It was official. After our 3 week road trip adventure from last summer, Matthew and I were bitten by the road trip travel bug and spent all year ambitiously talking about how we might make an even grander, longer adventure a reality. And somehow, through all the dreaming, we talked ourselves into a month long escapade through Colorado, Utah, Nevada and New Mexico. But, how, you ask? We found a way to make the daydreams real life by embracing the lessons learned from our last summer trek (see my previous blog post Roadtrippin' during 'Rona Season) - applying the successes, rethinking the mishaps, getting creative with the work/play balance and staying open to the unexpected.
Extending the adventure
Early in 2021, we knew that the summer would start off with a bang. We were ecstatic that the Thornton clan was planning to spend our annual family vacation back in Ouray, Colorado, and my brother and his soon-to-be wife, were planning an all-out wedding celebration in Las Vegas, Nevada. Since the events would be less than a week apart, we used these two locations as the basis for our itinerary planning.
In my first attempt to choose the locations for the trip, I tried to keep in mind the mantra that we used last summer. Stay at least 2 nights in each location, and drive less than 6 hours from point A to point B. So, I set out to map the locations starting from home in Austin, traveling with the familia to Colorado, and then branching off for a short jaunt in Utah before celebrating my brother's nuptials in Vegas. After that, we had the flexibility to choose how far we'd go and for how long. When all was said and done, we agreed that 30 days away from home was realistic, within our budget, and could give us plenty of time to unpack, stretch our legs, explore and call a few places our temporary home.
- Roswell, New Mexico (travel day, 1 night)
- Ouray, Colorado (6 nights)
- Moab, Utah (2 nights)
- Springdale, Utah (2 nights)
- Las Vegas, Nevada (4 nights)
- Park City, Utah (6 nights)
- Kanab, Utah (4 nights)
- Monument Valley, Utah (1 night)
- Taos, New Mexico (2 nights)
- Lubbock, Texas (travel day, 1 night)
We learned our lessons from last summer's travels. Get your car serviced and prepped a month or two in advance. Start packing early and don't be afraid to tote along items that make life on the road comfortable and convenient. At least once each week, intentionally select lodging with an in-unit washer and dryer. Freeze 4-6 bottles of water and pack in the cooler instead of ice. Download plenty of podcasts and travel apps before you embark on the journey. Leave room in the schedule for spontaneity. Choose a few times along the way to intentionally splurge. Be open to the unexpected.
So, did we heed our own advice? We sure did. We even upgraded our Thule Cargo box so that we could cram more stuff on the roof and keep it out of the backseat (worth every darn penny, and luckily we ordered this early because these are hard to come by in the height of the revival of the Great American road trip), and most importantly, it was sooo much easier to close because of the super smooth SlideLock system that automatically locks the lid in place.
Boy, oh boy. Did we sure eat our words on our last three "must-dos." On day ONE of our stay in Colorado (yes, that would be day 2 of the trip) our very active, very agile pup tore her ACL chasing her beloved tennis ball at the park. Not only was that totally unexpected, but a total bummer. After a few trips to the Ridgway Animal Hospital, a bottle of NSAIDS and pain killers, our Bodhi girl would manage to tripod her way through the rest of the trip. Good thing we left some room for splurging and the unexpected! Nonetheless, at least the experience inspired episode 35 of our Creative Moonlighting podcast, Control Your Inner Control Freak. And Bodhi’s surgery is scheduled for next week. (Phew!)
The formula to avoid the crowds
Matthew and I both agreed that the quickest buzz kill is a crowd of people. Sure, we can tolerate a few folks here and there, but our adventures have been most enjoyable when we can avoid battling people on a trail, bus, or at a restaurant. This summer required us to zig when the crowds were zagging, and that created our own formula for avoiding the masses.
As we learned from last summer, national parks are notoriously cram-packed all summer long. We had a lot of luck avoiding the crowds this year by entering the national parks later in the afternoon or early evening. For example, we arrived at Zion National Park at 3:30 pm and strolled right through the gates and on to the shuttle bus. When we stepped off the bus to hit the trail, we passed a mile long line of people (no exaggeration) waiting for their return trip. Meanwhile, we were pleasantly surprised to have the trail to ourselves, stopping and appreciating the empty landscapes along the way. When we returned, we strolled back on to an empty shuttle (we took the last ride at 8:15 pm), got dropped off at the park gates and immediately walked over to the Zion Brewery for a cold brewsky. Zig when the crowd is zagging and you won't regret it!
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