July 2015: A Quick Stop in New Mexico Before Exploring Utah in Depth (page 1 of 15)

This year, we hadn’t planned on going to the United States. After two trips in 2012 and 2014, we needed to refill the piggy bank... But we didn’t count on luck: one late September afternoon in 2014, while randomly browsing the web, I stumbled upon flight tickets for $753 per person for July 2015! After some calculations and hesitation, we decided to shorten the trip compared to the previous year (22 days this time), cut down on hotel costs (80 € per night on average), and skip expensive activities (no helicopter rides, rafting, or guided tours with outfitters, etc.), but we couldn’t pass up such a great opportunity!

Here’s the budget breakdown: - Flight tickets: 3,012 € for 4 (booked directly on AA’s website). One layover on the way out (CDG / Charlotte / Phoenix) and one on the way back (LAX / London / CDG). - Hotels: 1,685 € for 22 nights, averaging 76.60 € per night. We stuck to our budget (and even did better!), thanks to affordable hotels in NM, bookings made when the exchange rate was still favorable, and 2 free nights used on Hotels.com. - Car: 952 € for 22 days renting a standard SUV (Jeep Grand Cherokee). We went through AutoEurope, and the rental company was Dollar. - Gas: Around $20 per day on average (for 5,440 km). - Food: Just under $70 per day on average (for 4 people). We did a lot of grocery shopping for picnics, ate a lot of fast food, and only went to restaurants a few times. - America the Beautiful Pass: Free (the one we bought in July 2014 was still valid until the end of July 2015). - Not covered by the pass: $175 (entry fees for State Parks, a guided tour at Mesa Verde, Pow Wow entry, etc.).

In total, we spent 7,760 € for 4 people over 22 days. On top of that, we added $50 for the NYNY roller coaster (a gift for Hugo) and $135 for the *Mystère* show (a gift for Calista and me).

Here’s the itinerary: - Lost Dutchman SP, Goldfield Ghost Town, and Apache Trail - Chiricahua NM - White Sands NM - White Sands NM, Valley of Fires SP, and Old Town Albuquerque - Taos Pueblo, Pow Wow, and Chimayo - Bandelier NM and Santa Fe - Kasha Katuwe Tent Rocks NM - Shiprock and Mesa Verde NP - Bluff, Gooseneck SP, Road Canyon, and UT95 - Little Wild Horse Canyon and Goblin Valley SP - Capitol Reef NP (Cohab Canyon and Sulphur Creek) - Burr Trail - Zebra Slot Canyon and Lower Calf Creek Falls - Mossy Cave and Cedar Breaks NM - Kanarra Creek and Zion NP (Kolob Canyons) - Coyote Buttes South (Paw Hole) - Zion NP (Progeny Peak) - Snow Canyon SP - Lake Mead and Las Vegas - Las Vegas - Las Vegas - Los Angeles and the trip back

Day 1, Tuesday, July 7

We’re off on our trip! We arrived at the airport and got in line at the US Airways counter. We booked our tickets with American Airlines, but US Airways is operating our outbound flights. The couple in front of us had some check-in issues, so the wait was a bit long and required several staff members to step in… but once it was our turn, it went quickly.

With our precious tickets in hand, we headed to security, where my handbag and backpack were set aside. No big deal for the handbag—just needed to put the cream tubes in a clear plastic bag. But the backpack was more annoying: the agent found a tube of sunscreen in one of the side pockets. We’d gone for a final walk on Sunday afternoon, and I’d forgotten the tube in the pocket when I packed on Monday. I was gutted because the tube was almost brand new and the cream left glitter on your skin, but no matter how much I gave the agent my best Puss in Boots eyes, he wasn’t moved and tossed the tube in the trash.

Ugh… So frustrating. We’re starting our vacation, and I spent a good hour sulking over my sunscreen tube—totally a girl thing! 😄 After all that, we grabbed breakfast at Starbucks and headed to the departure lounge. Our flight took off on time at 11:00 AM.

We were a little confused… We checked in at the US Airways counter, but the plane had American Airlines branding! The safety instructions, though, were under US Airways. Must be due to the merger between the two. The important thing is the plane was great—plenty of legroom and even individual screens! (Something we weren’t sure about until we sat down.) As for the positives: there were tons of movies, and most were in French. The meal was good, and the snack offered a few hours later was also tasty. For the negatives: Yannick’s screen worked for one movie and then died for the rest of the flight. The USB ports for charging phones or tablets didn’t work either.

When we arrived in Charlotte, everything went smoothly. If only it could always be like that! From deplaning to clearing immigration, barely 20 minutes had passed!

We picked up our luggage and, before handing it over for the next flight, had to go through customs. Usually, we barely notice customs, but this time we were selected for a more thorough inspection. What a day! 😠 In the end, it was quick—our bags were scanned, and we were back in the normal flow in just 5 minutes.

