Day three through five(ish)
As you can probably imagine, we've been quite busy now that we've officially made it out west (For the record, I've defined "out west" as our first destination - the Gila Cliff Dwellings).
After staying the night at the motel six, we woke up fairly early and headed over to the Gila Cliff Dwellings, where we bought a national parks pass for $80 (The pass can have two names on it, and will get up to four people into a park for free). Because of the pass, we did not have to pay an entrance fee (which would have been $5 per person). We then hiked one mile round trip to see and explore the cliff dwellings. Not too bad.
Once we left there, we got back in the car and drove (eight hours I think?) to the petrified forest. We rolled up to the entrance just in time to see the gates close for the night. Seriously. We were less than 100 feet away when the clock struck 5:00pm. Oh well. We drove into Holbrook and camped at a KOA (35 bucks! HOLY CRAP that ground must have gold in it!) woke up the next day, had all we could eat pancakes at the KOA ($3 per person. At least something there was reasonable). We drove back to the petrified forest and got in for free (saving $20 dollars, thanks to our park pass). We saw a ton of petrified wood (obviously), but also ended up hiking 2 miles round trip into the desert to see a bunch of petroglyphs, which were super cool (trailblazing btw). We rounded out that park with the painted desert.
After leaving the petrified forest, we drove over to the Grand Canyon south rim (skipping the meteor crater we had planned to see, due to an admission fee of $18 per person). We got as close as we could, and camped in Kaibab National Forest (for free). The next morning, we packed up and drove into the park for free (a savings of $30, thanks to our park pass). We paid $2 each for a shower, and another $2 for laundry. We spent the next couple of hours stopping at various viewpoints, taking pictures and whatnot. We stopped and got lunch, and I bought a hat for $35 (a necessary expenditure to prevent any further sunburns). We decided to take the extra time and drive to the North rim because of how insanely crowded the south rim is (they say that only 10% of visitors visit the North rim). We drove the five hours and camped again (for free) in Kaibab national forest (4 miles from the entrance to the North rim).
This morning, we woke up and were packed by 7:00 (one hour before the park opens). We decided to splurge and get breakfast at a local restaurant for approximately $10. We then left there and drove straight into the park (saving another $30 due to our park pass). The pass has officially paid for itself at this point, for those of you that weren't keeping track. We took a bunch more pictures, filled up our water bottles (for free), hiked around a mile or so, got in the car, and headed to Zion national park, which is where we are at now. Our current reading on the trip odometer is 2,781 miles.
After staying the night at the motel six, we woke up fairly early and headed over to the Gila Cliff Dwellings, where we bought a national parks pass for $80 (The pass can have two names on it, and will get up to four people into a park for free). Because of the pass, we did not have to pay an entrance fee (which would have been $5 per person). We then hiked one mile round trip to see and explore the cliff dwellings. Not too bad.
Once we left there, we got back in the car and drove (eight hours I think?) to the petrified forest. We rolled up to the entrance just in time to see the gates close for the night. Seriously. We were less than 100 feet away when the clock struck 5:00pm. Oh well. We drove into Holbrook and camped at a KOA (35 bucks! HOLY CRAP that ground must have gold in it!) woke up the next day, had all we could eat pancakes at the KOA ($3 per person. At least something there was reasonable). We drove back to the petrified forest and got in for free (saving $20 dollars, thanks to our park pass). We saw a ton of petrified wood (obviously), but also ended up hiking 2 miles round trip into the desert to see a bunch of petroglyphs, which were super cool (trailblazing btw). We rounded out that park with the painted desert.
After leaving the petrified forest, we drove over to the Grand Canyon south rim (skipping the meteor crater we had planned to see, due to an admission fee of $18 per person). We got as close as we could, and camped in Kaibab National Forest (for free). The next morning, we packed up and drove into the park for free (a savings of $30, thanks to our park pass). We paid $2 each for a shower, and another $2 for laundry. We spent the next couple of hours stopping at various viewpoints, taking pictures and whatnot. We stopped and got lunch, and I bought a hat for $35 (a necessary expenditure to prevent any further sunburns). We decided to take the extra time and drive to the North rim because of how insanely crowded the south rim is (they say that only 10% of visitors visit the North rim). We drove the five hours and camped again (for free) in Kaibab national forest (4 miles from the entrance to the North rim).
This morning, we woke up and were packed by 7:00 (one hour before the park opens). We decided to splurge and get breakfast at a local restaurant for approximately $10. We then left there and drove straight into the park (saving another $30 due to our park pass). The pass has officially paid for itself at this point, for those of you that weren't keeping track. We took a bunch more pictures, filled up our water bottles (for free), hiked around a mile or so, got in the car, and headed to Zion national park, which is where we are at now. Our current reading on the trip odometer is 2,781 miles.
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