In Search of Warmth in California, Utah, and Arizona in February (page 1 of 13)

It all started last December, after another price alert from Gilou for United/Lufthansa flights at 250 € from Paris to San Francisco. Meanwhile, I was planning to spend a week alone with our three kids (Maxime, 14, Rachel, 12, and Timéo, 8) somewhere in France for the February break.

But this time, Gilou really outdid himself—way too tempting! 😮 His great tip worked for both the February and Easter breaks. I know April is the ideal month, especially if you love hiking! But for family reasons, only February would work for us.

Isn’t February a month to avoid for the Southwest? To keep our summer trip budget intact, I was thinking of camping as much as possible. After checking weather sites for temperature histories in key spots (Furnace Creek, Saint George, Page, Sedona), nighttime temps over the past two years ranged from +5 to -2°C. So, it seemed doable...

I started discussing (aka negotiating, even begging) with my better half. The kids caught on fast that there was a chance we’d go, and they were thrilled! She finally gave her consent to make the kids happy 😎. I quickly checked that our ESTAs were still valid, and 48 hours later, I had the tickets in hand 😎😎. But five days later, Laetitia changed her mind—her "Yes" turned back into a "No." No way were we going without her to her favorite country!!

Damn it 🤪! I had to tell her I’d already bought the four tickets (without bringing it up again, of course—a "Yes" is a "Yes," right?). And since the tickets were non-refundable, there was no going back... Apparently, with women, some "Yeses" mean *really* yes, but others mean, "I said yes in principle, but I wasn’t actually on board—and I never thought you’d have the nerve to buy the tickets without telling me!!" I had no idea 🤪!

Us guys? We’re way more straightforward—binary, even monetary... Yes means yes! And no can mean yes too 😏!! Anyway, in a lovely family atmosphere, I opened a thread to start planning and thanked Trois14 and Bluemesa for their help. On Trois14’s advice, I booked 5 nights in motels around St. George-Page at super tempting rates—around $35-40 a night...

On that note, Christmas cost me an arm and a leg... Gotta try to make up for it 😛!

Here’s the theoretical itinerary:

Death Valley (2 days) Valley of Fire The White Dome (hike up and down via Squirrel Canyon) 4 nights in the Kanab-Page area Sedona (2 days) Route 66 Alabama Hills / Trona Pinnacles Drive back to SFO via Highway 1

That’s the plan, at least...

In reality, it turned into a whole different story. I learned that in February, you’ve got to be flexible—*very* flexible sometimes—to dodge the weather. Halfway through, a cold snap made our second week (planned 100% camping) impossible, completely upending the itinerary.

So, a huge thanks to PapJ59, Noyellebis, and especially Caribou44 and Simonic. 🙂 A thousand thanks for your quick responses, availability, and sound advice, which let us have an original and unforgettable second week—Organ Pipe Cactus NM, Yuma, Salvation Mountain, Anza Borrego SP, a palm grove in Joshua Tree, then back to SFO!! Without you, we’d have been miserable on the spot, but instead... 😇

A big shout-out to Thibaut and his famous blog (rightfully praised on VF—it’s one of the few that details Organ Pipe), to travel journal writers for inspiration in general, and to those who helped me prep or during the trip (journals by Pong, Hiacinthe, Zitounet, and Laetitia).

Now, for the story...

Good evening Guillaume

Hop! I’m on board.. 😎

I’m glad our past trips inspired you and gave you the chance to discover and appreciate this region of the USA, far from the usual tourist trails and unfairly overlooked. On the other hand, there are a lot fewer people there.... 🙂 And, what’s more, VF, despite the turbulence, clashes, impatience, and demands, survives in its original spirit.

Alain

J0-1 From the South to Charles de Gaulle This Friday, February 8th, early in the morning, the kids and I leave Mom for one last day of school or work. Instead of the usual "have a good trip!", we get "I hope you freeze in that tent!" We all play along, pretending to be sad 😏... No one noticed at the time that she had just stuck needles into a voodoo doll!! 🏴‍☠️

We leave in the late afternoon and arrive around 3 AM near Paris CDG. We nap for four short hours in the car, then leave it at our long-term parking, where the staff takes us to CDG for our Lufthansa flight.

