THE ULTIMATE ROAD TRIP FROM CALIFORNIA TO TEXAS

Over a year ago, life gave us a chance to make some major memories.

After spending over a decade in California, we got the option to move to Texas. After debating for a few months, we decide to go for it. It was a huge decision in itself and along with it came the excitement of how to move.

Fly or drive?

We had earlier flown to Texas during the finalizing stages, so when my husband presented the idea of a “Family Road Trip”, I was all in.

We could have taken this journey in two days but decided to make it a memorable trip and enjoy all the National Parks and other major attractions on the way.

We drove through Nevada, Utah, Arizona, and New Mexico before finally reaching Texas. If we had a day or two extra we would have added Colorado to our road trip too but that did not happen.

The organizing, planning, debating, bargaining, finalizing calls for a separate blog but for now sit back and enjoy the road trip with us.

 

 

Day-1: SIMI VALLEY, CALIFORNIA – ST.GEORGE, UTAH

 

It was around noon when we left the place we called home for the past few years and after grabbing a quick bite at our favorite brunch place Eggs and Things, located on Cochran Street, said goodbye to Simi Valley, California…..our home for over a decade.

Our journey started on a silent note as we were trying to understand the feeling which we were feeling. It felt strange taking one last look at the “Welcome to Simi Valley” ……a sign which had meant home for over a decade.

 

As soon as we exited 118 Freeway, which we lovingly called “Our Freeway” and made our way onto 210-W it started to rain.

It felt like a bizarre goodbye.

I don’t know who poured more….. the clouds or my tears.

Kids will be kids and I soon got a jolt to reality when both my kids, just less than 100 miles into the journey decided that it was time to shake things up. One cried for hunger and the other for the bathroom. So we made a quick pitstop at a gas station and grabbed fries from the self-order kiosk at McDonald’s, Victorville, California.

It was around 6 pm when we reached Las Vegas.

Earlier we had decided to take a drive and enjoy the Strip but due to the office rush hour, decided to avoid it which ended up to be a good decision as there was an accident on the strip and we would have been stuck in the traffic for over an hour.

We continued to drive on the on I-15 and just stopped for gas and snacks at Arco gas station, Moapa, Nevada.

After Moapa, Nevada the terrain suddenly started to change.

I-15 runs mostly flat and is parallel to the Virgin River for its entire length in Arizona, but the terrain became abruptly more rugged at mile where the Virgin River Gorge began. Though it was nighttime, we could still feel the narrowness of the gorge. It was beautiful and scary.

It is one of those drives where you to keep your eyes on the road, all the while. I wish we could have taken pictures but it was a pitch dark night and our cameras refuse to cooperate. Besides the traffic was crazy with trailers and trucks.

By the time we reached St. George, Utah it was already 11 30 pm. We had forgotten to take into account that Utah is in a different time zone than California. As most of the city was closed we had a midnight feast at Denny’s.

We drove around the city and were mesmerized with the city’s architecture especially the temple of St. George in Utah.

The St. George Utah Temple is a temple of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (LDS), designed by Truman O. Angell and completed in 1877.

The building has worn out over time and will be closing for seismic and other upgrades end of this year. It is scheduled to re-open in 2022.

 

We stayed at Best Western Plus, Abbey Inn, St. George, Utah located on Bluff Street. The hotel is perfectly located for a trip to Zion National Park, Snow Canyon and all the nearby attractions.

By the time we checked into our hotel, it was already past midnight and we all tired from the drive had a good looong sleep.

 

If you do plan to go to Snow Canyon, do not miss to visit the Tuachan Amphitheater located at the mouth of the Padre Canyon, adjacent to Snow Canyon State Park in Ivins, Utah.

 

 

Day-2: St. George, Utah-Zion National Park-Page, Arizona

 

 

 

 

After having breakfast at the hotel and exploring the city, we hit the US-89 towards Zion National Park which is located in Southwestern Utah, near the town of Springdale.

All the National Parks have an entrance fee and the fee to enter Zion National Park is $35 per vehicle.

If you are planning to visit more than two national parks, I highly suggest purchasing America the Beautiful annual pass. You can enter all the national Parks plus other federal sites with this pass.  As of 2019, the Annual Pass costs $80 and is valid for 1 year from the date of purchase.

 

Zion National Park is located near Springdale, a town in the southwest of Utah. It is the most visited park in the state of Utah. The closest airport to Zion is the Las Vegas Airport after which it is just a 3-hour car ride.

If you do decide to stay at Springdale, I highly suggest Cable Mountain Lodge which has amazing views of the Zion. The good thing about staying in Springdale is that everything is walking distance and you do not need a car for anything.

If however, you are on a budget then look into nearby towns of Hurricane or Virgin. Hurricane Wingate at Zion is a really good and affordable option.

