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Report on our big trip: Sedona, GC, Bryce, Zion, and Vegas!

Sueb20
10 years ago

Since I posted a question or two way back when we were planning this trip, I thought I'd report in now that we're back. I will post some pics later. DH is still sorting through the thousands of photos he took!

Stop 1: Sedona. Oh, my. Loved it. Driving into town with the majestic red rocks everywhere, it was like we'd landed on another planet. Arriving in June, I was afraid it would be unbearably hot, but it wasn't. Our favorite activity -- something that we all enjoyed, from age 12 to 50 -- was the Pink Jeep Tour. Our guide was both informative and really fun. We just loved hiking and walking around, too. We stayed at the Enchantment Resort, which was fantastic. We were upgraded to an enormous suite -- basically our own little house -- with a huge living room, kitchen, dining area, deck, 3 bedrooms, and 3 bathrooms! I could have stayed all summer.

Stop 2: Grand Canyon. Well, El Tovar was a step down from our Sedona accommodations, but after reading mixed reviews, it was a lot better than I'd expected. I will say that the front desk staff was not very helpful or even friendly, which is too bad. Our rooms were not what we expected, but they couldn't care less. But the rooms in general were nice enough and the beds were comfortable (and really, for a trip like this, that's the priority!). We ate all our dinners there, and they were all quite good. As far as the GC itself... yes, it was amazing, but after one full day, I was ready to move on and so were the kids. DH, the photographer, was still enthralled on day two and three. We really did not need 3 nights there, though. We hiked partway down a popular trail that I can't remember the name of now, but it was very hot that day so we only made it maybe a mile down into the canyon. We also did a sunset bus tour that was pretty good.

Stop 3: Bryce Canyon. My favorite of the 3 parks we visited. What a crazy and beautiful place! We did a lot more hiking here, up and down a couple of times, and although it was hot and a little difficult at times, the scenery was so amazing I didn't care. We had only two days here. I could have stayed longer. We stayed at Bryce Canyon Lodge, which is right in the park. Compared to our earlier accommodations, this was like staying in a dorm room. Very basic (but spacious rooms), no AC, no TV. We were in the main building right over the front entry/porch down below, so there was some noise at night, but it was quiet for the most part by 10 pm. And of course we had to have our windows open because there was no AC! We ate all of our meals at the hotel, which were just OK.

Stop 4: Zion National Park. Another amazing place. I think by this time, we were a little overloaded and tired, so that may be partly why I wasn't as overwhelmed with the beauty here as I was with, say, Bryce. It was beautiful and amazing, though. We stayed at Zion Lodge, in the park. Great location. We were in newer buildings -- they also have smaller cottages that seemed more quaint but I think they were much older and worn out. From the outside of our building, I didn't expect much, but our rooms were beautiful! All Mission style quartersawn furniture, a huge sofa (pullout) in our suite, great bathrooms, and some interesting energy-saving devices -- for instance, you had to insert your room key in a slot for the lights to work. After the room key is removed, the lights turn out automatically in 30 seconds. So, if you leave the room -- taking your room key with you -- you can't leave the lights on. I thought that was pretty cool. We ate dinner at the hotel both nights and though the menu was basic, the food was pretty good. Fortunately we had both TV and wifi, because the kids were pretty exhausted by this stop. On the second morning, DH went out with his camera for an hour or two while the kids were comatose in front of the TV and I read my book on the balcony. By the time we left, we were ready for something different, and we got it!...

Stop 5: Vegas, baby! Now, I have never had any interest in going to Vegas and neither has DH. Just not our thing, really. But I figure, it seems like the sort of place you need to experience once in your life. And our flight was leaving out of Vegas at 9:30 am, so rather than have to leave Zion at 4 am, our travel agent suggested that we stay that last night in LV. We had wonderful, plush rooms at the Bellagio. The hotel itself is so huge it's overwhelming -- like an upscale mall, casino, and hotel all in one. Plus something like 10 restaurants! When we arrived, it was 117 degrees. Ack! We arrived around 4 pm, checked into our room, and went out from about 5 to 8, until we were all sweating through our clothes. We just walked around and saw the sights on the strip, including the very cool fountain/water show outside our hotel. We continued to watch the fountains from our air conditioned room later! Very neat. It was all very entertaining but I'm probably all set on Vegas now. We left at 6:30 the next morning...when it was already 100 degrees.

All in all a great, exhausting, beautiful trip. An 11-day trip pushes the limits of family togetherness a bit, especially when we are doing Everything Together. (We spend 3 weeks every summer at our own beach house, and we don't get sick of each other then because we all have our own spaces, and we can come and go separately to some extent.) My 17 yo DS was SO ready to come home! And I am enjoying my alone time this morning with my coffee while the kids sleep in and DH is at work!

