Road Trip 2020, Part 2 (Days 4 - 7)

Day 4 - Portland, Columbia River Gorge, Seattle (4h 35m, 270 miles)

After a night of rest and relaxation in Portland, it was time to hit the road again. However, it was also the 4^th of July, and my friend and I thought it would be more fun in a city, so we decided to spend the night in Seattle, Washington. Looking back, this was not the best option for us. While we did find a nice hotel for cheap, it was so close to Portland that we definitely did not get enough mileage in. On top of that, most things in Seattle were closed anyway because of the pandemic. If I could do it again, I’d make a stop to get some coffee, check out the wharf, the gum wall, and probably be on my way.

Anywho, before we left Oregon we wanted to check out some views outside of the city and made our way to the Columbia River Gorge. Crown Point offered spectacular scenes of the gorge and forest, even on a cloudy day. 

From there, we jumped on the Historic Columbia River Hwy to do some waterfall chasing. Unfortunately, our GPS let us down a bit and tried to take us through some residential areas. It didn’t help that some of the roads were closed due to some flooding that happened in the previous months.

We eventually found the right directions and made it to Guy W. Talbot State Park (https://stateparks.oregon.gov/index.cfm?do=park.profile&parkId=112 ), where we did a small trail walk to see Latourell Falls. Most waterfalls are quite lovely to look at, but this was one of the largest I have seen. We gazed at the magnificence for a bit and made our way around the trail loop.

The next stop was Bridal Veil Falls, located just off the Historic Columbia River Hwy (https://stateparks.oregon.gov/index.cfm?do=park.profile&parkId=107). It was a short walk and we passed over the 1914 bridge to make our way to the waterfall. We were able to get really close and snap some fun pictures.

From Bridal Veil, we took a scenic drive along the river for a bit. I think I took a quick snap of Multnomah Falls from the highway. Before turning around and heading toward Seattle, we stopped at the river to get a final glimpse of the views. By then, the sun had come about a bit more.

When we hit Seattle, the city was pretty much on lockdown. I wish I had more to share but we did the basics. We stayed  next to the space needle, walked around town a bit to get dinner, had coffee, went to the Pike Place Market and visited the gum wall. Unfortunately, I don’t have much more to tell. We thought there might at least be fireworks but there were just a few random ones. This is also why I mentioned, in hindsight, I would have done more driving that day.

Day 5 – Seattle to Billings (12h 15m, 820 miles)

This was mostly a day for driving. We left in the morning by 8am and headed east towards Yellowstone National Park. The weather was great and offered beautiful views of forests and lakes in Seattle which abruptly turned into desert scenes. We stopped at the Wild Horses Monument, actually called Grandfather Cuts Loose the Ponies (https://www.pnwanderers.com/blog/grandfather-cuts-loose-the-ponies). It reminded me of my family’s home on the Navajo Reservation.

Driving, driving, driving… Again, this was the theme of the day. I had been in touch with an old high school friend in Spokane, and we decided to meet him and his fam for lunch. Since we needed a break anyway, it worked out. I caught up with my friend for a bit and he suggested if we were going to Yellowstone that we should stay in Bozeman or Billings. We chose wrong again, haha. Off we went to continue our long drive.

After looking up hotels, we figured it would be cheaper to stay in Billings, and in theory, it was. We stayed at a motel 6 off the main highway. It wasn’t a great accommodation but we didn’t expect it to be. There were lots of truckers, big trucks, and I’m assuming a handyman that stayed on the premises in a little camper in the parking lot of the motel. Very beginning-of-a-cold-case vibes. Nonetheless, we only got a few hours of sleep because we wanted to leave early to have a full day at Yellowstone.

Day 6 – Billings to Kanab (15h 35m, 890 miles)

This was the point I realized our mistake. While we did save money going to Billings, we wasted time and gas… which is money. It probably ended up being a very small amount of savings and we drove almost two hours in the direction we didn’t want to be going. A lesson learned too late.

When we made it back to Bozeman, we took the 89 S to the North Entrance of Yellowstone. Absolutely no complaints from us for the rest of the day. It was soooooo beautiful! Our first stop was Roosevelt Arch, which was a very nice tribute to Teddy. Some areas were closed due to Covid, but we basically took the main road going down to the south entrance and hit up all geysers, waterfalls, and stops along the way, our last being Old Faithful. 

Our timing couldn’t have been more perfect. I looked up a geyser report and I thought we missed its eruption, but we found parking and walked up to the site just in time to see huge crowds forming around Old Faithful. Less than 5 minutes had passed and the eruption started! It was amazing and way more than I was expecting. We were so lucky!