 

 

Zion has one of the best hiking trails with the most breathtaking views. Most of the hikes are challenging but some are family-friendly.

Parking really sucks at Zion and to cut down congestion and pollution, the park offers free shuttle service which takes visitors to and from the park at regular intervals. The bus also goes to the town of Springdale.

 

One must tip is not to drive to park to hop on to the bus as you will end up waiting and waiting as most of the buses will already be full. I highly suggest getting a bus from the town of Springdale.

Some of the famous hikes are Angels Landing, Narrows, Observation Point, Hidden Canyon, and the Subway.

 

If you have just one day, I highly suggest doing the Emerald Pools as it is an easy hike and doable with kids.

 

We had earlier decided to visit Bryce National Park too but since we were soo short on time, we decided to leave it for another time.

 

After our Zion excursion, we stopped at Thunderbird Cafe on Mount Carmel Junction to have lunch.

 

 

The restaurant is attached to the Best Western Hotel and upon digging we found out that this place has been serving the locals and tourists since 1931.

Wow!

 

The place had a southern decor and a homey feeling.

The service was good but the food was okay, nothing special. The pies and floats, on the other hand, were divine. Next time I would probably just stop to have dessert here.

 

Stuffed and happy we headed back on US 89 towards Page, Arizona.

 

 

We reached Page, Arizona around 5 in the evening and checked into Lake Powell Resorts and Marinas.  After enjoying coffee and snacks from the resort we all headed to the pool and relaxed.

Lake Powell Resort and Marinas offers houseboats, camping, lodging water activities and much more. You can enjoy boat trips, golf, fishing, and other activities. All you have to do is just show up.

 

 

 

Lake Powell Resort is located at  Wahweap Marina in Page, Arizona. You can relax by the pool and soak in the scenery or rent a boat/power boat and explore the canyons. They have excursion tours, dinner cruises, water activities and much more. If water activities is not your thing try your hand at golf. Also, do not forget to grab a souvenir from the resort gift shop.

 

 

 

We choose the Lake View Room which had postcard views of the bay, the Lone Rock and the Castle Rock. The room had upscale amenities with breathtaking views of the sunset.

 

 

The views of the lake were calming and serene.

When we reached the pool, initially it was crowded but slowly the crowd thinned out to a point we had the whole pool to ourselves.

After relaxing in the pool, we came to our rooms and changed. Later we decided to drive around to see what the city looks like at night. We enjoyed dinner at El Tapatio restaurant which is famous for its authentic Mexican Cuisine.

Came back to this amazing view of the marina.

Day-3: PAGE, ARIZONA – MOAB, UTAH

 

We had specifically chosen Page, Arizona for two reasons, Horseshoe Bend and Antelope Canyon.

Upon reaching we found out that Antelope Canyon is only accessible by booking a tour as it is now a Navajo Tribal Park and one cannot visit the canyon independently and unfortunately as most of the tours are booked in advance and they had none left for that day. Disappointed we decided to enjoy some water activities at the resort before heading out to the Horseshoe Bend.

By the way here is a pic from google so you too can feel why we were disappointed on not scoring the tour for Antelope Canyon.

 

In the afternoon we drove to the Horse Shoe Bend.  It was humid and blazing hot with temperatures of 100° F and rising.

 

On our way, we crossed the Glen Canyon Dam. It is a concrete arch-gravity dam built on the Colorado River by the US Bureau of Reclamation and forms Lake Powell, one of the largest man-made reservoir in the US.

Horseshoe Bend is located almost 5.5 miles SW of Page, Arizona. It is an incised meander of the Colorado River in the shape of a horseshoe. The rock walls are made up of Hematite, platinum, garnet and several other minerals.

 

There is a big open rugged area for parking with no amenities for water or restroom so make sure to bring plenty of water with you.

Surprisingly even in this scorching heat, the parking lot was overflowing with cars.

Horseshoe Bend is accessible via a short 1.5 mile (2.4km) roundtrip hike from the parking area. What frightened me the most was that the hike had a 1000-ft drop but there is no fence or guard rails for protection.

Despite the soaring temperatures, the parking lot was full and it was super busy. I was a tad bit scared to see people sitting on the ledge, taking pictures or posting pictures from unsafe elevations.

Halfway through the hike, the sun got to the kids and they complained of being light headed and since we still had a long way to go, we decided not to take a chance and me and the kids hiked back up to the waiting area wait while my husband continued his hike towards to the overlook.

 

The nearest restaurant was Denny’s. Tired, hangry and dehydrated we decided to eat there. The service sucked and the food was not the best either.

It was late afternoon when we headed towards Olijato Monument Valley.

As we made our way to the Monument Valley, it started getting cloudy, and soon rain made its way, making our drive cool and scenic.

 

There is no place more beautiful, more spiritual and more calming than the Monument Valley.

For a moment you will think you have landed on a red planet.

