Carefree Resort and Villas review

Leaving my last national park, the Grand Canyon behind I am continuing to Phoenix and then to San Diego. The place where I am staying in Phoenix is named Carefree and located 20 miles north of Phoenix city center. The area is very beautiful with cactus gardens and many big big villas. I am sleeping in the Carefree Resort & Villas for which I would like to provide you a short review.

The rooms of the Carefree Resort and Villas seem a little over-sized what however makes it very pleasant in the hotel's rooms. The rooms' interior is all in a sort of Mexican style and looks very nice and friendly. The air condition is very silent. My room does not have a fridge, what is however compensated by a nearby ice-machine. The pool area is very big with a swimming-pool and a jacuzzi. The pool area looks wonderful and the ambient of the Carefree resort and Villas is amazing. I am sitting at the pool right now, watching the sunset. It is still 100F with low humidity, so very nice and refreshing with the pool.

I am now back in my hotel room. The rates are more than okay with a total cost of 120$ a night. I had a nice all you can eat buffet. Seriously, spend that 20$ on the hotel buffet. You can see the staff putting different sort of meat and sausages on the grill. You can either eat outside or inside the restaurant. Both is nice. Everything was very well prepared and good looking. If you read this part of my review, really, take the buffet in the Carefree Resort and Villas, you will love it.

Afterward I went to an open fire place. A member of the staff team joined me and we had an interesting discussion about different aspects. He has native American background and knew a lot about the national parks, agriculture and problems of Arizona. His name was Lance. If you meet him, make sure to greet him from Hendrik :-).

The hotel was not good, Carefree resort and Villas was very good and I rate it with 10/10 points. Hope you enjoyed my Carefree Resort and Villas review.

I attached a map of the area around the Carefree resort and Villas hotel. Check out the location and how fast you are in Phoenix.


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Best Western Squire Inn review

The hotel I booked around Grand Canyon was the Best Western Squire Inn. It is in the town of Tusayan. I would like to provide you a short review of the Best Western Squire Inn.

I payed 150$ per night for my room. Breakfast was included and quite okay. I mainly liked the large diversity of fruits and cups made of 100% corn syrup. That was something special for a Best Western breakfast.

The Squire Inn's rooms are okay and clean. The Air condition is very silent. All in all the Best Western Squire Inn is a good hotel. Half a mile from start the Grand Canyon helicopter tours. You can book them right in the hotel. The rates are okay and I must really say that it was one of my best hotels on my national park route.

Hope you enjoyed my Best Western Squire Inn hotel review. Below is a map of its location in Tusayan.


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Grand Canyon Helicopter tour review

A friend recommended me to check out the rims of Grand Canyon in an helicopter. So I booked an Helicopter Tour starting in Tusayan taking you through the Grand Canyon. The name of the company is Papillon helicopter tours. I would like to provide you a short review of my Grand Canyon Helicopter tour.

They offer 2 main helicopter tours through Grand Canyon, the North rim tour for 130$ and the Imperial tour for 190$. The North rim tour takes you with the helicopter to the north rim of Grand Canyon and then back to Papillon Airport. The north rim tour is around 25-30 minutes. The Imperial tour is 50-60 minutes and is basically the same with the difference that the helicopter flies slower so that you can take better pictures.

The Imperial Grand Canyon helicopter tour was booked out in my. case so I took the North Rim tour. Heavy Thunderstorms made Papillon Helicopters cancel almost all tours. I was lucky to be in one of only three choppers that started. It was a bit scary because of violent lightnings on the left and right of the helicopter. Reaching Grand Canyon the view on the Colorado and the million year old cliffs was awesome. I really recommend you to book an helicopter tour through Grand Canyon. It is a much more breathtaking experience than just standing on the south rim of Grand Canyon. 30 minutes were enough for me to experience Grand Canyon from above. I think I would have gotten bored fast without the thunder storms if I had booked the longer tour. I think the rates for the longer Grand Canyon heliopter tour were a bit too long.

Here a video of the Papillon Helicopter tours:


And a map of the Papillon Helicopter start area:

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Thanks a lot for reading my short Grand Canyon Papillon helicopter tours review :-).

Grand Canyon review

Leaving Lake Powell and Page behind I am traveling to my final national park – the Grand Canyon. I would like to give you a review of Grand Canyon and will write down all experiences I have on my way through Grand Canyon.

