24. The Aftermath: Utah & Arizona Trip

If we could design this trip in retrospect, there are a few things we could have changed:

1. The obvious would be to not have the truck break down and throw the whole first half of the trip into disarray. Those drive days trying to catch up were a little too long to be enjoyable. Probably 4-5 google hours driving is closer to ideal for cross country driving for us.

2. Less days in Williams, AZ. We didn't really make any plans about what we were going to do there and so wasted time doing not a whole lot. We could have made better use of those days if we hadn't been forced to make last minute plans. It was a nice break after the Grand Canyon though.

3. Booking an RV spot at the Balloon Fiesta grounds. This has to be done way in advance - January of the year that it is in October. It is very competitive. This was a spur of the moment decision for us so we had to stay a ways away and then drive in, shuttle over, and walk to the balloon field. Still worth it though. Next time, we will do our best to stay on the fair grounds.

4. We probably could have done only 6-7 nights at Zion and been just fine with all the stuff we would have wanted to do if we had all been healthy. In the end, what we did worked out since we all got covid and had to isolate, so not having to move was good. If we had been feeling better on the drive out, we would have driven the more scenic route through the Vermillion cliffs on our way East.

5. We would have given ourselves a full day to explore Petrified Forest National Park. We only had a chance to drive through for a couple of hours. Doing one of the hikes would have been fun.

6. We would have skipped Mammoth Cave National Park with a 2-3 year old. Wait until they can understand that they can't climb on certain things.

7. Maybe one more day at the Grand Canyon. We squeezed everything we could into our 1.5 days there, but it would have been more relaxing with more time.

8. Book the last campground of the trip at the most conveniently setup full hookup spot. We had full hookups, but it was a back-in up against some bushes and the water and sewer were way at the back of the RV, which made flushing out the tanks more difficult. A nice big pull-through spot would have been easier to manage for a few dollars more.