Not to hijack the tread, but for those who use AbD as a starting point for itinerary suggestions, here are a couple of takeaways from our travels:
1. Sedona was a fantastic way to kick off the trip. Weather didn't cooperate to allow us to go hot air ballooning, but the Broken Arrow Pink Jeep Tour was terrific and Enchantment really lived up to its name. I wish we had more time there so that I could have gone to the spa. We ate way too much at the Cowboy Club and my son is still talking about it.
2. Mixed feelings about Monument Valley. On the one hand it feels really far/out of the way so I don't know if I would ever want to return. But some of our best experiences were there (Navajo Spirit Tour and Wildwest Trailrides). Also one of the best meals we had on the entire trip was at Amigo Cafe in Kayenta (near Monument Valley). I'm ridiculously hard to please when it comes to Mexican food and the pumpkin mole was the best I have ever tasted. Gouldings was the low point in our trip accommodation-wise though. If there is a next time we'd try The View.
3. Lake Powell was a last minute addition and I'm so glad we did it. We ended up doing an Antelope Island kayak tour which (because it was just us) ended up being about 20 minutes of kayaking each way and 2+ hours of cliff jumping and exploring an island. Perfect way to break up the trip. We used Lake Powell Adventure Co, who were totally fine (and we would use them again if we were in Lake Powell) but not outstanding like the Monument Valley guides were.
4. Bad weather heading into the Grand Canyon North Rim, so our "rim view" rooms ended up being white clouds. I think that vs. expectations it was the biggest disappointment through no fault of its own. We would definitely consider going back, and I'm very VERY glad we chose the North Rim vs. the South (due to crowds and eventually the view once the storm passed the next day). FWIW Jacob Lake Inn's restaurant/cookies/ice cream are totally overrated.
5. Bryce - loved staying in the lodge, loved the hike, and the night sky was out of this world. I had debated canceling to try to extend our time in the Grand Canyon but was ultimately so glad I didn't.
6. Zion - we switched from in the park to out of the park reservations at Desert Pearl, and the river side suite was fantastic. Hiking the Narrows is no joke - I should have insisted on getting hiking poles for everyone but was told by the hikers in my family that we didn't need them. Still, it was a great way to end the "national parks" part of the trip.
7. Las Vegas - definitely a mixed experience. We paid for a very nice suite at Skylofts but were ultimately kind of underwhelmed, and I don't think I'd want to stay here again. But the Michael Jackson One show (Cirque du Soliel) and Mat Franco (magician) were awesome, so we may very well come back to Vegas someday to see Beatles Love or O.
8.
Disneyland - heading to the Grand Californian tomorrow. I anticipate a long drive ahead but after the insanity of Vegas we cannot wait to be "home."
Looking back there is very little I would have changed about the trip. All in all it has been a fantastic experience for my family. If you have any questions please don't hesitate to reach out.
