Con60 - that route will work out fine. With the exception of Page, we've spent a number of trips exploring all of the towns and parks you'll be visiting. It is an incredible trip that you're planning!

While you're in Moab, be sure to take a ride out Route 128 to see some stunning scenery along the Colorado River. Also, if you google "Moab rock art" you'll discover a number of sites around town (including the golf course, Potash Rd, Kane Creek Rd) where there are rock art panels created long ago by ancestral puebloans. You can print a brochure that provides directions to each site. None of the sites require any hiking.
There are dozens of places to stay in Moab - we've stayed at River Canyon Lodge which is nothing special but located off the main street in the center of town.

We are planning another trip for this Sept and I'll be sure to report back when we return.

I have stayed at the Best Western in Torrey but I usually prefer smaller places. We've stayed at Austin's Chuckwagon a bunch of times - small, very clean motel in a lovely setting. They have a well stocked store/bakery/deli, laundry, and a lovely pool and hottub.

Bryce is tough for lodging and one of the few places that I highly recommend trying to get lodging in the park. Since your trip is next year, keep calling to get reservations in the park. Much more convenient. Dining in the park is also better than most.

There are loads of interesting sites along Route 12 including Calf creek Falls - a relatively short hike into a really stunning waterfall. In the town of Escalante there are a couple of side roads that lead to some fun places including the Devil's Garden which is about 12 miles down Hole-in-the-Rock road - worth a trip. Escalante Outfitters has a great store and café (they even sell a small selection of wine and liquor). Circle D restaurant is very good too.

ON your drive from Bryce to Page, you'll drive through Kanab. You may enjoy a stop at the Best Friends Animal sanctuary just before you get to Kanab - its an incredible place! One of the largest sanctuaries in the world, they are situated in Angels Canyon, such a beautiful setting. They give daily tours, but we just drove in past the main buildings to Angels Rest and spent awhile walking among the spectacular resting place and memorials to hundreds of peoples pets - very moving place.

We have not stayed in Page - right now the water level in Lake Mead and Powell are at historic lows. Be sure to keep an eye on this situation - you may change your plans if this doesn't improve.

We like to stay in Springdale when visiting Zion. There are lots of nice places to stay in town although being in the park has benefits too. We always end our trips in Springdale and have enjoyed meals at Whiptail Grill, Oscar's and Café Soleil.

Keep up the great planning - its half the fun! And ask lots of questions - there is a wealth of knowledge on this forum.

From LV you head for Laughlin and pick up Rte 66 there (it never went through Las Vegas Nv), then drop down through Phoenix to Tuscon, head across to New Mexico via Chiricachua, up to Albuquerque, maybe visiting Silver City, or the Salinas Pueblo Missions on the way.
It is an area not much visited by tourists but is quite beautiful, in a desolate sort of way. Chiricahua is so other worldly and well worth the effort imho.
Do Grand Canyon on your way back.

I think 2 nights in Tucson is enough. We stayed there two nights and saw all you want to see in that time. Even that early in the year get out early, before the heat really builds.

If you want a different sort of Las Vegas consider the older one in New Mexico. The Plaza Hotel is lovely and Doc Holliday, Big Nose Kate and Wyatt Earp all stayed there.

Jayne. / WhereAreWe
You appreciate our dilemma. It would be great not to pre-book anything and have the pleasure and freedom to make it up as you go. Unfortunately with that comes the fear of missing out. Roswell is definitely beyond our driving limits. WhereAreWe located the ‘airplane boneyard’ at the Mojave Air and Space Port in California. It’s also beyond or limits. Looks interesting but in reality probably has to be viewed from the air. WhereAreWe also identified Taos as being the location with the sustainable homes. My wife, Lynn, has done some research and has found one which offers accommodation to travellers. Tinkerton seems to have some quirky appeal. Speaking of Taos, Lynn has found a craft place which offers classes in glass blowing. That’s got us excited as well.
Cd
The Best Western in Torrey and the Cable Mountain Lodge in Zion NP must be good. They’re both fully booked out for the nights we want. Hope this is not a sign of things to come. We thought looking at it 10 months out would be ample time. Thanks cd … if only for providing the incentive to get things done. I wonder whether we’re clashing with your spring break? Thanks cd Maybe you have other accommodation suggestions!?
Happy Tvrir
Roswell has been crossed off the list. Pity though.
Lateagain
I could be wrong, but the Edwards AFB and the Mojave Air and Space Port are one and the same. Just checked. Wrong again. Google maps have them 23 miles apart. Regardless, it’s out of our area. Thanks. You are correct - Tucson has the Prima Air and Space museum. It’s on our list.
Shanti
You’re right - Air and Space museums are not eveyone’s ‘cup of tea’. I’ve had a quick look at your link and the boneyard bus tour has interest. Thanks for the link. When I get time, I’ll have thorough look. From reviews Austin's Chuckwagon looks good – the deli / bakery gets very positive reviews. Thanks. Again booked out. I think finding accommodation at Bryce will also be a challenge.
Thank you for the information on the water levels. We’ll check that in advance. Is it a seasonal occurrence, or has it been caused by a lack of precipitation? We’re currently experiencing an exceptionally dry winter here. Although we’re only 10 miles off the Pacific coast, we haven’t had rain in 3 or 4 months. Our winters are normally dry, but not this dry. The lack of rain in winter also can increase the chances of bushfires in the summer months.