The second flight left and arrived on time, but the 4-hour journey felt long. At 5:45 PM, we finally landed in Phoenix! We got off the plane quickly, but the luggage took forever to arrive. Thankfully, all three bags made it—unlike last year!

Next, we took the shuttle to the new Rental Cars Center. Easy—it’s the same shuttle for all rental companies! Even better, there was no line at Dollar. The employee automatically added Road Safe without telling us, but luckily we read the contract carefully. We asked him to remove it, and he called us reckless but didn’t push it.

Dollar’s car lot is on the 3rd floor. We served ourselves in the SFAR row. This was probably the most stressful moment—we were really hoping for a Grand Cherokee, partly because it’s a great-looking SUV and partly because it’s 4x4, which could influence part of our route. And there it was… several Jeep Cherokees (what are they doing in this row??), a Kia Sorento, a Hyundai Santa Fe (no interest in an Asian car), and two Jeep Grand Cherokees! We got what we wanted—it was like Christmas! :) All that was left was to choose between white and black. We picked the white one because it had nearly new tires, only 10,200 miles on the odometer, 99% oil life remaining, a real spare tire, and, of course, it was 4x4! We’re going to love this ride so much that we’ll struggle to return it in three weeks.

We left the rental center after 7:00 PM. After figuring out how the car worked, finding our hotel in Mesa (25 minutes from the Rental Cars Center), grabbing burritos at Taco Bell, and taking a shower, it was almost 9:00 PM when we went to bed. The funniest part? We were full of energy despite the travel fatigue and jet lag, but as soon as the sun started setting, the sandman hit, and we *had* to go to bed!

Hotel: Quality Inn in Mesa, 47.90 € with breakfast Day’s summary: Overall, everything went well during the trip. We’re happy with American Airlines’ service. As for the car, we couldn’t have asked for better. The real adventure starts tomorrow!

Hi Peggy,

Chiricahua NM

Watch the spelling—I initially thought you were placing Chiricahua in New Mexico.

Have a great trip.

Hi Peggy

It’s off to a great start and the itinerary looks amazing...

Bern

Day 2 Wednesday, July 8

We’re the first ones at breakfast at 6:00 AM. There’s plenty of choice—it’s really not bad. For the price we paid, it’s perfect! Then we try to grab a few things at a gas station (given the early hour, nothing else is open), but we don’t find much for lunch.

We head toward Lost Dutchman State Park. After paying the $7 entry fee, we park the car and start the Treasure Loop trail. It’s nearly 8:00 AM, there are a few other people around, but definitely not a crowd.

We take our time on the hike—it’s our first walk, so we need to stretch our legs! Plus, we’re so happy to be there. It’s warm but not too hot, and the landscapes are gorgeous… we’re really soaking it all in! It takes us a little over 1.5 hours to cover 3.8 km.

A closer look at Goldfield Ghost Town, where we’re heading next.

The town is supposed to open at 10:00 AM, and it’s 10:15, but everything’s dead… the name fits! We take a few cool photos, but we’re not blown away, so we head back toward the Apache Trail.

Canyon Lake

We arrive in Tortilla Flat a little after 11:00 AM. It’s still early, but breakfast was a while ago, and we don’t have much in the cooler for a picnic… so we give in and try the saloon and its burgers! We’re not disappointed.

Just past Tortilla Flat, the road ends and the trail begins. It’s very drivable.

Hello Peggy,

I found flight tickets for 753 € per person for July 2015!

When the opportunity arises, you take it 😉

So in total, we spent 7,760 € for 4 people for 22 days there.

Great budget management!

For the itinerary, we have a few stops in common... I can’t wait to hear your feedback on Zebra...

End of Day 2, Wednesday, July 8

We pass through some stunning landscapes

we follow the Salt River

and pass by the Theodore Roosevelt Dam

and the Roosevelt Lake Bridge. This stretch of the Apache Trail was really great!

Then we make a little detour through Tonto NM, but it’s way too hot to hike (around 39°C) and there’s not much to see without walking. So we keep driving to Globe. We’re still on the Apache Trail, but the road is paved and much less scenic than the other stretch. And between Globe and Willcox, the drive feels long (2 hours). We can’t wait to get to the hotel.

We arrive around 6:00 PM, but once we see the hotel and the room, we realize it wasn’t worth the rush… There are rolls of carpet stacked in front of the entrance, it smells musty, and there’s an earwig taped under the shower instructions! The kids still want to go to the pool, but I’m not tempted. Luckily, this will be the only bad hotel choice we make during the trip.

After a quick picnic dinner, lights out—it’s not even 9:00 PM!

Hotel: Super 8 in Willcox, 56.50 € with breakfast Lost Dutchman SP: $7 Day’s summary: It was a beautiful first day in the U.S. We loved Lost Dutchman SP and the Apache Trail! The day didn’t end on a high note with our hotel, but no big deal—we’re leaving tomorrow!

Next part here!

