Pigli

Hi there. I wonder if anyone can help me. My husband and I are from London. We plan to come to the south-west US at the end of September/start of October. Neither of us has been to that area of the US before, and we are both very excited about our trip. We have two weeks to see the area. We plan to fly into LV or Pheonix and drive to the Grand Canyon for a few days. From there we plan to drive onto Zion NP, Bryce Canyon and Monument Valley (all great suggestions from this board). Then we'll come back and spend about four days in Vegas.

I just wondered whether there any interesting towns or other sights that we should include in our trip. As I sit down and plan this, it increasingly seems that, apart from the four days in Vegas at the end, we are going to be in parks the whole time. They look so beautiful, and I can't wait to see them, but is nine or so days of non-stop parks going to be too much? Should we perhaps drop one and do something a bit different? As well as the Native American culture I'm very interested in the Mormon history, and also the "wild west" history. Is Salt Lake City worth a visit? Or are there any towns in Arizona that would make an interesting stop-off?

I'd be really grateful for any ideas.

Thanks so much

Catherine

tobin88

If you are near the South Rim of the Grand Canyon take a drive to Sedona south of Flagstaff. The trip there is beautiful and Sedona is breathtaking. You may also want to check out the Hoover Dam. We just returned from a trip similar to what you have planned. I would also recommend LAke Powell at the Arizon/Utah border. I had never heard of this place until recently so we made a side trip and ended up staying 2 days camping and swimming in the beautiful lake surrounded by the canyon. The Antelope Canyon boat tour is a great way to see the sights!

obxgirl

This is probably not on your current path, but New Mexico is gorgeous in the fall. Albuquerque hosts a hot air balloon fiesta in early October which is a sight to behold. Between Albuquerque, Santa Fe and Taos, there are 15 or 20 Indian pueblos open to the public (casinos too tho nothing compared to LV!) Santa Fe is a gorgeous town with lots of art, music, wonderful food and shopping.

We did a New Mex, Colorado, Utah driving trip a few years back and, for me, Salt Lake City, was the least interesting part of the journey. Other than the Temple Square (which you will enjoy given an interest in Morman History) there just wasn't a heck of a lot to see. The area surrounding SLC is beautiful (Great Salt Lake, Antelope Island State Park, Bear Lake, the mountains) is beautiful.

Have a super trip!

travellyn

St George and Cedar City, both near Zion in Utah, are nice little towns that might be good for some shopping, etc. They both have Mormon histories.

I know what you mean about getting national parked out. That happened to my husband and me after about 8 days on a recent trip, but we were camping. You might want to spend a couple of days in or near Page, AZ, just swimming and boating at Lake Powell. You might also make sure that you try at least one different activity in each place you go. For example horseback riding, jeep tours, swimming/rafting, nature walks with a ranger, etc.

utahtea

There is plenty of history to be found in all the little towns of Utah and in the National Parks.

Butch Cassity and the Sundance Kid spent time in Grafton, a ghost town outside of Rockville, Utah near Zion. They also were in the Capitol Reef Area.

You can find petroglyphs in Capitol Reef and other areas of Utah. The mormans are the ones that settled Fruita and planted the fruit orchards in Captiol Reef.

Don't underestimate these National Parks. They also have history!

http://historytogo.utah.gov/brhistory.html

Utahtea

Pigli

Thanks so much for all your great ideas - much appreciated!

Catherine

irmgard_schaugg

If you visit Monument Valley, drive further south to Canyon de Chelly near Chinle. We were there in March and thought it interesting. I agree that Sedona is beautiful, take the drive down Oak Creek Canyon. And if you're in the area, Jerome is interesting.

dwooddon

There are two little mountain towns in Arizona that fit your "old west" criteria very well. Both are within reasonable sidetrip distances from Las Vegas/Grand Canyon routes.

Oatman is a little mining town in the hills southeast of Laughlin, NV. It retains much of the old west mining town charm with the added benefit of wild burros roaming the streets. They are the descendants of burros that escaped from or were turned loose by propectors. I've enjoyed visiting there and the drive between there and the Laughlin highway is fun.

Jerome is another mining town, larger than Oatman but still quite small, on Hwy 89A between Sedona and Prescott. It's built on the side of a mountain so has spectacular views. It also retains many of the old buildings but is a little more gentrified than Oatman.

There is a lot of pioneer history in Utah but very little of it is "old west" style. The Mormon settlers were more into family and church life than other areas of the frontier west. There are a couple of exceptions but they left very little to see today. As a previous poster noted, Robert LeRoy Parker's (Butch Cassidy)family home was in southern Utah and his outlaw gang often returned there after committing some crime or another. A few of his old hideout locations are posted with historic signs but as far as I know, the only thing to see is the sign and a canyon or meadow. I have not visited his birth home in Beaver, UT but it may be marked and available for visits.

Southwest of Cedar City, the site of the Mountain Meadow Massacre has a monument and historical signs, the accuracy of which have been called into question.

South of Phoenix and Tucson, the old west town of Tombstone is fun to visit if you have an interest in the Old West. It was, of course, the location of the famous "Gunfight at the OK Corral". It's been made fairly touristy but still worth a visit IMO.

Have a great visit and enjoy your trip to the colonies.

Neil

I second the suggestion of trying to add New Mexico to your itinerary. Santa Fe and the surrounding puebloes are a fascinating part of the US. We did a two week trip last summer starting in Vegas, then Zion, Bryce, Grand Canyon, Monument Valley, Mesa Verde and Santa Fe. We flew home from Albuquerque. It was a fabulous trip, and by ending in Santa Fe we got some culture to counter-balance all the beautiful scenery that preceded it. Whatever you decide, I'm sure you will have a great trip.