Day 12–18

Right on the way out of Mancos, so I paid the $8 a head and went to stand on it. Was it worth it? Honestly, no — but I can now say I've had a foot in four states at once, and sometimes the bragging rights are the point.

A lone butte on the drive out of Mancos — the kind of thing you pull over for without planning to.

The Elephant Feet — two sandstone pillars right off US-160 in Arizona, named exactly what they look like.

Mostly a logistics day after that, and a happy-nervous one. Rolled into Grand Canyon Camper Village, confirmed the mule ride over at Bright Angel, and dropped the kennel paperwork so the morning could run like clockwork. Some stops you spend the drive bracing for the miles — this one I spent bracing for the thing.

The big one: a mule ride along the South Rim of the Grand Canyon — national park #18. Early, early start: out of the campsite by 6:15 to get the pups to the Grand Canyon Kennel by 7:30, then over to Bright Angel to meet the group at 8. They're specific about the dress code for good reason — sneakers, long pants, long sleeves, a hat, and no backpacks or slings — and once you're up on a mule with the whole canyon falling away beside you, you understand the fuss. Worth every bit of the 6am alarm.

The view I came for: the Grand Canyon dropping away past my mule's ears along the South Rim.

Not a glamorous stop, but a pivotal one: I finally caved and bought Starlink. Working remotely from the middle of nowhere only works if "nowhere" has signal — well worth it, and the rest of the loop just got a lot more livable.

Pulled into Meadview RV Park & Cozy Cabins for a couple of nights, out where the desert gets big and quiet.

The van parked among the Joshua trees near Meadview — desert that finally feels like the West.

Desert sunset mirrored in the van window at Meadview, out where it gets big and quiet.

Another off-the-road reset day — and after a week of big parks, I was glad to have it. I knocked out a pile of work, ran the laundry, and gave the van another good clean before pointing into the desert. Not the stuff that makes the highlight reel, but it's the rhythm that keeps a trip this long actually sustainable. By the time I turned in, everything was squared away for the long push to Death Valley.

I drove over the bridge and it was beautiful — but you can't stop on it, so I don't even have a picture to show for it. And once again, I did not actually get to see Hoover Dam.

Real-talk for the journal: that's three trips to this corner of the map and still no Hoover Dam. The first time, I'd flown into Vegas and had no car. Last year, I had to cut my drive short the very day I meant to go. And this time the dogs locked me out — they're strict about pets down there. Three different excuses, one stubborn dam. Someday.

A grateful detour on the way: My Pet Oasis in Boulder City squeezed Piper in around 9, got her pain meds sorted, and she perked up almost right away. Nothing resets a road-trip mood like a hurting dog feeling better.

Made it — the van at the Death Valley entrance sign, homeland of the Timbisha Shoshone.

And then down into the heat — Death Valley — national park #19. My official travel advice for Death Valley: don't. It's hot. Not "bring a water bottle" hot — "116 degrees and the air hits you like an open oven door" hot. I have photographic evidence.

The visitor-center thermometer earning its reputation: 116°F / 46°C, and that's just the air.

I did duck into the visitor center to cool off, where there were exactly two styles of shirt and neither one spoke to me. The important data points must be recorded.

I stopped for the short hike, but it was simply too hot to leave the dogs in the van — even with the AC running — so I took it in from the lot and moved on.

The highlight of the park for me — really cool, though I'll admit, not quite as cool as White Sands.

Mesquite Flat Sand Dunes with the Panamints behind — my favorite stop in the park (White Sands still edges it).

The plan for the night was Panamint Springs Resort, but I got too sketched out when I pulled up and bailed for Boulder Creek RV Resort in Lone Pine instead. Really nice spot — still too hot, but you take the wins where you find them.

Did the short half-mile hike out to a polished black-lava gorge, and really loved it — right up until I tripped and cracked my phone screen. Oops. A quick stop, but it punches well above its size (apparently more than my coordination could handle).

The polished black-lava gorge at Fossil Falls — small, strange, and worth the half-mile, cracked phone and all.

Then the surprise of the whole leg: the drive up through Sequoia National Forest, with the road following the Kern River the entire way. Just breathtaking — the kind of stretch where you keep slowing down because you don't want it to end.

The van tracing the Kern River through Sequoia National Forest — the prettiest stretch of road on the whole trip.

Rolled into River Run RV Park in Bakersfield to close out the leg — and I love this campsite. After a week of desert heat and a sketchy-lot bail-out, it felt like exactly the right place to land.