Canyon de Chelly requires a guide and has you going off the path of SF, Taos and ABQ.

Take a ride up to Jemez, the red rocks there might suffice:
http://www.tripadvisor.com/Attractio...ew_Mexico.html

Jemez would work, or, if you're into Georgia O'Keeffe, you could see red rocks around Abiquiu.

Do you need more ideas on what to do in Albuquerque?

Lee Ann

Thanks. My wife is finding hard to drop Moab and therefore the quest to find something similar ..red rocks etc.

Canyon de Chelly has scenic red rock and so does Monument Valley. Acoma has a little. Have you considered skipping Santa Fe and Taos and just going to Mesa Verde & Moab?

Utahtea

If you are looking for beautiful red rock scenic drives for the wife and the wow factor to entertain a 7 year old, I would opt to add this route on after Mesa Verde.

(I'm assuming you have given up Arches and Needles)

Head down 160 with a stop by Four Corners, then turn up 191 until you get to scenic 163. Drive to Valley of the Gods Rd. You do not need a 4wd, although a car with clearance is a plus. (I did fine in a sedan.) Better views of red rocks than you'll see in any movie. As you finish up the road you come onto 261. Go north and drive the Moki Dugway. What an adventure. It's only a few miles and then turn around and repeat to come back down 261. It will take you back to scenic 163 where you can head towards Monument Valley. If timed properly, you will enjoy sunset approaching here. Enjoy and spend the night nearby. The drive back to Albuquerque will be about 6 hrs.

I agree wholeheartedly with rjasnumberonefan. Valley of the Gods is gorgeous. It is north of Monument Valley near Mexican Hat, Utah. Here are some pics:

http://www.pbase.com/peterb/image/21362539
http://www.pbase.com/peterb/image/21362536

Then you can head down past Monument Valley - maybe spend the night at The View. Valley of Gods and MV will provide your wife with some incredible red rock scenery.

You will have to come back again to do a southern Utah trip.

Hi Sharon and Peter!

have learned a lot from this forum. a couple takeaways: we need more time so we're adding a day, second - to get the big rock outside the Santa Fe Taos Mesa Verde Loop it seems we need to choose between going north to moab and back or going west to valley of the gods/chilly/monument valley. Plotting it out, it started to seem that the route to the west would take almost as much time so I think we will head north after all, adding a day. Admittedly it's a bit much to fit in but the revised plan is:

Mon day/night Santa Fe - driving time 1 hour

Tues Santa Fe to Taos; night Taos - driving time 1.5 hour

Wed day and night Taos

Thur drive to Mesa Verde/ night inside the park - driving time 5 hours

Fri - AM Mesa Verde, drive to Moab, maybe a stop at Island in the Sky but skip Needles - night Moab - driving time 3 hours

sat - day Moab/Arches - night Moab

sun - drive to ABQ/SF - driving time 6 hours

Hoping there might be just a bit of time to improvise. The area in north central NM including Georgia O'Keefe country, Four Corners seems to have many stops as has been mentioned. We may have to skip going into AZ, Monument Valley for the next SW circuit trip that includes the Grand Canyon. I think we may get Acoma in as a side trip from ABQ with the friends we're staying with as well as some other stuff you mentioned in the ABQ/Santa Fe environs.

Thanks all and sorry I earlier said we would drop Moab per your suggestions - it's come back in but only now that we've added a day.

Drive time from Taos into Mesa Verde is going to be more than 5 hours, closer to 6.

Personally, I would skip Taos and add time to MV. No comparison between the 2.

MV= Mesa Verde, (not Monument Valley)

If you have an extra 1/2 hour on your drive back to Albuquerque I would swing by Four Corners. It only takes a few minutes to visit and, frankly, it's not really on the way to anywhere. When you revisit AZ for your next vacation, Grand Canyon, Monument Valley, Scenic 163, Deadhorse, Natural Bridge, Needles, etc. it is NOT on the way to any of those. A quick stop that a kid will like and give you a much needed break from the long drive that day. Not much else to see on the drive.

One night in Taos is more than enough, head to Mesa Verde and add a night there or in Moab. Both MV and Moab have enough to see to make the extra night worth it.

