DEN >>> PHX Roadtrip
- laurenlcoon
- Jul 24, 2018
- 8 min read
July 4th was on a Wednesday this year which was odd. So instead of having a random Wednesday off of work, we opted to take Thursday and Friday off and do a little road trip. In an effort to see some beautiful National Parks on our list, we decided we would fly into Denver and do a road trip down to Phoenix with several stops along the way. Our itinerary was as follows: Denver > Steamboat Springs > Salt Lake City > Moab > Page > Grand Canyon > Phoenix. We did this in 5 days and my first tip is just go ahead and take the week! We did a lot of driving and not a lot of sleeping but it was GREAT!
First stop was to fly into our favorite place! It is no secret that we would love to live in Denver or the surrounding area someday so we took an early flight and did some driving around, ate brunch at Syrup, even though Snooze is our favorite so far, we wanted to try something new. After checking out some neighborhoods we hope to someday live in, we headed to Steamboat Springs. This was a cute little ski town Brandon has really wanted to visit and it was so nice to find some cooler temps after the brutal Atlanta summer we've had so far.
We checked into this cute bed and breakfast and then headed to town to walk around, do some shopping and get dinner.
We ate at this cute place called Laundry that used to be, you guessed it, a laundromat. The food was really good, we got several apps and entrees to share and they did a great job of accommodating my allergy.
After dinner, we walked across the bridge to the park where the light show was going to be held. The original plan was fireworks, however, the west has been so dry that most places had fire bans and the city decided to not take any chances so they opted for a laser show.
I'll have to admit that the DJ was pretty cheesy and the places was packed with kids but once we found a spot and the lights started... it was pretty good!
Not much can replace our usual tradition of fireworks over the water at my Aunt's house at the beach but this was a nice second.
The next morning, we got up fairly early to do a quick hike, grab a coffee at a local spot and then head back to our place for breakfast at our B&B. We met a great couple from SLC who were also staying in our B&B and gave us some great advice and recs for the rest of our journey.
Up next was a long drive to Salt Lake City, Utah. There had been several fires in Utah so our original route was a no go. We decided to try a longer but scenic route that would take us through Wyoming a bit and avoid most of the smoke and traffic. We hit the open road, stopped to mark our spot in no man's land between Colorado and Utah.
Once we made it to SLC... Finally! After almost a full day of driving it seemed. We checked into our adorable hotel in downtown SLC called The Peery Hotel. Changed and headed straight to dinner in the mountains at a log cabin called Log Haven. They had live music playing, dim lighting outside with a small waterfall and blankets for when it got chilly in the evening. The food and wine was wonderful and it was such a quant little spot. We quickly learned from our server that SLC doesn't have much nightlife and most places close around 10pm. So we headed to try and get some views of the lake and then called it a night.
The next day was an early morning for us, again! This is why I'd recommend taking a full week instead of 5 days for this itinerary. We would have loved to stay longer in SLC but my heart was set on getting the MOST out of Moab that we could.
Thankfully the drive wasn't too bad and we could stop along the way for some food in Green River Utah... population 943 ;)
Once we made it to Moab, we immediately went to the park to buy a pass and head to the Arches for a 'quick' hike. We arrived around noon and didn't run into too much of a line. The hikes are recommended to be done at sunrise or evenings in July because the temperatures and sun gets so hot. The plus side is that we didn't have to deal with crowds and could get some pictures of just us under the Arch or the Arch by itself.
It is not an understatement to say that we were extremely overheated by the end of this hike. It is not very long but with temps over 100 degrees and the sun directly over us, we could feel our heartbeat in our ears by the time we got back to our car. If and when we go again, different time of day and more water would be crucial!
We booked a tent at Under Canvas and were eager to check in after our first adventure so we could get settled and drop off our stuff. I'd seen these tents and was so excited to stay so close to the park in glamping fashion but without having to pack all the gear. The camp ground is adorable and they have thought of just about everything.
There are a variety of rooms you can rent. We just stayed one night so we opted for a safari tent. If we would have stayed longer, getting one with a sink would be ideal since its dark at night trying to find the restroom. Even though they have lit walkways and provide a lantern.
The tents were roomy and the lanterns were on either side of the bed, they also had usb chargers for your phone and every room has a heater in it. We definitely did not need a heater since it was a cool 80 degrees at nighttime.
