Skip to content

Summer of Hell RV trip

Harriet just graduated 4th grade, which means we can see "America's natural wonders and historic sites" for free with the Every Kid Outdoors pass!

We rented a 30' RV and spent two wonderful weeks driving the Grand Circle loop and hiking national parks with our family friends the Sheffields. Couldn't have done it with anyone else.

Sitch and Sheffield families

Why the name?

Late July in Arizona, Utah, and Colorado - it was HOT. Living in the SF northbay we're just not ready for that kind of misery. We knew it would be bad, when we were planning I jokingly called it The Summer of Hell. The name stuck.

Planning

We spent a lot of time planning and came up with a pretty good two-week itinerary:

Grand Circle loop

  • Jul 20-21: Pick up RV, Sedona
    • Fly into PHX, pick up RV, provision, 2.5hr drive -> Sedona
    • Hike Devil's Bridge Trail, visit Flagstaff, drive -> Grand Canyon
  • Jul 22-23: Grand Canyon
    • Hike Bright Angel and Rim Trail
    • Mule ride, drive -> Lake Powell
  • Jul 24-25: Lake Powell
    • Pontoon boat rental on Lake Powell
    • Dinosaur tracks, sandstone caves, drive -> Zion
  • Jul 26-27: Zion
    • Hike Angels Landing
    • Hike The Narrows, drive -> Bryce Canyon
  • Jul 28-29: Bryce Canyon, Capitol Reef
    • Hike Navajo Loop and Queens Garden Trail
    • Hike Rim Trail, drive -> Capitol Reef, hike Cassidy Arch Trail, drive -> Moab
  • Jul 30-31: Moab
    • Pool, laundry, relaxing, fireworks
    • Hike Fiery Furnace (Arches National Park), drive -> Mesa Verde
  • Aug 1-2: Mesa Verde, Monument Valley
    • Balcony House and Cliff House tours
    • Petroglyphs on the cliff trails, drive -> Monument Valley
  • Aug 3-4: Flagstaff, Drop off RV
    • Arch hike at Gouldings, movie in Flagstaff, drive -> Pheonix
    • Drop off RV, fly back to SFO

Sara and me

Recommendations

  • Get out there! Go see the world, take a walk, get lost! We didn't have a lot of wifi and were lucky enough to be able to mostly unplug from work. Cheers to our colleagues for covering for us.
  • The itinerary above is pretty good! Maybe another day in Zion or Bryce Canyon, maybe skip Monument Valley, maybe try to hit Petrified Forest National Park on the way back. Sara liked Sedona.
  • Maybe don't go in the middle of summer. The heat was oppressive.
  • Go with friends! We would have had a fine time rolling as one family in one RV, but Ed, Beth, Orion, and Quinn made the trip magical. The kids loved hanging out with each other and RV-hopping, the adults loved adult conversations (eg: not about Pokemon), it was safer (two vehicles, four mostly responsible adults), and it gave everyone a chance to hang out with someone new each day.
  • Get fit before you go! We hiked more than 40 miles and climbed more than 6,500' over the two weeks, but that was only possible because we had been hiking most weekends for more than a year.
  • Bring the right gear! The kids all had hydration backpacks, but Sara and I should have bought better packs - we upgraded after the trip and it makes a big difference. We all had hiking shoes and flip-flops. Don't bother with water shoes for The Narrows, just wear your hiking boots or flip flops and dry them.
  • Bring a bluetooth speaker and get the kids to download music before you leave. We had awesome sing-alongs.

Kids playing cards