From Salt Flats to Red Rocks: Driving South to the Grand Canyon

After several days, many bug bites later we were all ready to leave Antelope Island.

For many days it had been our landing place — the spot where this year on the road finally started to feel real. The kids had settled into camping life, we had found a rhythm inside the RV, and the wide-open landscape of northern Utah gave us room to breathe after the chaos of departure week.

But eventually the road starts calling again.

So we packed everything up, buckled the kids into the motorhome and pointed ourselves south toward Grand Canyon National Park.

And somewhere along the drive, it felt like the American West truly opened up around us.

The Drive Through Utah and Arizona

This stretch of road was one of those drives where you constantly find yourself saying:

“Look at that.”

Although, it was truly Jessie and I appreciating the landscapes and scenery.

The landscape kept changing every couple of hours.

Northern Utah slowly gave way to massive open desert. Flat stretches turned into towering rock formations. The colors shifted from pale tan to deep red and orange, and every mile felt bigger than the last.

Driving through southern Utah feels almost unreal at times. The scale of the landscape is difficult to explain until you experience it in person.

I found myself spending part of the drive staring out the windows asking:

“How are the rocks that color?”
“Did dinosaurs live here?”
“Can people climb those cliffs?”
“Are we on another planet?”

Honestly, some stretches did feel like another planet.

Jessie spent most of the drive battling the crazy winds we were facing, and the kids looked at the rocks but didn’t appreciate the rocks as much as I did.

Passing Through Page

By the time we reached Page, Arizona, the scenery became even more dramatic.

Huge sandstone cliffs surrounded the highway while Lake Powell’s deep blue water cut through the desert landscape in a way that almost didn’t seem possible. Every viewpoint looked like it belonged on a postcard.

Not because we rushed from attraction to attraction.
Not because we checked off a bunch of bucket-list stops.

This part of the drive may have been one of our favorite travel days yet ( for me). Not so much Jessie. The winds were insane, and made it very hard to drive.

But because simply driving through the landscape was an experience all by itself.

Sometimes the journey really is the destination.

Arrival at the Grand Canyon

No photo prepares you for your first view of the Grand Canyon.

You can know it’s big.
You can expect it to be impressive.
You can watch videos and see pictures for years.

But standing at the rim for the first time still feels shocking.

One second you’re walking through trees and pathways… and the next second the earth completely disappears in front of you.

Massive cliffs. Endless layers of rock. Shadows stretching across miles of canyon walls. Colors changing every few minutes depending on the light.

The kids went completely silent for almost thirty seconds, which honestly may have been the most impressive thing we saw all week.

Then came the questions:

“How deep is it?”
“Can people hike all the way down?” ——- The answer is YES…Jessie is one of them…..
“Who discovered this?”
“Can we stay forever?”

And for a few moments, we understood exactly why millions of people travel here every year.

Lincoln, Hudson, Macie at the Grand Canyon

Shuttle Rides & Ice Cream Stops

When exploring the Grand Canyon we felt like the best way possible was the shuttle bus. Instead of racing from trail to trail, we hopped on the shuttle bus and let the canyon unfold one stop at a time. There’s something surprisingly relaxing about riding the bus along the rim — no parking stress, no rushing, just incredible views around every corner.

The kids loved hopping on and off at different overlooks, and honestly, the shuttle ended up being part of the adventure itself. Between the red rock cliffs, endless canyon layers, and spotting wildlife along the route, even the ride felt scenic.

And somewhere between viewpoints and gift shops, we made one very important stop: ice cream. Sitting along the rim with melting cones in hand and one of the most incredible landscapes in the country stretched out in front of us felt like the perfect way to slow down and soak it all in. Sometimes the simplest moments on a trip become the ones you remember most.

Hudson Enjoying his Grasshopper ice cream

Becoming Junior Rangers

One of the coolest parts of visiting national parks with kids has easily been the Junior Ranger program. Almost every park we’ve visited offers one, and it gives the kids something fun and interactive to focus on while exploring.

When we arrive at a park, the first stop is usually the visitor center where the kids pick up a free Junior Ranger booklet. Inside are activities based on the park — things like wildlife spotting, drawing landscapes, answering questions from exhibits, learning park rules, or completing short hikes. The activities are designed by age group, so even younger kids can participate.

As we explore the park throughout the day, the kids work through their booklets little by little. It turns sightseeing into a scavenger hunt and helps them pay attention to details they might normally miss.

Once they finish, they bring the booklet back to a park ranger for review. The best part is when they raise their hand and take the Junior Ranger oath promising to help protect parks, wildlife, and nature. After that, they officially earn their Junior Ranger badge — and for our kids, that badge becomes a trophy from the adventure.

