Our family went on this trip in May with two adults in their 60s,
one adult in her 30s, and three boys ages 7, 5, and 10 months.
DAY 1: Left Dallas at 6:00 a.m. Drove through Texas – ate picnic lunch in Snyder, TX at county park. Drove to Hobbs, New Mexico. Found playground for kids to play.
DAY 2: Drove to Carlsbad Caverns National Park in New Mexico – caverns tour. Ate lunch atop overlook at the caverns. Drove to Alamagordo. Ate supper at hotel.
DAY 3: Played at White Sands National Monument in morning. Drove to Las Cruces – ate fast food lunch. Drove to Chiricahua National Monument in Arizona – scenic drive through rock statues. Picnic supper at Chiricahua. Slept at Wilcox.
DAY 4: Saguaro Forest National Park in Arizona – tour & picnic lunch. Drove to Cottonwood – ate supper in hotel.
DAY 5: Toured Montezuma Castle Cliff Dwelling National Monument ruins – snack at Montezuma. Scenic drive through Sedona area. Lunch at Cowboy restaurant in Sedona. Drove by Oak Creek Canyon to Flagstaff. Picnic supper at park/playground in Flagstaff.
DAY 6: Grand Canyon National Park – picnic lunch. At end of day, drove to Winslow – supper in hotel
DAY 7-8: Optional Can take a detour at this point and drive north to Bryce and Zion canyons in Utah — this will add about 2-3 days. If you chose to do this, stay the night in Williams instead of Winslow. We originally planned to do this but were experiencing altitude lightheadedness, so continued on with the tour.
DAY 7 (9 if took Utah detour): Saw Meteor Crater in the morning. Drove to Petrified Forest and Painted Desert National Park – picnic supper here. Drove to Albuquerque, New Mexico.
DAY 8 (10 if took Utah detour): Drove to Canyon, Texas. Went to Panhandle-Plains Historical Museum. Ate supper in hotel in Canyon.
DAY 9 (11- if took Utah detour): Drove to Palo Duro Canyon – spent day exploring canyon.
DAY 10 (12 if took Utah detour): Drove back to Dallas.