Texas to Colorado Road Trip: Part One

We left San Antonio, Texas on April 15th for our third year on the road with the destination of Grand Junction, Colorado in mind. Last year, we spent a month in the Denver/Boulder/Fort Collins area before heading towards Michigan for Austin’s family reunion—which we will sadly be missing this year. We’re taking the time to figure out where we want to be and focus on making & saving money. This blog will cover part one of our Texas to Colorado road trip!

First time moving the RV in 3 months! Austin lowering the RV jack in Buda, TX (our first stop) and the open road (finally!)

Since Grand Junction is on the western side of Colorado, we knew we would need to come from the west since we have our 32-foot travel trailer with us. Last year, we drove up I-70 from Denver to Idaho Springs and even that made us a little nervous with our trailer, tbh.  

We left San Antonio and headed towards Junction, Texas for our first night on the road. We drove about 3-4 hours and stopped next to the river for the night, which was a good first day!

The next day we stopped and camped at Balmorhea State Park and it was amazing. This state park is home to the largest spring-fed swimming pool in the world, and it was PERFECT on our hot Texas day. It was so nice that they had an RV campground so we were readily able to enjoy the pool and all of the wildlife.  

The wonderful Balmorhea State Park pool before a horrible dust storm in El Paso

The third day we ran into a crazy dust storm on our way to El Paso—it was absolutely wild and one of the scariest experiences we’ve had in the RV. If you haven’t checked out our first weekly vlog for this year, I’ll link it here so you can see what I’m talking about! There is also great footage of our experience at Balmorhea State Park :) 

We stopped at a Cracker Barrel in Las Cruces for the night and then headed towards Tucson! We’ve been to Tucson before when we visited Saguaro National Park last year, but we didn’t really explore the town. So, we decided to stop for a couple nights at a casino and rest from the overwhelming trip we’d had so far and enjoy the city.  

Keke's view at our casino campsite for a few nights; Us enjoying beer & tacos at Borderlands Brewing

After regaining some of our strength, we pushed on to Sedona, Arizona! Our first time visiting and it was amazing! The rocks are stunning, the vibe is cool, and we simply loved the area. Here’s a list of some of the things we checked out for our first time in Sedona:  

• Stayed at the Moose Lodge  

• Drove up to Airport Mesa Viewpoint for sunset 

• Hiked to Cathedral Rock  

• Visited the Tlaquepaque Market, galleries, and Secret Garden Cafe 

• Amitabha Stupa & Peace Park: truly unique & a must-do for us  

• Chipotle on Route 89A: BEST views ever at a Chipotle, lol  

  
  

Views driving into Sedona, the Tlaquepaque Market, the Amitabha Stupa, and epic Chipotle views

From Sedona, we pushed on to Page, Arizona—another first for us that truly blew us away. I LOVE the mountains, alpine lakes, and rivers, but this desert town was seriously stunning. We had been wanting to see Horseshoe Bend for the longest time, and we finally got to see it along with Lake Powell, Antelope Canyon, and other unique features. This part of our adventure will be in Vlog #2 so make sure to subscribe to our YouTube and turn on notifications to get more information :)

I think my favorite experience was Antelope Canyon. You must book a guided tour to access the canyon, but it was a great experience. We got to go off-road and have a local tell us all about the formations and the history of the area. Highly recommend! We did the upper Antelope tour, but if you can afford to do both, I would totally do it!  

Austin outside Antelope Canyon, views from Lone Rock beach, us in the Shell Cave, campground views, Horseshoe Bend, us attempting to kayak to Antelope Canyon (it did not go well), me taking in the Glen Canyon Dam overlook 

• We stayed at Roam America Horseshoe Bend, a beautiful RV park less than 5 minutes from the Shell Cave (behind the gas station lol)  

• Upper Antelope Canyon: we used Antelope Slot Canyon Tours (ASCT)   

• Horseshoe Bend: it gets so crowded for sunset and it was worth it but we also went back earlier in the day, and it was better lit and less crowded! I would try sunrise if you can!  

• Lake Powell: visit Glen Canyon Dam overlook, Wahweep viewpoint, and Lone Rock Beach (this is a dispersed camping area also! But it’s pretty sandy and off-road so take that into consideration for your vehicle)  

• Kayaking Antelope Canyon: would have been a super cool experience BUT a huge storm rolled in while we were out there—which meant we had to turn around and it was almost impossible & one of the scariest experiences I've ever had on an adventure, lol. If you're thinking about doing this and you have your own kayaks, definitely call a local shop/rental place to ask about conditions and advice. If you don't have your own kayaks, you can book a rental tour (which would be a lot safer also!)

• *Important: when we left Sedona towards Page, we went south on 179 and got back on I-17 to head north; we did NOT attempt Rte 89A with our travel trailer. I read some mixed reviews but ultimately decided it would be too stressful with our 30+ foot trailer. It is a very beautiful, scenic drive so do it if you can! But definitely consider your vehicle length and turning capabilities beforehand  

From Page, we headed to Moab, Utah on our way to Grand Junction, Colorado—which I’ll leave for next week's blog since we went to a lot of places! I hope you enjoyed this blog and please, as always, let me know if you have any questions in the comments below.  

Happy travels <3  

Our first week back on the road vlog-style! Come with us as we face a dust storm on our way to Tucson, Sedona, and Page.