Desert Southwest

Old Jul 25th, 2016, 05:34 PM
  #1  
Original Poster
 
Join Date: Jul 2016
Posts: 1
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
Desert Southwest

Planning a trip to the desert southwest in September commencing in Sedona. Haven't yet decided if I'll drive all the way from my home in the upper peninsula of Michigan or fly to Denver and rent a car. I would rather not have to make reservations for hotels before hand, would rather be spontaneous and see where I end up. What is the lodging situation out there, is there a lot to choose from or are they few and far between?
Denizel is offline  
Old Jul 25th, 2016, 05:50 PM
  #2  
 
Join Date: May 2003
Posts: 27,868
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
September is the busiest month for travel in the southwest.

Map out a plan of places you want to see/do. Fly into the northern most city and home from the southern most city so you don't have to backtrack. Maybe into Denver and home from Phoenix or Las Vegas...

The International Balloon Fiesta is in Albuquerque and is a must see. Allow at least 2 days in ABQ as the balloon ascension is weather dependent. Also, while it is more crowded, the weekends are really better than weekday as more balloons go up. IF you decide to do this, you need hotel reservation right away.

In many places, if they are large enough cities, towns you may be ok for hotel room. Last minute will be $$$ and may not be the type of place you like to stay. Some places have limited facilities.

What interests you here in the southwest? Lots to do and see here.
DebitNM is offline  
Old Jul 25th, 2016, 07:06 PM
  #3  
 
Join Date: Oct 2003
Posts: 292
Received 4 Likes on 1 Post
Other things being equal, I would recommend flying -- but maybe to Phoenix or Albuquerque or even Las Vegas, rather than Denver. Denver is probably a better base for exploring the Rockies; if the desert southwest is the focus of your trip, one of these others might make a better base. It would take several days each way, I should think, to drive down from the UP, and you might be starting to get tired of driving by the time you arrive!

In places like Sedona, Albuquerque, or Phoenix, I'm sure you can always find accommodations. But in a lot of the smaller towns, there are only a few hotels and they may have as few as 40 rooms. So for the smaller towns, you should probably at least call ahead early in the day.

The other thing to keep in mind is that some of the Park Service accommodations are well worth staying in, but advance reservations for those are usually a must. We had one of our best NP experiences ever at Mesa Verde, where we stayed at the Far View Lodge, for example.

Below, I'll post some links to some albums I've put up on Flickr of some places around the southwest, in case you might be interested:

Sedona:

https://www.flickr.com/photos/276859...57632778236402

Mesa Verde:

https://www.flickr.com/photos/276859...57644817864120

The Grand Canyon:

https://www.flickr.com/photos/276859...57632560721363

Monument Valley:

https://www.flickr.com/photos/276859...57632741702094
jeffergray is offline  
Old Jul 26th, 2016, 08:53 AM
  #4  
 
Join Date: Feb 2003
Posts: 7,561
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
>

Two notes: (1) if "September" means early to mid-September, the Balloon Fiesta is irrelevant. It starts on October 1. (2) "weather dependent" is an understatement. You may think that sunny skies means balloon flies. Not so. Wind at 8 mph or more means the balloons won't launch no matter how nice the weather is otherwise.

That said, the ascensions are cool when they occur.

And Denver is not in the Southwest. Just because it's south of Michigan . . . that's like saying New Jersey is in the south if you're from Vermont ;-). Arizona, New Mexico and Texas are in the southwest, as are (if defining the concept loosely) the southern parts of Nevada, Utah and Colorado. Denver's not there - it's 200+ miles to the NM border.
BigRuss is offline  
Old Jul 26th, 2016, 09:53 AM
  #5  
 
Join Date: Sep 2010
Posts: 42,574
Likes: 0
Received 3 Likes on 3 Posts
BigRuss, cut the geography lectures, OK? the OP may have all kinds of reasons to fly to Denver.
Dukey1 is offline  
Old Jul 26th, 2016, 09:58 AM
  #6  
 
Join Date: May 2003
Posts: 27,868
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
I mentioned the Balloon Fiesta because (1) it's awesome to see and (2) perhaps the OP might work it into their plans if possible since the OP never said the length or duration of the trip.

Realizing that Denver is not southwest; perhaps the OP had reason to start there - things/people to see.

As always, with out more info -- just a bunch of speculation and suggestions from us.

You know I love ya, Big Russ...
DebitNM is offline  
Old Jul 26th, 2016, 07:09 PM
  #7  
 
Join Date: Oct 2005
Posts: 72,548
Likes: 0
Received 50 Likes on 7 Posts
>>cut the geography lectures, OK? the OP may have all kinds of reasons to fly to Denver.might have a reason, but IF not, Denver isn't in the SW, now is it?? Some folks 'out east' think Denver or SLC are the best places to fly into the 'SW', when Vegas, Phoenix, Albuquerque or somewhere else fits the itinerary better.
janisj is online now  
Old Jul 27th, 2016, 07:32 AM
  #8  
 
Join Date: Feb 2003
Posts: 7,561
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
Dukey, come down from the high horse. Accuracy in details helps the OP and all other posters focus and with perspective. Your commentary does not.

Debit: I know. I'm just trying to narrow down the OP's dates. If he's going in late Sept., then the Balloon Fiesta would be a good add on. If he's going around Labor Day and not traveling for 5 weeks . . . not so much.
BigRuss is offline  
Old Jul 28th, 2016, 11:53 AM
  #9  
 
Join Date: Jul 2006
Posts: 17,948
Received 22 Likes on 4 Posts
It will still be very hot in Phoenix and Las Vegas so if you land there, move out quickly.
HappyTrvlr is online now  
Related Topics
Thread
Original Poster
Forum
Replies
Last Post
SandaIc
United States
14
Apr 7th, 2017 01:08 AM
Lostmymind4
United States
17
Jun 13th, 2016 03:22 PM
HMann
United States
3
Jan 17th, 2014 11:28 AM
megee333
United States
11
Apr 6th, 2012 09:52 AM
sassy_cat
United States
16
Apr 29th, 2010 01:15 PM

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is On
Trackbacks are Off
Pingbacks are Off
Refbacks are On


Thread Tools
Search this Thread

Contact Us - Manage Preferences - Archive - Advertising - Cookie Policy - Privacy Statement - Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information -