This thread has been translated into English.
A quick detour takes us to Artist Point, THE viewpoint over the canyon. It’s stunning and very colorful, with a rainbow at the base of the waterfall. The lighting is perfect. The kids draw in their ranger journals. In 2014, we didn’t have time to go to this overlook—now we’ve done it! No regrets, it’s worth the visit and easy to access! Lots of people, but no problem parking. There were quite a few areas closed for construction in the Canyon zone.
We hit the road for Lamar Valley, and after Mount Washburn, there are bears—and traffic jams! In less than two hours, we spot no fewer than six bears, much to the delight of kids and adults alike.
Our first stop is a rushed one (the second RV couldn’t park, and the kids were really disappointed) for a mother bear and her two cubs in a tree. For the mom, we only catch a glimpse of fur, but we can see the ears of the two cubs higher up in the tree. The people by the road are super friendly, pointing out where to look or lending their binoculars. The ranger on-site leaves, and we find her a little further on: a bear is settled on a rock by the stream below the road. There’s nowhere to stop on this narrow stretch of road, so she explains to each vehicle what to look for and counts five seconds for photos—then it’s time to move on to make room for the next one. We got a good look—it looked like a rug thrown on the rock! A few kilometers later, a bear wanders along the hillside, but by the time JF gets down with his camera, the bear’s gone! Luckily, his brother is right behind to pick him up.
After the Tower Junction, a bear is resting at the foot of a tree. We manage to park both RVs not too far away to go see it.
Our next goal is the short Slough Creek trail. A nice, smooth road takes us there, and we spot a pronghorn that’s not too shy. We have a picnic first, then head out around 2:15 PM for the hike.
We want to reach the river and then come back. It climbs quite a bit, it’s very flowery, and the prairie dogs are everywhere—they’re fun to watch. But the place is swarming with Yellowstone mosquitoes: a particularly voracious and social breed! When you kill one, 300 show up for the funeral!! So we turn back before even catching a glimpse of the river!
Around 4 PM, we head back through Lamar Valley. There are huge herds of bison and a few pronghorns. It’s really beautiful.
We return to the Canyon campground without seeing a single bear by the road. JF is feverish, and Christophe takes care of the barbecue. It seems like there are fewer mosquitoes.
Then the seniors board the balloon, and the rest of the family splits up: Christophe & Co head for a mega breakfast at Denny’s in Moab, while JF & Co rush to Canyonlands NP.
The goal is to reach Mesa Arch for sunrise. Even though we’re a bit late, the site is still stunning, and there are way fewer people (except for two guys posing like top models!). The orange lighting on the arch lasts a long time, and we soak it up for a good half-hour. Afterward, a stop at the Visitor Center lets us grab three junior ranger booklets—the ranger isn’t exactly cheerful.
We all meet up again around 9 AM to pick up Papoune and Mamoune. They’re thrilled with their flight: flying over Arches at sunrise, the peacefulness of the ride, and champagne on landing!
Back toward Canyonlands, the drive is pleasant. Our first stop is for the view of Shafer Trail—a jaw-dropping and tempting road (but we’re in an RV!!!).
Then, we enjoy the view of the Green River (at Green River Overlook), which we had been near several days earlier.
On our way back, we stop at the White Rim picnic area to have lunch under one of the shelters. The kids fill out their booklets and tackle one of the three requested activities separately—probably the hardest one: staying still for 10 minutes in nature! At the Visitor Center, a friendlier ranger gives them badges.
At the entrance to Dead Horse State Park, we don’t pay because we have our campsite reservations. We go admire the breathtaking view at the end of the park. It’s truly extraordinary! We watch the rain showers move across the Moab area in the distance. The kids are motivated, and we pick up new booklets to fill out at the Visitor Center—just in time, as it was closing in 5 minutes. Once settled at the campsite, we pull out the dictionary to study!
The storm rumbles and circles around us—it’s probably hitting Moab again. A quick shower with big raindrops cools the atmosphere a bit. After a round of showers, we have dinner under the shelter, which has a built-in cupboard. Christelle spots a "coyote," more likely a kit fox, but no one believes her… though she’s the only one drinking orange juice! There’s no starry sky tonight, just a tiny sunset between two bands of clouds.
On the way through Moab, we fill up on gas again and then head down to Bluff via a nice road: long straight stretches through arid plains dotted with a few badlands...
In Bluff, we visit the reconstructed fort. There are some cool reenactments and audio guides in French (though they’re obviously a bit biased in favor of the Mormons). Louenn tries his hand at panning for gold, and the kids have a lasso-throwing contest!
After this lunch break, we speed up a bit to get to Monument Valley: no stops and no photos at mile 13, also known as the Forrest Gump point. We have a meet-up for a "bumpy ride" tour (Dineh BeKeyah tours). We go to the View Hotel lobby—it’s really nice, as described—but they send us farther away without much explanation. We try the Visitor Center, which sends us back outside. The departure time is approaching, and we finally spot a vehicle parked below and a Navajo man waiting for us at the hotel entrance. We board and have plenty of space. The sky is pretty overcast. We make several classic photo stops. The guide shares the names of the rock formations and some info about Navajo life. The start of the trail has been graveled, but it’s still bumpy, and Christophe loses his cap. We hope to find it on the way back. In the private section, the route lets us admire petroglyphs, slide down a sand dune, and lie under the Big Hogan.
