Summary
We switched up the timing of this road trip so that we could spend most of our 6 months allowed in the USA during the spring and summer. That way we’d be able see and do things in more of the south west part of the country. This meant we had to spend most of the winter in Canada (Brrr!) but luckily there wasn’t a flake of snow on the ground when we left Newmarket, ON on Feb 2, 2012 and there wasn’t any to be seen all the way south to Texas. The only plan we made in advance for this trip was to be in the Grand Canyon on May 6th for our hike to the bottom on May 8th. Everything else was up for negotiation.
MURPHY’S LAW
Anything that can go wrong, will go wrong.
Good thing we didn’t make too many plans because this trip we had our fair share of trailer problems when we arrived in Texas. Starting with worn out brakes, a broken axle on the interstate in Houston, TX and a torn roof which led to a nasty flood. Murphy’s law sucks!!! Thankfully no one was hurt and we were able to get everything repaired at a reasonable cost.
Once we got to the Gulf coast we fished, and fished, and fished. Dave got hospitalized overnight due to dehydration caused by over exercising in the heat and not drinking enough water. Scary but he recovered, better that it happened there vs. the bottom of the Grand Canyon. Lesson learned, you’ve gotta drink A LOT of water in these hotter climates.
As soon as it warmed up enough to start travelling west and north to Arizona we went back on the road. Spent a few weeks in New Mexico, got to see the Carlsbad Caverns which was on our bucket list and discovered Kasha Katuwe which has been added to our favourite hikes list. The tent rocks you see here can only be found in one other place in the world, Turkey!
Got to the Grand Canyon on May 6th and successfully completed our hike down South Kaibab and up Bright Angel a few days later. That was the hardest thing we’ve ever done and just the most incredible experience to camp at the bottom for 2 nights. After a week there we headed to Utah and spent almost a month in the south east part of the state. Incredible, unique scenery there…Monument Valley, Canyonlands National Park, Hovenweep National Monument, Natural Briges National Monument and Arches National Park were hilights for sure.
As much as we loved all the scenery and the hiking in Arizona and Utah, we were getting tired of the dry heat and all the red dirt. Felt so good to head north and see more greenery. Made it to Yellowstone in mid June and explored the park for 2 weeks. Being in the middle of an active volcanic landscape creates stunning, jaw dropping scenery. I was constantly wowed by what I saw and I finally saw my first moose in the wild near Yellowstone Lake.
Made it back to Canada on June 28, hooked up with friends in Osoyoos, BC and then visited with family in Sicamous. Then we headed east spending 2 weeks in Lake Louise, AB doing some incredible hikes there. The Rockies should be on everyone’s bucket list because the mountains, lakes and wildlife you see there are gorgeous! Mother Nature’s best work I think! Made it back to Ontario on August 17, the hilight of the trip back home to Southern Ontario was Sleeping Giant Provincial Park near Thunder Bay. Unfortunately, right after that good experience, another bad experience. The truck broke down on the highway in the middle of nowhere northern Ontario. That was a crazy experience, we were so happy to get that fixed and finally park the trailer back in Newmarket in time for our family reunion on the labour day weekend.
Too keep busy until our next road trip in Feb 2013, we did a couple of house sits and spent time at our friends cottage in Grand Bend doing renovations.
Interested in all the details of this road trip, check out our BLOG and ALBUMS.
