On The Road Again

Post Mexico, we arrived back to winter stateside and went straight back up to Stinson Beach with Luke’s Mom to get organised, pick up a rental car for the next month, catch up on laundry and zoom calls, before hitting the road to escape the cities and explore some new corners of the USA together.

Before heading South, we enjoyed a couple more days with Claire, and went out to Drakes Beach (part of Point Reyes National Seashore) to visit the large elephant seals which call the area home during their mating season for a few months a year. These giant seals were at least 3 times the size of any seals we have seen in NZ, and quite funny to watch as they shuffled up the beach! A wrong turn heading to another viewpoint saw us take the Chimney Rock trailhead instead of the shorter lookout, but it was a blessing in disguise as we felt like we were walking on the edge of the world at sunset.

We love roadtripping, and probably spend 3 out of 4 weekends in a month on the road discovering a new part of the South Island of NZ and hiking. Our last big North American roadtrip back in 2017 took us north from San Francisco up the Pacific Coast, through Canada and down through Montana, Yellowstone NP and back through Nevada. This trip was in the autumn shoulder season (or ‘fall’), and we recall getting into campgrounds in our bright green Jucy campervan just before they closed for the year, and waking up to ice on the windscreen. The enjoyment of being some of the only travellers on the road, and having stunning parks to ourselves during the off-season was something we were really looking forward to heading to the Southwest during the winter months. We had a few different contingency plans if the weather didn’t blow in our favour along the way, but to date, have enjoyed bluebird days so far with no storms on the horizon!

Growing up in California, Luke had little need to explore outside of the vast Golden State of California and its own national parks and stunning high country in the Sierra Nevadas. It certainly never crossed his mind to visit Utah of all places! With that in mind, we set off on a 3.5 week road trip through the Southwestern states of Nevada, Utah & Arizona to explore some new areas. Below is a map of our route for week one.

As much as we wanted to drive over the beautiful California mountain passes, the recent snow storms rendered them closed/unsafe so we took off on the very un-scenic Highway 5 South through bakersfield to get us to Nevada as quickly as possible. We had a quick overnight stop in a 'Schitt’s Creek' style town called Barstow, before we continued to our first destination of the roadtrip, Nevada’s Valley of Fire State Park.

Driving through the remote Mojave desert, we came across multiple trailer towns and religious billboards along the freeway before approaching Las Vegas, a vibrant oasis in the desert. Although Jelley has never been, we weren’t too keen on visiting Vegas mid-pandemic, so we drove right on through to set up our campsite for the night in the state park, still getting used to these shorter winter days with 5pm sunsets.

Valley of Fire State Park was the perfect spot to try out our new tent and gear, and an excellent time of year to visit, with hiking prohibited in the summer months due to the extreme heat of the desert! It was great value at $15 entry fee + $10 to camp, and the campsites were well-equipped with drinking water, picnic tables, flushing toilets and hot showers, surrounded by towering red 'firey' rocks. While we were a little jealous of the giant RVs with heating and plugged into power, we were very happy in our 2 person tent (one of only 3 brave campers!), and the MSR tent should serve us well in our future hiking adventures!

It was hard to believe we were just 1 hour from Vegas, and felt like a world away. It was neat to see the big-horned sheep while wandering around during the desert sunset.

We rose at sunrise (a big achievement for Luke!) to beat the day trippers to the trails, and make the most of the winter sunshine hours. There was a really amazing variety in rocks as we explored a couple of small slot canyons and surfed the Fire Wave !

Valley of Fire was the perfect introduction to the epic parks ahead of us, and after checking the weather forecast heading into Utah’s more elevated regions, we packed away the tent for a bit and began the drive towards our first National Park of the trip, Zion.

The drive to Zion National Park was stunning! We briefly dipping into Arizona before entering Utah, and we were blown away arriving into the small town of Springdale, our home for the next 3 nights, a gateway to the National Park surrounded by towering cliffs. We went straight for the vistor’s centre to plan our next few days, and enjoy a beer with a view at the local brewery.

On the advice of the volunteer ranger at the visitor centre, we set our alarms even earlier to depart before sunrise and enter the park at the opening time of 7am. The well-utitlised shuttle system in Zion takes a break in winter, meaning it’s each to their own to get a carpark in the right spot for their hikes, and the earlier the better.

While we decided against completing the infamous ‘Insta-famous’ Angel’s Landing hike, with extremely icy conditions on the chains section, we did venture up the trail to Scout Lookout, and further along the West Rim trail to enjoy incredible views of the valley. This was equally as special, and we loved the 360 degree vistas. We were also pleased to have invested in ‘Microspikes’ for the trip, which go over our boots and are kind of like mini-crampons to enable traction while walking on icy surfaces. Not all hikers were so well equipped, and we saw a couple of nasty tumbles from the ‘sneakers & jeans’ type day-walkers.

