I’ve set up camp in the dark many times in my camping career — too many times — and it looks like it’s going to be happening again as navigate the rolling two-lane roads straddling the state borders of the Four Corners region. I’m not excited about this. It’s late and dark, very dark. This is not the kind of place with large road signs. But after only one wrong turn t, we roll into our campsite for the night. A quick look around doesn’t reveal much — a look up displays the Milky Way and countless stars splashed across a sable sky. Within minutes of our arrival, I’m laying comfortably on a bed thinking, Oh, now I get it. I can definitely get used to this van life.
See, I’ve always been a tent camper, whether it’s beside the car or far down a backpacking trail. It’s simple that way, nothing to tow, just a portable dwelling you can set up, pack down and stash in a backpack or cargo space.
But I do love a good road trip too. So when the chance arose to give van-life a test drive in an Adventure Wagon, the only question was, “Where are we headed?”
With an autumn window of time available, warm temperatures were inviting. A new way to explore called for a new destination. And with the flexibility of driving around in our lodging, the wide-open road was calling. The Adventure Wagon was pointing to a classic red-rock road trip through Monument Valley, Utah, and Sedona, Arizona.
Surrounded by Monuments
Morning confirmed our choice. What we couldn’t see at night now shone in 360 degrees. We woke up surrounded by sandstone buttes and towering hoodoos. Dawn’s pastel wash intensified into an electric glow on these geological sculptures, and we enjoyed a relaxed front-row view from our comfy beds and wide windows of the Adventure Wagon.
This is what we had come to see. Remember that scene in Forest Gump when Forest abruptly stops running? This is where it was filmed. We passed the Forest Gump Hill road sign in the dark last night. The panorama still greets us in the morning. “I’m pretty tired. Think I’ll go home now,” Forest said. Not us. We’re just getting started.
Our campsite at the Arrowhead Campground is basic but offers everything we need: flat ground, a picnic table with a windbreak and shade cover, plus pit toilets. Like most of the offerings in this area, it’s an open patch of sandy desert on someone’s private acreage. Sparse, but it delivers front-row monolith views perfect for van camping.
Exploring Navajo Lands
Two miles down the road is Monument Valley Navajo Tribal Park. It has the feel of a classic national park, which it is, belonging to the Navajo Nation. There’s an entry fee and visitor center and a hotel perched on a sandstone ridge overlooking Monument Valley. The gift shop is filled with exquisite turquoise jewelry made by Navajo artisans.
But the greatest gift is the natural panorama filling the horizon. In a word, it’s stunning. Attempts to describe it quickly tumble into hyperbole, but Monument Valley deserves its place among global icons. In its classic panorama, the East and West Mittens and Merrick Butte tower 1,000 feet above the sprawling desert floor, providing ochre canvases for the daily artistry of sunlight painting sandstone in a constantly changing masterpiece. You have seen this view before, whether you realize it or not. It has long been a favorite backdrop for movies — Westerns to sci-fi — and car commercials.
The Navajo, or Dine, consider this valley sacred, and it’s easy to see why. The massive scale is humbling. Contemplating oneself within its vast scope is spiritual.
You can take a guided tour by vehicle or horseback through the valley. We opt to hike the Wildcat Trail, the park’s only self-guided option. It leads us a 3-mile loop from the Visitor Center gradually down to the valley floor and around the West Mitten. We catch it early before the heat swells, necessary since there’s no shade. The close-up adds a different scale, revealing details like wind-sculpted sand and a reality check of looking up at these towering rock formations.
Our Lodging on Wheels
Our journey south continues along two-lane byways through Navajo lands as red rock desert gives way to higher elevation piñon forests around Prescott, Arizona.
Logistics guide our route now as we head farther south to rendezvous with our daughter at the Phoenix airport. With her on board, we will truly put the Adventure Wagon to the test with four full-size humans in the Ford Transit.
Adventure Wagon conversions are based on a modular system of racks that allow you to install, move or remove beds, storage and their Mule Bag gear organizing components without being locked into a permanent floor plan. To accommodate our family, we had the van arranged with two full beds stacked like bunks. A row of Mule Bags along a wall makes a perfect clothes closet. Space beneath the lower bed with a sliding rack gives good room for camp furniture and biking gear. The bikes are on the back on a hitch-mounted Yakima StageTwo rack. Our layout does not include a kitchen module, but a Dometic cooler powered by the rooftop solar panels provides refrigeration for food.
Overall, it’s cozy, but we fit just fine. We knew we would be pushing the comfort capacity, but it’s worth it to stay nimble in a van that handles well. Driving it is an easy step up from a full-size SUV. It just feels taller. And when the siblings decide they’d rather spread out more to sleep, there’s room for one with a sleeping pad on the floor beside the sliding door.