Here a Grand Canyon picture (click to enlarge):


To get more information about historic and geographic aspects of Grand Canyon national park, please check this and this link. I am just writing a review and will not focus on the park background.

My hotel is located in Tusayan and named Best Western Grand Canyon Squire Inn. I am heading there right now. To get there I have to drive through Grand Canyon. I am giving you a review of everything I checked out here in Grand Canyon.

Desert view point was my first stop. It is a relatively large viewpoint with shops and rest rooms. I parked my car and followed other people to a tower from where you have a good view over Grand Canyon. You should stop at Desert View point and check out the amazing view over Grand Canyon.

My next stop is the Lipan point. You have a pretty good view over Grand Canyon, as you are on 2300 meters. You can see the Hance rapid. It is around a mile long and Major and was terrific for early Grand Canyon expeditions.

Moran point is the next point on the way to Tusayan. It's named after a spanish expedition who were the first Europeans to see Grand Canyon. I saw several tourists next to me, climbing on rocks with the Canyon going a mile down right next to them. A biker with several Harley Davidson tattoos stood right next to me and told me with Texanian accent: „Mister, tellin' you somethin' – some people aint no' havin' a god damn brain in there head.“ Really, if you do not suicide in Grand Canyon, don't climb on the cliffs.

Leaving Moran point behind I am stopping at Buggeln point. It's a nice looking picnick area in Grand Canyon where I will now take some minutes off and eat something. Probably a good idea for you too :). Here are only a few benches and I had to choose another location and am now sitting on a tree. Be careful, I was just bitten by an ant. I have never see that large ants before. It hurts a little.

Next point is Grand view point. As the name says it offers a wide view over Grand Canyon. As a reason an hotel as once been there. If you are interested in walking you can take a 2 day trail from here down to Colorado river.

I am exiting Grand Canyon now and heading to my Best Western. Hope you enjoyed my Grand Canyon review. My rating is 10/10 points. You will be amazed. I will be writing a short conclusion tomorrow of all my national park experiences. Anyways, I am a bit fed up with national parks now and happy to see something different very soon. I am going over Flagstaff to Phoenix in two days, to then head back to San Diego and Los Angeles. Anyways, thanks for reading my recommendations, tips and review of Grand Canyon national park.

Glen Canyon Dam review

Lake Powell is nearby the town of Page. What you will want to see when hanging around lake Powell is the Glen Canyon Dam. This is a short review of Glen Canyon.

Here a Glen Canyon Dam picture (click to enlarge):


For more information about facts of the Dam, please see this link.

There is a bridge going over Glen Canyon Dam which everyone can drive on. You will have a fascinating view on the Colorado river and the Dam. There is a Glen Canyon Dam visitor center which everyone can check out for free. You may however take no guns, knives, bags and soft drinks inside. The security is very strict.... The visitor center itself has a lot of information about Glen Canyon Dam. That was very interesting.

Hope you enjoyed my short Glen Canyon Dam review. My rating 10/10 points. It is a must for every engineer. It is human intelligence on its best.

Lake Powell resorts review

With Grand Canyon as my final national park destination I slept one night around Page at Lake Powell. The hotel I was in was the Lake Powell resorts & marinas. This is a short review of my Lake Powell resorts.

Arriving at the hotel I had to wait almost an hour at the front desk to check in. Lake Powell resorts has an own beach which you can access whenever you like. It is only around 50 feet away from the hotel depending on your location in Lake Powell resorts. Lake Powell resorts has a gym and two pools. I have not been in the gym, but both pools are relatively good. You can also book Lake Powell resorts ship tours. In my case they were full and I was required to book them via Internet. Nonetheless, 120$ per person for an 8 hour ship tour is too much if you ask me.

Lake Powell resorts has two integrated restaurants which are relatively expensive (15 $ for a pizza). There are also several open Lake Powell resorts WiFi networks of which none worked for me... The front desk said they were working on it, it seems with no luck because 48 hours later it was still not working. The rooms in the Lake Powell resorts were okay.

My rating of Lake Powell resorts: 8/10. Hope you enjoyed my Lake Powell resorts review. My next hotel is going to be a Best Western at Grand Canyon.