We have two large suitcases to check: one dedicated to camping gear, and the second for all the miscellaneous items (sand recovery board, bowls, stove, tow cable, first-aid kit, multiple car/outlet adapters, tripod...).

Quick side note: Since we planned to be completely self-sufficient for six days, I bought a set of USB chargers (DSLR battery, GPS battery charger, air mattress, headlamps...) that could be plugged into a multi-USB port (x4). Everything worked well, and all four USB ports were often in use!



After a long wait at check-in, the agent tells us we should have pre-paid for the luggage check at the counter across the way. We’ll know for next time! The fee is 100 € per bag. No surprises: it’s the same price at the counter as it is online.

At our layover in Munich, it’s not crowded at all!



When boarding, we think the plane looks huge... Yessss! It’s an A380 for the long haul—a first for us!



"Kids, don’t tell Mom about this...!" The only problem is that we boarded early, right after business and premium economy, as a "family." But the entrance is on the upper deck, so we had to walk through the entire plane, go down the stairs,



and then head back to our economy seats, crossing paths with a bunch of annoyed people! Really poorly designed. 😠

Despite our shamefully cheap tickets, we got the same meal trays as everyone else, wine and alcohol included—just like a non-low-cost flight. For the kids, it was almost the worst flight ever: limited movie selection, a glitchy touchscreen with terrible ergonomics... In the end, we were almost disappointed by the A380, since we expected something extraordinary! Still, it was a great tip from Gilou, and I’m still grateful 😉!

During the flight, I force myself to sleep as much as possible (6 hours—a record!), because upon arrival in SFO, I don’t plan to linger and want to reach Death Valley as quickly as possible...

We land at 7:40 PM. My FREE mobile SIM doesn’t work—and never will—because of a plan I subscribed to less than a year ago, which makes it impossible to activate the travel option 😠! Pretty annoying, considering I need to check the weather regularly to plan ahead 😠!!

At customs, I get grilled by a very suspicious immigration officer with an impressive questionnaire: -Why isn’t their mother here? - She’s working... -Are you visiting family in the U.S.? - "Absolutely no family," and I start explaining what we’re going to see, but she doesn’t care... -Why aren’t the kids in school? - Well, because they’re on vacation!! And I start explaining the school vacation system, but she doesn’t care... -What’s your profession? -... (Do I ask you questions?) -How much money do you have? - "$200, but I have three credit cards." I show her my cards and start seriously freaking out 🤪. I insist again on the purpose of my trip, giving her my day-by-day itinerary... (Usually, I just say "holiday" and it works!) -How many times have you been to the U.S.? - Three times for the kids and four for me, always to visit the Southwest!

She finally lets us go! Unbelievable how different the treatment is when you’re traveling alone versus with a partner!! Mom was definitely missed in that moment... 😏

Last novelty at the airport: picking up our rental car from Hertz with the Gold Plus Rewards Card. Last summer at LAX, we had to take a shuttle bus and wait two hours at the AVIS counter. This time, at SFO, the transfer to the rental cars is via a cool aerial metro, and we lose at most 5 minutes while the employee registers our Visa card. Then, we head to the back, see our name on a board, and go straight to our spot where a Ford Explorer is waiting for us!! It’s 9 PM—only 1 hour and 20 minutes to complete all the formalities since landing! 😎 And next time, it’ll be even faster since we can go straight to the board!

SFO has become our favorite airport...

The Ford is almost new, with 11,460 miles on the odometer, and best of all, it has the 4x4 logo on the back! However, unlike its big brother, the Expedition, I don’t see the "2H, 4L, 4H" dial. Instead, there’s a knob to select "mountain" or "snow" mode. We probably won’t need any of that... 😛

We leave San Francisco in the rain to do over an hour of shopping at a Walmart in San Jose, spotted before departure and conveniently located near the 101.

Then at 11 PM, we continue our journey toward Death Valley. After a full night on the plane and in full jet lag, I’m not really sleepy, so we keep driving... still in the rain.

