About us

Meet Oil & Terri –
Your No-BS Las Vegas & Southwest Travel Guides

Hi. We’re Oil and Terri (yes, that makes us ONT—please clap for the dad-joke branding).

We’re the couple who once drove 47 miles to a “secret” slot canyon outside Zion, showed up at noon in July with one half-empty water bottle, found 63 other cars, zero shade, and zero service… and vowed never to let another traveler suffer like we did.

That miserable day is what started ONT Journey.

We got tired of:

* Arriving at “hidden gems” with 400 TikTokers already there
* Reading blogs that say “stunning!” but forget the $40 parking garage or the fact you’ll roast alive after 9 a.m.
* Losing hours of our vacation because nobody shared the real intel like “go at 6 a.m.” or “park behind the sketchy gas station—trust us.”

So we started writing the guides we always wished existed: beautiful when needed, but brutally practical first. What You Actually Get From Us

* Exact times to beat crowds (tested, sometimes painfully)
* Free or cheap parking options
* What to pack so you don’t freeze/melt/dehydrate
* Which “must-see” spots are actually skippable
* Closest Costco / clean bathrooms / cheap gas
* Real costs, our own photos, zero sponsored fluff

Where We Actually Know Our Stuff

* Las Vegas & Nevada – We’ve lived here for years. We know which Strip hotels locals book, when Fremont turns into a zoo, and the back way into Valley of Fire that saves you 30 minutes.

* The American Southwest – Our second home. We’ve driven every highway, byway, and dirt road from Route 66 to the Mighty 5 (and learned exactly how much water 115°F really requires).

* International Travel – Taiwan night markets, Italian hill towns, Japanese onsens… same obsessive research everywhere we go. If we cover it, we’ve sweated, eaten, and probably gotten lost there.

Money & Trust (AKA: how we keep the site free)

Yes, we use affiliate links for hotels, tours, rental cars, etc. If you book through them, we earn a small commission—at no extra cost to you.

But here’s our rule:

If it sucked, we say it. If the free option is better, we shout it.\

Our reputation matters more than a commission.

Bottom Line

We don’t just want you to take pretty pictures. We want you to have the kind of trip where you text your friends:

“This was the best vacation ever.”

Not:

“Never again.”

If that’s your vibe, come plan with us.

Browse all guides → Let’s make your next trip stupidly smooth.