After getting the tour and spending an hour exploring the grounds and Brandon having analysis paralysis over which tent we should sleep in, ha! We made our way back out to explore Canyonlands.
We'd rented a 4Runner and thank goodness because we got terribly lost on the way and our paved road quickly turned into gravel and then dirt and then rocks with cliffs.
We actually met a family who got stuck in their SUV and Brandon tried to help them out but they had to turn back. It was an off the beaten path way to get from Moab to Canyonlands but it was fun. We ended up doing a tiny hike to a canyon and watching the sunset.
The next morning we woke well before sunrise to get to the windows arches to watch the sunrise. It did NOT disappoint! The perk of staying at Under Canvas was that we were so close to the park it made it easy to be some of the first people there.
After our sunrise hike, we grabbed some coffee on the way out of town at Eklectica Coffee Shop and then headed south towards Arizona.
We lived in Arizona for about a year after college and had been told about these beautiful canyons to visit on the border of Utah and Arizona but we never made the trip. How naive looking back!
We stopped about half way at a diner Twin Rocks Cafe on an Indian reservation that is built into some beautiful rock formations.
We got some breakfast food, some souvenirs and coffee and hit the road to Page, AZ.
We'd booked our canyon tour ahead of time as reviews had stated that it would sell out in advance and waiting in line all day was not on our bucket list. We used Ken's Tours to see Lower Antelope Canyon. The famous National Geographic photo was taken in this canyon and is usually less trafficked than Upper Antelope Canyon. I have seen pictures from both and don't think you can go wrong. When we crossed the Arizona border, our watches didn't adjust to the time difference (AZ doesn't observe daylight savings) so we were very early to our appointment and had some time to check off another spot on our list... Horseshoe Bend.
The view here is stunning and it is not a far trek, I believe it was about 1/4 mile down and then 1/4 back up. It is sandy and crowded so I recommend bringing some water as the heat is brutal in Arizona. We had just enough time to come down, observe the sights and take a few pictures before we needed to hike back up. This is a beautiful spot but there are approximately 394 people directly behind me! ha!
We quickly changed in the car as we were so sweaty from another mid day, full sun hike. And lined up for our Antelope Canyon tour. The guide we had was great, he talked about why they required a guide for the canyon and how much tourism there has changed over the years. The canyons are prone to flash flooding in the monsoon season and can quickly fill up with water, this is what causes the beautiful canyons but also can pose a dangerous threat to those who are unfamiliar with it.
I was more than happy to have a guide talk to us about the history, the impact of tourism and point out some of the best views. The tour takes a little over an hour and starts out very hot but as you decent into the canyon, the sun is less strong and it cools off significantly.
After our tour finished, we got back in the car and headed towards our last stop... The Grand Canyon! We knew we wouldn't have a ton of time here but wanted to put it as our last stop before flying out of Phoenix. Going solidified our want to hike North Rim in the future and to visit Havasu Falls... but that is another day.
Since we'd booked our trip fairly last minute in comparison to families who book their Grand Canyon adventures a year in advance, we didn't have too many lodging options and so the Grand Hotel at the Grand Canyon was where we stayed, it was adorable.
We immediately showered from our earlier adventures and headed out to see sunset and dinner! The hotel we stayed at is right outside the gates of Yosemite Park and so it was extremely convenient. There are some properties inside the gates and that would have been more ideal but I believe budget and availability prevented us from doing so.
That evening we went to dinner at El Tovar restaurant in the Grand Canyon Village. The food was really good but B started to feel some effects of the elevation so we called it an early night to get back to our room. We'd planned to do some exploring in the morning when it was lighter out.
The next morning we got up fairly early and hit the road to try out a quick hike down in the Canyon before we were going to have to head towards the airport. We got to the gate to realize that it was blocked from cars during certain parts of the year. We were bummed so we had to make due with driving around a finding smaller paths to hike on our own.
We still managed to explore the canyon from a variety of views and angles and loved it. We really hope to return someday to spend more time so we can find some more remote paths to explore.
Once we were done hiking, we had to quickly head back to our room to pack and hit the road. We had a few hours drive ahead of us and only a little bit of time to spare. We stopped at the Toasted Owl Cafe in Flagstaff for some late breakfast before we had to high tail it to Phoenix. Our food took longer than expected so we got it to go and I fed Brandon as he drove to the airport.
We made it to the Phoenix airport with not much time to spare. We boarded the plane and immediately started talking about what our next route to explore some more parks would be. :)
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