Epic RV Trip - 2022
A narrative describing this trip is necessary for several reasons. The main one being to record our thoughts, experiences, and feelings while they are still fresh in our minds. Yes, we have some photographs and video, but they alone could never accurately and completely describe the trip.
We spent countless hours researching and learning about RVs and towing during 2020 and into 2021. We’re strong believers in being as prepared as possible. In January of 2021 we purchased a Ford F250 pickup truck with the intent of renting travel trailers and going on RV glamping trips. Glamping being camping with a nice RV and full hook ups. In 2021 we rented a small Airstream travel trailer for four separate trips. The longest of which took us to Erie, PA. These four trips served as learning and experience gaining RV adventures all in preparation for the epic trip of 2022.
The planning for the epic trip began in October 2021 and took literally weeks and several versions of the trip in RV Trip Wizard. The main goals of the trip were to visit southern Utah exploring the Moab area and a few of the National Parks then wandering down into Arizona with a stop in Sedona to visit with Barb’s sister Judy. Barb also wanted to stop in Boulder CO on the way out.
We found a local travel trailer on Outdoorsy that suited our needs. As it turned out the family who owns the RV are incredibly nice people and invited us over to meet them and have a look at the RV prior to committing to the rental. We liked it and booked it for 35 nights with a day at our house on both ends of the trip. We wanted time to load it up and then unload and clean it after returning. This trailer was ten feet longer than the tiny Airstream we rented in 2021 so it came with some challenges and anxieties. One of the biggest concerns was trailer sway which can be extremely dangerous. We knew that at some point we’d encounter some wind. Fortunately, this trailer came with an anti-sway weight distribution hitch. After this experience I’d be extremely hesitant to tow a large heavy trailer without a proper hitch. This hitch performed extremely well.
Our iPhones were loaded up with all sorts of RV and weather-related apps.
In total the trip included 18 legs/travel days and 35 nights. The return trip followed the outbound trip except for one campground. The itinerary is listed below.
Home to Country Acres Campground (one night) in Ravenna, OH (354 miles).
Ravenna, OH to Michigan City Campground (one night) in Michigan City IN (337 miles).
Michigan City, IN to Kellogg RV Park (one night) in Kellogg, IA (333 miles).
Kellogg IA to Kearney RV Park (one night) in Kearney NE (356 miles).
Kearney NE to LaVern M. Johnson Park (three nights) in Lyons, CO (376 miles).
Lyons, CO to Palisade Basecamp RV Resort (two nights) in Palisade, CO (272 miles). This leg of the trip took us through the I-70 mountain pass through the Rocky Mountains.
Palisade, CO to Moab Valley RV Resort (four nights) in Moab, UT (125 miles).
Moab, UT to Ruby’s Inn RV Park and Campground (three nights) in Bryce Canyon, UT (271 miles).
Bryce Canyon, UT to Antelope Point Marina RV Park (four nights) in Page, AZ (161 miles).
Page, AZ to Rain Spirit RV Resort (four nights) in Clarkdale, AZ (near Sedona) (212 miles).
Clarkdale, AZ to Moab Valley RV Resort (two nights) in Moab, UT (397 miles). This was the beginning of the return trip and was the driving day from hell. More on that later.
Moab, UT to Palisade Basecamp RV Resort in Palisade, CO. (125 miles).
Palisade, CO to LaVern M. Johnson Park (two nights) in Lyons, CO (272 miles) and back through the I-70 mountain pass.
Lyons, CO to Kearney RV Park (one night) in Kearney NE (376 miles).
Kearney, NE to Kellogg RV Park (one night) in Kellogg, IA (333 miles).
Kellogg, IA to Michigan City Campground (one night) in Michigan City IN (337 miles).
Michigan City, IN to Streetsboro / Cleveland KOA (one night) in Streetsboro, OH (312 miles).
Streetsboro, OH to Home (373 miles).
All our campground reservations were booked well in advance of the trip, and all had full hook ups. They were all selected based on a combination of location, reviews, and photos. They were not the cheapest campgrounds; however, we experienced no overcrowding or problems at any of the campgrounds.
