Where The Road Wanders

Where The Road Wanders Mom and I travel the U.S. full time and share scenic places that are easy to reach. No long hikes. No AI photos here.

Just beautiful views, simple stops, and honest tips to help you plan your next adventure.

Zion is one of those places that still makes me look up every single time I drive into it.I’ve been through this part of...
08/23/2026

Zion is one of those places that still makes me look up every single time I drive into it.

I’ve been through this part of Utah more than once, and somehow the scale still catches me off guard. You can see a hundred photos of those canyon walls, but they don’t really prepare you for what it feels like to be surrounded by them.

And I think that’s one of the reasons I keep coming back to the Southwest. There are places I’ve already seen that I’d happily choose all over again.

Zion is definitely one of them.

What’s one place you’ve visited that you’d go back to without even thinking twice?

Lone Rock is one of those places around Page that could be really easy to overlook.Most people come here with Antelope C...
08/22/2026

Lone Rock is one of those places around Page that could be really easy to overlook.

Most people come here with Antelope Canyon and Horseshoe Bend at the top of the list, and I completely understand why. But Page is one of those places where I always seem to find another reason to stay an extra day.

Lone Rock was one of those reasons for me.

It’s simple. A huge stretch of Lake Powell, that unmistakable rock rising out of the (sometimes) water, and one of my favorite places around Page to slow down and watch the sunset.

If you were planning a Grand Circle trip, how many days would you give yourself in Page?

Factory Butte is exactly the kind of place I never would have known to put on my first Utah itinerary.It’s not a nationa...
08/21/2026

Factory Butte is exactly the kind of place I never would have known to put on my first Utah itinerary.

It’s not a national park. There’s no big entrance sign or list of must-see attractions. And yet it ended up being one of those places I still think about.

The landscape around here almost doesn’t look real. Factory Butte rises out of miles of gray badlands, and just down the road you can look out over Moonscape Overlook and understand exactly how it got its name.

These are the stops that changed the way I plan road trips. I leave a lot more room now for the places between the places I originally came to see.

What’s an unexpected stop you’ve found on a road trip that ended up being a favorite?

There are some places you recognize instantly, even if you’ve never been there.Monument Valley was that way for me. I’d ...
08/20/2026

There are some places you recognize instantly, even if you’ve never been there.

Monument Valley was that way for me. I’d seen those views in movies and photos for years, but actually driving into the valley and seeing those massive formations rising out of the desert was completely different.

And then you get to watch the light change everything. The same view can look completely different an hour later.

If I had to choose, sunrise here gets my vote. There’s something about watching the valley slowly light up that’s worth getting out of bed for.

What would you choose at Monument Valley: sunrise or sunset?

Some of my favorite parts of a road trip aren’t the places I planned to stop.They’re the stretches of road between them....
08/19/2026

Some of my favorite parts of a road trip aren’t the places I planned to stop.

They’re the stretches of road between them.

Highway 12 through Utah is a perfect example. I could easily turn what looks like a drive from one destination to another into an entire day because I’m constantly finding another overlook, another side road, or another reason to pull over.

And this drive changes so much along the way. Red rock, wide-open desert, the Hogsback, forests and higher elevations all packed into one stretch of road.

This is one I’d especially love to drive again in the fall.

Are you someone who stops constantly on a road trip, or are you determined to get to the destination?

08/18/2026

“We can fit that in too.”

I can’t tell you how many times I’ve said that while planning a road trip. 😂

The Southwest makes it especially tempting because there’s ALWAYS something else just down the road.

But I’ve learned that seeing fewer places and actually having time to enjoy them makes for a much better trip.

Are you an itinerary packer, or do you leave plenty of room to wander?

Bryce Canyon was one of those places I thought I understood before I got there.I’d seen plenty of pictures of the hoodoo...
08/18/2026

Bryce Canyon was one of those places I thought I understood before I got there.

I’d seen plenty of pictures of the hoodoos, but standing at the rim and seeing thousands of them stretching out below me was completely different.

And this is one place I’d happily plan for fall. Cooler temperatures, fewer brutally hot afternoons, and if you time it right, a little fall color mixed into all that orange rock.

Pictures really don’t prepare you for the scale of this place.

What’s somewhere you’ve visited that looked completely different in person than you expected?

08/17/2026

I wish I could go back and plan my first Grand Circle road trip knowing what I know now.

I had a completely different picture in my head of what this trip would be like. What surprised me most wasn’t the big national parks. It was everything in between them.

After years of traveling through the Southwest, I’ve learned that the best Grand Circle trips leave room for those unexpected stops instead of racing from one bucket-list destination to the next.

And if this trip has been sitting on your list, fall is one of my favorite times to go. 🍂

What part of the Grand Circle is highest on your list?

08/16/2026

Hocking Hills was one of those places that genuinely surprised me. I knew it would be pretty, but I wasn’t expecting this much variety packed into one area.

And out of everything we explored, Rock House was the one I’d go back to first.

If you’ve been, which part of Hocking Hills was your favorite?

When we were in Kanab, Utah, we took a tour out to the Great Chamber that also took us to Peekaboo Slot Canyon. Such a b...
08/15/2026

When we were in Kanab, Utah, we took a tour out to the Great Chamber that also took us to Peekaboo Slot Canyon.

Such a beautiful canyon to walk through!

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