The goal of this post is to kick the stigma that “life ends after kids” to the curb! You have a brand new adventure buddy to show the world to! Sure things may be more challenging and down right hard, but the reward is all that sweeter. We don’t regret a moment taking our daughter to quite literally the edge of the world with us and hope she enjoys the outdoors just as much as we do throughout her life.
There is a lot of planning and prepping when you decide to go on a 9 day camping road trip. Even more so when you are taking along a curious and exploratory 10 month old and further still when your vehicle of choice is a 1972 International Scout II. A vehicle that had not been thoroughly tested for the endurance and technical abilities needed for the terrain we had anticipated. Call us bold, courageous, foolish, or rash, but one Friday evening after hours of planning, prepping and packing we buckled our seatbelts and set forth on our first family adventure.
The Rig
The journey to the Utah Arches began in Los Angeles, our home base. Our first stop was Las Vegas, usually just over a 4 hour trip but when your vehicle is laboring pushing 65, you take your time. After a 6-hour drive we arrived in Sin City where we spent the night at a friend’s house (Ricky and Lauren), a husband and wife, who would be joining us for two nights at our first campsite in Zion National Park. Sunday morning we packed up our lunches and ventured to The Valley of Fire.
The Route
- Las Vegas
- Valley of Fire
- Smithsonian Butte
- Alstrom Point & Lone Rock Beach
- The Domes
- Moab & Long Canyon Road
- Mammoth Dispersed Campsite
Valley of Fire
Just under an hour heading north on Route 15 from Las Vegas lies this noteworthy State Park. It served as a sneak peak to the dust and red rock formations we anticipated as we made our journey through Utah. We arrived around 11:30 and there was a significant line to enter the park. Twenty minutes and 10 dollars later we were coasting down a sweeping road with natural red and white rock formations at either side of us. I had researched and decided on a few key hikes that I wanted to try and accomplish, ones that seemed the most interesting and easiest with a baby. We started at the first loop where we stopped at Arch Rock. We felt that it was a good place to take photos and have a stretch. Next we carried on further into the park and tuned onto White Domes Road. This is a particularly beautiful drive as we headed to our first hike and designated lunch break at the Fire Wave. This hike was easy to do, even with an infant. We purchased the Osprey Poco as our carrier, which felt like it may be made with magic. The weight is distribution and back support system lends to a comfortable and light feeling load. There is little to no shade on this hike, as with most hikes in the park, so sun protection and water are key. We were able to find a little shade next to a large rock where we had lunched and hydrated. We continued further into the park to attempt White Domes hike but time was against us and we needed to get to our first camp spot before the sun set. Off to Zion Park..
Smithsonian Butte
As the sun was setting, we raced to make it to our first campsite before dark. We had researched where we wanted to camp based on a very genius app called FreeRoam which is a place for the community of Campers, Boondockers, RVers and Vanifers to mark and review either established campsites or BLM land. It is almost like a Lonely Planet Camping guide but with multiple reviews and hidden or unique destinations. We used this for every campsite on our trip and highly recommend it. We arrived at Smithsonian Butte and found what we thought would have been a remote retreat to be bustling with campers on every turn. With the travel restraints tied with the ropes of the Covid-19 Pandemic forcing adventurers to adjust their 2020 plans and take up outdoor recreation in America’s own back yard, we should have suspected such. After all, we were also victims as our very detailed trip to the Amalfi Coast had been canceled…but more on that later. For now we were fortunate to have a very capable vehicle that granted us access to a perfectly secluded cliffside after traversing a true test to an off roading vehicles ability to climb the steep and jarring incline. With just enough time to admire the suns light paint the rock formations a fiery red as deep shadows creeped over the horizon, we quickly set up our refuge. Our roof top tent is a M.I.A. custom model diamond plated shell that slept my husband and I comfortably and provided enough room to set up a Joovy Gloo infant travel bed for our daughter. We decided we needed to house our very mobile 10 month old in a pop up zippered tent to provide safety in the elevated sleeping arrangements and the Joovy worked out great! The canvas of our night sky transitioned to black and became freckled by stars, we cheered our friends excited for the first night in our Utah Journey.
The sun rose on our first morning camping on the cliffside on the heels of Zion Park. We had reservations to hike a portion of The Narrows, one of the most famous Zion hikes. Upon research, this is a beautiful hike that can be family friendly depending on your level of skill and adventure. It is a river trailing hike which requires traversing hip to chest deep water at some places. We were planning on taking more of a stroll and puddle around the water with our wobbly yet walking 10 month old, but were deterred by a bloom of toxic cyanobacteria infesting the waters. Not willing to risk our health we decided to enjoy a nice lunch at Meme’s restock our supplies for dinner and enjoy another peaceful star lit night around a campfire with friends.