Our first stop of more than one night was in Lyons, CO which is just north of Boulder. We arrived on a crystal-clear day with spectacular views of the Rocky Mountains with some residual snow caps. We spent some time exploring Boulder, stocking up on food and had a fantastic dinner at Oak at Fourteenth. We stayed at LaVern M. Johnson Park in Lyons which is a wonderful town park. It’s small with about fifteen full hook-up RV sites. We also explored the small town of Lyons and some local hiking. It’s a beautiful area with many outdoor activities available. It was a wonderful way to pause and catch our breath after all the driving and one-night stays. We did experience some anxiety while there as we knew that we had to cross the I-70 mountain pass to get to our next location. Fortunately, the campground host had some experience with the it and gave us some valuable advice. The mountain pass can be extremely dangerous and is hard on vehicles. The only challenge we faced was getting gas as we did not know if we could cover the full length of it on a single tank. We managed to navigate through a very small gas station to fill the tank. On the positive side the mountain pass comes with some spectacular views. We did arrive safely and on time in Palisade, CO.
We spent two nights in Palisade and used some of the time to do some laundry. The campground is right on the Colorado River and the views are fantastic. Palisade is famous for wine and peaches. We did have a frightening experience in the middle of the night that turned out to be harmless and funny. I woke up to a noise that was water spraying under the RV. My initial thoughts were that a pipe in RV had burst, and water was spraying everywhere. I quickly work Barb up in a panic and we began to investigate. Upon opening the RV door to go outside we were greeted with spraying water everywhere and got soaking wet. I thought it was raining but it was not. The area is largely a dry climate, so the campground has a sprinkler system that turns on at night to maintain what little grass they have. The problem here is that the sprinklers are not placed in the middle of the grassy areas but right at the edge of the gravel campsite under the RV. During one of the nights, we had a neighbor with a very expensive rig that was spotless and looked as if it just rolled off the showroom floor. Very early in the morning the owner was out and about getting wet and shaking his head. He was very upset that the sprinklers had soaked is rig. He spent a lot of time wiping it down restoring the showroom sparkle. We had a good laugh and were thrilled that we did have broken pipes.
We were extremely excited about our next stop, which was in Moab, UT. Our location was only five minutes from the entrance to Arches National Park. We arrived on Sunday, the day before Memorial Day. We got up at 3:30am on Memorial Day to visit Arches and the Delicate Arch at sunrise. We drove into the park in complete darkness following another car assuming they were headed to Delicate Arch, they were. We parked and embarked on an unknown hike along with many others. With all the research and preparation, we had done for the trip, we did very little research on the park and had no idea of the length or difficulty of the hike. Of course, I had to pack up all the camera gear and take it with us. It turns out that this hike is about a three-mile hike over some very challenging terrain. It was worth the effort. After Delicate Arch we spent some time driving through park and taking it all in. We don’t have the words to adequately describe the grandeur and beauty of this landscape.
Our next stop was Bryce Canyon, UT to visit Bryce Canyon National Park. Looking at some photographs of Bryce Canyon and having never visited, we were both very excited. We stayed at Ruby’s Inn RV Park and Campground which is only about a mile from the entrance to the park. It’s a large campground with sites to accommodate all types of RVs and tent camping. There’s also a large hotel for those not camping. We drove into the park the same day we arrived to scout it out and get our first views. I had a strong sense that this park was going to be something special and as we walked up to the rim of the canyon, I remember saying to Barb, “get ready”. We arrived at the rim, and it simply took our breath away. The beauty, grandeur, calm, and quiet were amazing. It’s not a huge park and it's very easy to navigate. Initially, I thought, well once you’ve seen a few hoodoos, you’ve seen them all. This is not the case at all. With small changes in position and or elevation, the park reveals its magic and beauty in completely different ways. We avoided visiting during the middle of the day and went early in the morning and later in the afternoon. The crowds were thinner, and we had no issues parking. There are many hiking trails that take you down into the canyon. Be aware that the park is at a high elevation ranging from 7,000 ft to 9,000 feet so it’s easy to get winded. Walking down is much easier than walking back up. Over the next few days, we spent a lot of time in the park and enjoyed every minute of it. There’s also a shuttle that runs from Ruby’s stopping at all the viewpoints in the park. The shuttle is a good option if you’re planning to go when it’s crowded as parking is somewhat limited. We strongly recommend visiting Bryce Canyon.