The kids are asleep, some even snoring...

At 1 AM (which is 4 PM back home), I hit a wall, so we stop at a rest area for a quick nap. Wait, do those phones still exist?

Hi Alain, So glad you’re the first to hop on board!! 🙂

VF, despite the turbulence, the clashes, the impatience, and the demands, survives in its original spirit.

Absolutely, we’ve been lucky enough to experience the very essence of this forum 😉 !

Good evening, I love it! I’ve been reading all the discussions in the shadows, gathering ideas for my first trip next year 😉 I love your humor, and yeah, women *can* be hard to figure out sometimes! 😜😉 Can’t wait for the rest…

Day 2, Sunday 02/10 – Alabama Hills – Death Valley (Titus Canyon)

I set my alarm for 2:30 AM, but at 1:45, the kids wake me up because they’re no longer sleepy and are bored... They ask me to keep driving so we can enjoy the trip! ??? No idea who they take after... 😏

So, I obey, and we continue toward Bakersfield. At 4 AM, we fill up at a 7-Eleven where 3 or 4 sketchy guys are hanging around—real drifters 🤪. I tell Maxime not to get out of the car to grab his e-reader from the trunk. When it’s time to pay, I have to walk past them. Up close, they’re even scarier—you’d think we were dealing with *Breaking Bad* junkies (we’d just started season 2 right before leaving...). Though at 4 in the morning, we’re not exactly gonna run into guys in suits and ties! 😏

Note that I often drive a little over the speed limit, but not excessively. Good thing, too, because around 6 AM, on Highway 14 between Mojave and Lone Pine, a police car started chasing a car that had passed me a few minutes earlier. Yet, we thought we were all alone...

At sunrise, it’s pretty chilly—barely 3°C—and we find ourselves near Owens Lake, just a few miles before Lone Pine.



We soak up those first long-awaited rays of sunshine on American soil after covering 440 miles in one go. The trip can finally begin!! What an emotion 😇!



Life seems suspended in this early morning hour...





Only the cows watch us out of the corner of their eyes while grazing. The sun struggles to break through the overcast sky.



Today, the plan was to only visit Racetrack Playa via Hunter Mountain Road. Since it’s still early, I decide to make a detour to Alabama Hills despite the cloudy sky.

The first arch we look for is Whitney Portal Arch. The only clue is the map of the most famous arches on Itat’s blog.

At the spot I’d marked during my prep (36.60092°, -118.15369°), we come across this massive rock formation.



We can’t see anything from the road 😕. Yet, the printed photo from Itat’s blog seems to confirm we were in the right area, but we don’t insist—maybe the arch is tiny...

On the road, a painted rock,



The sun makes a few appearances, but given the number of clouds, it won’t last...



The trails are in great condition, and we get as close as possible to Heart Arch thanks to the GPS. It’s not exactly the main trail, but we park as close as we can...

We won’t risk losing sight of the 4x4...



We arrive at our first spot: Heart Arch (36.61328° -118.12359°), unless it’s "Behind the Heart" (still based on Itat’s map).



Good thing Tim was there, because the other three of us walked right past it without looking up—none of us noticed it! With its 1.25 m height, he’s often forced to keep his head up... 😏 The two older kids try to climb up to it but no luck...

A little further, another arch that might look more like a heart!



We continue our walk toward the famous Moebius Arch. The sky is completely overcast... but despite that, the scenery is stunning—the rock formations have shapes and colors similar to Joshua Tree NP. We love it...



Then, here’s the famous Moebius Arch. Luckily, faint rays of sunlight manage to break through the cloud cover for a few seconds. We take advantage!





Throughout the site, we only ran into 6 or 7 cars. So, it’s not crowded, which adds to the peaceful vibe in the park. As we head back to the car, we stumble upon 4 cute little caves (36.61220° -118.12357°).



Then we continue our tour of the arches. The next one on the route is Eye of Alabama (36.61635° -118.11711°).







Before leaving Alabama Hills, we head to the far north, where there are two referenced spots: Boot and Cyclops. No precise coordinates saved.

