we arrived! The owners just finished remodeling this 3 bedroom, 2 bathroom house and it definitely has the style of a new home even though it is 100 years old. The decor is well thought out and makes it really feel like a home away from home.
The kitchen is very spacious (it feels bigger than our entire RV!) and fully equipped with brand new appliances. The mattresses are all top of the line and feel amazing, which is definitely something to look for while traveling on the road! Em’s favorite part of the house was the master bathroom. It has a full size glass shower, marble countertops, and a vintage bathtub. They provided bathrobes, slippers, bath salts, and many other items that made it feel like a luxurious hotel. We had a wonderful stay. This home would be perfect for families on vacation to the Grand Canyon or a couple looking for a quiet getaway.
Grand Canyon
The Grand Canyon has over 5 million visitors per year, is considered to be one of the seven wonders of the natural world, and is so big that it’s almost the size of the entire state of Delaware! So of course the Grand Canyon is a big deal ;) But being my first time to the canyon (Em had visited before with her family), I was a little nervous that it wouldn’t live up to all the hype. I am glad to say that the sunrises alone made the trip to this massive canyon well worth the trip!
Em and I wanted to get the most out of our visit to the Grand Canyon, so we decided to visit both the South and North Rims this time and come back to visit the West Rim from Las Vegas.
South Rim
Our first stop was to the South Rim of the canyon. This side of the canyon is the most popular. There are a number of hotels and restaurants outside of the national park entrance and a lot of parking close to the edge of the canyon. Wanting to get there for the sunrise and beat the crowds, we left Williams, AZ at 2:30AM. We only had about 2.5 hours of sleep and could have left a little later, but we decided that we would rather be there an hour earlier than to miss the sunrise. On our drive there, still a little sleepy, we almost hit an elk in the middle of the road. There were four other elk right on the edge of the road, but fortunately we were able to come to a sudden stop (well as sudden as you can in a 39 ft RV) and stop before hitting one of the elk! (Almost running into an elk is definitely a great way to make sure that you are awake in the morning!) Fortunately, God was watching over us and the rest of our drive was pretty uneventful.
We made it to the park a little before 4AM (it is awesome that the national park allows you to enter at any time during the morning, and since we have the National Parks pass we didn’t have to worry about paying. Although they do have self pay stations in case you get there before the rangers do). The best thing about getting to the park at 4AM is that we were one of the only cars in the parking lot (although they do have a number of RV spots next to the visitor center, they do fill up fast). We got out our flashlights and walked out to Mather’s Point, the main overlook of the South Rim. It was awesome having about 25 minutes of the overlook to ourselves under the moon and stars.
As dawn started brightening up the sky, more people started to trickle in for the main event! We were glad we made it to the overlook early, because by the time the sun was peaking over the canyon, there were about a hundred other people with us on the overlook. (We thought it was funny how everyone crowds onto overlooks, but if you walk about 200 yards in either direction there is no one there. But since we were the first ones there and weren’t exactly sure where the sun would rise, we decided to play it safe and just claim our front row spots on the overlook =) The sunrise over the canyon is awesome because not only do you get to see the sun peaking over the rocks, but almost even cooler is getting to see the rays of sun crawling up the rocks as the sun continues to rise!
We spent almost two hours just enjoying the sunrise and the views over the Grand Canyon. And then on our way back to the parking lot, we came across an elk in the middle of the path. She was just chilling in the middle of the main path licking I guess the salt. We found out by the end of the day that elk are all over the national park. We kinda lost count but between driving, hiking, and even at the RV dump station we probably saw about 15 elk roaming around!
An awesome perk to having an RV is that, after the sunrise, we walked back to the RV and ate some breakfast and took a two hour nap before heading out for a hike into the Grand Canyon. (I am not sure how I can ever do roadtrips without an RV). Then after our hike we got to come back, shower, change our clothes, and have another full meal in the AC of our RV. (Haha there are definitely some perks to traveling with your whole house =)
For our hike, we rode the bus (really awesome and easy to figure out shuttle service from the South Rim visitors center) to the South Kaibab Trailhead. This trail goes all the way down to the Colorado River, but we decided just to hike it a little ways down to the first overlook at Ooh Aah Point. I’m not sure how long round trip took, but it wasn’t that far of a distance. It did have a good number of switchbacks and probably took twice as long coming back as it did going down since it was all uphill then. But the views were awesome and doing a hike into the canyon, even just a short one, definitely gave us a better perspective of just how immense the Grand Canyon is from top to bottom! (Maybe someday we’ll be back to hike the whole way to the canyon floor)!
North Rim
To hike from the South Rim to the North Rim is only about 23 miles, but to drive from one rim to the other is another story! The drive was over 200 miles and took us about 4 hours in our RV. We saw a few more elk and tons of deer on our drive (Very thankful that we didn’t run into any of them, as it seemed for a little bit that there was a deer right by the road at every corner). That night, we boondocked on a forest road near the entrance of the park. It was probably our most remote boondocking experience of our trip and definitely a very cool and peaceful place to camp. (Although it can be a little scary when driving down the gravel road at 1AM). We were thankful that we didn’t get a flat tire or anything being that far away and without cell service. (Which is also ironic because two days later we did end up with a flat tire, but fortunately did have cell service)!
