gfisch

Hello. Next May 'ish' we're taking 30 days to see New Mexico, Utah, and a bit of Arizona. I've done a lot of research but am struggling with the balance between all there is to see… and smelling the roses along the way. 30 days is 'not' enough
There are two of us (not totally hard-core) but do a lot of hiking, biking, and exploring - not the drive-by-and-look type.

If you had to choose… do you see any obvious spots in our itinerary where you'd recommend spending more time here instead of there, etc? ...and/or things we should pass up if they aren't as great as they sound? Would appreciate any experienced input or advice.

Also, can we be flexible with lodging? Or will we miss the affordable, good spots if we don't book ahead (prefer not to). P.s. I used to live in Arizona so have seen/hiked the grand canyon, etc… so Utah and New Mexico are the main destinations.

1. San Diego, CA to Mesilla, NM: 2 nights
2. - Mesilla Day
3. Mesilla to Taos via High Road: 3 nights Taos total
4. - Raft day 1 (already picked the river trip so have to hit it on this day)
5. - Raft day 2
6. Hi Road back to Santa Fe: 2 nights Santa Fe
7. - Santa Fe Day
8. To Durango via Turquoise Trail: 2 nights Durango
9. - Durango Train Day
10. - Mesa Verde Day: 1 night MV
11. MV to Canyon De Chelly: 2 nights CDC
12. - Canyon De Chelly Day
13. To Moab via Valley of the Gods (passing on Mon. Valley): 4 nights Moab
14. - Canyon lands Day
15. - Arches Day
16. - One more Moab area Day
17. To Cannonville area: 3 nights near Bryce/Escalante
18. - Escalante slots or the like
19. - Bryce Canyon
20. To Zion: 3 nights Zion
21. - Zion narrows day
22. - Zion tour of some type
23. - Angel's landing plus...
24. To Page: 3 nights
25. - 1/2 boat day to rainbow bridge
26. - Colorado slow paddle drift
27. To Sedona seeing Cameron TP and Wupatki: 3 nights Sedona
28. - Montezuma's Castle
29. - Vortex'es / Talakapaque
30. - Back to San Diego

suerubin

SOuth of Zion, in Kanab, UT is Best Friends Animal Sanctuary. Visit their web www.bestfriends.org and see if you might want to stop in for a tour of the nations largest no kill animal sanctuary located in possibly what may be the most peaceful and beautiful place in the US.

Reddirtdawg

I see that you do some hiking and that you will be going to Mesa Verde and Canyon de Chelly. Seems you are interested in the ancient ruins in the Four Corners area. I don't know if you have come across my blog with your research. There is a lot of information that I think you will enjoy checking out about short hikes to Anasazi ruins in the Bluff area which is less than 40 miles from Monument Valley. Many links and book reviews that might be helpful...I am sure you will have a copy of the Kelsey book with you during your travels. Anyway, click on the photos for enlargements and I hope this will give you some other ideas what you can see. The site is called "Beyond Mesa Verde" here is the link ~
http://reddirtdawg.blogspot.com/
Sounds like you have a great trip in the making.

utahtea

The only trouble I see is with Mesa Verde. You are only spending one night and there's a lot to see here. Make sure you get at least one of the Ranger guided tours. Not sure where you can squeeze out another day.

For Canyon de Chelly, unless you plan on doing a guided trip into the canyon, you don't need a full day here.

Utahtea

gfisch

Thanks to All. I'll check out both the 'Sanctuary' and 'Reddirtdawg'. Sounds like maybe we should consider switching some CDC time for more Mesa Verde time. Kind Regards and I'll look forward to additional tips...

mommatac

Our family hired a jeep to take us into Canyon de Chelly ... what a blast. It was just us. A whole different experience from driving around the top of the canyon. Well worth it.

In Moab you can float the Colorado River. May be a fun thing for your "other" day in Moab.

Or drive into the other entrance to Canyonlands between Moab and Monticello. It's a beautiful drive. It's been ages since I've been there, and you probably will still need a 4 wheel drive vehicle to go too far into the park, but you'll see Newspaper Rock, and beautiful terrain on the drive in.

bachslunch

Don't know how much hiking you want to do in Arches, but depending on how much of it you want to see, you could spend an extra half to full day beyond the one you've planned there. It's a terrific place. At least you have some time budgeted if you want to do this.

And I wouldn't necessarily be too quick to dismiss Monument Valley if you haven't been, though you may not have time budgeted to include it. I liked it quite a bit, though a half day or so is a reasonable amount of time to spend there.

Myer

I'm pretty efficient and I spent four days in/around Moab.

Half day rafting, Fiery Furnace ranger-led hike, hiked Fisher Towers and saw rock climbers climbing the corkscrew, spent part of a day in Canyonlands and Dead Horse Point, went to Delicate Arch for sunset twice (the first time it was cloudy), spent time in the Windows/Double Arch area, hiked part of Devil's Garden and that's just what I can remember without checking what we did.

