Also known as the American Southwest, these states stand tall and proud and for good reasons; their unique geographies provide beautiful spots of quiet tranquility, jaw-dropping landscapes and beautiful chaos. From the lively bright mess that is “the strip” in Las Vegas, Sedona‘s towering giants to Texas’ “mad max”-esque landscape and environments , this region offers plenty of unique experiences and beautiful sights for all to see and enjoy.

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Arizona’s beauty lies in its silent wonders. The awe of seeing the Grand Canyon for the first time. The marvel of seeing Sedona’s beautiful landscape. Even the quiet desert’s hum in Quartzite is something that I’d always remember.

Check out our dedicated Photo Journal of Arizona here!

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Sedona was supposed to be just a 30 minute gas stop and lunch break; I was heading to the Grand Canyon from Phoenix and I needed some gas and a quick bite. I quickly pulled out my phone to see where would be a nice mid-point from my campsite to my final destination. Everything else looked too small or too out of the way. Then my scrolling stumbled upon a small town on the google maps with a gas station: Sedona. I didn’t do any further research, didn’t look at any pictures, or reviews or travel guide. I simply saw that the town had what I wanted; little did I know, Sedona has what I needed.

I stayed almost a week in Sedona. It has everything that I love. I found great beauty with iconic towering landscapes all around. I found myself lost in its wilderness just minutes away from town. One could easily do some hiking. Climbing. Biking. I’ve even seen people hiking out and having yoga sessions as the sun sets. From the adventurous adrenaline seekers to the silent spiritual enthusiasts, Sedona has got plenty to offer in its quiet desert and its statues of red rock.

The Grand Canyon has been on my list for the longest time; its the infamous Grand Canyon, of course it would be in anyone’s list. My interests with it was fully piqued when I chatted with an older hiker couple on top of one of the summits in Banff National Park called Devil’s Thumb. We started chatting about travelling, hiking, and other parts of the world. They had a lot of amazing things to say about everything and everywhere they’ve been to. They could describe the beauty they saw. They could paint a picture as they told me stories of their travels and hikes. That’s when they mentioned and started talking about the The Grand Canyon; it was the Grand Canyon that left them speechless. They could not describe it with words alone. All they could do was leave me with the highest of recommendations to go see it myself.

Four months later and I’ve found myself deep in the Canyon. Read all about that story here!

I won’t waste any more of my word count – there’s simply no words and pictures enough to truly and fully describe the Grand Canyon’s vast beauty. I highly highly recommend having a visit or a hike down the canyon to experience it yourself.

I made my way to Quartzite for one thing and one thing only; a Van life event in the desert in the middle of the winter. I had volunteered to join fellow van lifers and RV enthusiasts to help with the set up, cleaning, and day-to-day activities. What I found instead was so much more.

On my way down from Nevada to Quartzite, I had found Havasu Lake. I spent about half a week in the area and I wish I had spent more. My first time seeing the blue lake and the lush palm trees in the middle of the desert I had thought I found an Oasis.

With its blue waters, its green lush vegetations and the brown arid mountains in the backdrop completing the picture, Havasu is a picturesque destination to be.

Fun facts about Havasu lake City that I learned while visiting

• The bridge that crosses the lake over in the city is called London Bridge. Why is it called this? Because it was actually one of the bridges in London, England. It was built in the 1830s and it spanned the river Thames. It was purchased and brought in by an American entrepreneur. Read more about it here!
• One of the OG Girls Gone Wild was filmed in Havasu City!

Pictured above was my campsite near Havasu. Here I could stay for two weeks maximum for free. Here I climbed some of the nearby “hills” and rocks. Here I enjoyed blissful quiet watching the sun set and sewing my camping equipment back together.

Another quick stop on my way to Quartzite was this quiet but beautiful spot near a first nation’s community. The only reason I had even gone here was that according to the app I used, RVcampers, there was a free shower here. Well, a shower is always a welcomed treat in the middle of nowhere desert; free is just a big bonus. It was an absolutely beautiful spot, hardly anyone was there. The serene quiet was a lovely treat away from the noisy city. For the full location, Read here!

Quartzite is the mecca of the desert hippie; here you’ll find spiritual drum sessions, desert dirtbags hitching a ride, sun dances, quartz too often found everywhere on the ground, independent miners sifting away hoping to strike gold, and the van lifer or two. I stayed just about a week and a half in this quaint area and my cherished memories here was getting lost in the distant mountains craving a summit to hike while getting myself pricked by the countless cacti as I was following the trail of goat poop to lead me the right way.

I look back to my careless cold winter nights by my campfire in the desert as I listened to the audio books of Lord of the Rings. It felt like I was listening to my grandparent’s telling me a story around the fire of their adventures in a past life. It felt like a bunch of my peers were around exchanging unexplainable horror stories, heartbreaking moments and thrills of a lifetime around my fire. It felt like my problems and worries were well past behind me. It felt like home. It felt like peace.

