Throughout the past few weeks, I have written about a few of the national parks I visited during my 11 day adventure in the American southwest. I flew from my hometown in Michigan to Las Vegas, were I proceeded to rent an RV which I used to explore the states of Arizona and Utah. Grand Canyon, Petrified Forest and Zion are the national parks I visited during this trip, and I discussed those adventures in previous posts. However, now I’m going to write about everywhere else I traveled to during this trip.

I’m ready. Are you? OK. Let’s go!

Route 66

During the trip, I drove along Route 66 many times. This historic highway takes you through many diverse landscapes that are sprinkled with gift shops and 50’s themed diners. Decorated with black and white tiled floors and Elvis Presley posters, I couldn’t resist the allure of the burgers and milkshakes at these vintage restaurants.

Montezuma’s Castle

Montezuma’s Castle National Monument can be found in Yavapai County, Arizona. Here you will find fascinating cliff dwellings that were built and lived in by the Sinagua people between approximately 1100 and 1425 AD (Wikipedia). The cliff dwellings are curiously well-preserved, and invoke many questions about the mysterious pre-Columbian American cultures that were present long ago.

Monument Valley

Monument Valley is located in Navajo Nation on the borders of Arizona and Utah. A sprawling desert packed with majestic mountains and buttes, the landscape is absolutely beautiful but also seems to set the scene for the perfect stereotypical cowboy movie. In fact, many westerns have been filmed in this area for decades. More recent films, such as Transformers and the Lone Ranger remake, have been filmed here as well. I was lucky enough to go on a guided tour led by local residents, and they taught me a lot about the area and Navajo culture.

Springdale, Utah

On our way from Zion National Park to Las Vegas, we stopped in a quaint little town called Springdale. We passed through many towns during the trip, but I included Springdale on the list because it was filled with “rock shops” that I greatly enjoyed. Fascinating and beautiful rocks abounded, and it was fun to dig through them all and practice my photography skills.

Las Vegas

This past March, I visited New York City for the first time. This July I had the opportunity to go back, only this time around it was New York, Las Vegas, Nevada. While there, I ventured into Hershey Chocolate World and discovered the masterpiece pictured above!

My time in Las Vegas was minimal and I actually didn’t partake in much revelry while there. Instead I traveled 550 feet into the air on the world’s largest fairest wheel: the High Roller. Hey, what can I say? The view was wonderful and I had a great time traveling above the city instead of joining the craziness below.

Chicago

Upon returning to Michigan, I met up with a few friends to take a mini road trip before I actually went back home. We spent a day exploring Chicago, and it was fantastic! We journeyed to Shedd Aquarium, Millennium Park, Navy Pier, and a handful of other awesome places. The best part was utilizing the city’s extremely affordable and easy rental bike system– biking through the city streets was a great experience in itself!

This past summer was truly one to remember. I scratched many activities off my bucket list and saw some incredible things. I’ve enjoyed sharing a few of my stories, but now I’d like to hear from you: what did you do this summer?