We booked our flights today. The flight is about a fortnight later than we anticipated. We took the later flight as Qantas had just released special fare prices. Accommodation is our next priority.

con60
I think for Cable Mountain and Best Western it is just too far out with the site you are using. I called Cable Mountain and spoke with Jan. She looked at April and May and she does have availability and asked that you give her a call. She said she does not know what web site you used but she can make reservations for you. Not only Jan, but anyone who answers the phone: 433-772-3366

WAIT, WAIT, WAIT wrong phone number! It is 435-772-3366

http://www.cablemountainlodge.com/

You have a great trip planned and are getting great advice. I'm sharondi's husband. Here are a couple of links, the first is to a trip we did just to explore Scenic Byway 12 as far as Torrey (Capitol Reef NP). We zoomed through on a previous trip and realized our mistake. Too much to see in that area.

http://www.pbase.com/peterb/utah_tr

Here's another report from a trip in 2012 that includes some of where you're going.

http://www.pbase.com/peterb/utah_2012_trip_report

If you can manage a night in Ouray, try for a room at the Wiesbaden Inn so you can experience the unique Vapor Cave.

http://www.wiesbadenhotsprings.com/

The nice thing about all the hot springs in Ouray is that they aren't smelly...just pure hot water.

The advice about staying in park at Mesa Verde is valid. It is a 45 minute drive from the entrance of the park to the mesa top where the ruins are on a windy, slow road. This realistically places it 1.5 hours from Durango. The lodging isn't a bargain at Far View, but the restaurant is the best we've experienced in a National Park (a low bar granted). Try to get a reservation to do the ranger led Balcony House Hike as well as Cliff Palace, a classic hike. Here's a link to images of that trip but I wrote no trip report.

http://www.pbase.com/peterb/co_and_nm_05

The trip included a night at Chaco Canyon which was the "Rome" of Puebloan culture at its peak. It is a World Heritage site. A bumpy ride in and rain may make it impassable.

http://www.exploratorium.edu/chaco/

About 45 north of Monument Valley on the way to Moab, you'll see a sign for Sand Island

http://www.blm.gov/ut/st/en/prog/mor...nd_island.html

Great rock art viewing right by the road...worth a half hour or so since you're driving right by.

Also the Edge of the Cedars State Park Museum in Blanding Utah a little farther north is worth a visit on the way to Moab. It is one of the largest collections od Anasazi artifacts in the SW...better than the museum at Mesa Verde (which is quite dated IMO). Edge of the Cedars is off the main road so many miss it. Shameless plug..you'll also find some of my rock art recreations available in the gift shop there.

http://stateparks.utah.gov/park/edge...te-park-museum

The macaw sash is an amazing artifact worth the visit

If you poke around my pbase site , you'll see other galleries of Utah and SW trips we've made. If you have any questions about them, feel free to ask.

I was disappointed in the Pima museum. Somehow I had hoped for more. It is very amateur and the displays are not that good. Outside you can go through AirForce One, but for the most part just wander around the outside of assorted planes, which didn't seem to be in any logical order.

<Thank you for the information on the water levels. We’ll check that in advance. Is it a seasonal occurrence, or has it been caused by a lack of precipitation?>

It's an ongoing drought. It *may* improve slightly by next year but water levels are so low that it won't be full for years to come.

<Hope this is not a sign of things to come. We thought looking at it 10 months out would be ample time.>

You should be able to plan an itinerary and find lodging everywhere. It's usually better to stay inside the national parks and those accomodations tend to book up early but there are always cancellations. Keep trying until you get the nights you need - in some cases you may need to call on a daily basis. I realize that would be somewhat problematic since you're in Australia so use that as a last resort.

Everyone has different opinions but for Bryce and Zion you could stay right outside the park rather than inside if the lodging inside the park is fully booked. For the Grand Canyon and Mesa Verde, you'd want to stay inside the park for sure.