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In the winter of 2022, I could not shake Nevada off my mind. I had spent just over a month in California’s west coast and I was beginning to feel the need to move on. For some reason, I had really wanted to see Las Vegas in New Year’s Eve. Well, the reason is quite obvious: I wanted to see how they partied it up to celebrate the new year. Though looking back now, I sometimes regret rushing portions of my California trip. I had missed the great sequoia national park. I didn’t even get a glimpse of the half dome in Yosemite. What I saw instead was the ultimate highs and deep lows as Las Vegas partied their hearts away.

With all its glitz and glamour, Las Vegas is notorious for its chaotically beautiful, loud and eccentric environments. My first time going through a casino here, I was absolutely mind-blown by what I saw: It looked exactly like how its shown in the movies! Films are known to exaggerate and blow things out of proportion for the sake of the story they are telling. However, Las Vegas does not need any embellishment. All the scenes are playing simultaneously all around me as players bet their lives away going through the highest of highs and even the deepest of lows.

After seeing the beautiful mess the strip has to offer, I headed out to my next stop in Nevada: The Hoover Dam. The engineering feat still stands tall today, its true depth is hard to wrap one’s head around as giant boulders at the base look like pebbles from above. Its beauty is hard to describe but easy to appreciate.

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Everything is bigger in TEXAS. At least that’s what they all say. I’ve also heard talk of how TEXAS is so great since they have everything; from Houston’s towering Concrete highways stacked upon each other, to the east where the coast lines the Gulf of Mexico, to their mountains and national parks on the west and to their vast deserts and plains.

…. but personally? I didn’t really like TEXAS that much. I was driving through the west from New Mexico, towards the east coast to visit their pristine beaches. What I saw did not impress me. There was still some beautiful spots but it was easily overshadowed by things that were not necessarily to my taste. I’m not really here to rag on TEXAS, so here is:

Things I enjoyed about my visit to Texas

Seeing and visiting the border wall in El Paso, built by Trump’s administration. As a Canadian, in those political times, all the talk about the border wall and actually seeing it first hand was a treat to me. It was a surreal experience to put a physical, real thing to the headlines. During my visit, I also had an added bonus of speaking to one of the border agents stationed nearby and we had a lovely dehumanizing chat about (his words, not mine) these “illegal aliens” crossing the borders with drugs and criminals. I’m sure he was just interrogating me unofficially and running my plates just to make sure I wasn’t up to no good. An extra extra bonus was having the border police helicopter circle me as I took my touristy photos and videos. It was an experience I would never forget.

Another pleasant surprise was the drive through western TEXAS. I chose to drove through this area during sunset to nightfall as I was making my way to my next campsite. It was an extremely surreal and cool sight to drive through the desert in pitch black. Except it wasn’t really pitch black. All across the highways and the dessert were oil refineries; they dotted and littered the map. As I drove through the night, these refineries were open-air burning exhaust fuels from their stacks. It was as if hundreds of candles lit the desert that night. It was something out of this world and something I feel like I would never experience again.

_{I wish I had pictures of this, but since I was driving in the dark and driving alone, all I could do was enjoy my time and make sure I arrive to my destination in one piece.}

I would also recommend visiting the Guadalupe Mountains National Park. Its a very pleasant drive and is quite a sight to see. I did not get to spend a long time here but I’m sure there are hiking, climbing and other activities available in this area.

Houston was also nice to see. I did like the stacks of concrete highways on top of each other – it was just like seeing it from the movies. I spent some time in Hermann Park and enjoyed leisurely spending my day walking through its spacious green spaces. There are also some free museums and art galleries in the area that’s worth to see.

I also enjoyed the fact that I could drive and camp for “free” on the Texan beaches – I did have to hunt down and buy a camping beach permit for the season from a local gas station. It was a really cool experience for me as a winter storm was just passing Texas, it was extremely cold for the area, and I was the only one on the beach sleeping through the whirlwinds that shook my van through the night.

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I had only spent a handful of days in New Mexico and I was surprised how lovely it was. I had only meant to drive through here and take care of a couple of chores and errands on my way further east. It was only supposed to be a drive-through state.

However, I had a very pleasant time through New Mexico. I visited a set from one of my favourite Tv shows Breaking Bad in Albuquerque. The drive through the highways was very beautiful as unassuming red rock formations littered the drive throughout. It was a pleasant surprise to see what the next little town had to offer in views as I was making my way through. It felt like I was back in one of my favourite places: Sedona, Arizona.

Carlsbad Caverns National Park is one not to be missed – its a curious and unique natural wonder. Many meters below the ground is an amazingly huge networks of caverns that make up the national park. Its cool to see and walk through the area. There’s not much else to see and do. However, I think you could book in advance a much more extensive and deeper tour through the caves. I’d heavily recommend visiting this place if its your cup of tea or you’re in the area.

Driving through and around the White Sands National Park area is also quite a treat. The National Park itself is amazing and is very very unique but driving around there was also a different type of tranquil beauty. As if I’ve stumbled upon an old wild wild west country with modern amenities. There was even a huge portion of the highway right next to a rail track where I had the very fun and very unique chance to chase down and race against a rail train. I also had an amazing campsite by the lake overlooking to distant mountains near the national park.