Sedona Delivers
After our second night at the accurately named Lake Pleasant Regional Park north of Phoenix, it’s a shorter drive to Sedona.
We are here for three days and two nights, and the legendary red-rock destination does not disappoint. Because of Sedona’s popularity, the U.S. Forest Service has restricted dispersed camping west of town to eight areas with about 200 campsites. That may sound like a lot, but the large majority of the area is now closed to camping after rampant overuse became damaging. Things can still get busy in this first-come, first-served piñon forest. Even in late fall it’s active, but we have no trouble finding a site with a wide view of Sedona’s ruddy mountainscape.
It’s quickly apparent why Sedona is such a popular destination for seekers, sojourners and other wandering souls. The rugged landscape is punctuated by striated cliffs, colorful canyons and otherworldly spires, buttes and hoodoos. The entire area is believed to be a vortex, with many more specifically powerful vortexes channeling the earth’s energy upward or downward in a concentrated cosmic flow. Practitioners say meditating, doing yoga or other healing arts can be especially powerful at these sites. Whatever your level of belief, Sedona’s beauty is transformative.
Our exploration centers on hiking and mountain biking.
After jockeying for a parking space along the road near the overflowing Boynton Canyon Trailhead, we trek on foot past a luxury resort, below the Boynton Pass Vortex and upward into the box canyon. After a couple miles, we follow an unmarked spur trail that rises toward the canyon walls. A short scramble up some slabby rock delivers us at Subway Cave.
This naturally carved cliffside chamber is beautifully split by a vertical cleft. To have the space to yourself for a moment is reverent, but it has become a popular spot. (Thanks Instagram.) Following the rocky cliffside trail also reveals other alcoves and vantage points overlooking the canyon.
For biking, we head into town for an intro lap on the Carroll Canyon Trails. The intermediate loop winds through scrubby canyonlands that drop away behind local neighborhoods and the Sedona Red Rock High School. It’s a fun ride and a good warmup for a longer loop that includes Hiline, a classic double-black downhill-only trail. The scenery here is spectacular around Cathedral Rock (another must-do hiking destination as well). The 3 miles of Hiline are a rowdy, technical descent for fans of Moab-style riding — a truly gnarly kind of fun. It’s easy to see why Sedona is such an MTB hot spot.
With a walk around Sedona’s downtown shopping district, we explore some of the many shops and galleries. Overall it’s reminiscent of a Colorado ski town with an artsy blend of nature-loving vibes that span rugged to luxurious, crag to country club. There’s an elevated food scene here, but we only scratch the surface of all Sedona offers.
The open road is calling.
Soaking in the Homestretch
Our journey back to Colorado Springs includes one more overnight at Ojo Caliente hot springs outside of Taos, New Mexico. The spa resort offers a full range of accommodations, from luxurious suites to the creekside campground where we park for the night. From our bedroom on wheels, we spend a day soaking in various mineral pools, savoring a bit of relaxation before the final drive home.
From that soft-sided respite to hardcore mountain biking, from exploring on foot and on the open road, the Adventure Wagon has delivered a van-full of red-rock memories and, well, adventures.
Yeah, I could definitely get used to this.
Van Camping Gear We Loved
Here’s some of the gear we found especially helpful on our van-life road trip.
Adventure Wagon
Yes, if you couldn’t already tell, I loved the Adventure Wagon Ford Transit conversion. It’s modular versatility is a bonus, and I could have fun playing with a variety of arrangements. Check out more of them for yourself at adventurewagon.com.
Yakima StageTwo +2 Platform Hitch Bike Rack
The beauty of Yakima’s StageTwo is its rising trays that keep wide mountain bike handlebars from interfering with each other. Adding the +2 addition gave us room for four bikes. And an additional BackSwing adapter allowed the entire rack to swing away for access to open the rear van doors.
Ignik Firecan
The Ignik Firecan is a portable campfire. No, you don’t get that woodsmoke smell. But connected to a propane-filled Ignik Gas Growler, it burns safely, cleanly and legally even when some fire restrictions are in place.
DOD Outdoors Sugoi Chairs
Meaning wow or amazing in Japanese, DOD’s Sugoi Chair give impressive versatility. You can adjust these canvas seats into seven positions, utilizing four heights and three different angles. And they fold flat for easy traveling.
DOD Outdoors Good Luck Table
DOD is a Japanese outdoor brand, and this Good Luck Table is a perfect example of the company’s functional aesthetic. You can raise or lower the legs as needed. Storage bags underneath the tabletop are handy for kitchen supplies, and the whole thing folds flat for portability.
Don’t want to go as far as Sedona. Try this Southwest Colorado Road Trip itinerary from our archives.
