I am posting a report on our recent trip out west since I see so many others planning to go to some of the same areas and I got so much help from this site!
It was four 50 year olds pushing ourselves to the limit one week after my husband and I gave away our daughter in marriage with a big wedding and reception. It was wonderful but we were ready for a change of pace. We are not the type who like to lay around on the beach so we planned to keep moving .
Day 1: We flew from St. Louis to ABQ and arrived at 10:40. We quickly got our luggage and jumped right on the shuttle to go pick up a Mountaineer at the car rental with Hertz. That was the longest wait we had all day. It took them longer than I though it should to bring us our car. The guy at the counter said around 5 minutes and it was at least 30. But we got on the road by 11:45 and headed west on interstate 40 towards AZ. We stopped at a Dairy Queen along the way and took pictures of the big RTE. 66 sign there. Our next stop was the Arizona rest stop for pictures of that sign. We saw some neat clouds, dust devils and rain in the distance along with nice changes of scenery. We got to the Painted Desert and Petrified Forest around 3:00 I think. We drove through the whole thing and stopped frequently for pictures and a little exploration. It was definitely worth it. It was around 4:30 or 5:00 by the time we left and we realized that we would not be able to make it to Meteor Crater before it closed. That might have been a blessing since I have heard mixed reviews. We did drive through Winslow AZ and stopped to stand on the corner and play the CD while I videotaped!!! That got a thumbs up from all of us. Neat little town.
We continued to Sedona and were blown away when we rounded a corner and saw Oak Creek Canyon. It came up very suddenly and from then on the scenery was spectacular all the way into town as well as in the town. We stayed at Sky Ranch Lodge and thought it was a really nice place and great location. We were steps away from one of the prime sunset spots and there were lots of people there every night. We ate at the airport restaurant the first night since it was also within walking distance. We saw a tarantula during dinner! Everyone else seemed very matter of fact about it so we refrained from standing on our chairs and kept eating.
Day 2: We got up early and noticed there seemed to be some discrepancy with the time. After some investigation we discovered that Arizona was on Pacific time at this time of year so we had been thinking we were an hour later since the day before. Oops, could have seen the crater... oh well. We threw on clothes and drove to the Airport Mesa/vortex by 7:00 a.m. There was only one other person there besides us. We climbed to the top and the view was fabulous. I really felt some energy here. I felt sort of tingley but at the same time, extremely peaceful. So it was nice to just sit there for a while. Then we went to Cathedral Rock Trail and climbed pretty high up. Our friends went even higher than us. It was very beautiful and good views also. We also went to Red Rock Park. That was just ok but we did buy a couple of souvineers in the gift shop. We went back to the room, cleaned up and went to Telaquepacque for shopping and lunch. We ate outside at the Oak Creek Grill and it was great. There were some very nice shops and art galleries there. Then we went to another shopping area on Rte. 179 but I can't remember the name of it. It is the same one where Shugrues Grill is. It was very nice too. We then drove to the Chapel of the Holy Cross. I thought it would be an old church but it is not. Very pretty though. I lit a candle for a friend who just lost her 14 year old son in a jet ski accident.
We were pretty tired by then so we went back to the room and relaxed, went to the hot tub and pool and then joined the crowds for the sunset. After sunset, we went to Shugrues for dinner. It was very good and they had a classical guitarist playing outside on the patio where we sat. So far, we had eaten every meal outdoors and the air felt great.
Day 3: We checked out the night before so we could leave by 7:00. We drove back through Oak Creek Canyon, through Flagstaff and on up to the Grand Canyon. We had reservations at Thunderbird Lodge in Grand Canyon Village so we drove straight there in hopes we could check in early or at least find a parking place. Here is a tip: Parking at the GC is very difficult and they don't make accomadations for people staying there, it is every man for himself whether you are a paying lodge guest or not. SOOOOO, we waited and watched for 30 minutes, until someone left and then grabbed a spot right by our lodge. Our vehicle was never moved until we left the park the next day!!!! From there, we walked to get on the West Rim Shuttle and spent the rest of the morning doing that. The canyon is awesome of course even though it was at the height of the day when the colors are not as pretty. We hung aroung the Bright Angel lodge area along the rim and had a picnic lunch while waiting for our room. There is a restaurant, ice cream/snack shop, gift shop and art gallery museum right there. It is also fun to people watch and wildlife watch. We did not see any condors but we saw plenty of squirrels, ravens and a few of the smaller vultures which still looked big to us. Our room was quite acceptble with a rim view, TV and air conditioning which I didn't expect!