If you'll be in Escalante you may want to consider Lower Calf Creek Falls. The hike is about 2.5 miles each way without much sun shelter. The view of the Falls at the end and playing around in the water at the bottom of the Falls is definitely worth the hot hike.

While it's not a hike, I make sure to be at Bryce Point for sunrise. Just spectacular in the sun.

I'd consider moveing one day from Zion to Arches.

Some things are beautiful but there are many beautiful things. Others are different and cannot be seen anywhere else. Bryce and Arches fall into this category.

easytraveler

Mesilla is in the south of NM and Taos is in the north. There's not much in Mesilla to warrant two whole days unless you are planning on hiking the Organ Mountains.

Old Mesilla consists of one sleepy town square surrounded by a bunch of very old adobe houses. Any hotel that you stay in will probably be a new one like the Comfort Inn which is five minutes drive from Old Mesilla.

Old Mesilla blends into Las Cruces and I'd say there's not even enough in Las Cruces to explore for two whole days.

I'd suggest spending one night in "Mesilla" and the other night somewhere on the way north to Taos, such as Albuquerque.


If you do get to Page, try and schedule a tour to the slot canyon of Antelope Canyon. The best visual tours of the canyon are those that arrive at the canyon around noon (about an hour's journey from Page) when the sunlight streams right into the canyon from overhead and highlights all the gorgeous colors of the canyon walls.

http://www.navajonationparks.org/htm/antelopecanyon.htm

You can only sign up for a tour, you are not allowed to drive to the canyon yourself.

Wish I were with you! Sounds like a fab trip!

Myer

And if you manage to add Antelope Canyon near Page, be sure to take the 3/4 mile walk to Horseshoe Bend. The parking lot is only about 15 minutes from the Antelope Canyon parking lot. And it's free.

gfisch

Thanks All for the tips. Continuing to adjust expectations and time allocated based on all the good information.

Kind Regards,

DebitNM

Durango - Take the train only one way; take the bus the other way. Most folks agree that one way is sufficient. If you are going from Durango to Silverton -> sit on the right side of train. Going Silverton to Durango -> sit on the left side for best views. Wear dark clothing as there is a lot of soot blowing around.

Since you will be in Durango, I am assuming you would be doing more than one day at Mesa Verde NP. I would suggest a day and a half minimum, which will allow you to see Cliff Palace, Balcony House and Spruce Tree and do some hiking.

I agree with easytraveler than Old Mesilla isn't much, nor is Las Cruces and to cut a day off the itinerary there. You might want to stop in Bosque del Apache, which is on the way north on I25, on the way to Taos. The drive from Mesilla to Taos is going to take about 7 hours.

ABQ has some great things to do, don't discount it. The zoo is world class, the tram to top of Sandias great, an ABQ Isotopes AAA baseball game is fun. Cultural centers [Hispanic and Native American] are great and Acoma Pueblo, just a few things to do in the Q.

I can help with Durango hotels, restaurants and NM stuff.

Deb

maria_so

OK, will respond with my take without reading the other suggestions and only to those that I've had experience with and will only hit highlights.

1. For places like Canyon de Chelly, Mesa Verde, Bryce, Zion, Lake Powell (Page), you definitely should book a place ahead of time. Especially the first 2 since lodging inside the park really helps you with time.

2. You'll only really need a 1/2 day in Canyon de Chelly if you do either the jeep tour (suggest it) or hike down yourself (but you don't get to see much this way). If you want to do both and drive the rim, then you'll need a full day but only an overnight stay. I've done both but on separate visits, each we only came in late in the evening staying in the park then left around 1pm or so the next day.

3. If you're a hiker like my DH and I (mild ones), Mesa Verde kind of got old pretty quickly. Again, we came in late at night, spent the night inside the park, then got up early to do the tour. We left late that afternoon and I felt we had a good enough time and don't feel the need to go back. It also looks like you'll be seeing other cliff dwelling along the way.

4. Do try to fit in MV, even if it's a half day and just a jeep tour. It's worth it.

5. Moab is a fantastic spot to settle in for a few days with it's close proximity to Arches and Canyonlands (Islands in the sky, needles).
Arches: Sign up for the fiery furnace ahead of time with the national park service. they only do the tour twice a day and it's a limited tour so book it ahead of time. We actually went with a canyoneering company, the only one allowed inside the park (http://www.deserthighlights.com/). You do 2 rappels (120 ft & 40 ft and go much deeper into fiery furnace than the 2 tours the nps gives). They also do other half day tours - the other one we did was the teardrop.
Canyonlands: Our BEST HIKE is there - in the needles district - Chesler Park and the Joint trail. It's about a 6 hour hike and is just superb!!!!! I can't recommend that enough.
Bryce: It's spectacular, to be sure, but for me this is 3/4 of a day thing. Hitting the points (some, not all) and then doing the sunset to sunrise hike through the indian loop trail is sufficient to get to know this park.
Zion: It's a hiker's dream! Definitely do Angel's landing and if you have time, observation point but yes, definitely do the Narrow's hike. I woudn;t book anything ahead of time. You'll want to be flexible with your 3 days in Zion to make sure you do the narrows hike. If it's raining, the narrows may get closed down for flash floods and it's generally better to do this hike with sunny weather. It is really such a cool hike on the virgin river. I wouldn't do a tour in Zion since it's one of those places that you have to hike to really get to know the park and it's got some of the best trails. If you want to do a tour, I would book a canyoneering trip. Go to http://www.zionadventures.com/. I can spend 3 days there with a hike for each day and ending up in springdale at night for great dinner. I can recommend Parallel Eighty Eight and can discourage you from eating at Whiptail Grill (too expensive for what it is). I prefer to stay in the town of Springdale and not inside the park (one of the very few occasions that I do) because there's more excellent restaurant choices (more so than Moab). If you do so, great price that's higher end is the Desert Pearl and across the street from it is the best economical place - Canyon Ranch Motel. We've stayed at both and this last time we stayed at CRM and we will stay there from now on for visiting Zion. The place is clean, not fancy like desert pearl but good rooms and they have kitchenettes available too. Additionally, the proprietors are really amazing hosts. You felt really at home. The gardens are nice and has grilling capabilities.