We stop by the gift shop for a few souvenirs, then settle in at the campsite. Here, the early birds get the best views, but we’re a bit late…
Unfortunately, the Navajos don’t seem to care about hiding the restrooms or trash area in the background! We enjoy a small sunset—the rocks briefly glow behind us: we’ve got front-row seats in our RV!!
There are a few stars tonight, but too much light pollution.
Annwen and Louenn pack their bags to head to the Grand Canyon tomorrow with their cousin.
After breakfast, the C25 headed toward the Grand Canyon. Christelle and JF did the Wildcat Trail, a 6 km hike with a tiring return through the sand. Luckily, the sun was still hidden! Aside from the last hundred meters, the walk was very easy and gave that sense of solitude every aspiring cowboy dreams of!
We set off again, turning our watches back an hour. We took a detour to Navajo National Monument to see the Betatakin ruins. The setting was lovely, there weren’t many people, and it smelled of pine. The 2 km Sandal Trail was easy and worth the detour, especially if Mesa Verde isn’t on the itinerary.
We bought some Native American jewelry at the shop next to the Visitor Center—married for 18 years, it was their turquoise anniversary!
We hit the road again for Page, where we had leftovers for lunch in the Walmart parking lot. We stocked up on jerky to bring back to France. Mamoune used up almost all our loose change under the amused gaze of other customers, with the cashier’s kindness.
It was hot, and the sky looked threatening. After a bellyful of cherries, we filled up the tank, and Mamoune bought us ice cream. With full stomachs, we headed toward Lee’s Ferry, stopping at the Marble Canyon Bridge.
The campground was almost empty, and we picked the best spot possible: a well-sheltered table with a stunning view of the Colorado. We were at its confluence with the Paria River—upstream at the boat launch, the Colorado was crystal clear, and downstream, it took on the Paria’s reddish-ochre color. After making our reservation, we went to the dump station and then to the raft launch. This is where the Colorado River descent into the Grand Canyon starts. Several groups were preparing boats of all sizes. We stayed to watch, dreaming of that adventure while leaning comfortably against one of the shaded tables. The next day, we’d discover a warning that a black widow had made its nest under the table!
After returning to the campground, we treated ourselves to a long break in our chairs with drinks, the sound of the Colorado, the (dashed) hope of seeing rafts pass by, and the sunset over the yellow, pink, purple, and orange rocks of Marble Canyon. We quickly ate sandwiches for dinner, then took lukewarm showers before going to bed with the door open—but the night was very hot and windy. Thunder rumbled in the distance.
In 2014, this spot had almost been the starting point of our 15-day road trip (travel journal here), and four years later, it almost marked the end of our journey. We’d done the beautiful Cathedral Wash hike here, and tomorrow morning, the challenging Spencer Trail was on the agenda.
We love this isolated basin with its vibrant, varied colors, and for the record, this is where Edward Abbey’s novel The Monkey Wrench Gang begins. Just a heads-up—it gets *very* hot here.
It’s an old mule trail created to supply the ferry with coal. We couldn’t see where we were going at all—just up, with some really narrow sections. Finally, we spotted the end of the trail, ditched our backpacks, and reached the summit around 9 AM. The view was stunning: the Colorado River on one side (with the tiny dock far below) and a vast panorama of the Page area on the other, with more meanders of the Colorado. We descended in about 1 hour 15 minutes, moving as fast as we could since the sun was catching up. There were lots of lizards and rabbit droppings (what do they even eat out here?). This trail is pretty intense, and it’s strongly recommended to do it early in the morning—by 10 AM, the whole wall is in full sun, and temps must be around 35°C. A good pair of shoes, a hat, and water will definitely come in handy!!
Back at the campsite, we dipped our feet in the Colorado River—it was 8°C (that’s a shock!), then enjoyed our naturally lukewarm shower (no need to turn on the water heater!). It was 40°C inside the RV… The big rafts finally set off, and we saw the tour buses arrive from above. Other boats, in tourist-excursion mode, also came from the dam and unloaded their passengers into buses for the ride back.
We stopped at the dump station to lighten our vehicle and started the drive back to Las Vegas via Route 89A. We crossed a huge desert plain, then climbed into the forest where we had lunch near Jacob Lake. It was cool up there.
On Highway 15 before Las Vegas, there were 5 or 6 cars stopped on the side of the road with blown tires. It was 34°C inside the RV even with the AC on full blast in the cab! We finally arrived in LV around 5 PM, where we’d booked a night at the "camping" at Circus Circus. It was a far cry from the remote nature campsites we’d stayed at over the past few days—this was a massive parking lot right in the middle of the towers near the Strip, and it was an oven! We turned on the air conditioning. The C25, coming from the Grand Canyon, wasn’t there yet… and we had a surprise planned with the seniors at 7 PM…
Around 6 PM, after some trouble finding the campsite, Christophe, Delphine, and all the kids arrived. We were finally all together and went for a quick dip in the lukewarm pool of the "parking lot" (uh… campsite!).
At 7 PM, we left to wait for the bus to tour the Strip… and a black 12-seater limousine pulled up, much to the kids’ amazement. Off we went for a 2-hour tour of the Strip, out of this world, with a stop at the famous Welcome sign (too long a line), a drive through Fremont, the light shows, champagne (screw-top, of course), and more. We stayed cool and enjoyed the lights.
Back at the campsite, we scarfed down some sandwiches. We left the AC running all night, but it was super loud.
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