With our oldest son getting close to finishing high school, we are on a tight deadline to hit all 50 states. For most of our trips, we try to knock out several states at once. This spring, we headed southwest to hit both New Mexico and Nevada, checking off states 45 and 46.
We started by flying into Albuquerque and explored some fun and offbeat spots. Then we hit Arizona’s painted wonders, made our way to the Grand Canyon and Hoover Dam, and finished with a relaxing stay in Las Vegas. Here are all the details!
First Stop: Albuquerque, NM
Albuquerque was our jumping-off point, and it has a charm all its own. Our flight left after work, so by the time we landed it was late. We picked up our car and stayed at the Hyatt Place ABQ Airport for the night. Since our next hotel was further north, staying near the airport allowed us to sightsee the downtown area prior to heading to our next hotel.
We stayed close to Nob Hill, which is full of vintage Route 66 vibes, fun shops, and great coffee. We grabbed pastries and biscochitos (New Mexican traditional cookie) at the Golden Crown Panaderia before making our way to the ABQ BioPark Zoo, which was a perfect morning activity.
No visit to ABQ is complete without a walk through Old Town. The vibe here is peaceful, colorful, and full of history. We browsed local shops, including the American International Rattlesnake Museum and The Candy Lady. My husband is a Breaking Bad fan, so he wanted to see where they made the show’s infamous “blue candy.” You can find all sorts of memorabilia for the show – there is Breaking Bad store with all sorts of items!
We stopped for lunch at Sadie’s for some spicy New Mexican food. If you’ve never had red and green chile sauce on the same plate, you’re missing out—just be ready for the heat! I prefer the green, but definitely give both a try! We also grabbed an order of sopapillas, which a fried pastry/quick bread that you top with honey.
Resort Life at Hyatt Regency Tamaya
After the city, we drove a bit north to the Hyatt Regency Tamaya Resort, which felt like an oasis in the middle of the desert. The views of the Sandia Mountains, the walking trails along the Rio Grande, and the Native American art throughout the resort made it feel peaceful and special. This resort was beautiful and had a variety of activities for the kids.
The resort had a few pools, one with a waterslide, but it was still considered the off-season when we went so it wasn’t open yet. There were tennis and pickleball courts, bikes with plenty of trails to ride, a basketball court, evening s’mores, cultural activities and more.
We took advantage of just about all the activities we could! My youngest son, Tyler, and I took a bike ride to the horse stables. He is my animal lover, so he enjoyed seeing these beauties. Plus, the landscape was just gorgeous.
My husband and I grabbed our free welcome drink in the restaurant/bar and just ordered some appetizers for dinner since we weren’t super hungry. The food in the restaurant was good and reasonably priced.
The kids swam for a bit, while I enjoyed the warmth of the hot tub. When we came back to the room, everyone was ready to relax for the night. We don’t always stay in luxury hotels, using points for hotel stays gives us the option to splurge a bit. The kids thought it was so cool that there were robes in this room. It’s just a fancy touch they aren’t used to!
Although the weather on our first day was beautiful – warm and sunny, the next day was was cold and SNOWY! We spent our day inside, beginning with the traditional bread baking, sampling bread along with a variety of preserves and spreads. This was a free activity put on by the resort; you just need to sign up for it with the concierge.
We then headed to the Hot Air Balloon Museum, which is a fun, quick stop (and a great way to appreciate Albuquerque’s famous balloon culture). I would love to come back in the fall for the Hot Air Balloon Festival because it looks pretty incredible!
We’re from Ohio so we’re pretty used to weather being all over the place so our kids still made the most of our cold day. They played pickleball in the snow and walked the trails to the Rio Grande, while I chose to sit in the main lobby area, curled up with a book next to the huge fireplace.
In the evening, the resort lit their outdoor fireplaces and provided each family with s’mores kits. The kids enjoyed roasting marshmallows having a sweet treat to end the day.
This resort was a unique blend of luxury and culture. I would love to come back when it’s warmer and enjoy all of the outdoor activities it has to offer.
Painted Desert & Petrified Forest Magic
The next morning, the weather was beautiful again, but it was time for us to head out. We hit the road and headed west toward Petrified Forest National Park, starting at the Painted Desert Visitor Center. The views here are surreal—layers of purples, reds, and oranges that look like they were painted on with a brush. It’s hard to capture in photos, but it’s one of those “whoa” moments in person. It reminded me of our trip last year to the Badlands in South Dakota. If you’ve never been out west, add it to your list because it’s stunning!
We took our time and made stops at:
After all the walking and exploring, we rolled into Hyatt Place Flagstaff for the night. We didn’t explore Flagstaff, as it was just a stop after our day of driving. One thing I will caution though is that our family enjoys staying at hotels that offer 3 beds and free breakfast.
