West Coast USA in 2 Weeks: California, Arizona, Utah, Nevada

Table of Contents

The Original Plan in a Nutshell

Below is a condensed version of our original itinerary. As we all know, things rarely go according to plan, so once we were on the ground, we had to improvise. I described the details in the sections below, referring to specific days, but it’s worth mentioning up front that due to wildfires that had scorched Los Angeles during the winter, access to the Pacific Coast Highway near Pacific Palisades was closed, which completely threw a wrench into our plans for Day 1 and Day 2 in LA. Additionally, because of bad weather on days 4–6, we decided to stay one extra day in Yosemite National Park to enjoy at least one day of sunshine there — at the expense of one day in San Francisco.

Luckily, our improvisation skills were much less needed in the other states, and the visits to Nevada, Arizona, and Utah went pretty much according to plan.

The overall plan includes:

• 3 major cities (Los Angeles, San Francisco, Las Vegas)
• 4 national parks (Sequoia, Yosemite, Grand Canyon, Zion)
• Monument Valley
• Antelope Canyon

Again, below is our original plan without the changes we made during the trip.

Traveling to the States

At the time of writing this article, Polish citizens can enter the USA for tourism without a visa, simply by filling out and paying for what’s called an ESTA form. Unfortunately, the form includes quite a few detailed questions about your stay, so expect it to take around 20 minutes to complete.

This plan assumes arriving in Los Angeles and returning to Poland from Las Vegas. I won’t go into the nitty-gritty of flight hunting. We just compared offers from KLM, Lufthansa, and LOT, and due to the lowest number of layovers on the Las Vegas route, we went with Lufthansa. That said, all these airlines had similarly priced tickets.

One important note — if your arrival and departure cities are different, it's worth selecting the "Multi-city trip" option when booking flights, so that the whole trip is on one ticket. That kind of offer will be much cheaper than buying two separate tickets: Poland -> Los Angeles and Las Vegas -> Poland.

Also keep in mind that if you fly out of Poland in the morning, say on a Monday, you’ll arrive in Los Angeles also on Monday around noon (same day). But on the way back, if you leave Monday afternoon, you’ll arrive in Poland on Tuesday afternoon (+1 day).

"Day Zero" in Los Angeles

Our plane landed at 1:00 PM local time, so we still had plenty of the day left to enjoy. But before we could start living our best tourist life, we first had to go through border control and pick up our rental car.

I’ll admit, after reading the internet, I was a bit nervous about border control. Especially after the most recent changes in the US government… Fortunately, none of it turned out to be true. The line was indeed very long, and we waited for about an hour, but once we got to the booth, everything went quickly and smoothly. After a few routine questions, a very friendly officer warned us about the crazy drivers in LA, and we were free to grab our luggage and leave the airport.

Picking up the car went almost just as smoothly. One important note: car rental agencies are not located directly at the airport. There’s a special shuttle bus that takes you to them. Unfortunately, the shuttle pickup locations are not well marked. We had to search a bit. One was near the exit from our terminal, and we only recognized it because a bus wrapped in logos of all the car rental companies pulled up to it. We managed to run up with our suitcases just in time. The reward for the hunt? A dancing driver. Hilarious guy 🙂

As for the rental agency itself, based on Google Maps reviews, we went with Alamo. They had by far the best ratings and the lowest prices. Plus, their website lets you use the "Skip the counter" option — you get a QR code, and when you arrive, you just find the aisle in the parking lot with the type of car you booked, pick whichever you like best, and the keys are already inside. At the parking lot exit, you show the QR code, and the staff assigns the car to you in the system.

Two more tips — we had no problem renting with a debit card at Alamo. You just need to have your return ticket to Poland. Unfortunately, the "Skip the counter" form on their website detects your card type and only accepts credit cards. But we had no trouble switching to a debit card when exiting the parking lot. It literally took 2 minutes. Second tip — the form will accept any credit card, but you won’t be allowed to leave the parking lot if the credit card isn’t in the main driver’s name. We had submitted my wife’s card in the form, and that was already a problem. But we switched to a debit card anyway.

Once we hit the streets, I think we blended into traffic pretty quickly. Americans drive slower and more cautiously than Poles. That made it easier to adjust to their traffic. Luckily, it’s very similar to how things work back home. The biggest difference I recall is that in the States, you can turn right at a red light even without a green arrow — unless a sign specifically forbids it. But that’s pretty rare. Oh, and their four-way stops. You’ll recognize them by the STOP sign with “ALL WAY” underneath. That means everyone has a STOP sign, so it’s an equal-priority intersection. The car with the right of way is… the one that got there first. Of course, “who was first” is highly subjective 😂 But Americans are generally polite and let others go instead of pushing through. Also, an interesting LA driving experience — their multi-lane freeways with rather narrow lanes, where people overtake on both the left and the right. Doesn’t matter 😅 But I’ll admit, the large distance they keep between cars was a refreshing change from Polish bumper-hugging habits.

After checking in to the hotel, we left our suitcases in the room, parked the car in the hotel’s lot, and finally went out to explore. We stayed at the “Inn at Venice Beach” in the Venice Beach neighborhood, so we walked along the Venice Canals, strolled down Abbot Kinney Blvd with all its little shops, and continued along the beachfront promenade to Santa Monica Pier. We grabbed hot chocolates at a nearby Starbucks (15°C by the ocean is not as warm as it sounds), and… we ordered a Waymo self-driving taxi to get back to the hotel.

I have to say, the Waymo ride was awesome. Very futuristic experience. We paid about 60 PLN (roughly $15) for a 4-mile ride. I honestly don’t know if that’s a lot or a little compared to regular taxis in LA, but it was definitely worth it 😁 Unfortunately, the Waymo app isn’t available on Google Play for users outside the US, so you have to download it from apkmirror. But that was easy, and all the features work perfectly. The app works just like Uber or Bolt.

Los Angeles – Day 1

This day we had planned a drive along the Pacific Coast Highway, but unfortunately — as I already mentioned — due to the wildfires that plagued LA in the winter, Pacific Palisades was supposedly completely destroyed, and that stretch of the PCH was closed. We found out the day before from our hotel receptionist.

We were supposed to figure out an alternate route in the morning, but jet lag hit us hard, and we woke up very early. On a whim, we decided that since we were up before sunrise, we might as well do the Hollywood sign hike — it’s hard to find parking there, and you need to arrive early.

The closest parking is near Lake Hollywood Park on Canyon Lake Drive, and it’s just street parking. Start off at the park — it’s a great place to take a few nice Hollywood sign photos. Then head uphill (sadly, there’s no sidewalk, so watch out for cars), and via Mulholland Highway go toward The Last House on Mulholland. From there, follow the sandy trail marked on Google Maps as “Mulholland Hwy Trl” until you reach the house at 3399 Deronda Dr. That’s where the entrance to the trail behind the Hollywood sign is hidden. Don’t be afraid to pass through the gate — it may feel like you’re trespassing, but it’s really just locals trying to deter tourists from passing by their homes. Once you’re through and find yourself on Mt Lee Drive, you’re golden. The road leads straight to the sign 🙂 The round trip took us exactly 2 hours. Just note: this route takes you behind the sign — you can’t stand in front of it. But the views are still totally worth it.

The rest of the day was more of an improv session. We looked at our LA to-do list and what was nearby, and decided to head to Beverly Hills. Beautiful and green, with tall palm trees lining the streets. Snap a photo at Beverly Hills Garden Park by the famous sign, and take a stroll down Rodeo Drive. You’ll likely see plenty of parked luxury cars whose owners are shopping in the high-end stores there. The whole walk takes maybe a few dozen minutes.

This was also our first encounter with the famous American parking meters. And we had to figure out how they work. Turns out it’s easy. Each spot has its own meter with two lights — red and green — and a display showing how much paid time is left. Parking in the US is usually limited to 2–3 hours. You select how long you want to park, pay with a card, and the light changes from red to green. Sometimes we found open spots with leftover time on the meter — like 40 minutes — which might be enough for you, and you don’t need to pay anything 🙂 Fees are low — a few dollars for 2 hours — and vary by location.

