Day 1 Getting to Van Horn
- Leave from Austin. Drive to Van Horn, Texas just under 7 hours away.
- Dinner at local Pizza Restaurant - Big Momma’s Hut.
Day 2 Tucson and Saguaro 🌵
- Drive to Tucson, Arizona about 6 and a half hours away.
- Had dinner at Locale Neighborhood Italian restaurant, right across the street from our hotel.
- Drove to east side of Saguaro National Park for sunset.
Sunset at Saguaro National Park.
Day 3 Sedona sunset 🌄
- We checked out of the hotel and drove to the West side of Saguaro National Park.
- From here we drove to Sedona.
- We had dinner at Mradaa Cuisine Of India.
- From here we went to Sugarloaf mountain for a sunset hike (about 2 miles).
Sunset hike at Sugarloaf mountain.
Day 4 Sedona trails and hikes 🥾
- Morning hike from Soldier pass trailhead to Seven Sacred Pools.
Soldier pass trailhead to Seven Sacred Pools.
- Brunch at Wildflower near the center of town.
- Check out Tlaquepaque - Arts & Shopping Village. Recommend the Chai Spot for delicious chai and snacks.
- Walk around downtown Sedona for souvenir shopping.
- Dinner.
- Sunset hike to Birthing cave.
Birthing cave
Day 5 Sedona rocks, chapel and views
- Hike to Bell Rock (0.8 miles to the top and back)
- Visit Chapel of the Holy Cross to take in stunning views
- Lunch at Tlaquepaque.
- Sunset hike to Airport loop trail
Stunning sunset hike from the airport; felt like thrones of Godzilla and Kong!
Day 6 Slide rock, Flagstaff & The Grand Canyon
- Leave from Sedona. Drive to Slide Rock State Park about 45 minutes away.
- Swim around in the park, this place is fun.
- Lunch at Pita Jungle in Flagstaff Arizona about 40 minutes away.
- Drive to Yavapai Lodge about 90 minutes away.
- Dinner at the Yavapai Lodge Cafe.
- Drive to South Rim parking just a couple minutes from the lodge. Walk around South Rim From Mather point to Yavapai point (and the Geology museum) with viewing area. (about 0.7 miles one way).
Percy and husband walking down to viewpoint on the South Rim.
Percy looking dazed and serious on the South Rim.
Day 7 Grand Canyon viewpoints and village
- After breakfast at the lodge we headed towards the Desert view drive.
- We drove the entire length of this scenic drive stopping at each of the view points as they are all dog friendly. We ended up at the Desert view Watchtower close to the east entrance of the park.
Me enjoying the view on the South Rim.
End of the eastern viewpoints is desert view on the South Rim.
- Lunch at the cafe near the Desert view watch tower. There are several shops for unique souvenirs.
- Drive back to the hotel (Yavapai Lodge).
- After resting for a short time, we crated our dog in the room and took the shuttle to Grand Canyon Village.
- Here we walked around, enjoyed the views, checked out various historic hotels, had some snacks and drinks and took the shuttle back to the lodge.
- Dinner at Yavapai Lodge Cafe.
- After dinner we drove to Grand Canyon village with our dog. Here we walked on the South Rim Trail towards Hermits Rest for about a couple of miles roundtrip.
View of the South Rim Trail near The Grand Canyon village.
Day 8 Grand Canyon shuttle 🚌
- We started our morning in Grand Canyon Village after breakfast.
- We took turns (keeping our dog at the rim) going a little (0.25 miles) down the Bright Angel Trail to experience going into the canyon.
A few mins down the Bright Angel Trail.
- Lunch at the General Store in Yavapai Lodge.
- We crated our dog for the afternoon and headed to the shuttle bus stop in the lodge to take us down Hermits rest road. We rode the shuttle stopping at about half of the viewpoints due to the extreme heat.
- We took the shuttle back to the hotel.
- Dinner at Yavapai Lodge Cafe.
- After dinner we drove to Grand Canyon village with our dog to enjoy another sunset walk along the south rim.
My husband and Percy enjoying the view.
Day 9 Page 🐴 🧲 Bend
- Drive to Page, Arizona about 2.5 hours away.
- We had a quick lunch at Subway and checked into our hotel.
- Checked out Lake Powell Recreational Area. But not much to do there as the water level was too low.
- After spending the afternoon resting and playing at the pool (in 100+ degrees) we picked up some dinner from a local Thai restaurant.
- After dinner, we headed to Horseshoe Bend for sunset.
Sunset at Horseshoe Bend was spectacular.
Day 10 Garden, dam & canyons
- We started our day by hiking the hanging garden trail a few minutes form our hotel.
- Drove to Glen canyon dam overlook.
- Quick fast food lunch.
- Crated our dog in the hotel and headed to our canyon X tour starting point.
View looking up inside Canyon X.
- Dinner back at the same Thai Restaurant.
- After dinner, we arrived back at the hotel and followed a hiking trail close to the hotel for an evening walk.
Day 11 Mesa Verde NP 🏞️ & Durango
- Drive to Mesa Verde National Park. Here we took the Mesa Top loop (dog-friendly in paved areas) for look-outs, viewpoints and to get close to some pit-houses.
Cliff dwellings at the Mesa Verde National Park.
- Drive to Durango.
- Enjoyed a meal pick-up, at our Airbnb.
- After dinner, walked around the downtown area and had some ice cream at Cream Bean Berry.
Day 12 River, 🚂 rail museum & mining
- Started a day with a hike which was too steep and we cut it short. Then we headed to a spot by the river with a walking path to relax and enjoy the view.
- After lunch, we crated our dog for the afternoon and headed to the Durango Rail Museum (our son is a Railfan).
My son loving trains all around at the Durango rail museum.
- Next, we tried a gem mining experience at a local shop in downtown.
- Dinner was at Fired-up pizza in downtown.
Day 13 Roswell 👽 👾 🛸
- Drove from Durango to Roswell, New Mexico.
- Had dinner at a local Mexican restaurant La Parilla. Food was good but there were too many flies on the patio.
- After dinner, we walked around the downtown area checking out some of the UFO-themed stores and art around the city. In our opinion, it all seemed a bit old and in need of some freshening-up.
Day 14 Drive 🚙 back Home 🏡
- Drive from Roswell, NM to Austin, TX took about 8.5 hours.