Hi Peggy,

A beautiful trip focused on "off the beaten path" spots, very well planned, that brings together many of the places I’ve visited on my "western" travels—and I’m going to enjoy reliving them thanks to you! 😊

One surprise: no Yant Flat? 😮 But you chose Progeny Peak instead... (Between Progeny Peak, which I’d had on my radar for my 2013 road trip for ages, and Yant Flat—a site I only discovered a few days before our departure—I immediately picked the latter, even though it was still unknown on the forums at the time. The few photos leaked on Google Earth back then had me super excited!) You did that on purpose so you’d have an excuse to go back, didn’t you? 😉

*"Total: 7760 € for 4 people for 22 days on site"*

An impressive feat, especially the year the euro lost so much value against the dollar. Could you share the names of the hotels for each stop?

*"One late September afternoon in 2014, while randomly browsing the web, I stumbled upon flight tickets for 753 € per person for July 2015!"*

Come on, the trip wasn’t planned... but you weren’t just casually checking flight ticket websites for fun in your free time, right? 😜 If you tell me you love scouring online sites for cheap flights, I’m hiring you immediately for my next trip! 😏

You love scouring online sites for cheap flight tickets, I’d hire you on the spot for my next trip 😏

+1 with Jacqueline! 😉 So glad you started your trip with sunshine! 😎 - Nice catch on the Safe Road added automatically, spotted even after a long flight! - 😛 I’m happily tagging along with you on these long freezing evenings...😇

Hi Alain-Pierre,

Watch the wording—I first thought you placed Chiricahua in New Mexico.

Nope, it’s just to include the full names of the parks and to distinguish National Monuments from National Parks and State Parks. But I can remove them if it’s too confusing...

Hi Bern, Welcome to the travel journal!

Hi Jean-Philippe,

Great job keeping expenses under control!

Thanks! It’s true, we’re happy with ourselves, but it still meant setting aside big sums every month...

I can’t wait to hear your thoughts on Zebra...

It wasn’t the right season... but I’m already saying too much! 😉

Hello

Really jealous you got to pick your car in Phoenix—I couldn’t with Alamo—and that you got to do the Apache Trail.

No, happy for you!

Hi Jacqueline,

A surprise: no Yant Flat? 😮 You did that on purpose so you could go back again😉

Yant Flat was on the itinerary, but it was at the end of the trip. We ended up feeling too tired to get up early and be at the parking lot by 7:00 AM... Since we’d already visited in 2014 during the worst hours of the day, we decided to skip it this time to avoid repeating the experience. It’ll definitely be on the agenda for our next trip—we’re only going for 16 days, so fatigue shouldn’t be an issue 😉

Could you share the names of the hotels for each stop?

Yes, they’re listed at the end of each day. But I think we got really lucky... For 2016, with the poor exchange rate and huge price increases at most hotels, we’re struggling to find rooms at decent prices (we still want hotels that are at least a little nice—it’s our only vacation of the year...). We’ve set an average budget of 100 € per night, but even with that much, we’re not managing to stick to our budget so far...

Admit it, the trip wasn’t planned... you weren’t just browsing airline ticket websites for fun in your free time 😛

No, I admit it—I’d occasionally check airline websites, hoping for a good deal but not really expecting one. It was actually a post on VoyageForum at the end of September that did it: someone said they’d just bought super-cheap tickets with AA, though I think it was for June. I rushed to the site to check for our dates, and there it was... A week later, in early October, they were even cheaper—we could’ve paid 2700 € instead of 3000... you can’t have it all! But after that, I always found them more expensive.

Hi Pierre,

Glad you started your trip with sunshine! 😎

But it wasn’t all sunshine... we brought the rain to New Mexico with us! [;]

Hi Gilles,

So jealous you got to pick your car in Phoenix—with Alamo, that wasn’t an option for us!

Yeah, I remember that well—we talked about it in your travel journal. That was actually one of the reasons we were stressing before we got to Dollar!

Hi Peggy, What does the Road Safe option with Dollar refer to, please?

This year, we hadn’t planned to go to the United States. After two trips in 2012 and 2014, we needed to refill the piggy bank… But we didn’t count on luck...

What luck indeed! And kudos for sticking to the budget 👍🏽

I’m following you again with pleasure, Peggy. Since our teens are now in that post-high-school phase, I’m mostly traveling vicariously these days ;)

congrats on sticking to the budget

+1! 😉 By the way, for those whose brains are fried (like mine ), that works out to: 2000 € per person for 22 days, which is...90 € per person per day, all included! 🙂We often get "budget" questions on the forum, and I think a baseline of 100 € per day per person isn’t bad at all—proof’s in the pudding!

Hi Peggy! So glad to see your travel journal! 😎 Looks like we took advantage of the same flight deals... And we could’ve ended up on the same plane if our schedules had lined up—we arrived in Phoenix on Saturday, July 4th. 😉 Have a great evening!