 

Seeing Old Faithful do its thing was the highlight of the day for me. We had spent approximately 8 hours at the park and figured it would be best to make our way toward the south exit. Yellowstone is definitely a place I would like to visit again for at least 3 days. There were so many things we rushed through or weren’t able to see because of the pandemic. I would recommend spending a couple days if you have the time.

As we made our way south, we decided to go through Grand Teton National Park, but just for the scenic views. It was at this time I decided to purchase the “America the Beautiful” National Park pass since the costs of each different park were adding up quickly ($35 per private car, per park). We stopped to take some pictures around Jackson Lake, then again near the Grand Tetons, and finally one more stop in a small town called Afton. 

We took a break, got some food, loaded up on gas, and swapped drivers. I drove all day this day, and I was ready to get some rest. After the break, we jumped in the car and continued heading south in hopes of reaching Utah that night. We hadn’t fully decided where we wanted to stop. At first, we figured Salt Lake City, but as my friend continued to drive, she said she could keep going for a while. Because we wanted to be near the south of Utah for our day tomorrow, we just drove for as long as we could.

On the drive, we decided we would hit Zion National Park in the morning; I booked a room at the Rodeway Inn in Kanab, UT for $55.49. It was a pretty nice room, much more comfortable than the one in Billings. We arrived at around 2am and quickly prepared for sleep. It was a long but fulfilling day full of beautiful views and natural wonders. I looked forward to exploring Utah the next day.

 

Day 7 – Bryce, Zion, Grand Canyon and back to Vegas (9h 23m, 525miles)

Canyon day! This was the last full day of the trip and luckily, there was a lot to see within a relatively close distance. While the plan was to hit Zion first, we realized Bryce Canyon National Park was more north and would be good to get out of the way. Of course, this means we over-drove the night before, a common problem we were having. However, we were able to take the scenic route byways all the way there, so it was nice to enjoy the wonderful views along the way. When we got to Bryce, we entered from the north and made our way to Bryce Point near the Peek-A-Boo Trailhead. Views of red and white were spectacular as far as the eye could see.

It’s a bit difficult to describe the beauty of each location. I’ll include photos and the location names of each of our stops. From Bryce Point we visited the following: Swamp Canyon, Natural Bridge, Black Birch Canyon, and Rainbow Point.

After Bryce Canyon, we backtracked our way to Zion National Park. Unfortunately, nearly half of the trails were closed and the scenic drive was only open to shuttles (sections 4-9). My friend and I decided to take Zion-Mount Carmel Highway and ride through the tunnel and turned around shortly after that. We did stop when we could along the side of the road to stretch our legs and do a few little rock climbs.

 

While these sights were great, there were a few things we wanted to do that we couldn’t agree on or have time for. The Kanab area is another place I would recommend spending a few days because there are so many possible day trips. Within less than 100 miles are the following must-sees:

Antelope Canyon – 76 miles
Bryce Canyon – 77 miles
Coral Pink Sand Dunes – 23 miles
Duck Creek Village – 55 miles
Grand Canyon – 78 miles
Grand Staircase – 15 miles
Horseshoe Bend – 77 miles
Lake Powell – 73 miles
Mt. Carmel Junction – 17 miles
Pipe Spring – 21 miles
Zion – 40 miles

It was about 2pm when we left Zion and we attempted to see the Grand Staircase before leaving the area. However, we didn’t have the best luck finding the entrance and the GPS showed the terrain may be difficult. We didn’t want to risk it, so we decided to head to the Grand Canyon to wrap up the day.

After checking the website, it appeared some entrances of the Grand Canyon were closed, but luckily, the North Entrance where we were heading was open. We went through

the Kaibab National Forrest and even more lucky for us, they were not charging an admission fee (although, it wouldn’t have mattered much since I got the National Park Entrance Card). We parked near the cabins and followed a small trail along the North Rim, near Bright Angel Point. This wonder of the world was certainly all it’s cracked up to be.

 

Once we finished spending time at the Grand Canyon, my friend and I felt this was the perfect way to end our trip. Our rental car was supposed to be turned in the morning of the following day, so instead of getting another hotel room and waking up super early, we decided to drive back to Las Vegas that evening. The last hour or so of the drive was a struggle, but I dropped my friend off at her apartment close to 11:30pm. Utterly exhausted, I made it to my mom’s, where I was visiting.

This trip was filled with many ups and downs, but it was a fun adventure and a learning experience. There are things I would have done a little differently, but overall, it felt great to see so many different places while most of the world was on lockdown. There are several places I hope to see again, and if you take some of these trips, I recommend giving yourself an extra day, mapping out the journey better than I did, and simply be open to going with the flow.