Next stop: the legendary Hollywood Walk of Fame — Hollywood Blvd with stars embedded in the sidewalk. Unfortunately, the street itself isn’t very pretty, and after walking a few blocks, we returned to the car with “Walk of Fame – checked off the list.”

By this point, we were hungry and decided to try the famous American comfort food — chicken and waffles. Right next to Hollywood Blvd we found the well-known Roscoe’s Chicken & Waffles chain. Well... chicken and waffles was definitely an *interesting* combo, but it probably falls into the same category as the Walk of Fame — tried it, checked it off 😅

From Hollywood, it’s a short hop to Griffith Observatory — the iconic observatory and view featured in basically every movie or TV show set in LA. I definitely wanted to see it, so it was our next stop. Plenty of parking available — we parked very close to the building. A short walk and we were there. The observatory isn’t big, but it looks great. The view of Downtown and the rest of LA didn’t disappoint. On the monument to astronomers in front of the observatory, we even spotted Copernicus 🙂 We had hoped to return in the evening because after 7:00 PM you can look through the telescope, but sadly it got cloudy and we couldn’t make it 😟

We wrapped up the day with a short stop at Angels Point in Elysian Park for a panoramic view of the city center (highly recommended), and then a stroll through Downtown itself. We were there after 7:00 PM, and the area was already pretty empty. We walked past some of the most famous buildings, including the Walt Disney Concert Hall and City Hall. The latter looked especially nice lit up after dark.

For dinner, we went to Cole’s French Dip, known for their famous sandwiches — and also locked in a feud with Philippe The Original over who actually invented them. The sandwich was delicious, but the price definitely made it feel like you were paying for a slice of history 😅

Los Angeles – Day 2

That day we had a fixed appointment for a Warner Bros Studio tour at 3:00 PM. Luckily, the day before we managed to see way more than we thought we would, so all that remained on our list was a drive along the Pacific Coast Highway and Mulholland Drive. Pacific Coast Highway is a coastal road with beautiful ocean views, and Mulholland Drive winds through the hills with sweeping views of Los Angeles.

Since the part of the Pacific Coast Highway near Pacific Palisades was closed, we came up with a workaround: driving north via Highway 101, then cutting off onto N9 to come out near El Pescador State Beach. But first — after crossing the mountains — definitely stop at this scenic overlook. The view is phenomenal. After a short walk on El Pescador State Beach, we hit the Pacific Coast Highway heading east toward Malibu. In my opinion, it’s worth stopping again for another quick stroll at Zuma Beach, and definitely at Point Dume. Unfortunately, the parking there is tiny — maybe 7 cars fit. We went on a Wednesday in April with cloudy weather and were second in line waiting for a spot. The walk to Point Dume from the parking lot takes about 10 minutes, maybe even less, and the view from the top is breathtaking. Sadly, we didn’t have enough time for Malibu or the Malibu Pier, so we just drove by. The center of Malibu is a very small town, and the pier honestly reminded me of the one in Brzeźno — just with a restaurant at the end — so we didn’t feel like we missed much.

In Malibu, we only stopped at a gas station for some snacks before heading to Warner Bros Studio. The studio tour is divided into two parts. First, you ride in a small open electric cart with a guide for about 1.5 hours, who takes you around various “neighborhoods” built on studio grounds and shows houses, plazas, and backdrops used in specific scenes from specific movies and TV shows. This part was quite interesting, although I think we were expecting... more? Hard to say what exactly, but we were left feeling a little underwhelmed. The second part is a self-guided tour through themed exhibitions. The first exhibit is all about Friends — you can take photos in two iconic sets and look at props. What I personally liked most was a 5-minute video presentation in a small screening room that showed how the sound design for movies is done, using *Gravity* as the example. The second exhibit was about Harry Potter and Batman, and I thought the quality was kind of underwhelming.

For dinner, we went to a very popular West Coast chain — In-N-Out Burger. We’re not really fans of McDonald's or KFC, so we weren’t expecting anything mind-blowing, but we had to try it to form our own opinion 😁 We arrived around 7:00 PM. The drive-thru line was insane — cars lined up all the way onto the street, blocking an entire lane for a good stretch. We parked and went inside, where only about three tables were occupied. Still, it wasn’t exactly clean inside. And the food? For us, it was hard to tell apart from McDonald's.

After dinner, we headed back to the hotel to pack up, as the next day we were leaving LA.

Los Angeles – Day 3

Day 3 in the City of Angels kicked off with a whale-watching boat tour! We chose to go with SoCal Whale Watching, as they were the only ones departing from Long Beach. Most other boats set off from the much farther south Newport Beach or even Dana Point, which wouldn’t have worked for us since we were heading north after the tour, toward our lodge near Sequoia National Park.

We arrived at the meeting spot at 9:00 AM — half an hour early. So we took a relaxed walk around the lighthouse at the harbor. Right on time, the owners showed up, and along with a mom and her two kids, we boarded a slightly larger RIB boat. As we left the harbor, we passed a massive ocean liner from the Titanic era. Early in the trip, we stopped by one of the big buoys, where sea lions were lounging around. They looked just as curious about us as we were about them 😁 After a short photo op, we headed out into the bay in search of whales and dolphins. Unfortunately, during the entire two-hour tour, despite hitting multiple good spots, we didn’t manage to find either whales or dolphins. As a consolation, the skipper took us to the “harbor dolphins” — apparently always hanging out there — but they were totally uninterested and only popped up for 1–2 seconds before disappearing again under the water.

A nice touch: the company gave us a free voucher for another trip with no expiration date, which we could have used even the next day. Sadly, Sequoia and Yosemite were ahead of us, so we’ll save the voucher for next time!

Quick culinary sidenote: LA, thanks to its proximity to Mexico, is famous for Mexican food — especially tacos. So after the boat tour, we wanted to try something authentic. We ended up at Taqueria La Mexicana. I don’t think we could’ve hit a more authentic spot — everything in the place was in Spanish. Sadly, the overwhelming menu made us panic a bit, so we just randomly ordered some tacos and a burrito. We ended up with two tiny tacos 😂, one regular burrito, and one "California burrito," which turned out to be meat and fries wrapped in a tortilla 😅 Still, everything was really tasty 🙂

On our way out of LA, we decided to finally hit Mulholland Drive, which we had skipped earlier due to time constraints. We made it to the Jerome C. Daniel Overlook above the Hollywood Bowl. Best decision ever. From that one spot, you can literally see everything — the Hollywood sign, Griffith Observatory, Downtown LA, and more. A must-see!

Our overnight stay was super close to Sequoia National Park, at the Comfort Inn & Suites Sequoia Kings Canyon. Our very first American “Inn”! 🙂 The drive from LA was smooth, and the changing landscape made it really enjoyable — mountains at first, then endless plains with farms and orchards, and even real oil fields! Full-on America. We stopped for dinner in the town of Exeter, which has a charming little downtown — perfect for a 5-minute leg-stretching walk. The weather here was much warmer than on the coast, hitting around 25°C, so we took advantage of that by sitting in one of the patio restaurants. We chose the fairly fancy Monets Wine Bistro, because after days of chains, fast food, sandwiches, and snacks in LA, we were desperate for a proper meal. It turned out to be the perfect choice. The food quality was excellent — felt like we weren’t even in the US anymore 😂 Highly recommend stopping here if you’re passing through.

We also stocked up on supplies in Exeter, since we knew we wouldn’t be able to buy anything while inside Sequoia Park all day — and we had no clue what the situation would be like in Yosemite either. So we loaded up on protein bars, chips, fruit, cookies, and even found something resembling kabanosy (sadly, nothing like the real Polish ones…). We arrived at our inn after dark, around 10 PM — just enough time for a quick check-in and straight to bed.

Sequoia National Park

In the morning, we already had a detailed forecast for the next three days we planned to spend in national parks. Unfortunately, it was merciless — it was clear we’d hit a weather slump, with temperatures ranging between 0 and 5°C and a mix of rain and snow. Luckily, we’d been tracking the weather for weeks and had seen wild swings from 20°C to 5°C and back again, so we were prepared. Still, we were hoping to land closer to twenty than five.

