Our road trip through the American Southwest for summer 2026 (page 2 of 3)

Stuck on the ground for now...

Just a little story from this park: sure enough, it’s fenced off and you can’t get in, but across the way, there’s a lot with a half-dismantled plane where the gate’s open—so we hop in to check it out up close... awesome. Then a group of guys on ATVs and beat-up cars shows up, like they’re prepping for some desert trial, all jacked and shaved heads. One of them comes over and goes, "This is off-limits," so we’re like, "Okay, we’re just French tourists, we’re leaving." Then the guy looks at us and says in French, "Ah, I speak your language—I was in the French Foreign Legion in Marseille..." America and its surprises...

Amazing!!!

Hey there, fellow America enthusiasts! 😎

I’m fine-tuning our summer itinerary day by day.

Switching up hotels here and there, adjusting the road route, fitting key stops into my tired brain. Rethinking city drives... In short, we’re integrating, integrating. Even though it’s just the two of us traveling with my wife, she’s going with the flow and trusts me completely—even with hotel choices. It’s convenient, but I’d love for her to take the wheel a bit and get the hang of the GPS. 😎 As for her map-reading skills, let’s just say we’ll leave that for another day. 😉 So, I plan the routes with Google Maps, transfer them to my phone, and print out a detailed road book. In tricky situations, my co-pilot steps in.

So yeah, we’re fine-tuning, fine-tuning.

Dropped Phoenix as a stop and will take the route from Tucson to Sedona via Roosevelt Lake. In Sedona, I’m thinking of heading up to the Grand Canyon for a day. Two hours by car—totally doable. Been there before, but why not? The drive is gorgeous.

Here’s what we’re looking at:

Fort Worth: The Longhorns and Stockyards, plus an evening out; JR’s ranch (for my wife); Medal of Honor Museum in Arlington;

Houston and NASA Space Center: Seeing the Gulf of Mexico/America; Babes’s Beach, Galveston.

San Antonio and the missions: Maybe renting some bikes.

Fort Stockton overnight: We’ll find something to do.

El Paso via Guadalupe Mountains: El Paso White Sands; A city tour and seeing the Rio Grande. Scenic Drive in the evening. Fun fact: hotel prices in Mexico are 50% cheaper!

Tucson and the Pima Air & Space Museum: Tombstone, Bisbee; Saguaro National Park.

Sedona: A round trip around the area via Flagstaff and Williams, one day; The Grand Canyon (been there before) another day.

Albuquerque: Santa Fe; Turquoise Trail; Los Alamos.

Amarillo via Route 66: Old Route 66 in the city; Big Texas Ranch Steak ;

Dallas: JFK Museum; Perot Museum; West End district;

And for me, maybe some early mornings for photos of quiet cities or landscapes that are worth it.

Here are some Grand Canyon shots from 2022.

Have a great Sunday!

Hello,

Question about this point:

A city tour and see the Rio Grande. Scenic Drive in the evening. By the way, hotel prices in Mexico are 50% less !

Can you cross into Mexico with a rental car?

And a comment on this:

Santa Fe Turquoise Trail Los Alamos: Personally, Los Alamos didn’t interest me at all—nothing to see except the two houses (one of which was closed when I visited) of Oppenheimer and his colleague. I naively thought it was a town a bit abandoned after the bomb and the end of the Cold War, but not at all—it’s still a major research center. Meh.

Hello,

Question on this point:

A city tour and see the Rio Grande. Scenic Drive in the evening. By the way, hotel prices in Mexico are 50% less!

Can you cross into Mexico with a rental car?

And a note on this:

Santa Fe Turquoise Trail Los Alamos: Personally, Los Alamos didn’t interest me at all: nothing to see except the two houses (one of which was closed when I visited) of Oppenheimer and his colleague... I naively thought it was a bit of an abandoned town after the bomb and the end of the Cold War, but not at all—it’s still a major research center... meh.

Hello! No crossing into Mexico, it was just an "economic" remark.😎

Okay for Los Alamos, I’ll think about it.

As for the Apache Trail, it seems things are gradually getting back to normal. I’ll see when the time comes.

Best,

Hello everyone!

Still a ways off, but the date is getting closer.

