USA 2018 - Las Vegas, St George, Bryce, Kanab, Yellowstone, Moab: SUV + RV trip – mosquitoes in the North, storms in the South
Nine Bretons in the USA from June 24 to July 20, 2018: Greenery and mosquitoes in the North, heat and storms in the South
Choosing the trip:
After returning from the USA in 2014 (travel journal here), it was clear we’d go back, this time with the firm intention of bringing our kids. 😇
2015 was the year of Scotland (travel journal here), 2016 was a work year, and 2017 was the discovery of Aragon in Spain (travel journal here)… Meanwhile, our kids’ age still seemed like a hurdle for this kind of trip. The long wait turned out to be an advantage, letting us refine the project and rally others: what started as a two-week trip for four turned into three weeks for nine!! JF’s parents (M&P, who’d already been in 2014) and JF’s brother (C&D&Y) joined our little family (C&JF&A&L)!!😎 After plenty of family discussions, route tweaks, travel journal reads, and advice from VF (plus some specialized books like Photographing the Southwest by Laurent Martrès), we made up our minds—fully aware of the constraints—and split the trip in two:
- First week, just the four of us in an SUV + hotels, looping from LV (Valley of Fire, Saint George, Bryce, Kanab), focusing on rocky, sandy, and colorful hikes:
- Followed by two weeks with nine people in 2 RVs + campgrounds, as close to nature as possible in the parks (Snow Canyon, Kodachrome, Yellowstone, Arches, Canyonlands, Dead Horse, Monument Valley, Grand Canyon):
🙂Before going further, we want to thank the forum members who took the time to answer our questions. Your patience and kindness are amazing! We might forget someone, but thank you all: Jpg13, Mlefebvre, Kast13,Glll2012New, PCecile, Aquilegia, Adumas4, Ju45, Mycovtt, Natb72, Soula1, Orionide, Simonic, Hiacinthe, etc.Traveling with nine people (ages 9 to 76, including three kids!!) requires some serious logistics and near-perfect timing to avoid wasting time. The plan went off without a hitch😎… well, almost—we’ll get into the details later…😛🏴☠️🙂 In the end, we came back enchanted and happy!! 🙂The family aspect played a big part, but we also discovered spots that were much less crowded, definitely less known to the general public and the hordes of Asian tourists… The kids returned with stars in their eyes, and the adults with just as many memories (plus around 1,200 photos and 130 GB of GoPro video to sort through)!!😎 We’re already feeling the itch to go back—a Denver loop is starting to take shape…😇
Thoughts on the Americans we met and places we visited: They haven’t changed since 2014… Still cool, optimistic, and smiling, always ready to strike up a conversation and offer help—even without the lure of our tourist dollars. (Only two cold locals at Monument Valley clearly made little effort to help us.) We noticed a few changes in the parks😕: some infrastructure was less well-maintained (wobbly wooden walkways, for example), French info pamphlets disappeared from entrance huts, and there were fewer rangers (Lee’s Ferry ranger station was closed). These changes are likely due to Trump’s restrictive policies toward national parks. On the economic side, gas prices rose by 30% since 2014, now around 0.85 € per liter, and with the current exchange rate, conditions are much less favorable for European tourists than in 2014. But this area is so beautiful—too bad Americans have such an idiot for a president!😠
The flights: Round-trip Paris CDG to Las Vegas LAS Roissy to Los Angeles with Air Tahiti Nui, then American Airlines for Los Angeles to Las Vegas. The A340s were impeccable, and service was great with Air Tahiti Nui (the tiare flower given at boarding), and no complaints about AA either.🙂
The hotels: All booked in advance, either through Hotels.com or directly on the hotel’s website (like the Planet Hollywood in Las Vegas). No surprises, everything met expectations.🙂 It’s a real plus for a family of four to have two beds in every room… Still rare in France.
The campgrounds: Except for one night at Lee’s Ferry, all were booked from France through NPS, Xanterra, and KOA sites. No surprises here either—everything met expectations and was well-organized (fire rings and tables at every site, for example).🙂
The vehicles:
First week: Four people in a GMC Yukon XL from HERTZ, at Las Vegas airport for 327 €, unlimited miles, second driver, and insurance. A typically American beast—355 hp, seven seats: it’s long, big, wide, and tall😮😎😎!! Impeccable condition, quiet, super comfortable with tons of safety features and gadgets (like weather updates tied to GPS!!), and it averaged about 12 L/100 km in 2WD (in 4WD, we nearly hit 19 L on the Stukumpah Road…). A total win thanks to the HERTZ GOLD card, following Jpg13’s advice (Jean-Pierre, you’re my idol!!😎). It let us skip the counter lines (we didn’t even stop there!), pick up the car, and leave the parking lot in under seven minutes… Even less time for the return!
Second and third weeks: Nine people in two RVs. A 30-foot RV + a 25-foot RV from CRUISE AMERICA in Las Vegas for 5000 €, unlimited miles, kitchenware, and linens/towels/comforters.
A love story in 2014 with this same agency, but unfortunately, this year was much more mixed: aging RVs, ineffective AC in the C30, a leak in the C25’s skylight, a leak in the C25’s toilet drain valve (imagine the dump every time we opened the drain plug…😠🙁), late delivery of both RVs (after 5 PM, though the contract said 4 PM max), abnormal wear on the front tires (we’d discover that later😠), trouble closing the door, etc.In short, a disappointment.😠
Note that other rental companies (El Monte and Road Bear) are probably gaining market share—we saw a lot of their vehicles on the road, and they offer much newer models (at least on the outside) for similar prices…🙂
But setting aside those issues, the vehicles still did their job: letting us sleep as close to nature as possible in the parks and enjoy beautiful sunrises/sunsets with family campfires and marshmallows flambéed with Jack Daniel’s Tennessee Honey😇!!😎 Also worth noting: Cruise America’s solid roadside assistance (we’ll talk more about that later), and how easy it was to drive these beasts—nearly 10 meters long! (Our walkie-talkies were super handy for communication between the two RVs.)