In the morning my family and I headed out to our first highly anticipated campsite, Alstrom Point as our friends , Ricky and Lauren ventured to the Angels Landing Hike. This hike is NOT family friendly by any means. It is narrow, steep, dangerous, but undoubtably stunning. An adventure we will revisit once our Emmi is of suitable age!
Alstrom Point
We wake in the early hours of Monday morning and part ways with our friends. They are off to flirt with angels hiking a trail designed by the devil, Angels Landing, we are venturing to find the end edge of the earth and make it there in one piece. God willing. The drive through Zion Park is certainly a stunning one. Even if you find that you are not interested in hiking the trails, the switch backs, tunnels and landscape is unlike any other place we have visited thus far. It took 2 hours heading east on highway 89 to reach Big Water where we assumed we would pass a grocery store to restock our supplies and head to Alstrom Point, that pit stop never materialized though we did find a gas station and a helpful local who advised us on the second part of our journey for that day.
The road that takes you to Alstrom Point begins off of highway 89 down what can be described as an industrial park of sorts for boats, aquatic equipment and off roading vehicles. We turn right down what seems like a service road and when the pavements ends, we know our adventure begins. The sandy gravel road for our 1972 metal machine made for quite the bumpy ride. Dust billowed out from beneath our tires at the cab rattled and shaked, my husband and I praying no screws or bolts wiggle themselves loose. The landscape twists and turns as we use the best of our Scouting Skills and make it to our camp site, again as the sun sets. This time the sun setting over the horizon and infront of us lays the great open basin of Lake Powell. We make camp, heat a can of chili, pop a bottle of wine and settle in for the cosmic show above our heads. We tuck in for an early bedtime to wake with the sun and exchange our wine glasses for coffee mugs.
The sun climbs slowly, its fiery glow chasing away the darkness and illuminating the horizon in a pastel of colors as the lake below begins to glow an emerald green. For not being a morning person, i’ll endure the sacrifice of sleep. We make breakfast, say goodbye to the edge of the earth, and follow the rough road back to highway 89. Next stop Lone Rock.
Lone Rock
Lone Rock Beach Camping ground is first come first serve. There is plenty of space but you need to have 4 wheel drive and a capable vehicle if you want to camp all the way down at the waters edge though there are other sites available for any style of vehicle. What was so attractive about this site is that, being on sand and by the lake, you are able to have a campfire. There have been a lot of campfire bans lately so always be sure to check your destinations and obtain a fire permit. A public campground like Lone Rock Beach isn’t typically our style. We gravitate to the peaceful, isolated, and lesser know BLM style camping which made the Free Roam app such an asset. Even though we were surrounded by a number of other campers, we were still able to find a spot where we felt we could stretch out and find our peace. We spent the day playing in the sand with our Emmi, building a campfire ring with some stones we plucked around the waters edge, and setting up our tent. I don’t think I’ve mentioned that our M.I.A. roof top camper is pretty remarkable and sets up in minutes and sleeps the 3 of us very comfortably. The sun begins to set and we mix up some golden hour cocktails to walk the shore and watch the again as the pinks, orange and blues return to the evening sky and dance among the clouds until darkness eventually falls. Cozying up to the campsite we make a simple dinner of salmon and green beans using our cast-iron over the campfire. Our sweet girl retires to her sleep tent and mom and dad unwind with a bottle of wine and a game of Gin Rummy. Bed eventually calls and we sneak into our sleeping bags and drift off to the very gentle waves of Lake Powell. In the morning we take a break from our camp life and revisit civilization for a brief moment. Next up, the drive through Monument Valley and a retreat to The Domes.