In summary:

Esta Check AF tickets Check Long-term parking Montpellier Check Car rental via Hertz BSP Check Watering the lemon tree while we're away Check No more cats Check Pool water level check Check Pre-trip diet in progress Final checklist in progress Photo gear: Z8 + 24/70 + 70/200 + Panasonic compact + DJI Pocket 3 + car dashcam Check Road Book in progress Weather analysis in progress (watching for wildfires) To plan: Early wake-up for photos on-site (5/6 AM local time)

July 31 Montpellier-CDG-Dallas Hotel in Fort Worth and Walmart

August 1 Stockyards, the cows, the shops, the restaurants... Evening in Old Town if we're not too tired

August 2 Medal of Honor Museum JR Ranch for Madame Evening in Old Town if we're not too tired

August 3 Heading to Houston Getting some fresh air by the water

August 4 Space Center + Gulf of Mexico or America, depending on preferences

August 5 Heading to San Antonio Evening photos at the Alamo

August 6 Bike tour of the missions (we'll see how it goes)

August 7 Heading to Fort Stockton for an overnight stop Evening in town or a hotel apéro to cool off

August 8 To El Paso via Guadalupe Mountains Old City in the evening, light apéro

August 9 White Sands at sunrise and Space Museum in Alamogordo Scenic drive in El Paso in the evening before or after apéro

August 10 Heading to Tucson Old City in the evening, light apéro

August 11 Pima Air Museum Old Tucson Studios Old City in the evening, light apéro

August 12 Tombstone Bisbee

August 13 Saguaro National Park Old City in the evening, light apéro

August 14 To Sedona via Apache Trail or Roosevelt Dam from the east Old City in the evening, light apéro

August 15 Road trip to Sedona, Flagstaff, Williams, and back Sunset at the airport

August 16 A trip to the Grand Canyon—already seen, but we're going back. A scenic loop walk

August 17 My wife's birthday—she’s nicknamed "the Prime Minister." If I forget, I’m dead. Heading to Albuquerque. It’s not exactly nearby. Old City in the evening, light apéro

August 18 Santa Fe and return via Los Alamos to check it out

August 19 Albuquerque City Snake Museum!!! In rattlesnake country!

August 20 Heading to Amarillo Old City in the evening, light apéro 6th Street and apéro

August 21 Museums and Big Texas Ranch Steak!!! Old City in the evening, light apéro if digestion is done

August 22 Heading to Dallas Old City in the evening, light apéro

August 23 JFK Museum and more

August 24 Dallas Downtown—still evaluating options

August 25 Return to France

August 26 Arrival in Montpellier

Anyway, everything is flexible day by day.

It’s going to be hot, for sure. Nap planned either way. We’re not twenty anymore...

Cheers.

In your "checks," aren't you planning to scout GPS points to make things easier once you're there?

In your "checks," aren't you planning to scout GPS points to make things easier once you're there?

No, no GPS points. I'm just wandering around, not doing hikes. I'm an old-school topographer, so I use maps instead. But I'll keep your suggestion in mind. Why not. Best,

A road map like this one is always impressive to read—so many stops and miles, but that’s exactly why we do this kind of thing… and for the truly insane landscapes…

A road map like this one is always impressive to read... so many miles, but that’s exactly why we do this kind of thing... and for the truly insane landscapes....

Yes! I prefer secondary roads for scenic drives, especially Route 66 between Albuquerque and Amarillo.

I’ve got a dashcam planned for the fun routes and for photos during spontaneous or scheduled stops. Every day (right now), I map out my route on Google Maps to spot places to see.

Almost everything’s ready. Except I just checked my Air France tickets, and I’m returning from Paris CDG to Montpellier by TGV instead of a flight! I must’ve messed up somewhere when I wasn’t paying enough attention. Gonna spend the day on the phone trying to sort this out... 🤪

One more headache...

In Albuquerque, I recommend the Sandia Peak Tramway—it’s a cable car that goes up into the mountains, with a gorgeous view and nice cool air if it’s scorching down below.

There’s a cool-looking vintage car museum in Santa Rosa on Route 40, or Bill’s Backyard in Amarillo, but we didn’t get to see it since my wife is now refusing to take any more detours on Route 66. *pant pant*

Have fun!!!!!!

In Albuquerque, I recommend the Sandia Peak Tramway—it’s a cable car that goes up into the mountains, with a gorgeous view and nice cool air if it’s scorching hot down below......

