In 2013 we traveled to the southwest and visited quite a few national parks, and had an absolute blast. We have wanted to go back, and last year started planning this trip. We finally loaded everyone up this past July, and headed for Utah. We visited some old favorites from our prior trip, but we also visited a number of new sites as well. In addition to the four of us, we also had Connor and Chloe with us.

The trip started out with five of us (myself and four kids) driving from home with the truck and trailer towards Utah. We spent our 1st night in Declo, ID, just north of the Utah border. On waking up Friday the 10th our plan was to pick up Kirsti at Salt Lake, but something comes to mind about people and plans. On the way into Utah we stopped at the Hill AFB Aerospace Museum, which had a pretty impressive display of WW2 and Cold War era aircraft. After that, we finished the 1st part of our journey travelling US Highway 6 and Route 191 finishing in Arches National Park. The route down across 6 and 191 surprised even the kids with the pretty dramatic scenery. We arrived at the Devils Garden Campground (site #46) inside of Arches with minutes to spare before the sun set, and by the time the trailer jacks were down, it was dark outside.

While staying at the Devils Garden campground we also visited Canyonlands National Park, which is directly across the highway. After leaving Arches we headed to Mesa Verde National Park and joined a couple of guided hikes through Anasazi cliff dwellings, Balcony House and Cliff Palace.

From Mesa Verde our intention was to drive south-west and come into Monument Valley from the north. We almost made it on the direct route, but road construction, traffic, and kids - can I blame the kids(?) - helped us to somehow miss our turn. It turned out okay though - when we broke the news to the kids that we had an extra hour or so, they celebrated. Why? Because we were detouring through New Mexico, and apparently checking another state off of the list is that important.

After leaving Monument Valley we drove west through northern Arizona towards the North Rim of the Grand Canyon, and spent three nights there. From here our trip very much resembled our 2013 visit, with us visiting both Bryce Canyon and Zion. One incredible difference is that this time we drove in to Zion from the southeast, through the Mt. Carmel Tunnel. The maximum allowed vehicle combination is 50 feet, and we squeeked under at 45. The scenery on this drive in was almost as breathtaking as the rest of the park.

We were going to finish our trip in Kanarraville Utah, as it was a highlight last time, but were foiled by a local state holiday. We instead decided to alter our route home, and take a small detour into Nevada. This allowed us to briefly see the Great Basin National Park - the least visited national park in the U.S. From there we finally drove north towards Idaho, and ultimately home. Driving eastern Nevada was nothing like what we expected, full of mountains and green valleys, though not much else. I am pretty sure we saw at least one road sign indicating next services were about 150 miles away.