 

I had never witnessed anything more grand and glorious.

As we got closer to Monument Pass on US 163, we were spellbound by the huge Mesas. We stopped multiple times to take pictures and take it all in.

I had reminded myself to take a picture and recreate a scene from the famous movie Forest Gump where he finishes his cross-country run but for some reason forgot about it. I felt soo bummed 🙁

Later, my husband surprised me with this picture which he had taken when I was enjoying the view. You guys have no idea how happy I felt.

Priceless!

We wanted to see if there were some tours available or if we could get more information about this place. Once we crossed the Arizona-Utah Border we saw the Navajo Nation Welcome Center and stopped to get some information but alas they were closed.

 

As we drove through this place it felt as if the spirits were talking to us. It was a feeling which cannot be expressed in words.

The pictures do not do justice to the “awe-ness” we felt.

 

We visited the Grand Canyon a couple of years ago and no matter what anyone else says….for me…. Monument Valley is much more beautiful, grand and magnificent than the Grand Canyon in Arizona.

 

 

 

Keep your eye open for the “Mexican Hat” on US 163. You might just miss this sweet rock formation which gets its name for the Mexican Sombrero like appearance.

 

We reached Moab, Nevada around 9 pm and before checking into our hotel, had dinner at 168 Ramen, an Asian Noodle Bistro which now has been replaced by Bangkok House Too.

 

We chose AarchWay Inn Hotel for its close proximity to Arches National Park. It is located off US 191 and is just 5 minutes from the national park. The hotel has an excellent rating and is one of the most popular hotels in Moab. The hotel is surrounded by the red rock cliffs and buttes of the Colorado River and has stunning views.

 

The rooms are spacious and the beds, comfy. Free wifi and shuttle services are provided for the guests. We enjoyed a good night sleep and work up fresh to conquer the Arches, National Park.

 

Day-4:  MOAB, UTAH – ALBUQUERQUE, NEW MEXICO

 

 

We decided to check out early and enjoy breakfast at a local diner. As we were checking out a fellow traveler suggested we try the cricket lollipops. According to him, they would provide us with energy on our Arches Hike.

None of my family members could digest the idea of digesting a cricket.

We enjoyed breakfast at the Moab Diner and then made our way to the Arches National Park.

 

 

By the time we made our way to the Arches National Park, it was hot, humid and crowded.

Arches National park is loaded with easy, short hikes which pave the way to amazing rock and arch formations.

There is one main road which curves up and there are multiple vista points to park and make these short treks.

Balanced Rock is the first major attraction and we were lucky to get a click without people.

 

Next is the windows.

 

The sun was not cooperating and the kids were not in a mood for more hike, so we decided to enjoy the Delicate Arch from the lower viewpoint.

 

 

We were all dehydrated and worn out after the Arches National Park and to cool ourselves off from the National Park heat, we stopped for frozen yogurt at MoYo.

 

 

One last look at the Arches National Park as we make our way to New Mexico.

 

Read about our recent visit to Arches National Park HERE.

After driving for three hours, we stopped for dinner in Farmington, New Mexico, the home of the Connie Mack World Series baseball tournament, played in August for the last 50 years.

 

We decided to dine at Three Rivers Eatery and BrewHouse.It’s a historic building on the main street with a restaurant, distillery, and a brewery.

 

The ambiance is hip and fun. We sat in the restaurant part and there was a nice place for the kids to play while waiting for the food to arrive.

One of the main reasons for choosing this place was the gluten-free pizza for my younger son with food allergies.

 

They have a huge menu with pizzas, burgers, steaks and now a separate KETO menu to accommodate this diet. Also this is the place I found my favorite hot sauce, Arizona Gunslinger.

By the time we hit the road, it was already getting dark and I won’t lie that the 14 miles on Co Road 7010 seemed spooky with nothing but a stretch of sheer bareness on either side and no sign of any cars. We actually took a sigh of relief as we made our way to US 550 and saw the traffic and the hustle bustle.

Man sometimes the county roads in the middle of the nowhere can scare the hell out of you.

It was around midnight when we reached Albuquerque, New Mexico and by the time we checked into our hotel, it had started to rain.

Tired from the drive and the pang of a scare, we all slept like a baby. It was when we woke up the next day, we realized that we had not even changed our clothes and had fallen asleep in them.

We stayed at Best Western Plus, Rio Grande Inn which is located in the Historic Old Town District which is within close proximity to the freeway and near all major attractions is a major plus for the travelers.

The hotel offers free shuttle service to the nearby tourist locations as well as free pick up from the airport and/or train station.

The room was clean and decent sized and the beds were comfy.

Another good thing was that the hotel had fenced private parking with limited access to outsiders.

 

Day-5:  ALBUQUERQUE, NEW MEXICO-AMARILLO, TEXAS-CHILDRESS, TEXAS

 

In the morning we enjoyed a hot breakfast at the hotel and the kids played in the pool. It was super important to get their energy out to endure the long drive ahead.