Despite being disappointed by the forecast, we headed down for our first American hotel breakfast. Well… reading about them is one thing, experiencing them with your own stomach — another 😅 Everything on offer was sweet. The only bread available was toast. A few types of cereals like Cheerios or Cini-Minis, tiny square jam packets, one kind of flavored yogurt, and of course — the waffle maker 😁 There were instructions on how to use it, but I still recommend this video showing how it works. At least we wouldn’t look like total amateurs at our first roadside breakfast 😊 If you’re into veggies or a proper ham sandwich in the morning, unfortunately these breakfast buffets won’t have anything for you — and this was the case everywhere we stayed. The best breakfast was at a ranch near Yosemite where we spent the next three nights. They served a warm “croissant” with a piece of meat and cheese at the table — the same one we later found in the supermarket fridge, ready to microwave. At one motel I thought I’d found plain instant oatmeal packets… but nope, they were apple and… sugar flavored 😱

There’s one main road running through Sequoia National Park. We came from Los Angeles, so we entered from the south and exited to the north, heading toward Yosemite. The main area of the park — where the most popular trails and largest sequoias are — is relatively compact, and one day is more than enough to enjoy it. Of course, you could easily fill three or four days here too — you can also visit Kings Canyon National Park (technically, the two parks function as one), explore the Crystal Cave, or hike to places like Tokopah Falls. All of those extras were closed during our visit and only open in the summer season. But our main goal was sequoias anyway.

Before visiting, it’s worth checking all alerts on the park’s official website. There you’ll find updates on closed roads or extreme weather. In the maps section there’s one map showing all currently closed roads in red, and another with closed hiking trails. You can also check the weather forecast for specific parts of the park — the big weather apps don’t always get these areas right. On the official weather page, the main part of the park is labeled as Giant Forest.

At the entrance gate, we bought the America the Beautiful pass. It’s a personal annual pass for all federal national parks. One car with everyone inside can enter on a single pass, as long as the pass holder is present. It costs $80, so it pays off quickly — entrance to just Yosemite per car is $35.

The road into the park leads steadily uphill. At first, after the entrance, we had gorgeous views of the river down below and mountain peaks wrapped in clouds. We kept stopping at little pullouts to admire the views and iconic spots like Tunnel Rock or the wooden Sequoia National Park sign. But the higher we climbed, the thicker the fog became — eventually, we drove right into the clouds and visibility dropped to a few hundred meters. There was no point stopping at most of the scenic overlooks anymore. Spirits were dropping a bit…

Our first longer stop was for a walk along the Big Trees Trail. We parked at the Giant Forest Museum and went on our first stroll among the sequoias. After doing the 2.2 km loop, we returned to the car absolutely stunned. Just seeing these trees is amazing, but seeing them with their crowns brushing the clouds and fog hanging in the forest… We quickly realized this weather wasn’t bad luck — it was a blessing. Everything looked stunning and full of atmosphere.

We picked our jaws off the floor, got back in the car, and drove through the famous Tunnel Log — a road carved through a fallen sequoia — on our way to the next trail in Giant Forest. We parked near Crescent Meadow and started walking the western side of the meadow loop northward. We reached the junction of Washington Tree and Giant Forest Loop trails, turned back, and returned via the eastern side of the meadow. Halfway through, we paused to listen to dozens of frogs croaking. I stood on a fallen sequoia in my neon beanie — I was visible from almost anywhere around the meadow. Later, people passing us jokingly thanked me for the hat, since apparently they were using me as a reference point to show others where the bear was 😅 Turns out the bear must’ve been listening to the frogs just a few meters from us — and we had no idea 🤷 In total, this hike was exactly 5 km and took us just under 2 hours.

On the way back to the main road, we made a quick stop at Moro Rock, which supposedly offers a breathtaking view of the valley. We stopped just to confirm there was no point in even getting out of the car — as soon as you stepped out of the trees, the fog swallowed everything. So we sighed and drove on to the parking lot for our final stop — the Sherman Tree and Congress Trail.

From the parking lot to General Sherman Tree (officially the largest sequoia — though, if you read the fine print, not exactly 😂), there’s a well-maintained trail leading fairly steeply downhill. Until now, most places in the park had been pretty quiet, but here there were crowds — everyone wanted to see "the biggest" tree. Because of the crowd, we snapped a few quick photos and escaped onto the Congress Trail. We followed the loop past Lincoln Tree, McKinley Tree, The Senate, The President Tree, and returned via the same Sherman Tree Trail with the masses heading back. The loop was 6.2 km and took us 1 hour and 50 minutes.

It was getting late, so we wrapped up our Sequoia adventure and headed straight toward Yosemite Forks. We had dinner at some pizza place just after descending from the mountains — not amazing, but it did the job. Over dinner, we checked the forecast again and had an idea: stay one more day in Yosemite at the cost of one day less in San Francisco. Why? Because the next day was the only sunny one, and we didn’t want to miss seeing Yosemite in the sun. We didn’t think long — we started rearranging hotel bookings on the way. After three hours of driving, we finally reached “our” super atmospheric ranch, which we can wholeheartedly recommend (yup, the one with the microwave croissant for breakfast).

Yosemite National Park – Day 1

We started the day with a proper energy boost at breakfast 😊 In addition to the standard American hotel breakfast set and the croissants mentioned earlier, there were also some fruits, milk, a few yogurt flavors to choose from, and coffee that was actually drinkable. We decided to chat with the front desk, since we’d been told during check-in that someone knowledgeable about the park would be available that morning. The lady said she had already called the park and, as of now, the road conditions inside were fine, but that could of course change at any moment. She recommended entering from the west via Highway 140 rather than from the south on 41. That would’ve meant a 30–40 minute delay though, and well… let’s be honest — no one’s gonna tell a Pole what makes more sense. We know what we’re doing 🙂

Let’s break down the roads into Yosemite. We came from the south, so the most natural entry point for us was Highway 41. This road climbs all the way up to 6000 feet (around 1830 m — for ease, just divide by 3) near the Yosemite West area and then descends again to 4000 feet in Yosemite Valley. From the west, you can enter the park via Highway 140 or 120. I’m not sure what Highway 120 is like — we didn’t take it — but 140 never exceeds 4000 feet and is definitely more winter-friendly. So if you’re heading to Yosemite in winter, or like us in early spring when snowfall is still possible, it’s probably best to stay somewhere near Mariposa and take 140 into the park. There’s also an eastern entry via 120, which is supposed to be beautiful, but it only opens in the summer season.

Armed with supplies for the whole day and plenty of warm layers, we hopped in the car and took 41 toward Yosemite. Just 10 minutes in, it started snowing, and five minutes later it was coming down so hard we began to doubt everything. A quick stop to check the tires — phew, they were all-season with the M+S symbol 🙏 At the park entrance, there was snow on the shoulder already and a short line of a dozen cars waiting. Entry wait time was maybe 8 minutes tops. We flashed our America the Beautiful pass, and the ranger informed us that if we were heading into the valley, then beyond the Wawona turnoff, winter driving conditions were in effect for the weekend — chains required. When we mentioned we had snow tires, the ranger said that was fine — we wouldn’t need to put the chains on — but if we didn’t have them in the car, the fine would be $1000. He also told us there was a grocery store in Wawona and a gas station where we might still find chains.

So our day in Yosemite began with a mission — hunt down tire chains. Unfortunately, the gas station didn’t have our tire size in stock anymore. But the lady working there was very clear: if you have M+S tires, rangers only check if you have chains in the car — not whether they fit. Still, we figured we’d try the second shop just in case. Wawona is reached via a rather narrow road. The village itself looked a bit deserted and we weren’t sure anything would even be open — but surprise, surprise, the Pine Tree Market was not only open, but had a decent selection 😁 Even better — they had chains in our size! Pricey at $140, but here’s the twist — if you don’t use them, you can return them for a $100 refund. Sweet deal, we’ll take them! 😁

With the chains safely stashed in the trunk, we now headed toward the valley for real. Starting from about 4500 feet, the snow on the road became quite heavy, and at 6000 feet near Yosemite West — full-blown winter! Drivers seemed caught completely off guard by the conditions (okay, we were too), and traffic crawled along. The detour for the chains and the slow, snowy descent into the valley took a fair bit of time — we finally made it just after 11:00 a.m. First stop: Tunnel View! We were seriously worried it would be like Sequoia, where we couldn’t see a thing from the viewpoints. Luckily, the clouds here were much higher, and we had an incredible view of the valley surrounded by snowy peaks, themselves wrapped in clouds. Breathtaking. Instantly, jaws back on the floor. The mist and peaks created a magical atmosphere. We were once again reminded that this kind of weather has its charm — and just like that, our moods turned around.