Here a map of the Lake Powell resorts:

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Monument Valley review

After Vesa Merde national park my next stop is Monument Valley. My final national park is Grand Canyon, that's why I am driving from Cortez over Monument Valley to Page, from where I will then continue to Flagstaff and then Grand Canyon. I planned 3-4 hours for Momument Valley and would like to provide you a short review of Monument Valley.

Here a Monument Valley picture (click to enlarge):


For more information about historic background of Monument Valley or geographic aspects, please check out this and this link.

When entering Monument Valley there were so many cars in front of me that it took me almost an hour to get to the fee station. I asked myself several times if I should really wait, or just continue to Page directly. From the outside Monument Valley did not look that special..... Anyways, be glad I entered, because I can now provide you with a review =].

The entrance fee was 5$ per person an no you can not enter with your national park pass. I was excited to see the Monument Valley visitor center, but guess what, it was closed... If you are looking for an Hotel around Monument Valley, consider an hotel directly in the park. I am not sure about the quality of the hotel and can unfortunately not provide a review of it.

Anyways, I drove on a 17 mile offroad tour. It took me 2 hours in total and I can only recommend you to do that. You will see special and unique rock formations. It's an amazing landscape and you ask yourself – huh? How is this possible?

You will need four wheel drive for that road, it has a lot of holes and will shake your car to the wheels.... Was very exciting and I can only recommend you to take that central road in Monument Valley. Oh, and if you like, do as I did and take a picture on a horse for 3$. Very good picture to show friends.

Hope you enjoyed my Monument valley review. If you like you can check out my following reviews of Page and Grand Canyon. My rating: 8/10

Taco Bell Cortez review

For dining I wanted something with low calories. So I decided to check out Taco Bell in Cortez.I would like to provide you a short review of Taco Bell here.

I ordered a Burrito Supreme which I got within a minute. The diet coke was very tasty and consequently very good. The service was okay too.

The Taco Bell restaurant was very clean from the inside, not comparable to Mc Donald's where I had been in the morning. All in all I really liked this Taco Bell in Cortez. My rating: 10/10. 10 because you can not say anything against a 4$ evening meal, still very tasty and in a good facility.

Hope you enjoyed my Taco Bell cortez review. Check out my review of Lake Powell, which I will be writing tomorrow :).


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Best Western Turquoise Inn review

I chose Cortez as a place to sleep close to the Mesa Verde national park. I would like to provide you with a Best Western Turquoise Inn review, as that is the hotel I am in right now.

The rooms are not dirty and look very friendly. You have a very good television in your room and free WiFi. I don't like carpet floors, but really can not expect a lot more for 80 $ per night. The breakfast the next morning was inclusive and is okay. Nothing special, but okay.

Hope you enjoyed my short review of Best Western Turquoise Inn in Cortez. My rating 8/10. Only 8 because I find carpet hotel floors disgusting.


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Cortez review

Leaving Moab my next stop is the town of Cortez. It is right after the Utah/Colorado border. I would like to provide you with a short Cortez review.

Cortez is a friendly, little town with a lot of shopping possibillities. You have Citymarket, Wallmart and several fast food restaurants here. The air is clean and the town in no way dirty.

If you need a hotel or stop in front of Mesa Verde National park, then Cortez is the town where you want to find a hotel. Hope you enjoyed my short Cortez review.


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Mesa Verde national park review

Leaving Arches and Canyonlands national park behind I am leaving the town of Moab, heading towards Cortez. Cortez is my next stop as it is relatively close to the Mesa Verde national park. I would like to provide you a short review of Mesa Verde national park.

At first I felt relatively unexcited because I have seen so many national parks in the past weeks. But then when entering Mesa Verde I quickly noticed it would be another unique national park. Mesa Verde is not focused on the nature, but on the people that lived in there. You will encounter a lot of remains from native Americans.

Here a Mesa Verde national park picture (click to enlarge):


For more information about the park, please click this and this link.

And let me tell you, it is amazing, I took a ranger tour down to a small town that was build in an alcove. You will want to see this inside Meda Verda national park because there is no other place on earth that has 800 year old buildings from past peoples in a that good condition. The tour was relatively difficult but still a very extreme experience, we walked down the cliffs with several ladders to the Cliff palace. The cliff palace is a small cliff dwelling consisting of several spruce tree houses built by Ancient Puebloan Indians. I have never seen that before and you can only see that in Mesa Verde national park.