But we quickly find "Boot," which isn’t named that for nothing... (36.63277°, -118.13341°)



For Cyclops (36.63002°, -118.13515°), it still takes us a few minutes to find it...



It’s a beautiful double arch, probably the most unique on the site, even if it doesn’t have a clear view in the background.

Around 9:30 AM, we leave this park, unfairly overlooked in favor of its neighboring giants like Death Valley, Sequoia NP, or Yosemite... We’ll be back because there are still a few arches left to discover under the sun!

Hi Aline, Welcome!

I’m gathering ideas for my first big trip next year 😏

Make sure your first trip is extra special—one that’ll leave you in awe and create magical, unforgettable memories!

It’s like the restrooms—there’s a lower one for the kids ^^

We’re packing a "light sweater" and boarding! This is gonna be good... Christelle

Good evening; Thanks for this new travel journal! I’ve been thinking a lot about you and your kids during your trip, especially about the weather. Two weeks before, it was 27°C in Los Angeles. That’s just the ups and downs of travel.

I also really like San Francisco Airport. I love the A380—took it four times with LUF and British Airways—and find it comfortable and quiet. In September, Air France has round-trip direct flights from Paris to San Francisco for 332 € on the A380.

332 € Round-trip DIRECT PARIS-LOS ANGELES on A380 with Air France from Sept 10 to Oct 3.

Hey Guillaume, Just got back from training and what do I stumble upon? Your trip report from your little winter getaway! Had a good laugh reading it! It starts off at full speed, but I wouldn’t expect anything less from you 😉 Over 600 km after landing—that was your way of unwinding after the tense immigration process. 😉 A 6-hour nap on the plane—it’s in moments like these we realize we’re getting older 😏

Hey Gilles,

In September Air France has round-trip direct tickets from Paris to SF for 332 € on the A380

Wow, you’ve really decided to stir things up in their relationship! 😏

Good evening,

No, I hadn’t thought of that at all—my wife will be joining me next time. But when I see flight tickets at 230 € and SUV rentals at 23 € this year, it’s really a shame not to take advantage of it. Winter sports in France cost way more.

No, didn’t think of that at all. My wife will be coming along next time.

I sure hope so, but I think they’ve got other plans for this summer 😅

While I’ve got you, do you happen to know why flights to SF and LA are so cheap in September, but fares to LV, SLC, or Denver are pretty steep (1000 € or more)?

Good evening,

There’s fierce competition between airlines—in December, they were selling tickets for less than the airport taxes. I wondered if Americans, like certain regions in France with Ryanair, might be subsidizing flights to boost tourism. A Los Angeles-Paris flight during the same period costs more than double, and even a Montreal-Los Angeles flight is pricier than from Paris. That said, this year there haven’t been many deals from regional airports except for February 4th, and nothing since then!

hi there I’m heading there too when was it exactly?

Hello Christelle, Nathalie, Pascal, and Gilles!

A 6-hour nap on the plane—it’s in moments like these that you realize you’re getting older 😏

Still, a good night’s sleep helps you keep going afterward 😛.

Wow, you’ve really decided to stir things up in their relationship! 😏

I temporarily unsubscribed from Gilou’s thread to avoid any temptation 😏

When I see flight tickets at 230 € and SUV rentals at 23 € this year, it’s such a shame not to take advantage. Winter sports in France cost more.

That’s what I told my colleagues who just got back from skiing—their week-long trip (way pricier) seemed pretty dull to me! But hey, to each their own... Thankfully, most people head to the slopes, or else those great tips would be gone...

What dates was that?

From February 9th to the 23rd, during our Zone B school break.

oops I thought your tube photos were of your USB connections!!!

Hi Guillaume,

I was on the lookout... I knew you’d left with your 3 kids. I’m in! 😉

I’m keeping an eye out—I think Peggy’s going to make her travel journal too; they’re always great. Alright, here’s to some reading and beautiful photos—let’s go...

Hello,

It’s off to a great start with the Alabama Hills and Lone Pine, which we’ll be visiting in June—just looking at the first photos is making my mouth water!

I’ll be following your travel journal with interest and excitement.

Can’t wait for the next installment! 😊