Yes, yes, Con 60, I feel for you! haha Actually I am jealous of you having so much time to explore the Southwest. It is a beautiful area. Sounds like you are constructing a very nice customized trip to suit your own interests. I agree pre-booking is essential, but what I meant to say was it is good to allow a little "wiggle" room for serendipity.

I agree with WhereAreWe. Grand Canyon and Mesa Verde, in-park lodging is a huge plus. Zion, little/no advantage...Springdale is right there. Bryce too but sunrise (a highlight I think) is easier if you are in-park but the lodging outside the park is very close. Not the case at Grand Canyon or Mesa Verde.

I would agree with jayne1973 and you about pre-booking. Some of it is essential but I'd allow yourself some flexibility. There are some locations where it's necessary to pre-book (Grand Canyon both rims, Mesa Verde) and others where you can figure it out as you go (Tucson, Santa Fe).

I think ideally you would plan an itinerary such that you have about one day/night a week where you don't have set plans. If you can put that day in between longer stays at two locations (such as between Grand Canyon and Tucson, or Durango and Moab) you give yourself the flexibility to stop somewhere along the way for the night, or extend your stay if you want to see more of a certain area.

You haven't said the exact dates of your travel and I think it would be helpful to do that now that you have booked your flights. Everyone could then start giving advice about local events, areas you may want to avoid on particular weekends, etc. Those things could definitely change your itinerary so better to figure it out now before you start booking rooms rather than after. Just as an example, Moab is crazy busy the week of Easter for huge event - it shouldn't impact you at all but those are the kinds of things you'd want to know ahead of time to plan for it.

Oh, I meant to add about lodging and being flexible...it looks like most of your trip takes place after the peak of spring break here. I think you'll find it relatively easy to change your hotel plans in the middle of your trip, especially mid-week. I can't imagine most places would be booked solid in late April or early May, that is after Spring Break but before school lets out for summer so it is not a real busy travel season.

So, plan out your itinerary and book what you want, but when you actually take this trip just keep in mind you may be able to change things around without much trouble should you decide you want to spend more or less time in a location, or even switch around the order of things.

Huh, I've always heard that April/May were one of the high seasons in the SW...gets very hot after that.

Well of course it gets hot after that, but more people travel in June/July/August than in April and May. The ideal time to visit doesn't coincide with when families can vacation.

Visitor stats from the national parks all point to summer being the busiest season in the southwest.

"The ideal time to visit doesn't coincide with when families can vacation." Thank goodness for that.

>>WhereAreWe also identified Taos as being the location with the sustainable homes. My wife, Lynn, has done some research and has found one which offers accommodation to travellers. Tinkerton seems to have some quirky appeal. Speaking of Taos, Lynn has found a craft place which offers classes in glass blowing. That’s got us excited as well.<<

Tinkertown is fun if you plan to take the Turquoise Trail from Albuquerque to Santa Fe. We always enjoy visiting.

Lee Ann

http://www.nps.gov/arch/parkmgmt/transportationplan.htm

It looks like, for Arches (Moab) visitation is highest in May...but not by much. We struggled to book lodging two months ago in Moab for our early September trip. It is very busy then and there's some sort of music festival while we're there that added to the difficulty. Moab and Springdale (Zion) will be the places to nail down early since they are small owns with relatively limited options.

http://www.nps.gov/zion/parkmgmt/upl...004-2014-2.pdf

It looks like Zion is a little quieter in May and peaks in July.

Not sure if this is of interest to you. Near Tucson AZ there is the Titan Missile Museum which my hubby 'dragged'me along to and I thoroughly enjoyed it. We went down into the underground missile bunker where one of the Titan missiles is still there from the period of the Cuban crisis. One gets to sit in the command room where the original phone is that was linked to the presidential office and one gets to press or not press, depending on your political feelings, the launch button. Very atmospheric, but chilling to think what could have been. It is a nice little side trip. Check out the Titan Missile Museum website for details of times of guided tours etc.

We had heavy snow on May 11th at Grand Canyon when we were there. All the hotels were fully booked too.

You asked about festivals too, every memorial day weekend Silver City has a free blue festival, often with some quite big names.

From Ms Con80

We are overwhelmed by the response to our requests for help with our trip.

The helpfulness and generosity of spirit confirms what we learnt on our first visit to the US last December when we visited Washington and New York. We were blown away by the friendliness of the people - we only had to look slightly confused and some passerby would offer help or information.

When shopping or in restaurants, we found the customer service to be second to none. (Actually, it was better than that. Con80.)

We felt completely at home in the US and look forward to many holidays in your wonderful country.