We had already decided to stay one extra day in Yosemite, so we had to improvise a bit. It was too late for full-day hikes like Upper Yosemite or Nevada Fall, so we decided to tackle a few smaller ones, and then just wander around the valley.

If you’re looking to compare hikes in Yosemite, the website yosemitehikes is incredibly useful. It lists most (if not all) trails, with great descriptions and directions. The “Yosemite Regional Breakdown” section even includes rankings for crowd levels, scenery, difficulty, and distance. Super helpful.

Since we were already at Tunnel View, we decided to leave the car and hike up to Artist Point. According to Yosemite Hikes, it’s a lightly trafficked (2/5 people icons), easy (green circle), and stunningly scenic (5/5 stars) out-and-back hike, 3.2 km total. Perfect for a warm-up. So off we went up Pohono Trail. It was indeed nearly deserted — we only passed two couples before the junction with Old Wawona Road. There we saw a sign for Inspiration Point, which was just 0.6 miles away. Full of energy and planning only easy hikes anyway, we thought “why not?” and continued on Pohono Trail instead of turning toward Artist Point. A short hike later, we were up top… staring into a wall of fog. Just a few hundred meters before Inspiration Point, we’d crossed into the cloud layer. No view for us. We headed back down and this time turned toward Artist Point. That stretch of Old Wawona Road was relatively flat and very pleasant. Along the way we had our first squirrel encounters — cute but beware! They do bite. Admire from a distance. On other hikes, they’d come up to us hoping for treats. One got lucky and snagged an apple core, then kindly posed for photos 😊 A short hike later, we reached Artist Point. It’s not marked, but trust me — you’ll know when you’re there. The view is phenomenal! Similar to Tunnel View, but without the crowds and honking cars. You’re at a much higher elevation too, so the perspective completely changes. You see even more of the valley. Absolutely epic. Must see! The full round-trip route from Tunnel View via Inspiration and Artist Point was 6.2 km and took us 2 hours and 20 minutes.

Back at the car, we decided it was time for something more filling than just snacks. We drove to Curry Village, where there’s a small food hall. We weren’t sure what would be open this early in the season, but Google Maps claimed the Curry Village Pizza Deck was operating. 4.3 stars from 1250 reviews? Not bad for a national park. Let’s just say — it was a mistake. We waited over an hour for our pizza, standing in the drizzle by the pickup window. Crowds of confused people surrounded us, also wondering where their food was. Avoid this place. Another restaurant in the food hall had worse ratings but was at least serving food much faster.

There’s also a second food court in the village — Yosemite Lodge Food Court. We ate there on our last day. My burger was fine. My wife ordered Asian noodles with vegetables and chicken. At pickup, she was told they’d run out of veggies — would she like double chicken instead? She ended up with noodles and a mountain of chicken, nothing else 😂

After the pizza fiasco, there wasn’t much time left, so we did the short loop hike to Lower Yosemite Falls. It’s a lovely, flat 2.2 km walk that takes less than 30 minutes and ends with a great view of the lower falls. When doing the loop, don’t miss Yosemite Falls View — it offers a fantastic shot of both the lower and upper falls.

On the way back to our ranch, we stopped at Bridalveil Fall. The walk from the parking lot takes just 5 minutes, and you can get very close to the base of the waterfall. At the time, the waterfalls were fully powered by melting snow, and standing on the platform at Bridalveil Fall for even a minute was enough to get absolutely soaked 😀 But I was grinning like a kid 😁

The drive back was long and slow — there was even more snow, and people were creeping along the winding, icy roads. Despite all the warnings about checkpoints and fines, we didn’t see any chain inspections — not on the way in or out. Same story the next few days — no checks at all.

Yosemite National Park – Day 2

On our second day in Yosemite, we came much better prepared — we had everything we needed and managed to arrive at the park much earlier. Because of the season, many trails and access roads were still closed. Among others, Glacier Point Road, which leads to the famous Glacier Point. We really wanted to see Yosemite’s most iconic viewpoint, but even the Four Mile Trail — the direct hiking trail leading up to it — was closed, and not just past the point, but even before Union Point, the viewpoint halfway up. So we couldn’t even hike to that. Of course, there are alternative trails to Glacier Point, like the one through Nevada Fall or via Pohono Trail — but these are long, all-day hikes. Before visiting, it's definitely worth checking the official park website for all current alerts about trail and road closures, and to know when a reservation is required just to enter the park! Typically, entry reservations are needed on weekends in May and September, and daily during the high season from mid-June to mid-August. On this page you can check real-time trail and road status (open/closed). The National Park Service also keeps historical records of when roads opened in previous seasons — super helpful for estimating when to expect access. And don’t forget the weather! This is a mountain park — weather changes quickly. Best to check the official forecast page. For the valley specifically, the direct link is here.

We chose to hike to Nevada Fall that day — one of the park’s classic routes. The trail starts at the far end of Curry Village. Happy Isles Loop Road is closed to private cars — only park employees and shuttle buses are allowed. Luckily, there’s roadside parking right before the loop, and we managed to find a spot. From there, it’s over a kilometer walk to the trailhead. The trail initially follows John Muir Trail until it intersects with Mist Trail, where you have a choice. In winter, the Mist Trail segment is officially closed all the way up past Vernal Falls, so you're supposed to stay on the longer John Muir Trail. However, when we got to the junction, the Mist Trail gate was actually open, even though the official map still showed it as closed. So we took the shorter but steeper Mist Trail. It runs along the Merced River and takes you right under Vernal Falls before you climb up beside it on a steep staircase — all while getting nicely sprayed by the waterfall 😊

In the dry season, when the waterfalls carry less water, the spray is probably not too bad. To get to the top of Vernal Fall, you climb tall stone steps — narrow in places. From there, you continue along Mist Trail to reach the top of Nevada Fall and reconnect with John Muir Trail. The view from up there over the valley is spectacular, so we took a long snack break, surrounded by squirrels eagerly awaiting tourist handouts. Reminder — they may look cute, but they bite! Don’t tease them and don’t get too close.

At this point, you can either return the same way (shorter, steeper Mist Trail) or make a loop by taking the longer John Muir Trail. We chose the latter — and what a great choice that was. The views of Nevada Fall and Half Dome (which occasionally peeked out from behind the clouds) were absolutely stunning.

Quick tip — there are three well-maintained restrooms along this trail. The first is near Vernal Falls Footbridge, the second a bit past Vernal Falls, and the third at the Mist Trail / John Muir Trail junction near Nevada Fall.

All in all, it was a fantastic day — gorgeous views, two spectacular waterfalls, friendly hikers on the trail, and lots of squirrels 😁 According to our Garmin, the total hike from car to car was 15.8 km, taking 5 hours and 45 minutes — though we paused the tracker during meal breaks.

After our recent culinary disasters inside the park, we opted to head into Oakhurst for dinner, just past the ranch where we were staying. The town has a few decent restaurants that stay open later than 8:00 p.m., and we also stopped by Raley’s to restock some supplies.

Yosemite National Park – Day 3

This was our extra, third day in the park. Just as the forecast promised, we woke up to clear blue skies. Finally! We couldn’t wait to see the valley in the sun. Packed and ready, we jumped into the car and hit the road. At the entrance gate, the rangers confirmed that winter conditions had officially ended — tire chains were no longer required. So we first headed to the Wawona area to return our chains at Pine Tree Market. Turns out, we weren’t the only ones. There was a line, and to make matters worse, the system at the register crashed. The only option was to get cash, and luckily we were the last ones to get refunded before the cashier ran out of money 🙏

With a slight delay, we made our way to the valley, ready to hike the trail to Upper Yosemite Fall & Yosemite Point. But first, we couldn’t resist stopping again at Tunnel View to soak in the sunny view of the valley. Absolutely stunning!