The kids currently have a badge for Redwoods, Crater Lake, and now Grand Canyon.

By the end of the trip, they aren’t just collecting souvenirs. They’re collecting memories, stories, and a growing set of badges from parks all across the country.

Hudson, Lincoln, and Macie becoming Jr. Rangers for Grand Canyon

Dad Heads To the Bottom Of the Canyon

4:15AM Leaving the South Kaibab Trailhead

Jessie woke up early and was out the door by 3:30AM. He decided to conquer the hike down into the Canyon and back up on the Friday we were there. The kids and I stayed at camp for the day and had day of playing in the woods. I can’t begin to tell you all the details of Jessie’s journey into the Canyon. Here are a few pictures, and make sure you check out his post about it, on his blog post over in Dad’s Corner.

Hudson and Dad Head In the Canyon

Hudson couldn’t let Dad be the only one to see the Canyon early in the morning. The last morning we were at the Grand Canyon Hudson and Dad set off for an early morning adventure. The boys left bright and early at 3:30 AM and did a similar trek as Jessie did earlier in the week although only went half way down. Hudson did amazing! They went down to Skeleton Point, had a quick snack and turned around to climb back out. Check out Jessie’s post on his page later for a full story!

The RV Problems Finally Hit

After a few weeks of traveling, we came back to camp ready for a slower evening.

That’s when real RV life showed up.

It started with the generator refusing to work. Well…. it would work for about thirty minutes and then shut off.. Extremely frustrating when you are planning on needing it…..

At first we thought maybe it was something simple. Flip a switch. Reset something. Try again.

Nothing.

Then we realized our water pump had stopped working too.

Suddenly the little things we completely take for granted — washing hands, rinsing dishes, brushing teeth, using the sink — all became frustratingly complicated.

And because apparently the RV wasn’t done testing us yet, one rough drive earlier in the week had weakened part of our pantry setup. And when I went to go get something for dinner out of the pantry, BAM..the shelves had broke..

Food everywhere.

Pasta boxes. Snack bags. Granola bars. Ending up in places that make no sense.

The kids thought it was hilarious.

Jessie and I laughed too.

But in the moment, sitting at our campsite with broken systems and food scattered across the floor, it definitely felt like one of those “What are we doing?” moments.

The kind every long-term traveler probably experiences eventually.

Learning to Roll With It

One thing this trip is already teaching us is that adventure rarely looks as polished as social media makes it seem.

Sometimes adventure looks like:

troubleshooting a generator at sunset
carrying water manually around camp
reorganizing your pantry for the third time
trying to keep five people calm in a tiny space

And honestly, those moments are becoming part of the experience too.

The funny thing is, by the next morning, the stress had already faded a little.

The kids were back on their bikes.
Coffee was brewing outside.
The canyon was still beautiful.
Life kept moving.

And maybe that’s one of the hidden gifts of traveling like this — learning that not every problem needs to ruin the day.

Slowing Down at Tusayan-Montane Campground

Macie playing in the dirt at the campground

Even with the unexpected RV problems, the campground became one of our favorite places so far on the trip.

Tall pine trees surrounded camp, giving us cool mornings and quiet evenings after long days of desert heat and exploring. The slower pace here gave us room to settle back in after busy sightseeing days.

The kids rode bikes through camp for hours. We cooked simple dinners outside. At night, everyone collapsed into bed completely exhausted.

Somehow even the difficult moments started blending into good memories.

Morning coffee outside the RV.
Dusty hiking shoes piled by the door.
Kids laughing around camp.
The smell of pine trees mixed with campfire smoke.

Simple things.

Good things.

Lessons From Our First Major National Park Stop

The Grand Canyon reminded us of something important already:

This trip isn’t about perfect travel days.

It’s about learning how to experience life together — even when things go wrong.

Five days here gave us more than incredible views. It gave us challenges, slower moments, laughter, frustration, perspective, and memories that already feel bigger than pictures alone could capture.

And somewhere between the canyon overlooks, broken RV systems, and quiet campground evenings, we could feel our family beginning to settle into this lifestyle.

Not perfectly.

But together.

Heading Forward

As incredible as the Grand Canyon was, there’s also something exciting about knowing this is only the beginning.

There are still countless miles ahead of us. More campgrounds. More repairs. More mistakes. More memories. More beautiful drives we can’t even picture yet.

But this stretch — from Antelope Island through Page and into the Grand Canyon — already feels like one of those chapters we’ll talk about for years.

Not because everything went perfectly.

But because it didn’t… and we kept going anyway.

-Kayla

Grand Canyon