It looked like dynamite had been used to carve out the steep switchbacks up the giant rock faces, and it is crazy to think a trail was formed here to maximise the views for travellers. On our return, we continued on the Emerald Pools trail, before realising how long the day had been and returning home for a hot shower and coffee.

Zion is the USA’s 4th most-visited National Park, and it didn’t take us long to realise why. In winter, it was truly magical to enjoy the canyon, and we’re lucky not to have to battle with the summer vacation crowds which fill the valley and trails during holiday periods of the year.

Day 2 in the park, we wanted to tackle the highly recommended river-hike up the Virgin River, known as 'The Narrows'. It was -2C/28F outside temperature when we arrived at the carpark, and a 5C/41F water temperature so we made sure to hire all of the water roof hiking gear to embark on this adventure in the middle of winter.

It's hard to describe or capture the 6 hour journey heading up the river into a section known as ‘Wall Street’, walking at times waist deep in the milky water, with icicles hanging precariously from the cliffs above, but Luke places it in his top 3 hikes of all time, and it is definitely one we would return back to sometime again. We were really thankful for the drysuits, neoprene socks, and most of all the big wooden stick to help us keep our balance and not go for a swim in the freezing river. This was a real bucket list experience for us, and a highlight of the journey so far.

We were a little sore after 2 days of early starts and long hikes so we decided to take a day off our legs and just chill before driving through the Mt Carmel tunnel to our next destination, the cute town of Kanab!

After a stunning scenic drive up to and through the tunnel, we quickly reversed our ‘rest day’ decision and took advantage of a coveted parking spot to do the Canyon Overlook Trail. The view was well worth the short hike to get there, although one misstep would probably send us falling down the cliff. It was a great farewell to our first National Park of the trip.

Our intention of staying in Kanab was to try our luck in ‘The Wave’ lottery, for a highly sought after permit to visit this remote wonderful landmark. Made famous by Windows 7 desktop bakground, and subsequently Instagram, The Wave in Arizona is a very popular spot, and requires a permit either by online lottery 4 months out, or 1 day prior at an in-person lottery at the local community centre for 16 spots. As only 1 person per group could attend due to covid, Luke got to enjoy this experience of a bingo-style lottery against 50 others. While unsuccessful, the Mormon grandfather of 25 next to him was stoked to win, and Luke had a great time regardless.

This outcome determined the next week of our trip, and we decided to continue on that day down to Page, Arizona, to visit a couple of well-known spots.

On the side of the highway, we made an unscheduled stop at the Toadstools Hoodoos Trail, a surprising walk to a landscape which reminded us of Mars or the Moon (not that we’ve been to either). We’re glad not to have read the reviews until later that night, which advised the area is home to multiple rattlesnakes.

We thought Horseshoe Bend might be a little overrated with its undying popularity and entrance fee, but we were still amazed by the bend in the Colorado River, and maybe more amazed by the death-defying positions of photographers determined to get the perfect shot, laying down over the cliff's edges.

Jelley’s parents went on their first trip to the USA in May 2019, and sharing their photos and stories from their roadtrip through the Southwest inspired us to take a similar trip! One location in particular that blew us away was Antelope Canyon, the stunning red canyon that you can walk through guided by a local Navajo Nation guide through their land.

We were super impressed by our tour of Lower Antelope Canyon - it was hard to believe the power of water could carve out such smooth contours in the rock, as we descended 73 feet (22metres) into the earth.

Interestingly, Navajo Nation have their own Tribal Laws in addition to the US Federal Government Laws, and one of those is a mask mandate. Since leaving California, where masks are a regular requirement and well-adhered to, we have experienced very few people wearing masks, it is like certain States have forgotten we are in the midst of a pandemic. After signing several documents stating we agree to the mask mandate while on Navajo lands, we really felt for the Navajo tribe and the inevitable arguments they face on a daily basis with other Americans declaring their ‘constitutional right’ to not wear a mask.

Antelope Canyon is an extremely special place and we’re so lucky to have visited. Again, being winter season meant we could book the day prior with only 2 other people on our tour - bookings for the peak summer months fill up 6 months in advance.

We returned to Kanab to prepare for the next stage of our journey, continuing through the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument through to Bryce Canyon National Park and onto Scenic Byway 12 to visit the rest of Utah’s ‘Mighty 5’ National Parks.

We're 1 week into our adventure on the road, and we’re blown away by the magical scenery and experiences so far. It’s hard to believe it can continue to get better than this, and we’re so glad to be exploring these new destinations together.

Until Then,

- A Kiwi & A Cali