Vacation: In July and August of 2022, we took a road trip along Route 66 to Grand Canyon National Park (and beyond). We traveled through Wisconsin, Illinois, Missouri, Oklahoma, Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, Nevada, Utah, Colorado, Kansas, and Iowa.
We drove 4,567 miles (in a minivan, more on this below) in 12 days (11 nights). We averaged 22.8 mpg and regular gas was approximately $4.22/gallon.
Start Here: Click on the Category or Event in the left-hand frame to view the corresponding photos. Note that the photos of Petrified Forest, Grand Canyon (both days), Hoover Dam, and Las Vegas have been split into several pages each.
Here are some helpful hints:
If you are short on time, Click here to view thumbnails of all 1600 photos on a single page.
Scroll down to view videos from the road trip.
Summary: The Major Attraction of this road trip was Grand Canyon National Park, a World Heritage Site, and one of the Seven Wonders of the World.
On the way out, we largely followed Route 66 from Chicago all the way to Kingman (Arizona). We then turned around in Vegas and headed back through south-central Colorado.
We had to drive all 4,567 miles in a loaner minivan because our Kia Telluride's transmission went out the week before the trip. That's right, we drove to Telluride in a Sedona. Maybe next time we'll drive to Sedona in our Telluride...
The weather varied from 105 F in Oklahoma to 51 F in Colorado! In between, it rained nearly every day in the desert southwest, after 20 years of drought. Go figure!! Luckly, the rain was largely scattered and nothing was a total washout.
Grand Canyon: Grand Canyon National Park is the second-most visited National Park in the United States (behind Great Smoky Mountains National Park).
We visited the South Rim on July 25 and the North Rim on July 28. The South Rim was definitely more populated and offered more to do, but both rims are a must. Just like how my children are different, but I love them equally :)
Elliot almost fell into the canyon only one time. Rosanne got really upset about for a hot minute, but all is well that ends well...
We mostly stayed on the road and its lookouts. When we go back, it would be nice to take a longer hike and/or mule ride down into the canyon.
When leaving the North Rim, drive to Page, AZ during the daytime and you'll be treated to an amazingly beautiful, expansive vista (Vermilion Cliffs) nearly the entire way.
Favorites: My favorite places (besides the Grand Canyon itself) were Horseshoe Bend, Hoover Dam, and several unexpected scenic drives (including I-15 in Arizona).
I cannot emphasize enough just how massively gigantic Horseshoe Bend is. Every picture you've seen of it is two-dimensional and doesn't come close to showing the canyon's true depth and size. The same goes for the Grand Canyon.
Rosanne's favorite place was Telluride, Colorado. She liked it so much that we went back a few weeks later for our 15-year wedding anniversary.
Ephraim enjoyed driving along Route 66 and got a kick out of standing in several states at one time (here, and here).
Both boys loved City Museum and Las Vegas. Honorable mention goes to Meteor Crater and Monument Valley. The did not like all of the shopping, however...
Other Notes: On the first day, we took the boys to City Museum in St. Louis. While they loved it, in retrospect, it was also a germ magnet. Probably not the smartest decision, but we got lucky and it worked out!
On July 26 we stayed in the largest hotel in the world (MGM), and the next day we stayed in one of the smallest (a one-room cabin at the North Rim of Grand Canyon National Park).
Everybody loved Las Vegas, but we could have done without the smell of pot everywhere. And Ephraim was devastated that the Paris tower was closed on the night we were there.
The day after Leaving Las Vegas, the city suffered from a massive flash flood. Two weeks later there was more flooding that even resulted in some fatalities!
Zion National Park was very beautiful, but it was cloudy & rainy, and The Narrows were closed due to potential flash flooding (again...). We would love to go back and experience more of this park some day.
The section of Zion National Park east of the Zion-Mount Carmel Tunnel was extremely beautiful, but I was driving and did not get many pictures. Next time we will try to start on the east side of the tunnel and work our way west.
Due to logistics, we did not hike the Canyon Overlook Trail (in Zion National Park), visit the Antelope Slot Canyons (in Page, AZ), or drive the East Portal Road (in Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park).
Remember the $5 Footlong subs at Subway? Well, in Page, AZ, two 6-inch subs were over $30! Granted, Ephraim did order the infmaous 5-meat deluxe haha...
More notes can be found in the photo gallery (inline with the photos).
Cool Rocks: Each day, the boys were tasked with documenting the previous day in a journal. Despite driving for an average of 6.5 hours per day (!!), they (mostly Elliot) still struggled to complete this task.
Elliot (10 Pages) - In fact, Elliot gave up after about day 8. Instead, he was determined to find out how many ice cubes he could fit in his mouth at one time... This is how he let us know what the crap he was doing in the back seat.
Ephraim (69 Pages, of course) - "Dedicated to no one" - Ephraim really loves the road trips and enjoys writing (and drawing) about what we did. Here are 56 more pages of daily drawings.
Daily Videos: Watch home
videos from our road trip by clicking on these YouTube links:
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July 20 | Deciding
to take the Loaner Minivan when our Telluride's transmission was broken |
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July 27 | Veterans Memorial Drive in
Arizona Zion National Park Bonus Video: Slow-Motion Waterfall |
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July 21 | Day 1: City Museum (St. Louis) |
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July 28 | Grand Canyon National Park
(North Rim) Cliff Dwellers & Marble Canyon Horseshoe Bend, Glen Canyon Dam Viewpoint, and Lone Rock Beach |
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July 22 | Uranus Fudge Factory Brickopolis Miniature Golf & Fireworks |
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July 29 | Monument Valley Telluride, Colorado |
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July 23 | The Texas/Oklahoma State Line |
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July 30 | Black Canyon of the
Gunnison National Park (South Rim) Skyline Drive |
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July 24 | Petrified Forest National
Park Arizona Meteor Crater |
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July 31 | Colorado State Line Sign & The Pennant (Topeka, Kansas) | ||||||
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July 25 | Grand Canyon National Park (South Rim) |
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August 1 | Final Day: Field of Dreams Movie Site | ||||||
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July 26 | Hoover Dam Las Vegas Strip |
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Ephraim | Ephraim's Live Photos from July 24 - July 30 |
Total Running Time: 1 hours, 56 minutes [Playlist]
Destinations Not Filmed: Abraham Lincoln's Tomb, Breaking Bad Houses, Pool
Complex at the MGM Grand, Forrest Gump Point (Monument Valley), and Four Corners
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