The Domes
We pack up our tranquil campsite by the lake and take to the highway. We come to a fork in the road, South to Highway 89 will take us to Horse Shoe Bend and Antelope Canyon, East to Highway 98 inches us closer to something I have been dreaming of the past 4 days, running water and a hot shower, we head East. Wanting to make the most of our drive we take the scenic route to heading North onto highway 163 from 160. We stoped at this junction, Kayenta, AZ, for lunch and tried the Navajo taco! Something definitely to try and plenty big enough to share if you get it from Amigo Cafe. Back on the road from there, the horizon begins to stretch in each direction as red rock formations come into focus and you follow the long and straight road before you into Monument Valley. We run into a little car trouble on the way to the Domes, a slipped throttle cable responsible for our lag in power that was preventing us to really tackle some of the wily inclines. A quick pit stop and some on the fly mechanic work by my husband and we work back in motion, our engine now churning at its full potential, and what a difference it made! We finally made it to the Domes in Monticello, an Air B&B we had reserved strategically halfway through our trip for a chance to recharge, sleeping in a bed, not have to unpack, and most importantly SHOWER! Our stay at the Domes was so relaxing and unique, if you have the chance, we highly recommend. The space is taken care of so well with detached but private restrooms, extremely well kept and tastefully decorated spaces and a grill/fire pit to unwind at. The owners are very kind and give you complete privacy, though there were three other domes, we felt completely secluded. We all shower one more time in the morning and head off to the main attraction to our trip, Moab.
Moab
It was a quick hour drive from our Air B&B in Montecello to Moab National Park. The park is HUGE and you could spend days if not weeks here where you can camp in the park and explore all the natural beauty that surrounds. With so much to do and so many available hikes, we decided to narrow our gaze and chose to do the Delicate Arch Hike. It was most iconic in our opinion as it is the arch featured on almost all Utah license plates, welcoming signs and memorabilia. Once you drive about 20 minutes of road that twists and turns within the park, while passing so many alluring pit stops, you will reach the parking lot for the Delicate Arch Hike. It is about an hour long hike to reach the arch with no tree cover so plenty of water and sun protection is a must! We had packed a lunch and when we reached the arch, we sat and enjoyed the view of its seemingly impossible structure. It is certainly a bucket list hike in my opinion. A lot of people had arrived and were lining up to have their photos taken under the arch. Though it looks quite intimidating, there is a reasonably safe photo op under the arch where you will have no problem finding a volunteer to snap a family photo for you, as long as you are willing to return the favor! I do not recommend young children, especially those who have a knack for running around and not listening, to do this hike. We kept our wobbly walker in her carrier, perhaps we will return when she is a little more sturdy and mature. We get back to the car and gulp down a little more water before we adventure to our next camp site, a FreeRoam discover about an hour out of the park, what I like to call Long Canyon Road.
Long Canyon Road
We find our campsite from the Free Roam app and drive somewhat counter productively to our next sleeping grounds. What we would imagine to be a spacious and private spot is actually bustling with families, rowdy off roaders, dune buggy crews and plenty of Jeepsters. The only somewhat peaceful available section of dirt lays 200 feet off the road with the only passage involving loose gravel, steep drop off of rock, and uneven terrain. We let some air out of the tires, lock in the front wheels, and do what IH are meant to do..we Scout. A slow and bumpy ride brings us inches closer to what feels like the edge of the earth and where we will make camp. From where we level out our truck, you can walk down hill about 150 feet where we were happy to find a established fire pit. Just beyond that, about another 50 feet is a very abrupt and steep drop off. Standing near the cliffs edge you can see part of the canyon sweeping in either direction. It is truly a unique and beautiful corner of nature. We build a little fire and cheers with a Campari Spritz to celebrate the apex of our trip being completed. Shadows stretch into the canyon and we are again met by our freckle faced sky we have come to know so well and we welcome the night sky like an old friend. Before long, morning comes, we pack up, crawl our Scout back up to the paved road and lay some more pavement behind us. We are off to our final campsite.
Mammoth Designated Dispersed Camping Ground
We roll into the campground a little after 3 pm. There are plenty of vacant sites but we take our time to peruse the lands and finally find what we are looking for, a somewhat remote site right by the bubbling creek. We cozy our Scout as close to the water as possible and affix our nature made leveling blocks (surrounding rocks). This site lays at the top of my list for favorites during the trip. Perhaps the exchange for dust and red rock for pines and a sparkling stream brought a happy and almost zen change scenery. Sitting in a valley of two hillsides, we lost the sunlight quickly and didn’t feels it’s warmth until late morning hours. It got cold! With the fire restrictions we had just our propane stove to provide heat but quickly set for bed after dinner and a shot of bourbon. The three of us snuggled in was just warm enough to sleep through the night and in the morning we warmed through with a coffee in the cab of the scout till the sun peaked over the hill and drown our site with its rays. After a very quiet and peaceful nature walk, we get packed up for the last time and head out to meet our friends once more in Las Vegas. The drive teases us with glimpses of Bryce Canyon and back through Zion. We already make plans for our next trip out and the places we want to explore and revisit.
Graze + Travel 