Stamps in My Passport

Utah is the ultimate playground for every nature lover, avid hiker, backpacker & National Park enthusiast. The Mighty 5 offers everything you could ever hope for and then some. The parks are filled with mountains, rugged trails to traverse, breathtaking landscape, colorful rock formations, jaw dropping views that leave you speechless and destinations galore for the thrill seekers in your life to get out and explore.

I just returned from a 9 day trip to Las Vegas, The Mighty 5 in Utah & several State parks in Nevada & Arizona. I traveled carry-on only (COO) and (ended up taking more than I actually needed.. haha ). Below I’ve included a small recap of our trip as well as my packing list. Many items are available on Amazon & listed in my Amazon shop, which you can find here: https://amzn.to/3ZtAoiX you can also find other items that you will love on my Amazon shop at this link: https://www.amazon.com/shop/thishomeschoolerslife

We started our trip the week of Thanksgiving, 2024 and returned home the first week of December so we packed for cold weather. Temps ranged between highs of 67 and sunny in Las Vegas, NV (we flew 2 one way flights from Portland, Oregon to Las Vegas), to sunny in the low 30’s for most of the National Parks while in Utah and several lows down in the teens. Our lowest temp was 8 degrees farenheit while we ended up driving in a huge snowstorm/blizzard over a mountain pass between Nevada and Bryce Canyon City, Utah (at 8:30 pm!) In order to pack efficiently for the fluctuation in the weather I worked with a capsule wardrobe and laid out my clothing in order to plan outfits, organize items needed and assist in planning what to bring.

I brought 3 outerwear pieces as well as 3 pairs of shoes. I wore 1 coat & 1 pair of the shoes as part of my travel outfit. *I wore green Forsake Thatcher boots, a (2nd) pair of the black Avalanche woven pants, a lightweight long sleeve top & a waterproof jacket from Eddie Bauer for our travel day. See below for a list of everything I packed for 9 days.

PACKING LIST:

These are the things that worked: In my COO suitcase (Lucas luggage from TJ Maxx)- Everything fit into my small hard sided 22″ X 13.5″ X 9″ suitcase* including handle & wheels (that could expand up to 2″ if needed).

❊Packed in a combo of Packing Cubes & without them as well.

• -Packable puffer jacket from Columbia 
• -Water proof/weatherproof coat by Eddie Bauer 
• -Multiple Paris of the Avalanche outdoor pant (in 4 colors and 2 styles)
• -1 Base layer merino wool cami (worn almost every day and never smelled)
• -2 Base Layer 32° LS shirt & bottoms (worn under my Avalanche pants & top were an extra layer for warmth)
• -1 pair of STS dark wash Jeans (Stitchfix)
• -Liverpool Charcoal Grey bomber jacket
• -Lands End LS lined grey tee 
• -1 S Sleeve striped top by Maurices
• -1 L.Sleeve Black knit lightweight athletic sweater by Maurices
• -Maurices woven knit Henley top
• -Maurices Flannel
• -Cream North face light layer LS waffle knit top
• -Mauve waffle knit Henley LS top
• -2 tees as light layers
• -1 dressy black top by Design Story (from Stitchfix)
• -Shein “adventures” sweatshirt
• -Costco “Thankful” light sweater layer
• -Forsake, Thatcher Mid hiking boots (on Amazon)
• -Columbia fleece & solar lined snow/hiking boots
• -5 pairs Smartwool, wool socks
• -1 pair Old Navy thick cotton n boot socks 
• -Costco Wool socks (1 pair)
• -2 CC Beanies
• -1 pair fleece lines “Head” gloves
• -2 scarves (brand unknown) *Only used 1 though 
• -1 pair of leggings, 1 tee, 1 tank, 1 lightweight LS layer & sleep bra (for sleep)
• -Eye mask & Earplugs 
• -2 bras (1 nude & 1 black)
• -Small, 3 compartment Travelon zipper bag for storing vitamins & Allergy meds (separate vitamins into little baggies for vitamins available on Amazon)
• -Small clear baggie for razor, a few shout wipes (didn’t need), a soap bar, ChapStick, nail clippers, comb, q-tips & Norwex face cloth
• -Burt’s Bees face wipes (1 package)
• -10 individual packets of wet ones wet wipes 
• -2 small packs of Kleenex tissues 
• -1 Tile Tracker

In Personal Item Pink Backpack (on Amazon): 

• -1 scrunchie 
• -hair pins
• -1 small package of Clorox disinfecting wipes (great for planes etc)
• -1 Thieves (Young Living) hand sanitizer bottle (1oz)
• -additional phone charger
• -phone charger & cable
• -Infrashine flat iron (on Amazon) 
• -1 travel size bottle of Tylenol (with 10 caplets)
• -1 travel size bottle of Advil (with 10 tablets) 
• -pop socket holder/base for car vent 
• -1 Travel size Native deodorant 
• -5 Honey Stinger Energy Waffles (assorted flavors. We like Cookie & Cream and Salted Caramel best)- Great for a little pick me up
• -2 Frixion erasable pens
• -1 small journal
• -1 toiletry bag (1 (each) 3 oz shampoo & conditioner), small face wash bottle, 2 reusable perfume decanter bottles (Amazon), Thrive Mascara & eyebrow gel, *see photo for other items
•  -Burt’s bees face lotion decanted into small round stackable containers (Amazon & Dollar Tree)
• -Small travel size pill container for jewelry 
• -Folder with printed travel documents & Google Spreadsheet of destinations to visit 
• -12 oz reusable water bottle 
• -1 Tile tracker

