National parks and infinite expanses

Day 327

We continued from Las Vegas, tired and exhausted. As I mentioned, since we weren't in the best shape, we decided to set up our camp halfway. The campsite was located in a wonderful landscape with red mountains and rocks. After a very hot and therefore very short night in the middle of this beautiful desert landscape, we continued our journey. The next destination was Zion National Park. After replenishing our supplies and fuel in the nearest town, we wanted to head to the next campsite. On the way there, we drove past a beautiful lake in the middle of the desert. Spontaneously, we decided to spend the afternoon and night there, as we were still a bit tired from Vegas. It turned out to be the perfect idea, finally we could relax in the cold water, as the temperatures had been at 45 degrees for days. So, we spent the whole afternoon leisurely splashing around in the lake and cooked ourselves a delicious meal in the evening with a beautiful view of the lake. The temperatures didn't really drop at night, so I lay sleepless in the van again. So, I decided to look at the stars. And believe it or not, we weren't on drugs or anything. What I saw in the sky really amazed me.. UFO! I was really scared and woke up Lars because of that. Both of us stood by the lake with our mouths open, watching this strange light in the sky that was flying alternately to the right or left. Maybe it was something else, but that evening I was sure it was a UFO.

After another short night, we finally went to Zion National Park. After a short journey, we were quite disappointed because there were already so many people there that there weren't enough parking spaces. Well, we had to come up with Plan B, so we decided to skip the loop that every tourist does and just drive the scenic route. So, we drove up the small pass and it was truly breathtaking, a red and orange rock landscape that I only know from Australia. We decided to take a short hike through this amazing landscape. The path led over rocks and stones, but in the end, we were rewarded with a stunning view of the national park. Since we were a bit behind schedule, we continued to the next destination, Bryce Canyon, on the same day. We drove through a hilly forest landscape with a short break. We reached our destination in the early evening, but not quite. So, we stayed overnight at Red Canyon, just outside the gates of Bryce Canyon. The landscape was already incredibly beautiful here, with red rock mountains wherever you looked. After a slightly cooler night, we set off early in the morning towards Bryce. We hiked part of the trail and were amazed by the wonderful viewpoints. An amphitheater, as the Americans call it, made up of thousands of small stones. Spontaneously, we decided to hike down to the canyon and back up, which was very sweaty. After a strenuous day, we still had a long drive ahead of us to our next destination, Capitol Reef National Park. We drove for hours through nowhere, not even houses or other cars were visible. That's also one of the things I like about a road trip, driving through unknown land without seeing a single soul. In the evening, we reached a camping spot with very basic facilities, just a portable toilet and nothing else, but it was the first spot in a long time that was free. Early in the morning, we set off again for the national park. We are usually more of late risers, but with the temperatures here, you have to take advantage of the morning when it's still a bit cooler. When we arrived at the national park, we first went to the visitor center to find out what there was to do. This is really great here in America, there is a visitor center at every national park with nice rangers who give you great tips. In addition, you can always refill your water supply for free and get maps and brochures. We started the day with a small but sweaty hike. The hike led to a huge stone arch and was great. We also made another stop at ancient rock paintings. Then it got really hot again, so we looked at the rest from the car with the cool air conditioning. In the afternoon, we set off early again because we still had hundreds of miles ahead of us. The next destination was Arches National Park, or rather the nearby town of Moab. There was more life here and also real supermarkets again. We replenished our supplies and spent the rest of the evening chilling at the campsite. In the morning, as always, we set off for Arches National Park. Arches is mainly famous for its hundreds of stone arches. As it got hotter on this day, it was almost unbearable to be outside. We only walked a short loop and saw everything else from the car. We drove until it got dark and headed to the next campsite. Then my birthday came, and we covered hundreds of miles to Antelope Canyon. On the way, we passed the famous Monument Valley. Since you can't enter the canyon without a guided tour, as it is too dangerous, we booked a guided tour for the next day. To celebrate my birthday properly, we went shopping first, including a bottle of Prosecco and a thick steak. After that, we found a nice place to spend the night. This time we were lucky and found a beautiful spot at Lake Powell. So, we set up our camp, splashed around in the cool water, and enjoyed our juicy steak afterwards. Then we played a few drinking games and enjoyed the Prosecco. After a short night, we set off in the morning for Antelope Canyon. The tour through the canyon was really beautiful. We went deeper and deeper into the canyon, and when the sun was high, we could take beautiful pictures. After the tour, we went to Horseshoe Bend with an amazing view. As it was already feeling like 50 degrees again, we quickly made our way back to the cool car. Finally, we headed towards the Grand Canyon. After several hundred miles, we finally reached the national park. Since the national park was a bit higher, it was pleasantly cool, and we enjoyed the cold air after the long heatwave. We decided to relax in the afternoon, as we were still a bit tired from my birthday. I think we both fell asleep at 9 pm, we were so exhausted. With new energy, we set off the next morning to explore the Grand Canyon. We parked at the visitor center and continued with a shuttle bus, as not all areas can be accessed by car. We made stops here and there and also hiked a bit. The canyon is beautiful and you can't stop marveling at its endless expanse. In the late afternoon, we decided to find a place to spend the night, and for the first time, we were lucky to camp inside the national park. In the other national parks, we always camped before or after the parks because everything was always fully booked (peak season). We enjoyed the evening, cooked something, had our after-work beer, and watched the sunset.
The next day, we continued and covered more miles. The next destination was Lake Havasu in Arizona. Here, the temperatures reached the highest values of 49 degrees Celsius in the shade. We headed to the next campsite and immediately jumped into the water to cool off. Even the lake was lukewarm and not a real relief, but better than nothing. On this day, we didn't do much, we simply wandered between the lake and the pool. It was just too hot, and we couldn't even think about sleeping. I even jumped into the lake three times at night. After a very short night, we set off to our almost last stop, Joshua Tree National Park. We made a brief stop at the nice rangers' station and then drove more or less everything by car because of the heat. We saw some beautiful rock formations and a place full of cacti. I didn't find Joshua Tree National Park as exciting, maybe because we had already seen the really amazing parks. Since we were pretty exhausted from the heat, we treated ourselves to an Airbnb for the night. The house was beautiful, and most importantly, it had air conditioning. Since we were the only guests that day, we had the whole house to ourselves.

The next day, we set off in the morning towards Los Angeles. On the way, we made a stop at an outlet mall. I would call it a shopping paradise, with various branded clothing at sometimes really bargain prices. In the evening, we finally arrived in Los Angeles. We spent the last night in an Airbnb with a very nice Chinese family. We thoroughly cleaned Lucy and the next morning it was time to say bye bye Lucy. We enjoyed one more day in L.A. and got ready for our new adventure, CANADA.

Conclusion of the USA West Coast: The West Coast of the USA really blew us away.. these landscapes. You have everything from big cities, coastal landscapes, desert, ocean, lakes, mountains. It doesn't get any better! It was a great adventure, especially with our own camper. Waking up in these magnificent landscapes is something special. The only thing I might do differently is not to travel in the height of summer. Traveling in such hot temperatures is extremely exhausting and when you can't sleep properly either.. it takes a toll on your mood. Otherwise, it was simply fantastic❤️

Anita