When I planned my family's first driving trip in the US, it was to Grand Canyon National Park, Zion National Park and Page. It being the peak of summer, I was advised to carry a crate of bottled water in the car. I was told that there would be no stores for miles and as it gets very hot in summers, one wouldn't want to be left dehydrated in the middle of nowhere.
However, I didn't want to buy bottled water. I have always felt that packaged water is a waste of resources and creates unnecessary plastic trash. It was my first road trip in the US, so I was quite inexperienced. But I was sure that finding potable water in the US would not be that difficult. And much to my delight, I was proven right!
I went armed with my 5 reusable water bottles. On reaching Vegas airport, I found a touchless bottle filling station. Straight away, all my bottles were filled to the brim!
We were to stay the night at Vegas. In the morning, we started early for Zion. We still had a couple of water bottles filled from the airport but I wanted to have all 5 filled. I couldn't find a filling station at the hotel but found one at Walmart on the way. I don't like to drink from store water fountains, so these bottles were just for emergency. It was around a 4 hour trip to Zion. Once we reached this gem of a National Park (which made me fall head over heels in love with the region and made me return a couple of more times - you can read more about my Zion experience in my travel blog https://charaiveticharaiveti.wordpress.com/2018/05/11/utah-diaries-first-in-mighty-five-zion/), we could again find water refilling stations at Zion. These taps were more like my style and I could happily refill all my bottles. So far, so good!
We started in evening for Kanab, where we stayed the night. I filled the bottles at the hotel during breakfast. We started for Page thereafter and visited the beautiful Antelope Canyon. There was a water station at the hotel. Before starting for Grand Canyon the next day, you guessed it, we refilled the bottles at the hotel!
Once in Grand Canyon, we could find water refill stations at different places in the Park. Generally, National Parks have these facilities at the Visitor Centre. It's imperative to carry enough and more water on the trails. The heat is merciless and many an experienced hiker have suffered or even died by underestimating the punishing conditions of these trails.
We made sure that we were always armed with enough water. We hiked only in evenings and early mornings. When we started from Grand Canyon to Vegas airport, we stocked up again. Once at the airport, we were back in good hands. :)
Since then, we've done multiple trips in the US, and have never felt the need to buy bottled water. Amen to that!