Typically, Hyatt Place and Embassy Suites (Hilton) are our go to. This particular Hyatt Place did not offer free breakfast though. If I would have realized that, I would have booked us somewhere else. There was a Drury Inn nearby, which would have been a great option for us as it not only has rooms with three beds, but also has free breakfast + free dinner. The only downfall is that these really can’t be booked on points. Bottom line – be sure to double check that the Hyatt Place you choose actually offers free breakfast since it’s not consistent.
The Grand Canyon, Hoover Dam & Hello, Vegas
The following morning, we made the short drive to the Grand Canyon. Even if you’ve seen pictures a million times, nothing compares to standing on the edge of the South Rim. We didn’t do any major hikes this time, just soaked in the views (and took about 800 photos, no shame). The kids weren’t happy about making this trek, but when we got there and they saw it in person, their viewpoints changed. We heard things like “this doesn’t even look real” and “it kind of makes me feel dizzy.” It was a pretty incredible sight to see and I am certainly glad we added it to our list of stops!
From there, we drove to the Hoover Dam. We didn’t go inside for a tour, but we stopped at the lookout and got a great view of this massive engineering marvel. It’s a quick detour if you’re heading to Vegas, and definitely worth it.
Our final stop was Las Vegas, where we stayed at The Venetian—and wow, what a way to end a road trip! The hotel was stunning, the pool was perfect for relaxing after all the driving, and walking the Strip at night gave us that big-city energy we hadn’t felt since we left home. It’s easy to do too much in Vegas, so we kept it simple: pool time, good food, and wandering through the wild themed hotels.
Our kids were so over driving that they just wanted to get home, but I knew they’d enjoy Vegas. Yes, they are too young to gamble, but that “larger than life” vibe is cool for any age. They ended up LOVING it! I’m so glad we chose the Venetian! I’ve always thought the hotel was beautiful, but it’s also centrally located, which made accessing the strip so easy.
The kids thought the hotel was so cool! Not only was our room larger than normal, but they also got a kick out of the motorized window shades and just overall luxury feel.
They really enjoyed walking the strip and checking out all of the different hotels and planning where they’d stay when they turn 21!
We ate at the Venetian a few times and actually had really good food in their Grand Lux Cafe. Both the one in the Venetian side as well as the Palazzo side and offered up good food. We LOVED their General TSO’s Cauliflower appetizer. It was so good and you seriously don’t even realize you’re eating vegetables!
We also had to try out the milkshakes at Black Tap Craft Burgers & Beer. The milkshakes were over the top with slices of cake, donut, cookie or some other sweet treat on top. The kids opted for the Booklyn Blackout and Bam Bam Shakes and they did not disappoint!
A Lounge Worth the Hype
On our way home, we got to chill in the brand-new Capital One Lounge at the Las Vegas airport. It was seriously one of the nicest lounges we’ve ever visited. Tons of space, comfy seating, and actual real food (not just snacks!). It made our travel day feel so much smoother—and you know that’s a win when you’re flying home.
One of the best parts of this trip? Four out of our six hotel nights were completely paid for using hotel points, and our flights were covered with airline miles. That meant we had more room in the budget for fun experiences, good food, and exploring all the amazing stops along the way. If you’re not using points and miles to offset your travel costs yet, it’s absolutely worth learning how. For our family, it’s made these kinds of bigger adventures way more affordable—and honestly, a lot more doable.
For this trip, we used World of Hyatt points for our first four nights of hotels (Hyatt Place ABQ Airport, Hyatt Tamaya Resort and the Hyatt Place Flagstaff), leaving us to only pay for two nights! Although we could have used Hyatt points to also stay at the Venetian, we chose to pay for this with cash. Sometimes booking with points is a great option, while other times, the cost in points just isn’t the best value. For the Venetian, we found better value booking with cash and getting a special offer with a resort dining credit.
We used our Southwest Points and Companion Passes to fly the five us to Albuquerque and home from Las Vegas. You can read all about Southwest Companion Passes here. We paid the $56 in taxes and fees for our 5 round-trip flights!
That means, we paid for two nights of hotels, a car rental and food for this trip. These savings are huge for our family and allow us to take explore so many places throughout the year.
If you’re new to the “points game,” the Chase Sapphire Preferred card is a great first card. Not only does it start you off with a welcome offer of points that can be transferred to a variety of partners, including Hyatt. It does have a $95 annual fee, but that is easily offset with the yearly $50 hotel credit. In addition, this year, they are offering a monthly $10 Door Dash Credit. These two credits more than make up for that annual fee!
This trip had it all—history, adventure, nature, weird museums, amazing food, and some well-earned luxury. If you’re planning a family road trip through the Southwest or just want to pair national parks with city fun, this route is easy to follow and packed with memories.
Let me know if you’ve done any part of this route or if you have questions about planning your own version!
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