Our next stop was Antelope Point Marina RV Park on Lake Powell in Page, AZ. It’s a relatively new park with extremely nice concrete sites. The park was quiet with little activity and the surrounding landscape was extraordinary. This was the first stop on the trip where we encountered three-digit temperatures. It was extremely hot. We had three goals for this stop, a) Boating on Lake Powell, b) tour Upper Antelope Canyon, and c) visit Horseshoe Bend on the Colorado River. With Lake Powell being extremely low, the ramp down to the restaurant and marina was closed and there was golf cart shuttle service available to take people down to the docks via the houseboat launch ramp. The ramp is closed for boat launching as the lake is too low. Even with the low water levels the marina was bustling. We checked things out and gathered the details for boat rentals. Our initial plans were to rent kayaks but once we got a look at the lake, we decide that we could see more with a power boat. We rented a deck boat for two hours and went off exploring the lake. It’s spectacular and beautiful even at the low levels. It’s difficult to comprehend the vastness and size of the lake looking at maps and photographs. We ventured down one of the fingers not far from the marina which provided more intimate views of the lake and rocks. Following our normal mode of operation, we went out at 7:00am which is the earliest the boat rentals are available. The lake was not crowded, and we thoroughly enjoyed the adventure. Upper Antelope Canyon is on Navaho land and people are only allowed access using one of the certified tour companies. There are a lot of tours running simultaneously and our initial thoughts were, geez, this is going to be a crowded mess. They all worked together, and it was a very pleasant experience. Tripods are not permitted so it was iPhone photos or nothing. I did have the big camera, but it was impossible to get the photographs I wanted without a tripod. The iPhone did a fantastic job, and our guide was extremely helpful providing photo tips that produced wonderful photos. The canyon is about ¼ mile in length and is simply spectacular. A must stop if you’re in the area. One evening around sunset we ventured a few miles down the road to Horseshoe Bend. It’s a natural bend in the Colorado River shaped like a horseshoe. Access is $10 per vehicle and is controlled by the City of Page. It opens at sunrise and closes at Sunset. There were a lot of people there, but it was still worth the visit. Another must see if you’re ever in the area.
Our next stop was Rain Spirit RV Resort in Clarkdale, AZ which is near Sedona. It’s a relatively new, very nice RV resort that is extremely quiet. Our goals for this stop were to visit Barb’s sister Judy and her friend Kim. We did this and stayed one night at their house in Sedona. They did a fantastic job at showing us around Sedona. The landscape in and around Sedona is amazing. We also visited the Chapel of the Holy Cross. The heat persisted in Sedona and fortunately the RV resort had a very nice swimming pool with very few people using it. We used it every afternoon. Overall, we had a great time in Sedona. This was our last stop before beginning the journey home.
Sedona was the last stop on our trip before beginning the return trip. This leg of the trip took us from Sedona, AZ to Moab, UT (397 miles). We left Sedona early in the morning in perfect weather fully prepared for a long travel day. We had no idea what was ahead of us. We headed north towards Flagstaff, AZ only to be turned around due to high winds and a serious pipeline fire just north of Flagstaff. We did not capture any photos or video of the wind and smoke as it was terrifying, and we had to scramble to find an alternate route to Moab. We did find an alternate route that we did not think would cause a serious delay. The route took us through Navaho land on a rough road, so speeds were way down. High winds also caused slower than normal speeds and then we ran into blowing dust and sand. It was extremely intense and there were times when we could barely see the road. Even with slow speeds the RV was blowing all over the place increasing the effort of the drive. We stopped for gas and lunch and had to literally hang on to the truck and RV doors or the wind would have caused serious damage. We’ve driven through some serious rainstorms in the past, but nothing compared to the blowing sand and dust. I believe that the winds were around 25-30 mph at times. After nine hours of driving, we made it safely to Moab to a welcoming clear sky. We spent two nights in Moab to enjoy the area once again. We did venture back to Arches National Park at sunset and thoroughly enjoyed it.
Our next stop was back to Palisade, CO for one night. Nothing interesting at this stop other than the sprinklers went on in the afternoon while we were sitting outside reading and enjoying the weather and views.
Our next stop was back in Lyons, CO for two nights. An opportunity to stock up on groceries and enjoy Lyons and Boulder one more time. We spent more time exploring Lyons on this leg of the trip than we did during our first visit. We also discovered a very nice hiking trail just a few miles down the road on Hall Ranch. The landscape around Lyons is spectacular.
At this point it was one-night stays in Kearney, NE, Kellogg, IA, Michigan City, IN, and Streetsboro, OH. These last stops turned into a bit of a blur as our goal at this point was to simply get home.
We made it home safely and on time and thoroughly enjoyed the entire trip.
What did we learn and what would we do differently on the next long trip?
One-night stays are no fun. Plan a trip with all stops being of high interest and spend more time at each.
More time at the locations of interest. There’s a lot more to see at the locations we visited on this trip.
Improved meal planning.
We took too much stuff. The RV was packed with stuff.
