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7 Things to Do At Death Valley in One Day

NPS Site 8 Mins Read
Zabriske Point at Death Valley National Park.

Visiting Death Valley National Park is a bucket list item for many travelers.  After all, it is the lowest, hottest and driest place on the North American Continent.  Any place with that many superlatives is worth some thought!  Here are 7 things to do in Death Valley in one day – all within a 30 minute drive of the Furnace Creek Visitor Center! #1 Take a Picture at the Death Valley National Park Sign Taking a picture at the entrance signs of National Parks is one way that we commemorate our park experiences.  When we arrived (via I-190 from Las Vegas), there was ample space to pull off on the side of the road.  This sign is unique – it has a different look and feel than many of the wooden signs that we have encountered at the National Park entrances.  It’s cooler colors were reminiscent of a sunset landscape…

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1 Week in National Parks Near Las Vegas: The Ultimate Road Trip from Las Vegas

Itinerary 47 Mins Read
The beautiful road from Las Vegas leads to magnificent National Parks! This post dives into National Parks near Las Vegas and presents a week-long itinerary that you can use to visit 12 parks including Great Basin, Bryce Canyon, Zion, Grand Canyon and Death Valley! #ParkTripsAndMore #FindYourPark #RoadTrip #Travel

There are several adventure-packed National Parks near Las Vegas! In this post, we share our itinerary for a week-long road trip from Las Vegas to National Parks that will leave you fulfilled and ready to plan your road trip out west! This Las Vegas National Park road trip includes 12 National Park Units in Nevada, Southern Utah, Arizona and California covered in 6 days – all from a starting point in Las Vegas. Day 1: Experience Great Basin National Park Road trip from Las Vegas to Great Basin National Park We arrived in McCarran airport right around 8am Pacific. Flying Southwest Airlines from Columbus got us in a little earlier than planned. Our early arrival was extremely helpful to us as we had to pick up our luggage, pick up our rental car, grab some groceries and necessities for our road trip, and make it to Great Basin National Park…

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Rainbow Point Shuttle Tour: A Lovely Way to See Bryce Canyon in One Day

NPS Site 6 Mins Read
A view from the Bryce Canyon Rainbow Point Overlook.

According to the National Park Service, the Rainbow Point Tour has been discontinued and is no longer available.  Check out this NPS site to research commercial tours and services that may be available during your visit. Pressed for time, but want to see the highlights of Bryce Canyon? A week prior to our trip, we were able to book the free Rainbow Point Shuttle Tour offered by Bryce Canyon National Park, and we highly recommend it! This is a great way to see Bryce Canyon in one day. This tour takes you beyond the regular shuttle circuit that circulates every few minutes during operating hours. Our tour was one of only two guided tours that leave each day and lasts for about 4 hours. During the tour, you are taken out to Rainbow Point and back, stopping at a few of the park’s famous vistas. Rainbow Point Shuttle in Bryce…

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Cedar Breaks National Monument in the Snow

NPS Site 5 Mins Read
Cedar Breaks National Monument is a beautiful park to see hoodoos. It is less well-known than its companion, Bryce Canyon, but boasts beautiful views. Be prepared for snowy conditions, however, that may linger well into May. This is a story of getting stuck in this beautiful monument - shared so you can avoid a similar experience. Happy Exploring! #parktripsandmore #cedarbreaks #findyourpark #utah #roadtrip #nationalparks

The wind was whipping, and the inches of snow that lined the path to the overlook stretched only about 30 yards or so in front of me.  This, and Jason’s ultra-cautious warning that the weather wasn’t good for this short jaunt were the only deterrents that stood between me and what was to be my grand overlook into the beautiful hoodoos that formed Cedar Breaks. The Quest for the Ultimate Cedar Breaks View I stepped out of the car, immediately frigid from being beaten in the face by the wind, but determined to put one foot in front of the other to see the awe-inspiring view.  I stepped in a path of footprints in the snow that was made by a previous onlooker – evidence that others too had been drawn to the views.  Until those steps ran out… and the 30 yards seemed to grow into a football field…

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Best Western Premier in Brian Head, Utah: A Great Place to Stay When Visiting Cedar Breaks National Monument

Travel Guide 6 Mins Read
Best Western Premier Brian Head

Our visit to the Best Western Premier Brian Head was our first great hotel selection during our Las Vegas Road Trip! After a great visit to Great Basin National Park and completing the Lehman Cave Lodge Room Tour, we started our drive to Brian Head, Utah. Brian Head, Utah is gorgeous!  It is a ski-resort town that sits at between 9,800 and 11,000 feet above sea level.  The setting is serene and in a location that is tucked away such that you can disconnect from the daily hustle if you choose to. What We Liked About this Brian Head Resort Comfortable and welcoming lodge feel Brian Head’s Best Western Premier is designed like a lodge.  When you enter, you find an open, rustic setting accented with wooden furnishings and warm, cozy fireplaces.  This feeling is comforting to us weary travelers after ascending the mountainside to get there. Lounge Area in…

