Arizona Trip - If I had to do it again ...

Well, it was quite an adventurous and relaxing trip. If I had to do this again, I will do it slightly different. Here are some of the things that I will change:

1) I will not plan to drive the RV for a long duration on a single day. I should've ideally landed in an airport closer to Flagstaff/Page and should've rented an RV there. That way, I would've avoided lots & lots of driving. The other option is to camp in the places - on the way to Page. That would have prevented some of the tiresome driving.

2) I will avoid hiking in cold weather with the baby :)

3) Some of the campers have rented a SUV/minivan in addition to the motor home. That way, they can drive around using the SUV/minivan and camp in the motor home during the night. I will consider this option next time.

4) Page is a very beautiful location. You can stay there for more number of days to cover all the places in and around Page. You should specifically visit Rainbow bridge :)

Here is a list of some attractions in Arizona. It may be helpful for some of you in planning for a trip to Arizona.

Arizona Trip - RV Experience

Our stay in the RV was memorable. We didn't miss our home at all. The motor home had all the facilities including bedroom, dining area, couch, kitchen, restroom, bathroom etc., The vehicle also had lots of cabinets to store things. It had appliances like Air Conditioner, Heater, Generator, TV, DVD Player, Microwave, Oven, Dish Washer etc., However, we couldn't find a proper place to store the 2 big suitcases that we had. We had to lay them on the dining table. The motor home that we rented had sleeping area for 8 people (6 adults + 2 kids).

Staying in the RV is fun - but driving it, is NOT. It took me a while to adjust to driving within the speed limits. On top of that, there was not enough pick-up in the vehicle (It had just a V10 engine). The vehicle vibrates a lot when the road is not very smooth (which is typically the case). Maneuvering the vehicle wasn't very hard. You definitely need a person to help, especially when you are taking reverse.

My kid enjoyed the stay in RV, very much. She was climbing up & down, all over inside the RV. My wife & I enjoyed it too. We had the luxury of stopping over anywhere to prepare/warm & have our food. Also, we don't have to look out for a restroom when we are visiting places :) We can also take a nap anytime we want. There were plenty of RV friendly parking lots in Page.

I was surprised to see that there was not much information on the web to fix child seat in RVs. We had to fix the child seat on the couch facing side ways. I was not very sure if that would really help during collisions. My kid was puzzled "why she is sitting in a car seat inside the home". She wanted to get down and walk when the vehicle was in motion :)

During our first night in Page, we had left the water tube connected to the water outlet in the camp ground. Due to very cold weather, the water inside the tube & tap got frozen. We had to then use the water from the storage tank on the first day. The next day, we disconnected the tube and closed the tap in the campground. Inspite of that, the water inside the tap got frozen. We had to then rely on the water in storage tank for the second day as well.

I got 200 free miles per day. I ran over 600 miles in 3 days. So, they charged me an extra $13 for the additional miles (47 miles). If I had to rent an RV again, I would not plan to drive 100s of miles on a single day. The whole fun of renting an RV lies in camping and not in driving.

We had 4 hours of free generator usage every day. It was more than enough for us because of our stay in campground. Campgrounds provide unlimited water & electricity. When you are off the campground, you are in a world of limited resources.

We spent about 1.5 hours cleaning the RV. If we don't leave the RV in the 'original' condition, we had to pay $75 as cleaning charges & $500 for damages. Fortunately, we didn't run into any accidents. I broke one of the knobs in the sewage disposal tube. However, the RV rental agency didn't charge anything for that.

Kachina RV rental was very genuine and I would recommend them for others who have plans of renting an RV in Phoenix area.

Arizona Trip - Day 5 (Sedona & Flagstaff)

In the morning we visited Falling Rocks State Park and Red Stone National Park. We didn't hike a lot. We got nice views of the red rock canyons on the way. We went on a trail in Red Stone National park. My daughter was quite attached to the King Fisher bridge on that trail. She didn't want to come back. We had to forcefully bring her back.

We then visited Montezuma Well, Montezuma National Monument and Tuzigoot National Monument. These are some of the ancient ruins. Montezuma well was made out of limestone million years ago and it still gets water from the hot springs. All these monuments are somewhat closer to each other. You can see them all in about 4 hours. Do not expect to see 'exciting' stuff in these places. If you are a history lover, these places will definitely excite you.