From your list we have only been to Zion and Bryce Canyon. Both are beautiful, but can be crowded with tourists at the main areas. However, 10 minutes walking down a trail and you leave everyone behind. In Bryce, walking out into the red rock area is beautiful.
We just drove from Phoenix to Santa Fe on Friday - took a backroad up from Phoenix through Saguaro cactus, then beautiful rock formations and finally up to pine forests. What a beautiful area this is!!
Utah is an outstanding area - you might want to add Moab to your plan.
I don't know about baskets, but there are several Navajo towns near Four Corners that have famous trading posts where you can get hand woven blankets and turquoise jewelry.
What a wonderful trip! I've been all of these places except Canyon de Chelly. I see you list Boulder, Utah. Does that mean you're taking the Escalante highway? Even if you can't make the complete loop through Capitol Reef N.P. and back to Monument Valley, you should drive the Escalante Hughway up to Torrey. It is magnificent. The Arches N.P. area around Moab is also wonderful.
If your route takes you south out of Death Valley through Death Valley Junction, be sure to stop and see the Amargosa Opera House and Hotel where octogenarian ballet dancer Marta Beckett paints her murals and does her dance performances. I assume you're going this summer, which is off-season for her, but it's still a fascinating place to stop and look around. She's an amazing woman.
Posts: 7519 | Location: Sacramento, CA | Registered: 18 June 2001
I dont' know what the morning after Death Valley looks like (whether we have a long day or a short day in fron t of us), but thanks for the tip.
I wish I could make it up to Arches and Moab, also, but that will have to wait. We are taking two weeks and we still aren't seeing all the places we want to see. Well, we'll just have to come back. Last time through I did not make it to Bryce, so....
I don't have the map out, so am not sure if I am taking the Escalante Highway. I think we go from Bluff, Utah to Boulder,but I may have my days messed up.
A friend of mine here (Nancy) just drove from Moab to Monument Valley and took what looked like a dirt road on one map, but paved on another map. After going 20 miles or so on the road, it turned to dirt, then came out to the edge of a huge mesa with (she says) a 6000' drop - steep, curving, narrow dirt road with no guard rail and a sheer drop. She was not even the only car on the road. She said she crept along the road, hugging the side of the road away from the dropoff (which was the wrong side of the road but she didn't care).
Needless to say, I will be looking for that road on our next trip.
Utah is an incredible state. We spent a month there, camping and hiking in various places, and only saw part of the state. Their tourist offices are very well organized - stop at the first one you see and get all the brochures.
On that trip we spent a month in Utah, then a month in Colorado. In Colorado you were lucky to find a tourist office, let alone get brochures which told you where everything was. Sort of like the difference between Switzerland and Italy!!
quote:Originally posted by Pauline: A friend of mine here (Nancy) just drove from Moab to Monument Valley and took what looked like a dirt road on one map, but paved on another map. After going 20 miles or so on the road, it turned to dirt, then came out to the edge of a huge mesa with (she says) a 6000' drop - steep, curving, narrow dirt road with no guard rail and a sheer drop. She was not even the only car on the road. She said she crept along the road, hugging the side of the road away from the dropoff (which was the wrong side of the road but she didn't care).
Needless to say, I will be looking for that road on our next trip.
I know that road! A 6000' dropoff may be an exageration, but it's at least 2000'. The road goes to Mexican Hat, which is just north of Monument Valley. Mexican Hat has a very bad motel, which earned AAA approval sometime a long, long time ago before it fell apart. I rode down that road on a motorcycle, whimpering and whining all the way.
Posts: 7519 | Location: Sacramento, CA | Registered: 18 June 2001
We drove through Death Valley many years ago in an RV, and were told by a gas station attendant that "nobody goes there this time of year". We stopped overnight in a campground, and our air conditioning wasn't working, but fortunately a gentleman staying there was able to fix it. We left very early in the morning, about 5 am, and by the time we got to the pass to exit the valley, the temperature was getting very hot, and the engine temperature was on the rise. Never had a problem with it, but I would recommend leaving early in the morning. As I recall, there were signs with "Survival tips in Death Valley". If those are still there, I would recommend reading them.
Louise
Posts: 251 | Location: Menasha, WI - USA | Registered: 15 February 2003
well, I won't be in an RV so the load on my engine should be a lot less than it was on yours
I just spent a pile of money ont he minivan getting it ready for the trip, so I'm sure I'll be fine
but I will be careful - thanks for the tip - they don't call it "Death Valley" for nothing
I won't be taking that dirt road some have mentioned. If it is the one I am thinking of, 4 wheel drive and decent clearance is recommended, and my Grand Caravan has neither. I do wish we could take it, however, as it looks great.
My husband and I visited Death Valley in October 2000 and then again this year for Presidents Day. When we were there in October it wasn't so hot, but it was extremely, extremely dry. We had a cooler full of bottled water with us, and we felt the need to drink water every five minutes. Every time I opened my mouth to talk I felt it dry up immediately (at some point we stopped talking because of that). I would recommend having a lot of water with you. It was a nice trip (that is why we went back). I liked Zabriskie Point (there is also a film with this name by Antonioni), Dante's Peak (this is one spot from which you can see the entire valley), Sand Dunes and Artist Drive but there is much more to see there. I haven't been there in the summer, but if you have a good car with air conditioning, I think it can be done (sights are not close together so you spend a lot of time in the car anyway). I don't think you will be able to do any hiking, but the main attractions can be visited by car.
Hey, I've done it. This is my first contribution on this message board. I've been silently lurking for the last four months, used the Italy thread for my trip to Italy last May and finally I found the courage to post.