Sedona: Not to miss is seeing Cathedral rock at sunset, hiking the west fork trail (riparian trail through the canyon - very green), taking a dip at slide rock (if it's not too cold).
When going to see the Montezuma castle, make sure to stop by Montezuma well (a few miles down the road). Very cool to see the water system they built!

Escalante: Calf Creek Hike. http://www.utah.com/hike/calf_creek.htm
Devil's Garden. http://www.associatedcontent.com/art...escalante.html

Lake Powell: the 1/2 day to rainbow bridge is pretty cool. Suggest the morning one. You'll do a little hike from where the boat docks to the bridge.
Do the 1/2 mile hike to horseshoe bend (free)http://www.magazineusa.com/us/states...tate=az&doc=56
Definitely do the antelope canyon tour but don't book ahead of time. You'll want to see which is the best day for this, weather wise) and then go to the 11:45 or so time so you can see the spotlight inside the canyon.
Definitely do the dam tour. It's pretty impressive.

Santa Fe area: 1.Definitely do the tent rocks. http://www.blm.gov/nm/st/en/prog/rec...ent_rocks.html
2.turquoise trail and high road to taos. my favorite restaurant is in Taos - Joseph's table. Ask to be seated "in the wall". It only seats 2 and there's only 1 table like that. It's very cool, not ot mention FANTASTIC food. Have a drink at doc martin's when in taos. do a beer tasting at Eske's - make sure you try the jalapeno beer!
3. Hit abiquiui. Echo ampitheater, monastery of christ in the desert (15 mile windy riparian road to the monastery - plenty of spots for dipping your feet in the water and perhaps a picnic), ghost ranch (do the chimney rock hike), plaza blanca is also a pretty neat hike (ash white rocks).

Additonal places to consider:

1. Capitol Reef. The wash hike is great (try not to go in the middle of the day - really hot!)
2.Goblin Valley (near moab). Short stop (maybe a couple of hours for goofing around on the rocks).
3. If you are going to Waputki, stop by Sunset Crater too. I actually really liked Sunset Crater.
4. It's sort of near Durango - check out Ouray. We stayed at the Weisbaden (www.weisbadenhotsprings) where they have the vapor cave. While there, box canyon falls, among others, is not to be missed. http://www.ouraycolorado.com/Box+Canon+Falls+Park
5. Natural Bridges


OK, I think that's all. If I think of anything else, I'll get back to you. Have to say I'm quite jealous you have a whole month to visit all these wonderful places!!!!

maria_so

OH, I forgot, if you're into kayaking, try to work in a half day kayaking in lake powell at lone rock. We did this and it was incredible! We booked with this company. http://www.twinfinn.com/Kayak_Rental...k_rentals.html

some pics of that kayaking trip
http://pmlakepowell2006.shutterfly.com/

easytraveler

30 days is a lot of time, but it really isn't considering all the places you want to visit.

I'd trade some of the "lesser" sites and just stick to the major ones. E.g., I'd cut out Montezuma's Castle and substitute Monument Valley. Not that Montezuma's Castle isn't worth seeing, but you're already going to the Canyon de Chelly and presumably you'll want to hike down to the Canyon. I'd recommend hiking down to see the "White House", which will give you a fair substitute for Montezuma's Castle.

gfisch

This is the first time I've blogged and am impressed with the great feedback. Please keep it coming.

Feel torn about Mesilla due to talking with folks who've visited and love the culture. If it's not unique to other towns we'll see on the way up to Santa Fe and Taos though it wouldn't be necessary. Thoughts?

Most of you have hit on particular interests i.e. trams, kayaks, anything water, rapelling, climbing, great food. If I see anything interesting and up, basically I have to go to the top so thanks for great hiking tips! Looking forward to the small towns and pueblos along the way as well. Love the Mexican and Indian cultures and getting off the beaten path.

Warnings about crowds put me off a bit on antelope canyon, though TBD Not much will be 'in stone' when we go.

It'll be a year but I'll share some great photos and tips when we return.