And for the last day, a Ford Transit 12-seater from Hertz, at Las Vegas airport for 145 € for 24 hours. Perfect for a day with nine people and nine suitcases + nine bags!! Everything fit in the trunk, and it let us explore LV independently (including a trip to the outlet) for less than three taxis would’ve cost…😎There you have it—the scene is set! If you’re interested in the rest, feel free to join in. The travel journal is done on the computer, and we’re up to day 11 for photos… We should be posting daily!!🙂
See you soon. Christelle & JF
Once there, the pink shuttle drops us off at the hotel where we booked a family room with a mezzanine (still pretty rare in France).
We have an apéritif, scarf down our sandwiches, review our road book, and charge our devices, etc. We also watch *Back to the Future III*, which takes place mostly in the Wild West, especially Monument Valley.
On our seats, we find a pillow, a blanket, and a kit with earplugs, an eye mask, headphones, a wipe, and socks. The flight goes smoothly with just a few minor bumps. Two meals are served, and snacks are available at the back of the plane (watch out—lots of coconut-based stuff, it’s Air Tahiti!).
We only sleep 1 or 2 hours and enjoy the movies and games on the personal screens. Along the way, we admire the icy expanses of Greenland and fly over Las Vegas (we could’ve parachuted down to save time).
We land in Los Angeles only 5 minutes late, but the control tower gave the wrong gate—we wait 25 minutes to deplane, and of course, it’s the farthest gate in the international terminal! 😛 After that, it’s a mad dash: immigration at the kiosks, then a short line to see an agent (a few questions), luggage pickup (which takes a while), customs (a few more questions), and dropping off our bags. Security is super quick—the kids don’t need to take off their shoes, and we all go through the small scanner together. Then we sprint to the back of Terminal 4 to find our plane... 🤪 which isn’t at the gate listed on our tickets! After a few minutes of searching, we finally find it!! There are 13 minutes left before boarding starts—just enough time to hit the restroom!
The kids fall asleep right away and aren’t bothered by the strong turbulence or the braking on landing. We take the shuttle to pick up our luggage (which takes forever), then the shuttle to the rental car area. The driver loads our bags and gives us a sales pitch for Las Vegas.
With the Hertz Gold card, the car is already waiting for us in the parking lot—it’s huge (a GMC Yukon XL)! This card is such a comfort, thanks to Jpg13 for the tip!
Our GPS refuses to help us find the hotel, so we end up using Maps.me on the tablet.
Annwen and Louenn are already back to sleep! We arrive at the Super 8 in Nellis. A snack and a cake from our bags, a shower, and off to bed! It’s 5:30 AM in France...
At 8:20 a.m., we started the Seven Wonders loop. But the heat got the better of us! Fire Wave and Pink Canyon wore us out, and after just two wonders, we turned back—it was too hot. We needed time to adjust… The day before, we were still enjoying our 20°C (68°F) Breton weather! By the time we got back to the car, it was already 100°F (~38°C)!!!🏴☠️
The Visitor Center offered a refreshing and educational break (with lots of stuffed animals and terrariums housing some pretty snakes), plus a cute chipmunk behind the glass. Under the blazing sun—43°C (109°F) on the thermometer—we didn’t even have the energy for the short walk to Elephant Rock. 🏴☠️
We got back to the hotel by 9 p.m. but were too tired to go back to the pool as planned!
Before bed, JF downloaded his photos and videos from the day onto the laptop. Everything *seemed* fine…😕😕
The trail alternates between rocky and sandy, often in full sun but sometimes shaded by a few trees. On the sand, we spot lots of wavy tracks that we assume are from snakes!! Later, after visiting a visitor center, we learn they’re actually from lizards—specifically, their tails!! Ah, JF’s "snake-phobia"!
Once we arrive at the site, we enjoy the peace and beauty of the landscape for 45 minutes.
We get back to the car at 10 a.m., and it’s 32°C (90°F). It’s pretty bearable now that we’re acclimated...😎
Annwen and Louenn proudly take the wheel of the 4x4 for a few meters. We spot wild turkeys on the road and a peacock in the fancy properties of Leeds.
We return to the hotel to have lunch in the cool (shredded carrots/salad/cheddar/fruit) and go for a swim (with a hat because the sun’s really beating down!).
A short walk downtown lets the kids cool off under the multiple water jets at Saint George’s splash pad. Americans really know how to design pleasant urban squares (play areas, water jets, shaded tables...). For them, it’s also a place to meet and share with family. Unfortunately, stepping back onto the sidewalks dries us out again—the wind and sun are relentless, our eyes sting, and our lungs burn!!
We do some shopping at Smith’s, which has a better selection of fresh produce than Walmart (we even spotted some camembert!).
Next, we head to Snow Canyon State Park—a small but stunning park, though it’s probably more photogenic in the morning (no worries, we’ll be back in a week to sleep there in an RV with the rest of the family). The colors are striking, with black lava flows contrasting against white, red, yellow, and orange. It’s still hot, so we just do the short Jenny’s Canyon hike.
Back at the hotel, we quickly eat dinner in the room (shredded carrots/salad/cheddar/yogurt) and head back to the pool until 10 p.m. The kids had been dreaming of swimming "under the stars"—mission accomplished! Louenn makes an American friend and plays with her for a long time. The pool is nice—it even lights up—but like in many hotels, it’s right by the road!