Tiny cross body purse by Joy (fit in backpack or under my coat to carry on plane)

• -CC’s
• -Some Cash
• -ID
• -Chapstick & lipgloss 
• -A few small snacks
• -Hand sanitizer 
• -1 pack of Kleenex 
• -Sunglasses
• -Portable phone charger 

What didn’t work/didn’t need: 

• -1 pair of Crocs sandals (great, but not for all the walking we did in Vegas): feet were sore at the end of the day
• -5 extra under tanks/layers from Walmart (only used 1)
• -Lightweight Cream striped cardigan (didn’t use)
• -Hair claw clips (2 didn’t use) 
• -Fotopro tripod with clicker (love this but we never used on this trip) 
• -Dr Scholls Heel Cushions (didn’t need) 

Items to swap in/bring next time/Items I would recommend:

• Crampons- https://amzn.to/3ZtAoiX
• Treking Poles- https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01NCI8CKR?linkCode=ssc&tag=onamzkris0d35-20&creativeASIN=B01NCI8CKR&asc_item-id=amzn1.ideas.TORVO83XF8VM&ref_=aip_sf_list_spv_ons_d_asin&th=1
• Hot Hands or Ocoopa Hand warmers- Found on my Amazon Shop-https://www.amazon.com/shop/thishomeschoolerslife/list/3MZNEJP1MO2YF?ref_=cm_sw_r_cp_ud_aipsflist_C51PS2HX9T3G3VSRJ7R5
• Merino Wool Base Layer
• Silk Base Layer
• Fotopro Phone/Camera tripod: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01MTMS8GN?linkCode=ssc&tag=onamzkris0d35-20&creativeASIN=B01MTMS8GN&asc_item-id=amzn1.ideas.TORVO83XF8VM&ref_=aip_sf_list_spv_ons_d_asin&th=1
• Phone Base/rotating phone base: https://amzn.to/3ZtAoiX

For more suggestions & recommendations check out my travel lists:

We absolutely loved our time exploring all 5 national parks and admiring the gorgeous state of Utah, driving through Arizona, visiting the Hoover dam and our time at Valley of Fire State park & Las Vegas Nevada. Each destination was filled with stunning sights, sprawling landscapes, incredible jawdropping views and amazing hiking opportunities.

Here is a short run down of our trip:

-November 25th: One way flight from PDX, Oregon to LV, Nevada & an overnight stay at the Mandalay Bay resort, Las Vegas. -November 26th: Drive to Valley of Fire State park, in Nevada. Lots of hikes and visit most viewpoints. End the day driving to our accomodations near Bryce Canyon NP in Utah. -November 27th: Drive 1 hour to Zion NP (National Park ), visit main viewpoints, hike portion of The Narrows, hike the Emerald Pools trail and a few other short hikes. -November 28th (Thanksgiving): Bryce Canyon NP. Hike the Queen’s Garden Trail, Sunset Point, Panorama Point, Yovimpa Point and many other viewpoints. Then we drove 2 & 1/2 hours to our accomodations at Capitol Reef Resort. -November 29th: Capitol Reef National Park. Hiked Gooseneck Overlook trail & Sunset Point, hiked the Grand Wash (the narrows of Capitol Reef) and several viewpoints and other small hikes. -November 30th: Drive 2 +hours to Arches National Park. Hike the Devils Garden trail to Landscape Arch, Partition Arch, Mirador del Arco Negro, Dark Angel and attempted the Double O (unfortunately it was to icy to reach). Hiked to Double Arch and others. Overnight in Moab at a Quality Inn. -December 1st: Drove 45 minutes to Canyonlands NP. Hiked to Mesa Arch, drove to viewpoints and a few other small hikes. Drove 20 minutes to Dead Horse Point State Park, stopped at viewpoints. Drove 4 1/2 hours to Cedar City, accomodations at a Comfort Inn. -December 2nd: Drive 3 + hours to Las Vegas. Explore Ceasars Palace Casino, The Venetian Casino, Paris Casino, The Bellagio Gardens, Fountain & Casino and the NYC Casino. Accomodations in a luxury suite at Palms Place in Las Vegas. -December 3rd: Drive 45 minutes to Hoover Dam. See the viewpoints and bridge. Visit sights in Vegas, drive 20 minutes to airport. Flight home at 6:30 pm. Arrive home by 11pm.

Full itinerary- including recommendations of restaurants/food, pit stop locations and tips for keeping your trip budget/total cost less than $1k for 9 nights & 9 days in the Southwest will be available to purchase in the Itineraries tab on the main page soon! Be sure to join our newsletter so you won’t miss anything & that you’ll receive notifications of all future posts!

Use the link below for an epic guided tour filled with adventures in Valley of Fire State Park (located just over an hour outside of Las Vegas, NV).

Until next time, happy adventuring everyone!

~Krista

All rights reserved, Stamps in My Passport 2024