We arrived at the trailhead parking lot and began our hike. The trail offers near-constant views of Yosemite Valley, and not long after passing Columbia Rock, we also got a clear view of Upper Yosemite Fall — our destination. Honestly, you could stop every few steps for a photo — either of the valley or the waterfall. A lot of people hike only as far as Columbia Rock or maybe a bit further to the base of Upper Yosemite Fall. Beyond that, it gets a bit quieter — only those determined to reach the top of the waterfall keep going.

It took us just under 3 hours and 30 minutes to reach the very top. There we took a well-deserved break to enjoy the views and snap some photos.

But that wasn’t the end of the climb — an hour later, we reached our second goal: Yosemite Point. It's hard to say which spot had the better view. Both were absolutely breathtaking.

We took a longer food break here, and after resting, we headed back down, stopping once more at Upper Yosemite Fall. The views really were out of this world 😊 We were among the last people on the trail that day — we only passed one other group between Yosemite Point and Columbia Rock, and they clearly looked like they were planning to camp at the top. According to our Garmin, the full loop was almost exactly 17 km, with an elevation gain of 1,200 meters and a total time of 7 hours and 30 minutes. Since we started quite late, we made it back to the parking lot around 7:30 p.m., which left us with only one dinner option — the already-mentioned Yosemite Lodge Food Court. Fed and happy, we left the park after dark, and drove the nearly two-hour journey to Merced in complete darkness.

In Merced, we stayed at the quite decent “Holiday Inn Express & Suites Merced - Yosemite Natl Pk Area by IHG.” The only downside? Freight trains passing right outside the window all night long. I was exhausted and slept with earplugs, so it didn’t bother me — but my wife complained in the morning that they kept waking her up.

San Francisco

That day we got up very early. After all, we had two days’ worth of San Francisco sightseeing to cram into one. After breakfast, we stopped at the gas station across from the hotel, filled up the tank, and gave the car a much-needed cleanup. After driving from Los Angeles through two national parks in rough weather, the car was in pretty bad shape — inside and out. Luckily, we had some coins for the vacuum cleaner at the station. We also wiped down the seats and some dirty plastic bits, just in case the rental company tried to charge us extra for cleaning.

After Operation: Clean Car, we had to rush to San Francisco because we had a pre-booked — long before the trip — 12:00 p.m. Alcatraz tour. We had no idea what road conditions to expect, and the drive would take us about 2.5 to 3 hours. Thankfully, traffic wasn’t too bad, and we even had time to make a quick stop at Treasure Island for a brief 5-minute look at the city skyline from across the bay. Then we headed straight to Pier 33, where the ferries to Alcatraz depart, to hunt for a parking spot.

We had already scoped out a parking lot near Pier 27. Unfortunately, we couldn’t park there because a cruise ship was docked at the pier — and apparently, whenever a big ship is in port, the lot is closed. Slightly stressed for time, we started looking for anything at all and ended up at Metropolis Parking. It was oddly empty, but we were running late, so I rushed to the meter to pay… and then I understood why it was empty — the only options were either $20 for a few hours or $40 for a full day. I was a bit shocked, but oh well — we just had to make it to the ferry. And we made it, literally just a few minutes before departure.

Later we looked into other public parking options, and the rates were actually worse — $5.99 for 30 minutes, for example. Suddenly our lot didn’t seem that bad 😅 We knew San Francisco would be expensive, but we didn’t expect it to be *that* much pricier than, say, Los Angeles.

The boat ride to Alcatraz takes about 10 minutes and offers some great views — of the island itself, the Golden Gate Bridge, and the city skyline. The bridge, of course (our luck!), was completely engulfed in fog and stayed that way until late afternoon. We later read that this is pretty typical — it happens because air masses from the bay mix with ocean air, forming a long fog streak that often cuts right across the bridge.

Once we docked, a park ranger gave everyone a quick introduction before letting us explore the island on our own. That’s when we learned about an interesting chapter in Alcatraz’s history — in 1969, Native Americans occupied the island in protest, demanding its return to Indigenous people. They painted a big sign on the island’s water tower: “Home of the free Indian land.” The protest lasted 19 months. The sign was later painted over during restoration work, but descendants of the original protesters came back and repainted it — and it’s still visible today.

To be honest, Alcatraz itself was a bit of a letdown. Most buildings on the island were closed. The island was also completely covered in bird droppings — nesting season. Several buildings were either destroyed or fenced off due to collapse risks. The only real highlight was the main prison building, where you can get a free audio guide. The view of the city from near the lighthouse was nice too — though the lighthouse itself was closed as well. We ended up staying on the island for about 1.5 hours — and that was only because we missed the earlier ferry by a few minutes.

After returning from Alcatraz, we went for a walk to hit all the major spots on our map of the city. We started at Jack Early Park, which offers a beautiful view to the north and northeast — you can see Alcatraz, Treasure Island, and the Oakland Bay Bridge (the one we crossed that morning). From Jack Early Park, we walked over to nearby Coit Tower for a 360° panoramic view of the city from up high. That’s when we really started to feel the famous San Francisco hills — the entire walk from Pier 33 to Coit Tower was uphill 😁 We love climbing observation towers in cities, and Coit Tower did not disappoint. Amazing views of the entire city in every direction. From there, we walked downhill along Grant Avenue, zigzagging through Green Street in the Italian neighborhood, toward Stockton Street.

Just a short walk down Stockton Street took us to the oldest Chinatown in the USA. The scene changed completely — suddenly the streets were packed and full of noise. There were outdoor markets, tiny stores, and signs written entirely in Chinese characters. It was wild — like we’d teleported somewhere else 😱 Our destination here was Good Mong Kok Bakery, a local spot known for its dim sum dumplings. Communication in English was tricky, so we resorted to gestures and walked out with three boxes of assorted dim sum for a ridiculous $10 total. We took them to nearby Portsmouth Square Park to eat. The park is very East Asian in style and surrounded by tall buildings that signaled we were now near downtown. From the park you can also see the famous Transamerica Pyramid. Several groups of older Asians were playing cards there — a perfect vibe for our dim sum picnic before heading toward Union Square via Stockton Street.

Union Square is a central plaza in the heart of the city. At the time, there were ping-pong tables, giant Jenga, and someone playing relaxing music on a radio. We took a short break there to people-watch and soak up the atmosphere. Then we walked straight to the end of Powell Street (where it meets Market Street), the starting point of the famous cable car line. There’s a large circular platform there where they manually rotate the cars — it’s a whole attraction in itself, and naturally there were lots of tourists. Most people were trying to ride the cable car, so we ended up waiting around 30 minutes and got spots on the second car. But we scored some of the best spots — standing on the outside steps, hanging onto the bars like in the movies 😊 The entire walk from Pier 33 to the cable car turnaround (not counting breaks) took about an hour and a half.

The cable car has several routes, and by some miracle, we got on the exact one we wanted — straight to Fisherman's Wharf. For some reason, the area wasn’t very busy. Shops were open, but mostly empty. We strolled along The Embarcadero back to the car, passing by the famous Pier 39, which also seemed kind of deserted. Maybe it was too late in the day? We decided to skip it — after all, we’d already seen a pier with a rollercoaster and Ferris wheel in Santa Monica.

We hopped in the car and headed to Lombard Street. First, we drove down the famously twisty street, waving at people taking pictures at the bottom. Then we parked and joined the crowd photographing the street from below.

Next came the cherry on top and my most anticipated attraction in the city — the Golden Gate Bridge. You can see the bridge from many spots in the city, but of course, it’s best up close 😊 So first — a drive across the bridge, and right after, a stop at the first viewpoint: Golden Gate Vista Point. Thankfully, the fog that had been rolling across the bridge started to clear, and we got a gorgeous view of the bridge with the city in the background.

From Vista Point, you absolutely have to continue to Golden Gate Observation Deck, and then to Golden Gate View Point for a different angle. But the best view by far is from Battery Spencer. We lingered there for a while, totally awestruck. The bridge and the city look absolutely magical from that spot.

