Out West Trip in NV, AZ, & UT!!

Hi!! Welcome to the very first blog! I can't believe I'm actually here in my living room writing this for you all. It has been a very long time coming and I'm literally beaming with joy to finally start this. The first blog is going to be dedicated to the sweetest trip my husband and I took in August of 2021 for our 2 year wedding anniversary. We went to great lengths to plan this trip just the two of us before we bring any little humans into the world, and needless to say, this trip will be cherished for the rest of our lives :)

I don't know about you, but when I think of going on an "out west" trip I think of sleeping in a tent outside without cell service and sweating profusely the entire time (also having to pee in the woods 24/7) AND hiking all day every day. While you can definitely do that, we however, did not lol. This trip was the perfect mix of "glamping", hiking, site seeing, and relaxing all mixed together in 1 weeks time. Let's dive into the details so you can gather some inspiration to plan a trip like this for yourself in the future!

DAY 1:

We flew into the Las Vegas airport super late at night and stayed at the Luxor hotel on the Vegas strip! The hotel is super cheap and only 5 minutes from the airport, which was a bonus because we were exhausted. We rented our car through Turo (think Air B and B but for cars), thanks to my sweet husbands car finding skills. Turo is just renting someones personal car, which actually was much cheaper than getting a rental from the airport. We drove around in a yellow Camaro convertible which was so. dang. fun!!! Driving around downtown Vegas at night and through the national parks with the top down was nothing short of magical!!! However, not the most practical choice with our luggage having zero trunk space lol.

DAY 2:

We woke up at the Luxor and got breakfast in the hotel. The lobby of the hotel has like 3 Starbucks inside, it's insane! We began the 2 hour and 15 minute drive from Vegas to our first stop which was Virgin, UT. This drive was absolutely stunning as we went through Nevada, Arizona, and Utah. We just kept looking out the window and pointing at everything! Once we arrived we checked into our glamping site at the Wildflower resort located at the base of Zion national park. Wildflower is truly one of the coolest places I have ever stayed due to its unique amenities and crazy views! This cozy resort is equipped with a full outside fire pit, swing set, covered patio, corn hole, and complementary s'mores kit for all guests!! They even have several options for sleeping from tents, wagons, and little tiny houses, all with AC! BLESSED was an understatement. The stars here at night are unreal!!!! I truly feel like could have stayed here forever.

DAY 3:

This is the day I learned that it's important to have a plan A, B, C, and sometimes D. Long story short it turns out we were in Utah during their monsoon season!! (who knew??!). A huge flood warning came through the area right as we were about to enter Zion national park. Unfortunately due to the high risk flooding we were unable to hike down into the canyon to hike the narrows. Most of the park shut down due to dangerous weather conditions and flash flood sitings. We did get to hike an extremely STUNNING and very remote trail right inside the park after speaking with some locals. After standing alone in the middle of the mountains, taking in the view for several minutes we found a park sign telling us to beware of mountain lions! We very quickly turned around. We headed back for our car and started off driving to our next stop, Page AZ! This was a quick 1 hour and 40 minute drive to our next super cute place to stay! We checked into our air B and B and took a solid nap after so much chaos from earlier in the day. We woke up to make sure to get dinner and catch the sun set at horseshoe bend which was only 10 minute from our place! This view is unmatched and a very short hike to get too from where you park your car! 100% worth it!!

DAY 4:

We woke up and drove 5 minutes down to the cutest local coffee and donut shop called Hot n Sweet right beside where we were meeting our tour guides for our next hike, Antelope Canyon. For this hike it required booking in advance through a tour guide company since the canyon is located on a protected Navajo Indian reservation. Antelope canyon was only a 20 minute bus ride from the coffee shop and our Air B and B making it a perfect choice for our last adventure in Page. Antelope was breath taking and my favorite hike we did all week!! Our tour guide took us through the canyon around noon which was ideal for seeing light through the canyon. My tip of advice for this hike is wear clothes you don't mind getting red dust/ sand on. It will wash out, but it was truly everywhere!!

We finished up our hike and headed to our final destination- something a little more luxurious!! We drove 5 hours down to Scottsdale AZ , stopping once in Flagstaff for lunch along the way! Being up on the mountain was such a neat experience and definitely worth the stop! Once we arrived to Scottsdale we checked into our home away from home for the next few days at the Boulders Resort & Spa.

DAY 5-7:

The last few days of our trip we wanted to relax by the pool and eat yummy food all day long- Which is exactly what we did! The Boulders resort is HUGE. There is a complementary shuttle that will come pick you up in a golf cart and take you to wherever you want to go on the resort, because it's so big and full of pools, golf courses, and restaurants you can't practically walk the whole resort. I can't recommend this place enough. It was extremely affordable, close to downtown Phoenix/scottsdale (which is full of cute boutiques and picture spots), and had great views of the mountains. The resort felt like I was actually inside High School Musical 2!! The exact same vibes of Lava Springs in the movie, minus Troy Bolton and the rest of the wildcats.

However, all good things must come to and end! We woke up on the last morning and drove our rental car back to Vegas which was a little over a 4 hour drive. We could have flown out of Phoenix since we were already there, but we decided to finish our loop back to Vegas due to cost of flights. Life tip- flying in and out of the same city is usually much cheaper. We are already dying to go back!!!!

I hope this Out West recap inspired you to plan your own trip out there too. Click the link below to see the fully detailed google doc with even more trip notes! Happy planning friends :)

Click here for full itinerary