Having such an awesome experience of seeing the sunrise on the South Rim, we woke up around 3:30AM and headed toward the edge of the canyon to experience a North Rim sunrise as well. The North Rim is a lot different experience to the South Rim. For one thing, it only gets about 10% of all the Grand Canyon visitors and therefore feels a lot more primitive and quiet. It is not as wide at the North Rim Lodge as it is at the South Rim, but it is about 1,000 feet taller. The elevation of the North Rim is over 8,200 ft (more than 3,000 feet higher than the mile high city of Denver!) It also has a lot more trees and more snow. (Because of the snow, the North Rim is closed during the winter). There is a visitors center and a lodge, but not a whole lot of parking (definitely not for an RV). Fortunately, because we were there early enough in the morning, we managed to find a good parking spot and headed out on the trail. Once again, we were the only people out on the trail for the first 20 minutes or so. We found a really cool perch and spent the next 1.5 hours watching another amazing sunrise.
There are definitely perks to both the North and the South Rim, so it is hard to pick a favorite. The South Rim is a lot more accessible, has more places to stay and things to do, and has an awesome shuttle service. It also had the more “classic” Grand Canyon views of what I pictured. For these reasons, I would recommend the South Rim to any first time visitors. However, if I had to pick one for me to go back to, it would probably be the North Rim. I think the trees, higher views, and less people made me enjoy the North Rim more. Either way, both are awesome and I don’t think you can go wrong with either experience!
Lake Powell
Our final stop in Arizona was to Page, Arizona. One of the first things that we quickly came to realize about Page is that it is a very friendly and accommodating RV town. In fact, the first night we were there we pulled into a Walmart parking lot only to see about 20 other RVs already camped out for the night! And across the street was a free dump and a fairly cheap DIY car wash big enough for an RV! Being so close to Lake Powell, Horseshoe Bend, and Antelope Canyon it is little wonder why Page is such a popular RV destination!
Our first welcome to Page, AZ was watching the sun set over Lake Powell. The really amazing thing was seeing the sky change colors from the sun while at the same time light up from all angles with lightning! We just sat there for a few hours watching the spectacular light show that God was putting on for us over the water. Our only regret is that we didn’t have a boat or a jet ski to explore the awesome rock channels in Lake Powell. (I guess that is something that we will just have to do next time around ;)
Horseshoe Bend
The next evening we made the two mile drive from our Walmart “campground” to Horseshoe Bend. Now before arriving to Horseshoe Bend, I had seen a lot of pictures of the famous curving river, so I thought I knew what to expect. But pictures didn’t prepare me for the grandness and sheer dropoffs that make up Horseshoe Bend!
The parking lot is just a little open dirt clearing on the side of the road. And then there was an easy, about ½ mile walk on a wide, sandy path. Then, what seems like out of nowhere, the ground just drops off! There is a huge, about 1,000 foot drop off that overlooks the Colorado River snaking through the Arizona landscape. It is definitely an awesome view.
Now also something that the pictures on Instagram don’t really show is the hundreds of people, cameras, and tripods that line the canyon’s edge all squeezing together to get the best picture. Em and I were here during the middle of July right before sunset, so I imagine that we were there at one of the busiest times of the year. And honestly, the crowds really aren’t all that bad. Em and I just walked down the canyon a little way and found a part of the ledge that wasn’t nearly as crowded. And it was also really cool to get to meet people from all over the country and the world and together appreciate the awesome view that God created.
We took some pictures and then just sat on the cliff edge (well like 4 feet away from the edge) for an hour and watched the sun set. Horseshoe Bend is an short little hike and definitely worth the visit for anyone around the Page, AZ area.
Antelope Canyon
Even if you haven’t ever heard of the name Antelope Canyon, chances are that you have seen a picture of the beautiful orange slot canyon. It is famous for it’s narrow, curved sandstone and piercing light beams. And when I say narrow, there were parts of the canyon that were so narrow that we could only fit one foot at a time. But even though it gets really narrow at times it doesn’t seem claustrophobic since the canyon is open and you can always see the sky above.
Before visiting Antelope Canyon, we had to first decide whether to visit the Upper or Lower Antelope Canyon. Both Canyons are located on Navajo land and require a tour guide in order to visit. (Unfortunately the National Park Pass doesn’t count for this one. =( Based on what we found on the internet and on what other people told us, Upper Antelope Canyon is better for pictures and Lower Antelope Canyon is more fun to explore.
Upper Antelope Canyon is wider at the bottom and most famous for its light beams that pour into the bottom of the canyon. Because of these awesome light beams, Upper Antelope Canyon is usually the one that all the pictures are taken of. However, the upper was more expensive and more booked up. But, fortunately, the Lower Antelope Canyon also has its perks too! The lower canyon is narrower in many areas and is a lot of fun to weave in and out of the narrow sandstone walls.
Em and I decided to go with the Lower Antelope Canyon. For us, the real deciding factor was that the lower was cheaper =) and had availability during the late morning/early afternoon (We heard that the canyon is better lit when the sun is directly above, since it is such a narrow canyon). Another thing to note is that if you plan to go during the middle of July like we did, expect to have a ton of crowds. We waited for about 1.5 hours after our selected time to actually go into the canyon because it was so crowded.
But despite the crowds, the Lower Antelope Canyon was an incredible experience! It was really cool and unique to get to weave through the narrow canyon floor and see all the amazing waves in the rocks. Our tour guide was awesome and made sure that everyone in our group got a chance to get their own photos at the best spots in the canyon. It was definitely worth the experience and a great way to wrap up our road trip through Arizona!