I rate the park with 10/10 points because of its landscape, the ranger tours and the historic background. Check out my next review of Lake Powell. Hope you enjoyed my short review of Mesa Verde national park.

Canyonlands national park review

After visiting Arches National park yesterday the last national park close to Moab I have not visited yet is Canyon Lands national park. I woud like to provide you with a short review of Canyon Lands. so that you can decide whether it is worth your time to check it out or not.

Here a Canyonlands national park picture (click to enlarge):



Check this link for more information on geographic aspects and history of the park. Also check out this link.

Canyonlands national park is around 25 miles from Moab and I recommend you to get some gasoline before heading towards Canyonlands. There is no gas station in or in front of the park. Just get your gasoline in Moab and not on the highway because in my case Moab's gas prices were 20 cent cheaper per gallons.

When you enter Canyonlands national park you will encounter a Visitor center on your right side. You can not compare it with the visitor center in Arches and Bryce Canyon as it did not contain a lot of information as was not well made.

I took the road to the end of Canyonlands national park and then took the Grand View Point trail. It is around 1 mile and upon reaching the end you will encounter a beautiful view over the plateau, cliffs and valley below. I definitely recommend you to take the trail as it is a very extreme experience and you will see nature on its best.

On the way to back to Moab, I stopped at the Upheaval Dome. There are several benches and it is a quite good place to rest and eat something. The benches are all in shadows of trees so that the climate is relatively fresh compared to the rest of the park.

A short conclusion of my Canyonlands national park review, it is worth the money. My rating: 9/10 points. I will be heading back to Moab now for which I also provided a short review. Check out my Cortez review which I will write tomorrow. Hope you enjoyed reading my review of Canyonlands national park :).

Arches national park review

Leaving the bizarre Goblin Valley behind and heading on to Moab, my next park is Arches national park. Arches National park is known for many bizarre Arches all over the park. I would like to provide you a short review of Arches national park.

Here some Arches national park pictures (click to enlarge):


For more information about geographic aspects and history of the park, please click this link, or this link.

Arches Canyon entrance is only 3 miles outside of Moab. The fee for entering the park is 20$ per vehicle. I checked out the visitor center first because it is right at the entrance of Arches Canyon, I was amazed by the size of the visitor center. It has a lot of good information and reviews of Arches national park. The whole history of the park is written down there, you find information about Uranium mines in the park, or how development of the famous Arches was possible.

I continued driving and then saw the famous Moab fault. Million years ago the earth's surface cracked and the Moab valley was made possible. The first stop has all details. I recommend you to stop there as that is quite interesting if you ask me.

Arches itself has a lot of bizarre and amazing rock formations. Almost all are out of the so called Entrada-sandstone. The arches can be seen at different locations inside Arches National park. I really liked the park and rate it with 9/10 points. Only 9 points because it was way too hot for me ... :P. Hope you enjoyed my short review of Arches national park,

Check out my review of Canyonlands national park which I will be writing tomorrow inside the park, I am heading back to moab now, for which I also provided a short review.

Zax Moab review

On my first evening in Moab I went to Zax. This is a short Zax Moab review. They advertise to be a good pizza restaurant. Upon opening the menu I was surprised All you can eat wood fired Pizza 12 $. Plus all you can eat salad inclusive.

That's what I ordered in Zax. The pizza was American Style and very good. I liked the diversity of the salad bar and the waiter was very friendly. 10/10 points for a low price restaurant. Hope you enjoyed my short review of Zax here in Moab.


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Best Western Capitol Reef resort review

I searched for a hotel very close to the Capitol Reef. I am a Best Western fan and was lucky to find the Best Western Capitol Reef resort, for which I would like to provide you a short review.

I did not expect it to be that good, but upon arriving I saw a tennis court, a swimming pool and a Jacuzzi. My room was very clean and looking well, with WiFi and color cable television. The bathroom had a little surprise, a Jacuzzi bathtub. Dinner and breakfast can be purchased for a few dollars. I only purchased breakfast for 6 $ and it was quite good with bacon and pancakes.

All in all I would rate the Best Western Capitol Reef resort with 9/10 points, not 10 because a chair in my room was broken. I hope you liked my review and make sure to check out my Capitol Reef review.

Here a map of the hotel:

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