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Lehman Cave Tours: A Review of the Lodge Room Tour

NPS Site 7 Mins Read
Lehman Cave Tours: Lodge Room Tour

When visiting Great Basin National Park, do yourself a favor and book one of the Lehman Cave Tours. We booked the Lodge Room tour, and this experienve was the highlight of our visit to this remote park in Baker, Nevada.   Tips for Exploring Lehman Cave Tours You will not regret taking the time to visit when you plan your Great Basin National Park adventure. Here are a few tips for making your visit: Schedule Your Lehman Cave Tour in advance Guided tours are the only way that you will get to take advantage of the opportunity though.  Plan ahead, space is limited!  We put the Lehman Cave Visitor Center into our GPS, and the rest was history! Three tours that are offered: The Lodge Room Tour – this is the tour that we went on. The Lodge Room tour is about an hour long. It takes you to three rooms…

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Glen Canyon National Recreation Area and Rainbow Bridge National Monument: How We Are Planning to Visit

Planning 4 Mins Read
Glen Canyon NRA and Rainbow Bridge NM

We’re getting closer to our Las Vegas road trip adventure, and I cannot wait!  The fourth day of our journey will be to Glen Canyon National Recreation Area and Rainbow Bridge National Monument!  We will also pay a brief visit to Horseshoe Bend. This is the fourth post in a series that we are writing about what we plan to do during our Las Vegas road trip.  We invite you to check out the previous posts in the series. 1: Great Basin NP, 2: Bryce Canyon NP / Cedar Breaks NM 3: Zion NP / Pipe Spring NM Our Plan to Visit Rainbow Bridge National Monument If all goes according to plan, the fourth day of our journey will start bright and early.  While I’m not a morning person, I will be ready to check in by 7:30am at Wahweap Marina for our tour of Rainbow Bridge National Monument.  This…

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Cedar Breaks National Monument and Bryce Canyon National Park: How We Are Planning To Visit

Planning 7 Mins Read
Cedar Breaks and Bryce Canyon Road Trip Plan

We recently shared that we will be flying into Las Vegas to enjoy 11 days of adventure.  The second day of our journey will take us to Cedar Breaks National Monument and Bryce Canyon National Park. This is the second post in a series that we are writing about what we plan to do during our Las Vegas road trip. We invite you to follow along on our journey!   Marching Downward in Elevation We recently shared our travel plans with Jason’s step-mother who worked out west for a number of years as a geologist.  She is a wealth of knowledge about the rocks and formations that we will see on our trip.  One visual that she gave us that I thought that I’d share for a little context for the Parks that we are going to visit is as follows: in Bryce Canyon, you will be in the rocks at…

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Great Basin National Park: How We Are Planning To Visit

Planning 7 Mins Read
Vegas Road Trip Planning: Part 1: Great Basin National Park

Want to see what we plan to do at Great Basin National Park?  This is the first post in a series that we are writing on what we plan to do during our Las Vegas road trip.  We invite you to follow along on our journey!  We recently shared that we will be flying into Las Vegas in the near future to enjoy 11 days of adventure.  Our trip is going to involve short visits to a number of parks and other places of interest.  The first of these visits will be to Great Basin National Park where we will visit via the town of Baker, Nevada. Getting to Great Basin National Park As the first stop on our fast-travel road trip, our time at Great Basin National Park will be somewhat limited.  The park is approximately a 4.5-hour drive from Las Vegas.  Because of this, we plan to hit…

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Viva Las Vegas!

Uncategorized 3 Mins Read
Vegas Bound! Thanks pixabay.com

Update: We have returned from our tour of National Parks Near Las Vegas!  <== Check out this point to see all of the great tips that we share. We are excited to announce our next big road trip! <<Drumroll Please>> We are going to take off for Las Vegas, Nevada!!!  Yay! Las Vegas is known, of course, for its massive casinos, world-class entertainment, and the indulgences that accompany a glitz and glam lifestyle, but Las Vegas is also a city that puts you geographically within the reach of a number of National Parks and monuments, all within a reasonable road trip distance given our time constrains. This is all great news for us because we will get the best of both worlds – the beauty of the outdoors which we appreciate more and more with each trip that we get to take, and the self-indulgent luxury that will leave us…

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