My husband and I are a retired couple who have never driven an RV. We also have never seen the American Southwest with our own eyes, though we have been immersed in it all our lives through books, movies and television shows. We rented "Alex" and headed out on an amazing bucket list adventure.We started planning over a year in advance and narrowed our RV choice down to Alex about 8 months before the trip began. This is about the smallest RV we could find which still met our requirements: bathroom, kitchen, fridge, heat, ac and two beds.Kevin, the owner, could not have been more helpful and understanding of all our questions. I must have contacted him a dozen or more times before we even made the final decision to rent, and he very patiently answered every concern and offered many tips which were helpful in our decision-making process. He also promptly helped us out with a couple of issues that came up during the trip, and didn't make us feel foolish for asking "newbie" questions.We drove across Texas to begin with, and that is no small feat! The Hill Country wildflowers were insanely thick and vivid. We saw places we had heard about and read about, but never seen. Then we drove into New Mexico and visited archaeological sites, geologic wonders and traveled the trail of Billy the Kid. We traveled through Indian reservations and visited small towns and "off the beaten path" attractions. We also enjoyed a number of hot mineral springs. Ahhhhhhh!We then traversed Arizona, experiencing a sandstorm in the Painted Desert and the Petrified Forest, and the aftermath of a snowstorm in Flagstaff. We wound our way up to the Grand Canyon, which literally took our breath away with it's immense size and mysterious beauty. After that, we spent two magical days in Monument Valley. We have all seen it in western movies, but until you are there you cannot really grasp just how overwhelmingly and powerfully beautiful the place is.From there we headed north into the wild and fantastic world that is Utah. Arches National Park and the whole Canyonlands area were almost otherworldly in their strange, huge beauty.Then on through Uncompahgre National Park and down to Ouray (the Switzerland of America) and more hot springs. Ahhhh! I drove Alex down the "Million Dollar Highway" through mountain passes, tunnels and fields of snow. He drove like a dream and never gave us a moment of trouble.We then went through Durango and over to Mesa Verde to see the ancient cliff dwellings. There we parked Alex for two nights next to an authentic Navajo hogan (wood stove heated) which we relaxed in during little snow stormlet. Could not have imagined a pleasanter or more peaceful experience.From there we headed home through northern New Mexico, the Oklahoma panhandle (no man's land) and down through the panhandle of Texas.Everywhere we went we saw amazing sights and met wonderful people. We heard stories from local people everywhere we stopped. We learned that RV people are a generous and adventurous breed. We saw scenes of awesome beauty that will stay with us forever.I highly recommend renting Alex to any couple who are comfortable being cozy together. There is not a whole lot of space inside, but plenty of room to take care of the basics. We actually spent most of our non-driving time either exploring the areas, relaxing outside or sleeping. We didn't really use the bathroom other than middle of the night emergencies since almost every campground had nice, clean restrooms and showers.One thing I will note: Being this was our first RV trip, I WAY overpacked. I pretty much brought twice as much of everything we ended up using as was needed, and a lot of things we didn't actually use on top of that. But that's me. And in the back of my mind I always think: " If I hadn't brought it, we probably WOULD have needed it!"Kevin was fantastic to work with, and "Alex the Van" was neat and strong and cozy to live in for our 5-week trip. You can't go wrong with this pair!