Welcome, Andra! That wasn't so hard, was it? Now that you've broken the ice, I hope we'll hear more from you.
I love Death Valley, but I've never been in the summer. For several years running, we went over the Thanksgiving weekend. It took my husband a long time to talk me into going the first time because I had the idea that there was nothing there, but it is a fascinating place. I love the dunes, and the big crater up north, and Dante's Peak, and Scotty's Castle.
Posts: 7519 | Location: Sacramento, CA | Registered: 18 June 2001
quote: Zabriskie Point (there is also a film with this name by Antonioni)
I saw that movie!
The Navajo guide idea sounds great. Have you read any of the Tony Hillerman detective novels? His detectives are Navajos. I have read them all - and just bought his latest one. He lives in Albuquerque.
Oh, Pauline, too bad I couldn't have warned you. I have read every Tony Hillerman novel and loved them uncritically until this one. I finished it today and was very disappointed with it. I think he phoned this one in - it was lousy.
Desert Solitaire is a wonderful book for this trip. OLDER Hillerman novels, especially the earliest ones, would also be a good accompaniment.
Posts: 7519 | Location: Sacramento, CA | Registered: 18 June 2001
This will be a long post ...I would have sent it back channel but your email wasn't listed so to everyone else I apologize !!! I hope that you find some of the info worth it!Last July my friend and I took a 4 day get away from Vegas after a trade show we attended there. Not knowing where we wanted to go at this point we went to rent a car and when they asked us where we planned to go (they needed to know that ???) well we said we don't know we just need out of Vegas! So we had thrown around the ideas of California,Grand Canyon ...well he said have you ever been up to Zion in Utah and of course we hadn't...so next thing you know we where off to Utah!! Our Thelma and Louise trip had begun...minus the robbery and going off the cliff !! We went to Zion,Dixie National Forest, down to the Grand Canyon and spent a day in Sedona all in 4 and half days !!!! It was quit the whirlwind tour but we had the best time ever.
I would just like to share a few things that may help you on your Zion portion of your trip.
When driving to Zion you will go through St. George and Hurricane, Utah they are small towns before you head up into the mountains to Zion. There is a Wal-Mart there (only big store around)and my suggestion is to stop there and get anything you may need such as food, etc. The reason being is its about a half hour to 45 min drive from the canyon back down and why waste a moment away from the beautiful backdrop of Zion.
We stayed at the Best Western Zion Park Inn (Springdale,Utah) which was right down the street from the entrance of the Zion National Park. It was about 100 a night and was probaly the nicest B.W. I had ever stayed at and the view was amazing.We literally were as close to the mountains as one could get. There are also many B&B's there that were about the same price range we paid the only thing is we drove in in late evening and didn't know our options.There is a great resturant next to the Best Western called "Switchback" great food,great view the back side of the resturant is all glass and you have a outstanding view of Angels Landing one of the mountains you can hike in Zion.Also there is a bar "the only" one in Zion across the street from the BW called the Bit-n-Spur it will be quite the experience as Utah is a dry state and the bartender can not hand over a drink across the bar since there is a glass barrier ..they have to bring it around the bar to serve you ...wierd but like I said the only place to get a drink.
Pack a picnic lunch for the day you go to walk the trails of Zion there are many nice places to sit on the rocks and watch the water go by. Bring bottles of water !!!!! It was hotter than Hell the day we went.
Also, when driving to Zion from St George you will come across a gift shop .... it's on the left side (there isn't much out there) you will find it trust me can't miss it!There is a photo op there it has a small building that says Virgin Jail and another that says Wild Ass Saloon its funnier than hell because you actually are going through a small town called Virgin on your way to Zion. While you are there have some ice cream its homemade and damn was it good!!
There is also a sign for a outlook (can't remember the name of it sorry but it will be on your right side when you are driving to Zion) that you can go to where you drive on a dirt/rock road till you reach the top and have a great view of the city of St.George on one side and on the other the beautiful view the mountains.
Stop in Cedar City on your way to Bryce Canyon and go to Dixie National Forest it is a great ride up the mountain saw beautiful pine trees and birch trees and of course amazing views it was so nice and cool when we reached the top of the mountain. It was about 100 at the base and around 70 at the top. Also another great place to have a picnic.
Since you are going to more than one National Park look into getting an annual pass.$50 dollars and it gives you admittance into all the National Parks and good for a year from first date of use. Just the few that we had gone into it would have been worth it to get one.
If you have a telescope bring it ....We saw more stars in the sky the night we were in the Grand Canyon it almost looked like they were clouds in the sky. We wished we had one to see them better.
Well, I guess you can tell we enjoyed our trip and had quite a few experiences that I shall never forget. We had a great time everwhere we went but for some reason Zion just stands out to me.Have a great time and let us on the board know how it was.
Again sorry for the long post !
Posts: 18 | Location: ORLANDO,FLORIDA SOON TO BE ...FIRENZE,ITALIA | Registered: 11 July 2002
Thank you for all the tips. I missed the ice cream shop that you recommended, which I am very upset about. If you are familiar with my posts on the Italy message boards, you'll understand that ice cream is one of the raisons d'etre, in my book. And I didn't run into ANY good ice cream on my 14 days in northern Arizona/Southern Utah.
I will post a trip report some time soon, as I only got back Saturday night. Suffice it to say that we had a great time, even in the summer heat, and I have a few good tips, particularly for Canyon de Chelly.
Zion is truly a special place. My route from the San Francisco bay area took us out through Yosemite and Tioga Pass and back the same way. Tuoloumne Meadowns is INCREDIBLY green after you spend two weeks in Canyon country (and I don't mean that as a dig at the slickrock of the Arizona and Utah - I love the desert and the canyons).
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