Other than Taos Pueblo, I did not find Taos particularly interesting. I agree with posters above - one day in Taos is enough. Add the day to Moab - there is so much to see and do there, and you're taking the time to drive up there so make it worthwhile.

Hi Dayle! Hope all is well. We're headed back to Utah in Sept - bringing some friends along who've never been there.

sharondi, we did that last year and everyone had a great time. It's so much fun to show someone a place that is so awesome.

Sorry to hijack the thread.

Thanks all! We will do one night in Taos - couldn't resist skipping the Santa Fe Taos loop though we considered it - this is the cultural/art part of the trip - a few plazas and also art galleries and such and planning potential stops off the high road to Taos, among choices of Chimayo, ruches, Penasco. In Taos was planning to see Aroya Seco, the Rio Grande Gorge Bridge and most likely (but not necessarily) Taos Pueblo but one night enough - only b/c of the sites ahead in Mesa Verde (one night/one day) and Moab/Arches/Canyonlands (3 nights).

Counting on excursions outside ABQ maybe even back to Santa Fe area on the first weekend and last few days with friends based in ABQ on either side of the road trip too.

All suggestions so appreciated - and thanks for the restaurants, if you have any on art galleries/towns (where you can actually afford to buy something) that is great, but thankful for all we've gotten already.

Isn't that funny...I thought that Taos Pueblo was the best thing about Taos. http://www.pbase.com/peterb/image/50457184

Part of your new itinerary says: Fri - AM Mesa Verde, drive to Moab, maybe a stop at Island in the Sky but skip Needles - night Moab - driving time 3 hours.

Far View Lodge in Mesa Verde to Moab is 140 miles. The first part in the park will be slow driving. Figure 2 1/2 hours driving.

Moab to the Grand View and Green River overlooks in Island In the Sky district is going to add another 50 miles and it's going to take well over an hour to get there from Moab. Then you have to drive back to Moab.

August is going to be hot in the Moab area. On the day you arrive in Moab you might want to take a drive into Arches instead and stop at some of the overlooks and view points. Arches is just 4 miles from Moab and would make for a more relaxing day for the 7 year old. There are dinosaur tracks in the area and you might want to go locate them. Then on your full day, go into Arches early in the morning to do any hikes you plan. During the hottest part of the day drive into Canyonlands and check out Green River Overlook and Grand View Point. That evening you can go back into Arches for a evening hike.

The park pass you purchase is good for 7 days so you won't have to pay going into Arches on two different days.

Utahtea

Some important advice. In august you will encounter various bugs.

The worst are No-See-Ums (slang for No See Them) that suck your blood leaving large (0.5 cm) bumps on your head that itch for weeks, especially around your head/ear area.

We wear a baseball cap with a fine mesh - finer mesh than required for mosquitoes - Wear this netting over your head and shoulders.

Wear light weight clothing that should be purchased elsewhere—cheaper.
Presumably, since we have not used it, Cutter Advance Picaridin Insect Repellent is effective against gnats. A helpful site:

http://bugspray.com/article/sandflies.html

Arches hikes:
Mandatory - sunset time is Delicate Arch. slope about 3 degrees 4.8 km round trip.
Next mandatory is Devils Garden. No significant slope 5.8 km loop. Arrive here at sunrise ++ as parking fills very early. At the end of loop is Double O arch. Walk trough the hole to the other side and take a picture. About 13.00 hours is the best photograph time. After you complete your hike, have lunch and save Delicate arch for sunset.

Lunch - Eddie McStiff microbrewery and one of their pizzas. the other microbrewery has a broader menu and beers, but Eddie has the pizza! It is next to the visitor center.

Island In the Sky. The classic photograph is that of Mesa Arch AT sunrise. Google - mesa arch sunrise - to see how it looks. From parking lot it is about 400 meter walk.

Vaga

Thanks all. So much to do. Will definitely take suggestions on spending a night and quality time as needed and those hikes in Moab as well as tasty restaurants along the way. Since nothing is scheduled for the return home, some of these other highlights mentioned might somehow appear if we really feel like driving just to get a peak at least of all that the region has to offer!