We wanted day one to be light. We left home at noon.
205 miles. 3 hours.
Punjabi Dhaba, Kingman, AZ: We stopped here for lunch. This one was a surprise. The restaurant hides behind a Love’s truck stop. You know it is an authentic Punjabi restaurant when you see Canadian truck drivers stopping for a take-out. The menu is limited but will more than satisfy your taste buds.
Punjabi Dhaba diaries.
+85 miles. 1 and 1/2 hours.
Hoover Dam, AZ/NV: We reached this beauty a little before the sunset. All tours are closed owing to the pandemic. So, this was quick.
On the border.
Us at Lake Mead
+38 miles. 45 minutes.
Las Vegas, NV: We went into full tourist mode and clicked a picture under the “Welcome to Fabulous Las Vegas” sign.
How fabulous are we?
We stayed at Caesar’s Palace hotel for the first two nights. Despite the pandemic, Las Vegas was pretty crowded. Only a few selected businesses remain closed. We were checked for temperature before check-in. The check-in procedure took almost an hour. The room was beautiful and had a pool view! Statutory warning: Parking is a pain.
View from the room.
Making the most of the make-up area
We decided to walk the strip in the evening. We also took a ride in the Linq high roller. You can practice social distancing on the ride as every pod seats only 5-6 people. It promises fantastic views for sure.
View from the Linq
We returned to the hotel at around midnight. Next: Death valley national park.
Almost 2000 miles. 6 days. 4 states. 4 national parks. The greatest road-trip of all times.
Ankit is visiting! My boys met each other for the first time. Ankit and I hadn’t been to this part of the US yet. So, we decided to take a road trip to major destinations in and around Arizona. The destinations were a good mix of places we had visited earlier as well as new ones. This post only outlines the trip. The upcoming posts shall go through all the days/national parks in detail.
Day 1: Punjabi Dhaba, Kingman, Arizona (Must visit) Hoover dam, Arizona/Nevada Las Vegas, Nevada Night @ Las Vegas
Day 2: Death Valley National Park, California Night @ Las Vegas, Nevada
Day 3: Zion National Park, Utah Night @ Page, Arizona
Day 4: Horseshoe bend, Arizona Bryce Canyon National Park, Utah Night @ Page, Arizona
Day 5: Lake Powell, Page, Arizona Bearizona, Williams, Arizona Grand Canyon National Park, South Rim, Arizona Night @ Grand Canyon National Park, Arizona
Day 6: Grand Canyon National Park, South Rim, Arizona Home Sweet Home.
A few tips if you are going on a road trip during the winters: 1. Clothing: You may need to wear layers. It can get windy, cold, and snowy. 2. Hiking: The major hikes may be closed during the winters. In the event you decide to take the trails that are open during the winters, I would recommend hiking/snowshoes and gear. 3. Gas: Across Arizona and Utah there are stretches with absolutely no civilization. Make sure your gas tank is always full. 4. Food/Drinks: We had a cooler bag full of adult/non-adult beverages at all times. We carried a month-worth of snacks as well. Most restaurants shut down at 9 PM. Depending on where you go you would want to check ahead and schedule accordingly. 5. Stay: We stayed at Caesar’s Palace in Vegas, Marriott at Page, and Yavapai Lodge at Grand Canyon. I’d recommend going for lodges inside the national parks if you can. We changed plans on the go and ended up traveling a lot more than we should have. For example, Bryce Canyon and Zion were last minute additions. Had we planned better, we would have stayed at Kanab (a place between both the national parks) rather than driving down to Page for the night. 6. Please mind the road closures. 7. Spontaneous changes are good. Make sure you have enough fuel for it. 8. We tried to see sunrises, sunsets, and do star-gazing wherever we went. We are sunset-chasers. So, we made sure all the sunsets were picturesque. 9. Don’t approach the wildlife. If you suspect wildlife is around you, excuse yourself. (Story in the upcoming posts) 10. Make sure your team has more than one driver. The more the merrier. 11. Try to drive as little as possible between two consecutive destinations. That saves time and miles. 12. With the sun setting earlier during winters, try to maximize the daylight. 13. We preferred not to spend time at breakfast and lunches. So, they were always on the go. This helped us utilize the daylight better. We made a point to return to the hotel by 8-9 PM. So, our dinners were relaxed and we could call it a day early. 14. Don’t try to pack a lot in a few days. Keep it relaxing. 15. Please download offline maps. None of our phones had a network for long hours. 16. Make sure you have phone chargers in your car. 17. Mind the speed limits. We saw innumerable speed traps, especially in smaller cities. 18. The sun is brutal even during the winters. Make sure you have a pair of sunglasses.
Of Sun and Sand 