Though the hotel had a full-service restaurant with a nice menu but we were in the mood for some Mediterranean food like Chicken Shawarma and Gyro and a quick Yelp search landed us at Yasmine Cafe in the Midtown/University Area. 

The owners are Palestinian and the food had an authentic Middle-Eastern taste. The portion sizes were huge and the pita came fresh out of the oven, warm and fluffy.

After our lovely lunch, we out we headed to the Old Town Historic District. As it was a Saturday, there was a lot of traffic and we had to drive around to find parking as it was full of tourists a well as locals. The weather was nice with a cool wind which made it perfect for an afternoon stroll.

 

 

The old town is a tribute to the Native American and Spanish Culture and Heritage. This place is brimming with history.

 

The official historical marker stands in the middle of the historic town.

As we strolled around we saw beautiful adobe buildings, houses, and art galleries.

There were lots of souvenir shops as well as restaurants.

 

 

In the middle of the garden was a gazebo where we enjoyed a live performance.

 

You can also rent bikes from Old Town and enjoy a bike tour or better yet come at night and be ready to be spooked on a Ghost Tour.

There are some neat restaurants serving authentic Mexican foods and the aroma was alluring. Unfortunately, we were too stuffed from our lunch and could not take one more bite or else we would have happily gorged all the yummy food.

Do not miss the Church of San Felipe de Neri, build in 1793 which according to Wikipedia is one of the oldest surviving buildings in the city proven to date to the Spanish colonial period.

The church is listed on the New Mexico State Register of Cultural Properties and the National Register of Historic Places and has remained in continuous use for over 200 years.

Old Town Albuquerque will also never be forgotten for it was here that I broke my phone screen and spent a good five to ten minutes to wallow in my sorrows (that was the only amount of time given by family as everyone wanted to get on the road…already).

 

It was almost 3 in the afternoon when we started our journey on US 40-E towards Wichita Falls, Texas.

And just like that, we made our way into the Lonestar state “Texas”

It was around 6 when cries of hunger started coming from the back seats. The next big city coming up in an hour was Amarillo, Texas so we decided to stop there for dinner.

Initially, we thought as the journey was long to grab something from a drive-through but then decided to stop to stretch legs and relax for a tad bit too.

It was time for some desi food so we made our way to “It’s a Punjabi Affair” on Bushland, Blvd. It is one of the best Indian restaurants in Amarillo, Texas.

 

 

It is located off a busy intersection and you might pass by it without noticing it so keep your eyes open.

You can do takeout or enjoy food in their cute, small, covered patio area.

The menu items had funky names like Nakh-ra- Naan, Paa-Luck Paneer, Nimbu-Laid, Mango-Las-see….

We had only been driving for an hour when suddenly started raining cats and dogs.  There was scary thunder and visibility was getting lower and lower making the drive extremely difficult. Out of nowhere, there was a tornado warning too.

I think these kind of out of nowhere weather patterns are not uncommon in Texas but for us coming from California where a 60% chance of rain meant a mere drizzle, it was scary crazy.

Quickly we had to scrap our plans to spend the night at Wichita Falls.

The rain got soo bad that we had to make a stop in the emergency shoulder area. As the weather conditions were getting worse and worse we just could not afford to stay parked there. We were barely safe from the cars and the trucks crossing us and realized it was only a matter of time when one would hit us.

Childress, Texas was just 10 miles away so we to decided to spend the night there. We left everything up to God and made our way back on US 287. It took us good 15-20 minutes to merge onto the highway thanks to heavy oncoming traffic and super low visibility. Those 10 miles were the longest 10 miles of this whole journey and till we reached Childress, we were all scared and praying to make it there safe.

All the hotels were full and we had no option but to stay at Days Inn by Wyndham on Avenue F.

It was not the cleanest place and our room was dingy with old carpets and furnishings. Shaken from our journey and too tired to even move, we were happy to have found a place to sleep. We work up early morning thanks to the uncomfortable beds and checked out without trying the breakfast as we had no expectations.

Maybe we just got a bad room since when I checked later the hotel did have good reviews.

 

Day-6:  CHILDRESS, TEXAS – WICHITA FALLS, TEXAS – DALLAS, TEXAS

 

We stopped to get gas and snacks and decided to have an early lunch at Hibiscus Café in Wichita Falls, Texas. As we got closer I decided to look at the menu only to realize they are closed on Sunday. Bummer!!!

Other options like The Gypsy Kit, Gyros and Kabob, Willie’s Place all were closed on Sunday. We drove around quite bit and found most places to be to closed so ended up eating brunch at Denny’s.

After that, it was a straight two-hour drive which led us to our temporary housing situation where we stayed for good two months before finally making our way to a place we now call “Home”.