There’s a cool-looking vintage car museum in Santa Rosa on Route 40... or Bill’s Backyard in Amarillo... but I haven’t seen them, since my wife is now refusing to take on Route 66...... *pant pant*

Have fun!!!!!!

I’ll take the info.

On another note, my issue with the return flight CDG/MPT was sorted out this morning with AF. It was my mistake—misreading the available flight options. Anyway, that’s an extra 850 € for changing from the TGV to a direct flight. I couldn’t picture taking the TGV back with 4 suitcases and a travel bag!! 😉

In Albuquerque, I recommend the Sandia Peak Tramway. It’s a cable car that goes up into the mountains—gorgeous views and nice cool air if it’s scorching down below...

There’s a cool-looking vintage car museum in Santa Rosa on Route 40... or Bill’s Backyard in Amarillo... but I haven’t seen it yet. My wife is now refusing to take Route 66... *sigh*

Have fun!!!!!

Make sure to check reservations for both! 😉

I’ve reviewed all my Google Maps routes to avoid missing Route 66 between Albuquerque and Amarillo. What a hassle! 😎

The bummer is that the Apache Trail is pretty much closed. I’m debating whether to go through Apache Junction and head up a bit on the Apache before continuing to Sedona, or take a more eastern route to Roosevelt Dam and then Sedona.

Everything’s coming together.

Almost all checked off.

Just need to plan my shots so I don’t come back empty-handed.

Hit the road.....

Hello! The itinerary is pretty much finalized for August 2026, with the necessary adjustments as time and ideas evolve! Just to note, I know it’s going to be *very* hot. But it’s the only time we can take a vacation.

So, here’s the plan: Montpellier-CDG-Dallas

Stay from July 31 to August 26, 2026: Car booked with BSP AUTO-AVIS—check! A Ford Edge SUV after switching vehicles. Hotels—check, after quite a few changes. Itinerary—almost check, but let’s take it day by day, for heaven’s sake! Photo gear—check, and then some: Nikon Z8 with 24-70 and 70-200 lenses; DJI Pocket 3, Panasonic T100, car dashcam. Budget—check, Meal planning… meh, we’ll see… Walmart, of course, for the cooler when we arrive.

Now, without too much detail…

Fort Worth: The Longhorns and the Stockyards; Evening rodeo; JR’s ranch (for my wife); Medal of Honor Museum in Arlington.

Houston and NASA Space Center: Seeing the Gulf of Mexico/America and the beaches.

San Antonio and the missions; Exploring the city.

Alpine as an overnight stop.

El Paso via Guadalupe Mountains: El Paso White Sands.

Tucson and the Pima Air & Space Museum: Tombstone, Bisbee.

Heading up to Sedona via the Roosevelt Dam—not the impassable Apache Trail.

Sedona: A road trip around the area via Flagstaff and Williams, or the Grand Canyon (already done) depending on our mood. We’ll adapt based on wildfires.

Albuquerque: Santa Fe Turquoise Trail Albuquerque Tramway

Amarillo via Route 66: Old Route 66 in the city; Vintage car museum; Big Texas Ranch Steak .

Dallas: JFK Museum; Dallas Old Town; West End district.

And through it all, the road, the road, and more road!!!

We’ll adapt day by day based on our mental and physical state—no pressure!

Return to France: Dallas to Montpellier via CDG. And a free change to our return ticket from Paris to Montpellier since I messed up! Thanks, Air France.

Cheers.

I didn’t go back over what you’ve probably already covered in your other posts, but just in case: In Tucson, aren’t you planning to visit the Sonoma Desert Museum? It’s totally worth it.

I didn’t revisit what you’ve probably already covered in your other posts, but just in case: In Tucson, aren’t you planning to visit the Sonoma Desert Museum? It’s totally worth it.

Okay, I’ll take a closer look.

Later!

Alpine overnight stop; .

........in Alpine, restaurants close by 9 PM—it’s super quiet at night!

The local classic bar: The Ritchey, right by the train station....

Otherwise, not far past Marfa (a super hip little town with the hotel where James Dean stayed), there’s something pretty wild on Highway 90: the Prada store in the middle of nowhere... a contemporary art installation. Personally, I love it...

And of course in Sedona, the Chapel of the Holy Cross... to light a candle for the road...