It was already 7:30 PM — time for dinner. Our original plan was to eat in the cheaper Mission District, known for good food and the Clarion Alley murals. Unfortunately, we once again discovered that many places in the U.S. close early — by 7 or 8 PM. Most spots in Mission were already shut, so we had to look elsewhere. After checking Google Maps, we decided to try the Castro District, known as the birthplace of the LGBT movement. That turned out to be a great call. Castro Street was draped in rainbow flags — even the crosswalks were rainbow-colored — and local businesses were full of LGBTQ+ themes. One nail salon was even called “Handjob” 😅

There were still quite a few open restaurants in the area. Tired of American fast food and encouraged by our success with the dim sum, we opted for a Thai restaurant — another decision we didn’t regret.

That wrapped up our San Francisco experience. After dinner, we headed straight to our hotel. That’s all we had time for, but we don’t regret a thing. We feel like we managed to see a ton in just 10–11 hours in the city. In fact, it might’ve been a good thing we spent an extra day in Yosemite. Another full day in San Francisco might have been too much. Despite our short visit, San Francisco left a better impression on us than Los Angeles. It felt more characterful, with more clearly defined communities (like Chinatown or Little Italy) and unique attractions like the cable cars, Golden Gate Bridge, and even Alcatraz — which we didn’t love, but it definitely had atmosphere.

San Francisco -> Williams

This was supposed to be mostly a logistical day. Our main task was to get to the town of Williams, from where we planned to “attack” the Grand Canyon the next day. The only attractions along the way were meeting up with our friend from Minneapolis, who would be joining us for the rest of the trip, and a short visit to the Hoover Dam, plus driving a short section of the famous Route 66. But it turned out to be a bit more than that.

Still, there are a few things worth mentioning. One of them is the hotel we stayed at in San Francisco. It was the most expensive hotel of our entire trip across the States, and at the same time the worst one. That hotel was Samesun San Francisco, and we can wholeheartedly advise against staying there. It wasn't clean, there were occasional power outages (!) during which the elevator stopped working, and the hotel itself, although small, was a total maze. To go from the second to the first floor, you had to exit onto the street and enter a different stairwell. But the worst part was breakfast, served in the lobby. The only food offered was three kinds of cereal with milk – and that’s it! To eat, you had to find a seat at the only table available, which could hold just six people. Of course, there were more than ten people there, so the rest either stood or ate on the couch holding their plates. You really can’t expect much from hotel breakfasts in the US, but this was just ridiculous.

Unfortunately, we left the hotel for the airport a bit behind schedule. Thankfully, there wasn’t much traffic in San Francisco that morning. The car return lot is located quite a distance away from the airport, just like in LA. However, here there’s a free airport train connecting the airport with the car rental center. Returning the car went super smoothly. Once we reached the garage, we just followed the signs for Alamo, and the staff was already waiting there. They scanned the code on our windshield, told us we had driven 1,200 miles (wow!), and that the final invoice would be sent to us via email – that was it. The only surprise was the spike strip at the garage entrance. We weren’t sure how to get past it. We thought a sensor might have failed, so we stopped and got out of the car, trying to figure it out. Luckily, a friendly lady pulled up behind us and let us know that the spikes were one-way (for outgoing cars), and from our direction, they just sink down as you drive over them. Well… we trusted her, and it turned out to be true 😁

Because everything went so smoothly, we made it to the airport right on time. During check-in, the only option was to use a self-service kiosk to print baggage tags. But the kiosks didn’t have the option to print the tags. Things got a little chaotic, and the staff got annoyed that they had to print and stick the tags manually. They "thanked" us with a dramatic toss of our luggage onto the conveyor belt. Let’s just say that our Southwest Airlines experience isn’t going on the “pleasant” list either. It was also our first time flying without pre-assigned seats. Boarding was first-come, first-served – and unfortunately, we were in Group 5, which seemed to be the last one. Still, we managed to grab the last two seats together at the very back of the plane. As we were approaching Las Vegas, we hit some pretty intense turbulence. It was the first time I heard someone scream on a plane because of turbulence. I kind of liked it – it felt like a roller coaster 😁 But judging by the applause for the pilot after landing, a lot of people were pretty stressed. Later we learned that turbulence is common when landing in Vegas due to specific air currents over the desert.

Pretty much from the moment we exited the plane, we were greeted by colorful gambling machines of all types. It was obvious where we had landed 😎 The terminal wasn’t big, so we quickly retrieved our checked luggage, and thanks to perfect timing, we were soon greeting our friend, whose flight from Minneapolis arrived just 15 minutes after ours.

At Las Vegas airport, just like other U.S. airports so far, rental cars were not located directly at the airport. To get there, we took a free shuttle bus from the terminal, which took the three of us to the rental center. Alamo at Las Vegas Airport offers AWD and 4x4 SUVs – and that’s exactly what we had reserved. We wanted four-wheel drive for peace of mind on the gravel roads in Monument Valley.

At this point, our friend asked us a few uncomfortable questions. It turned out that during our entire time in the States so far, we hadn’t yet tried some essential American fast-food joints. Since we were all hungry, we decided to do a little fast-food tour 😊 First stop: Wendy’s, where we were taught to eat fries the American way – by dipping them in a milkshake... Well… we have to admit, it didn’t taste bad 😅 But we’ll probably stick to the classic way of eating fries. After the savory, it was time for something sweet, so we were taken to Krispy Kreme, where we could watch a giant machine making donuts from start to finish. The chain offers many different varieties – from typical ring donuts to filled ones similar to Polish pączki. The dough was much softer and springier than Polish donuts, and not as dense. Overall, we really enjoyed the ones we tried. Finally, we had to wash it all down – so we had our first boba. It's a kind of bubble tea, though I’m not exactly sure what the difference is. We were pleasantly surprised. My premium matcha boba was delicious, and I don’t even want to know how many calories it had 🙈

With full bellies, we finally set off toward Williams. The only planned stop was the Hoover Dam. It’s not an attraction that takes much time. We started at the viewpoint over Lake Mead. From there, we passed through the Hoover Dam Security Check Point and parked at Mike O'Callaghan–Pat Tillman Memorial Bridge Plaza. From there, a walkway leads up to the bridge over the Colorado River, where you get a head-on view of the dam. It’s windy and high up, but the view of the dam is spectacular.

After returning to the car, we drove across the dam and stopped at a parking lot by the Hoover Dam Lookout, which offers views of the dam from the other side. Very scenic – the dam is truly impressive.

Once you get back onto the main highway toward Williams, just past the bridge over the Colorado River, you’ll pass the Welcome to Arizona sign on the right side. Our first time crossing a state line by car in the U.S. 😊

The rest of the drive was spent catching up with our friend, so the time passed quickly. As it was already dinnertime, we decided to stop for food in Kingman. Unfortunately, it was dark by the time we finished, so we skipped our planned drive along the Route 66 stretch from Kingman to Seligman. Instead, we stayed on the main Highway 40 and arrived in Williams around 10 PM.

Grand Canyon

We started the day by filling up at a nearby Circle K gas station on "West Route 66". A super nice surprise was a Route 66 mural right at the gas station, where we took a few photos to make up for the fact that we had to skip even a short stretch of that road the day before. That street also had a lot of old-timey souvenir shops. Unfortunately, everything was still closed in the morning. We regretted not having time to take a walk here the evening before.

After fueling up, we set off on a one-hour drive to the Grand Canyon. Along the way, for the first time during our trip, we came across a highway patrol car pulling people over for speeding. We began our visit at the most touristy part—near the Grand Canyon Visitor Center and the Mather Point viewpoint.

Let me again recommend the official Grand Canyon National Park website. It's always worth checking for alerts and warnings before your visit. We got lucky and there were no alerts, but as I’m writing this post (early July), the site has warnings about heatwaves (43°C), closed attractions due to extreme heat, and limited access to water due to a pump failure.

We left our car in one of the several large parking lots near the Visitor Center and walked to the first viewpoint—Mather Point. And what can I say… the Grand Canyon truly is grand… but even that word doesn’t quite capture its scale. You really have to see it with your own eyes. It’s not just a cliché—words genuinely fall short. Our perception was further warped by a helicopter flying deep inside the canyon—it was several kilometers away… below us… and absolutely tiny due to the distance. Your brain can’t really process it 😁

From Mather Point we walked to Yavapai Point. It’s around 2.5 km, but with all the photo stops and scenic pauses, it took us about 1.5 hours. From Yavapai Point we took the free shuttle bus (yellow line) to South Kaibab Trailhead for a short hike. You can find the park’s free shuttle bus map on this official site. Generally speaking, the yellow line operates near the Visitor Center, the blue line connects Grand Canyon Village with the Visitor Center, and the red line runs along the rim, stopping at scenic points from Grand Canyon Village to Hermit’s Rest, then loops back. Important: the red line only stops at select viewpoints on the return trip.

