This week, we continue our special road trip series. At this point, we've made our way from Vancouver to California, stopped by Joshua Tree National Park on the way to Las Vegas. This update will take you through Arizona to see the Grand Canyon and we settle in Page. From Page, we do a few things in and around the city including crossing over into Utah.

This update will include the activities that we did and some of the major stops that we made. We'll add more detail to each of these stops in the upcoming weeks. At the beginning of this leg, we started by leaving Las Vegas and our first planned stopped was the Grand Canyon National Park.

The Grand Canyon

From Las Vegas, the drive is about 4.5 hours into Arizona to the South Rim of the Grand Canyon National Park. The North Rim has the highest viewpoint of the Grand Canyon, but there are more viewpoints along the South Rim. If you're bringing your dog with you, we'd recommend going to the South Rim as there are more areas that allow dogs.

It was so fun to have brought Markus to the Grand Canyon National Park. For a dog that spent his early years on the streets of South Korea and in a rescue shelter, I can't help but wonder if he's able to appreciate the grandeur of the Grand Canyon.

Much like the Joshua Tree National Park, which we previously wrote about, there were a lot of restrictions to what we were allowed to do at The Grand Canyon. We wrote about all of those things and our experience at The Grand Canyon, which you can read about here.

About Page, Arizona

After our stop at the Grand Canyon, we made our way to Page, Arizona where our hotel was. There were a few things to do in Page and it was a great central place for us to stay. There are also a number of things to do around and outside of Page and we recommend spending a couple of days here to fully check out this area of Arizona and going into Utah.

Some of these locations still require drive that are hours long to and from Page, so if you don't think you're capable of long driving days, you might want to consider moving somewhere else outside of Page. Since we had Markus with us, here's our list of recommendations for dog-friendly things to do around the border of Arizona and Utah.

Courtyard by Marriott Page at Lake Powell

• Type: Hotel (3-star)

• Pet Fee: $25/night

• Suite Available: No

We liked this hotel well enough for how quickly we were in and out. The location as a whole was a little bit on the older side, but it was fine for what we were looking for. We didn't stay here long though in hindsight, I wish we had stayed an extra day or two in this city.

That said, if I were staying longer in this city, I'm not sure that I would stay at this particular location. Even though the other locations were a little pricier, I'd likely pay a bit more for a different location. The reason for this is less to do with the hotel itself, but the fact that Markus is a reactive dog.

A couple of things that didn't work well with Markus was because it's not a very big hotel and they placed us on the bottom floor where there were a lot of guests. This is usually not a good combination for a reactive dog since it means there are a lot of voices and footsteps outside our door throughout the night. This type of noise usually triggers Markus into barking, so we needed to create more noise (white noise app from our iPad) throughout the night to get a good rest.

Markus was very alert the whole time we were at this hotel. The main reason was also not the hotel's fault: When we were checking into the hotel, a teenager had run up to Markus wanting to greet him, but she ran up, stopped within a few feet, crouched and stared. Markus was uncomfortable with this and he started barking in the lobby and created a scene. Ever since that moment, Markus was very much on guard while we were at the hotel.

Around the hotel, there were enough areas for Markus to relieve himself. Even though there weren't any dedicated areas, there were plenty of grassy, sandy areas and trees around the perimeter of the hotel. The stay was fine considering it was only for one night, but since Markus was on high alert for most of the night, we didn't get the best rest which was necessary on this leg of the trip.

Our Recommendation for Reactive Dogs

It’s a bit harder for me to recommend this location because of the experience that we had. We were in a room that was in the middle of a fairly high-trafficked hallway and it didn’t appear that they other quieter rooms to offer us. Markus was very alert the entire time we were there and throughout the evening, which made for a rough night’s rest for us, which was crucial considering the amount of driving and activities we had lined for the next day. As mentioned, it wasn't all the hotel’s fault necessarily, but that was our experience there.

Things to Do around Page, Arizona

Horseshoe Bend

We made a stop to Horseshoe Bend on the way into Page and it was already dark, so we didn't spend too much time there. If you haven't heard of or seen pictures of the Horseshoe Bend, take a quick second to check it out! We enjoyed the stop here to enjoy the view, but we didn't get to spend too much time here since it was getting dark and we needed to get going. 

Goosenecks State Park

Crossing into Utah, Goosenecks State Park is like a cousin to the Horseshoe Bend. It has more bends than the Horseshoe Bend, although the colour isn't as vibrant. The Goosenecks State Park is so wide that you can't capture everything in one photo and to be able to see the bends in person was simply fascinating. 

We're going to write about our experience at Goosenecks State Park to be shared in a few weeks.

Corona Arch Trail

About 5 hours drive away out of Page, the Corona Arch Trail was our favourite hike in the entire road trip and it's not hard to see why. Located in Utah, it is one of a few trails that both allow dogs and has an arch at the end of the hike. It made for a really long day, but by the end of it, we were glad to have been able to do it and to see these natural arches in person.

That said, this trail had some complicated areas for dogs and we share that and more with you in a few weeks.

Antelope Canyon

One of our greater regrets on the road trip was that we didn't have enough time to visit Antelope Canyon, which is really close to Page. This is something we would've had liked to do, but since the experience is limited with a dog, we decided to pass on this one for the other places. Still, there are areas where dogs are allowed, so if you have the time to check it out, we'd recommend making a stop.

The Four Corners Monument

We didn't have time to do this either, but a fun stop you can make is at the Four Corners Monument. This is a landmark that intersects Arizona, Utah, Colorado and New Mexico and it exists because of the way the states are laid out. The monument itself exists in the four states and you can stand in the middle and be in all four states at once!

It needs to be said that dogs aren't allowed at the monument and the signs in the area that specifically say this. Still, there are plenty of photos of dogs there, so bring your dog at your own risk.

Big John's Texas BBQ

At every stop we make, we love to eat well. A large part of experiencing the city is being able to enjoy the food that the city has to offer. Since we weren't staying here for long, we looked up some of the best places to grab dinner and we ended up at Big John's Texas BBQ. Coming from Canada, BBQs just aren't done like this and we had a blast stopping by.

Big John's Texas BBQ has tables for you to sit outside and right alongside the tables are giant smokers - the likes of which I've never seen before. The food was so good here and we recommend making a stop. It's honestly hard to avoid with the smell coming out of their smokers!

BirdHouse

Down the street from Big John's Texas BBQ was BirdHouse, known for their chicken sandwiches. If you're into fried chicken sandwiches like Chik-Fil-A or Popeye's, then this is the place for you. We picked up one of their sandwiches and ate it with a plate of BBQ from Big John's. We ate well and there's no shame in that!

Next up: Springdale, Utah

Disclaimer

Markus is a reactive, but not aggressive dog. His instinct is to avoid other dogs and he may growl, bark or lunge if provoked, but will not attack. We normally do not have issues with leashed dogs when both sides are controlled, but we will be on guard when an oncoming dog is not leashed. There are varying levels to a dog’s reactivity and only you can decide if this park, trail or hotel is appropriate for your dog. Our visits generally will not include off-leash areas; most experiences shared on The Markus Project are within leashed or undefined areas.

Please remember that our past experience visiting a park, trail or hotel may not be the same as your experience at the same park, trail or hotel. We have no control of who visits the park and whether they adhere to park rules - like leashing their dogs on leash-required paths - or not. Please use your discretion with the information provided and with your personal knowledge of your dog’s reactivity when visiting these parks, trails or hotels.