I am happy to answer any questions if anyone is considering a trip to any of the above places. We had to plan the trip a year in advance because of the park hotels (they fill up so early), so planning was a fair amount of work -- though we have a great travel agent.

Comments (11)

  • trailrunner
    10 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Glad to get such a full report ! I am sure you are glad to be home ...travel is fun but "there is no place like home " :)

    We just got back from a month away and as much as I loved it , it is nice to have my "own stuff " !! c

  • mtnrdredux_gw
    10 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Welcome back! Glad you had fun! And also glad that your mysterious medical issues didn't cause any trouble. (or maybe I missed something and it's been figured out).

  • allison0704
    10 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Glad you had a nice time!

    No one should go to Vegas in the summer!! Go in late fall through early spring to see some shows!

  • fourkids4us
    10 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Sounds like you had a wonderful trip and glad you all enjoyed it. That's a lot to cover in 11 days!

    Dh and I drove across country right after we got engaged, starting in No. California. We'd both been to the Grand Canyon before, but while living in Hawaii, we met a guy who grew up in AZ. He told us about this canyon adjacent to the Grand Canyon that he and his family used to hike into - the trail ends in an Indian reservation. We decided to do it on our trip across country. I'm not sure what we were thinking...while physically fit, we weren't big hikers and it was a 10 mile hike down, it was 100+ degrees (middle of July). We camped overnight and then hiked back out the next day. I was never so happy to get back to our car with A/C! From there we were headed to Denver, so we drove up through Utah along some deserted 2-lane highways, but the scenery was spectacular. We didn't make it to Bryce or Zion, but we have vowed that once all of our kids were old enough to appreciate, we were going to do a trip like yours. We'll probably just do Sedona, Grand Canyon, and then one place up in Utah. I assume you were driving from place to place? Did you get to stop at any of the pueblos? Those were really pretty cool.

    I agree with you about Vegas. Once was enough for me. We stopped there too on our trip from San Fran down to AZ via L.A then San Diego (our trip was very convoluted as we were all over the map visiting friends along the way). We just had an overnight in Vegas, but did hit a casino just for fun. Totally not my thing at all. Just too much for me. It was neat to experience once, but I have no desire to head back. Did you see the Hoover Dam too? Probably not as I imagine that wasn't on your way if you were coming from Utah.

    If you have any specific kid-friendly info of places you stopped, please share! I'm taking note of the Pink Jeep tour!

    Glad you had a great time but totally understand being a little bit too much togetherness! With four kids, I get that when we are having to stay in hotel rooms for any length of time.

  • ellendi
    10 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Welcome home! Glad to hear about your amazing trip. I so hear you about family togetherness. Years from now, they will appreciate this trip much more than they do now.

  • Sueb20
    Original Author
    10 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    No, we didn't see the Hoover Dam. There were a few outlying places we would have liked to see if we'd had more time.

    Pretty much everything was kid friendly with the exception of the really strenuous hikes (but you can easily avoid strenuous hikes and just do the easy ones that are listed in guidebooks and maps). All the restaurants had kids menus and a lot of them had buffets, which my kids thought was great.
    Even The Enchantment was kid friendly, with foosball and ping pong by the pool and a "kids club" of some kind.

    I will say that I expected every place to be more crowded. Zion was a bit more crowded than the other places, but it wasn't too bad. I'd heard that late June into July was a very busy time for the GC, but I didn't find it to be busy at all, or it didn't feel busy. Our hotel was fully booked, though.

    We had reservations for most of our dinners, but for other meals, we never had to wait for a table.

  • texanjana
    10 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Sounds like a great trip. Thank you for posting!

  • Bethpen
    10 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Sue,
    Thanks for sharing! It sounds like a lot of fun.

    Beth P.

  • dedtired
    10 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Sounds just wonderful. I have always wanted to visit Bryce. I took my son to the Grand Canyon, Canyon de Chelly, Four Corners, Mesa Verde (now that is amazing!), and Durango -- other places I cannot remember now. I had more fun than he did. He and his friend wanted to swim in the motel pool and play miniature golf outside of the Grand Canyon. He was 12.

    I want to go back!

  • mitchdesj
    10 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    So nice to read your report, thanks for posting !! sounds like a super fun trip !!

  • Annie Deighnaugh
    10 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Sounds like a great trip!

    We did something similar years ago, and I have to submit that the reason you found Bryce so fabulous was because it is...other parks and places are terrific, but there is something so extraordinary about Bryce...it is the most beautiful place on earth I've ever been...no place else like it. For me, the Grand Canyon and zion pale by comparison.

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