We started our hike at South Kaibab Trailhead, heading to Ooh Aah Point. I have to say—it was a great decision. You get a completely different perspective on the canyon compared to viewing it from the top, and the panoramic view from Ooh Aah Point is simply breathtaking. The hike takes about 1h 15min round trip and is fairly easy, although you do have to climb 190 m of elevation on the way back.

After getting back to the top, we hopped on the orange line bus to return to the Visitor Center, picked up our car, and drove over to Grand Canyon Village. You can explore museums and wander around the village itself. But we were in a hurry to soak in more views, so we went straight to the red line stop and let the shuttle take us to a few viewpoints along the route. If I remember correctly, we picked Hopi Point, Pima Point, and Hermit’s Rest, where there’s a small shop and even hot sandwiches. We tried not to linger too long since we still had a lot of viewpoints ahead of us before reaching our hotel in Kayenta—after all, the Grand Canyon extends far beyond the Visitor Center and Village.

By car, we then visited Duck on a Rock Viewpoint (where we tried to imagine the duck shape in the rocks 😂), Grandview Point, Moran Point, and Desert View Point, where you can climb the old Desert View Watchtower. Unfortunately, we arrived too late to go up the tower. We also missed the final viewpoint—Little Colorado River Gorge Overlook—which is located on Native American reservation land and requires a small entrance fee.

Important note: I’m still not 100% sure how this works, but it seems that towns located within the Native American reservation, like Kayenta, operate on Utah’s time zone—even though they’re in Arizona. Meanwhile, Page (a town at the intersection of Utah, Arizona, and the reservation) sticks to Arizona time. We weren’t aware of this, and suddenly we found ourselves an hour later than we thought. It was already past 7 p.m., so it was hard to find any open restaurants. We ended up having a pretty sad dinner at Pizza Edge in Tuba City.

We arrived in Kayenta late, so we went straight to bed to rest up for the next day, which had a tight schedule ahead.

Monument Valley, Antelope Canyon, Horseshoe Bend

This day was definitely one of the best—if not *the* best—of the entire trip. Packed with sights, topped off with a pleasant ending and a surprise along the way. But because it was so packed, we had to get up early. The plan was to be on the Monument Valley loop no later than 10:00 AM. We nearly nailed it.

Unfortunately, for reasons unknown, Google Maps doesn’t mark Monument Valley very clearly. To find the entrance, search for “Tribal Park.” The main Visitor Center is located here. To get there, you first need to pay an entry fee at the booth. This area belongs to the Navajo Nation, so the America the Beautiful pass is not accepted. The actual start of the Monument Valley loop is at this location and is free to enter. Once inside the park, you can just drive straight onto the loop and enjoy the landscape. The road is unpaved, but it’s not soft sand—more like gravel—and aside from the entry incline, it’s flat. So even 2WD cars should handle it fine. We had rented an AWD car from Alamo in Las Vegas for peace of mind. I felt more confident especially on the way out, where the incline is sandy rather than gravelly.

The loop isn’t exactly a full loop—after about 20 minutes of driving, the actual circle starts here. And near Spearhead Mesa, the road forks, offering a shorter or longer version. Because of our tight schedule, we went for the short one, which took exactly 1.5 hours, including photo stops and just soaking it all in. There are mini parking lots along the loop for scenic stops, and at each one, Navajo vendors have stands selling handmade goods.

From Monument Valley, we drove two hours straight to Antelope Canyon. There are two canyons—Upper and Lower—and we had tickets for both. The first one was Upper at 1:20 PM, and Lower at 3:30 PM. Note: these follow Arizona time, so we gained an hour for the drive, and made it just in time. Like Monument Valley, both canyons are on Navajo land, which means you’ll need to pay a separate entrance fee to access the reservation—and entry into the canyons is only allowed with a guide. Only a handful of licensed tour operators are allowed to run tours (as of writing, there are eight), and the full list is available here. If you want a good time slot with the famous lighting, booking several months in advance is a must.

You need to arrive at the meeting point half an hour early, where you’re assigned a guide and a jeep. The jeep then drives you through clouds of dust straight to the canyon. Upper Antelope Canyon is famous for its “light beams”—shafts of sunlight that shine through narrow openings at just the right angle. Unfortunately, the window for this phenomenon is very short. The sun needs to be near its zenith, and our 1:20 PM group was already too late to catch it. Still, the canyon itself is stunning. Sadly, despite the guide system, the place is packed. Groups are spaced just a few meters apart, so getting a solo photo is impossible. And the canyon is quite short—barely 200 meters long.

The second canyon is basically just across the main road, only a few minutes' drive. From the meeting point, you walk to the canyon, and then descend inside via metal stairs. The organization here is noticeably better. The groups are slightly larger, but spaced out enough that we barely saw anyone else inside. The guides were more relaxed too and didn’t rush us like in Upper Canyon, so we had time to calmly take photos. This canyon is also significantly longer—around 400 meters—and in our opinion, even more spectacular. We also spoke with a couple in our group who had visited Upper Canyon earlier *with* the light beams, and they still liked Lower Canyon more. And for some reason, tickets to Lower are much cheaper too.

In my opinion, if you can’t get tickets for the light beams at Upper Canyon, it’s not really worth going. It’s better to just visit Lower Canyon and use the saved time and money to explore other nearby attractions in Page, spend more time in Monument Valley, or see if you can fit in a stop at Goosenecks State Park, possibly stopping by the famous Forrest Gump Point along the way.

From the canyons, we drove straight to Horseshoe Bend. Here we were seriously surprised—parking costs $30 per vehicle! We were pretty shocked to be paying the equivalent of 120 PLN just to see a single river bend. Oh well… the view was definitely worth the 40 PLN per person 😁 The trail to the overlook is a flat, unpaved 1 km walk from the parking lot. For us, the whole visit including walking, photos, and soaking it in took 50 minutes. Just one heads-up: at this hour (we were there at 6:00 PM), some of the cliffs and sections of the river were already in shadow. The view was still stunning, but if you want better photos, aim for midday light! Ours looked like this:

After Horseshoe Bend we were pretty exhausted, but I managed to convince the crew to go for one final short walk to the Glen Canyon Dam Overlook. We agreed on a “quick visit,” but it turned out we still had to hike a bit down—and back up—to reach it 😅 I didn’t even start my Garmin to track it, but I’d guess it was around a 5-minute hike each way, across some polished rocks. After a full day like that, even 5 minutes felt like too much. Fortunately, the view of the dam and another Colorado River bend was totally worth the final push.

Back at the parking lot, we stumbled upon a photo shoot of classic American cars in action—so we spent a few more minutes admiring the parade of beauties.

We ended the day with a very well-deserved, gigantic dinner at a Mexican restaurant. We went for El Tapatio—and it was an absolute hit. The food was delicious, the portions more than made up for the day’s calorie deficit, and the liter-sized beer margaritas helped us forget our aching legs. Highly recommended! 😎

Zion National Park and the First Evening in Las Vegas

A sad day had come—we were saying goodbye to our friend from Minnesota. On top of that, we had a several-hour drive from Page to Las Vegas, where we’d drop her off at the airport and stay two more nights ourselves to slow down a bit and soak in the party atmosphere. But of course, we wouldn’t be ourselves if we just took a 4-hour drive without seeing anything along the way. Her flight wasn’t until 6:00 PM, so we figured if we got up early, we’d have enough time to make a detour through... Zion National Park!

Driving through Zion adds only about 30 minutes to the route, but offers breathtaking scenery as you pass through nearly the entire park—except for the area served exclusively by park shuttles. Outside of that, you can freely drive from east to west along the scenic road. Entering the scenic road is, of course, paid since it’s part of a national park, but armed with our America the Beautiful pass, we got in for free 🤑

We also planned a short hike in Zion National Park. Near the main road is the Pine Creek Canyon Overlook, accessed by the 1 km long Canyon Overlook Trail. We did the entire trail in 40 minutes round-trip, and were rewarded with a beautiful view over Pine Creek Canyon, with the park road winding below in scenic switchbacks.

To access the trail, you need a bit of luck. There are only two parking lots on the narrow, busy road near the trailhead. One is right at the entrance with only 9 spaces, and the other is a bit further away with just 10 spots. When we arrived, both were full, and a park ranger was stationed at the trailhead, so we didn’t want to risk parking illegally. We waited at the first lot in a no-parking area until someone left. Luckily, after about 5 minutes, a couple came down the trail and freed up a space for us.

After the hike, we hit the road toward the airport, reminiscing about our adventures from the past days. Something prompted us to double-check our car rental reservation—and we realized we had booked it only until 2:00 PM to avoid being charged for another day. Clearly, we weren’t going to make it back in time, so we called Alamo. They informed us we’d be charged extra for every hour past the return time. After a quick calculation, we figured it was cheaper to just extend the rental for another full day for under $100.

Before heading to the airport, we had a little time to grab a bite. We’re not sure why we waited until nearly the end of the trip, but we finally decided to eat at a real American diner. It wasn’t easy to find one open that late—most closed by 2:00 PM, and some even by 12:30 PM. We didn’t want fast food or anything with poor ratings, so we had to take a little detour. We found Omelet House 50's Diner, open until 4:00 PM, complete with a real (but sadly broken) jukebox and a booth styled like a 1950s Chevrolet. Great vibe! The food wasn’t overly expensive compared to other places in the U.S., and it was actually very good! We regretted not discovering diners sooner!

After lunch at the airport, we said goodbye to our friend and headed straight for the Las Vegas Strip—the city’s main stretch, famous for its hotels, bars, and restaurants. We drove up and down the Strip and made a stop at the iconic "Welcome to Fabulous Las Vegas Nevada" sign. There was quite a long line to take a solo photo with the sign, so we settled for a quick shot of the sign itself and a selfie with a few strangers in the background. After that, we headed to our hotel to check in.

For our stay in Las Vegas, we booked a room at the New York-New York Hotel, themed after the New York skyline—with tall, rectangular skyscrapers, the Statue of Liberty, and... a roller coaster. We checked in online, so all we had to do was program our key card at one of the self-service kiosks in the lobby. Quick and easy. In no time, we had our card and walked past the lobby into the main casino area—only to experience the first (of a few) disappointments. The huge casino floor was mostly filled with electronic slot machines, blinking with colorful lights and making all sorts of annoying sounds. Most people sat there half-watching the screen, half-scrolling their phones, sipping drinks or puffing on cigarettes. There were a lot of smokers, and the cigarette smoke was really noticeable and unpleasant. Since neither of us smokes and we’re sensitive to smoke, we quickly escaped to the elevator. On the way up, we shared the elevator with a group of cheerful, pretty tipsy youngsters with drinks in hand 😎

On our 25th floor, a few pre-parties were already in full swing with open hotel room doors. From our room, we had a fantastic view of the airport and the Strip. The hotel’s roller coaster ran just below our window, full of screaming riders—a fun novelty at first, but kind of annoying by late evening.

After a shower and outfit change, we headed out to explore the Strip, on our way to a burlesque show we had booked—featuring Dita Von Teese at The Venetian! It turned out the main street is kind of like a small labyrinth. You can’t always cross it at street level. Sometimes you have to find an entrance to a footbridge, which is often inside a nearby mall or casino—no doubt to lure tourists in with flashy displays. Because of the crowds and that zigzag crossing logic, walking the Strip wasn’t exactly quick, and we started to worry we might not make it in time. We rushed past the colorful Bellagio fountain show, the Eiffel Tower at Paris, and the mini Colosseum by Caesars Palace—only to get a bit lost inside The Venetian’s gondola-filled canals. Eventually, we made it to the Voltaire theater/club 15 minutes early—enough time for a bathroom break and to order a spectacular cocktail for the show (seriously, their drinks are amazing). The Voltaire venue looked stunning, and the burlesque show itself was top-notch. A perfect way to start our Las Vegas stay.

Walking back to the hotel late that night along the Strip, we passed lots of pretty drunk people. One thing we noticed, though—there didn’t seem to be any actual dance clubs. Everyone was hanging out (drinking) in restaurants and bars, and the only thing we heard on the streets was “Where are we going to drink next?” I was expecting more of a club vibe, music pouring out of venues, some larger parties... But it seemed like most groups were here just to hit a bar, drink until they dropped, and go back to the hotel. Another letdown...

Second Day in Las Vegas

We had absolutely no plan for this day – it was meant to be 100% spontaneous. The only fixed point was returning the car by 2:00 PM. We figured we’d grab breakfast somewhere and return the car right after, so we’d have it done and be free to walk around the Strip. Still charmed by yesterday’s diner, we decided to make the most of the car and head to the highest-rated diner in the city. Out of several candidates, we probably picked the best one: Vickie's Diner.

At the door, a friendly lady welcomed us and let us know the restaurant was full, so we’d have to wait for a table. We said no problem and... jumped on the (this time working) authentic vintage jukebox 😁 You could flip through the records and tracks for free. We had a blast. We did attract some attention, so the kind lady came over to chat and ask where we were from. It turned out she was Vickie, the owner – a Greek woman who came to the US over a decade ago and started the diner shortly after. She’s been running it ever since and it was clear she still loves what she does.

The food at Vickie’s Diner was delicious. We ordered a mountain of food – I have no idea how we managed to eat all of it. We also finally got a proper serving of vegetables, which are rare in the US! And let’s not forget the hallmark of diners – unlimited coffee refills. I had three cups 😂 Thankfully, diner coffee isn’t too strong, so even though I rarely drink coffee, I was totally fine after those three cups. Highly recommended!

After breakfast, we went to return the car. As seems to be standard in the US, car rental centers are far from the airport – this one was about 10 minutes away. We returned the car to Alamo again without any problems and very efficiently. We were told that we drove 900 miles with this rental, which combined with the previous one gave us a total of 2,100 miles (3,380 km) across four states! 💪

Due to the distance from the Strip and it being Sunday, getting back was tricky. First, we had to take a shuttle to one of the terminals, and from there a city bus to the Strip. Unfortunately, that took some time, and by the time we made it back to the main street, the weather had turned and... it started raining. It only rains 26 days a year in Vegas – mostly in July – but this wasn’t our first time experiencing heavy rain in the desert. Sadly, it kept raining for the rest of our stay, and the next day was even worse.

Back on the Strip, we found a restaurant near the Eiffel Tower with a view of the Bellagio fountains. We ordered some appetizers and drinks and, while watching the fountain show, came up with a plan to take a city bus to so-called "Old Vegas," a.k.a. Fremont Street – where Las Vegas was originally founded and where the city’s first casino opened. Nowadays, a massive screen stretches over Fremont Street like a roof and displays animated visuals. There’s also a zipline you can ride above the street. It’s filled with bars and souvenir shops. The atmosphere is a bit different than the Strip – more relaxed. Except for the giant screen, there’s not that same level of over-the-top extravagance. And finally, there are some actual music clubs! A little further down, there’s a cool, family-friendly Downtown Container Park. We had dinner at Le Thai. The food was great.

After dinner, it started getting dark, and we decided it was the perfect time to visit the Neon Museum. It’s only a 15-minute walk from Fremont, so we went on foot. In hindsight, it wasn’t the best idea. Just one block off the main street, someone was relieving themselves at a bus stop... One block further, a 20-something guy was standing in the middle of an intersection with his pants around his knees, seemingly unaware of where he was or what he was doing...

The museum is a very cool attraction. Some of the neon signs are extremely old. Some are massive. Overall, it was impressive and fun to explore. That said, the exhibition isn’t very big – it took us about 15 minutes to walk through it. Still, it was here that we learned from one of the signs that Las Vegas was founded around Fremont Street in 1905 as a railway town.

We didn’t want to walk back, so since we were going to order an Uber anyway, we decided to end the day and return to the hotel to rest.