We went to a ranger led condor talk at 4:30 which was interesting. We walked to El Tovar for dinner (had reservations for 6:30). We went to the Hopi House Gift shop next door on the way and it was very nice, beautiful things. Our dinner at El Tovar was ok, I actually enjoyed many other meals on the trip much more. We had window seats but you can't see the canyon very well no matter where you are sitting there and I did not realize that when I made the reservations. It was not very crowded either. We took a short walk after dinner and also went back out later to star gaze before bed.
Day 4: We got up between 4:30 and 5:00 and busted our butts to get to Yavapai Point by sunrise. We made it! We spent a good hour watching that and seeing how the light and colors changed as it came up. Then we walked back to our room, cleaned up, checked out and headed out to Desert View. We stopped at many of the point along the way to see various views of the canyon and at Mather Point, we lucked into a great ranger talk on how the Grand Canyon was formed. His talk was exactly 9 minutes long and he was very animated and entertaining.
We spent some time at the Desert View stop at the end and went into the visitor center, gift shop. I got a great deal on three CDs in a set , two by John Huling who I already owned another CD called Spiritlands. It was 25.00 for all three.
We continued on towards Monument Valley with a stop at the Cameron trading Post. I thought it was pretty much a tourist trap but it was a nice respite after driving for a while. The scenery changed drastically during the drive, it would change to a completely different terrain within five miles, fascinating. We arrived at Monument Valley around 3:00 and it was in the upper 90's. We checked in at the Gouldings. The rooms are very nice and you do have a private balcony that looks right at the valley. We had arranged a tour with Richard Frank of Simpson's Trailhandlers. I heard about this from this forum and went to their website to get the phone number. I called a few weeks in advance. It cost 35.00 per person for the sunset tour which lasted 2 and a half to 3 hours. Richard is a native american who grew up living in Monument Valley and he called it his playground. He was a lot of fun, took us to all his favorite spots, sang a beautiful, spiritual navajo song and told us some great stories and jokes. A tip: It is very dusty out there!!!!
Day 5: Another early to rise day so we could see the beautiful sunrise. It was pretty from the balcony but we took off shortly to drive to Four corners and then Mesa Verde. Four corners was what everyone says, fun but out in the middle of nowhere and not pretty as far as scenery goes. We were there for about 30 minutes and took off for Mesa Verde. We went directly to the visitor center (10:00) and got tickets for the Cliff House tour at 12:00. We went to one of the other areas with a museum and ruins on the way there. The tour was very interesting and the park is beautiful but we didn't enjoy it as much as some of the other places we had gone. That is not to say others wouldn't ; it just depends on your interests and I have heard so many people say they could spend days there. We left around 2:00 and drove to Durango and walked around for a while, had a drink at the Strater Hotel. Durango is a neat town and beautiful mountain scenery. It was so welcoming to see so much green after the other sights we had seen, although they were just as beautiful in a different way. We decided to cancel our reservation to stay in Chama because we thought we could make it to Taos before dark so I made a reservation at the Best Western Kachina there. It was a beautiful drive from Durango to Taos . I think we went through Pagosa Springs then south and went over the Rio Grande Gorge bridge. We stopped to look, although my husband couldn't walk out there, too scary if you don't like heights. We checked into the Best Western right before dark and then went to a place down the road that is known for their pizza. Sorry I can't remember the name but it was very relaxed atmosphere and we sat outside.
Day 6: We left around 8:00 and drove up to the Taos plaza to just look. My husband and I have been there before and we were anxious to get to Santa Fe and we wanted to take the High Rd. so we didn't plan to spend any time sightseeing in Taos. We took the High Road with stops at La Trumpas (neat old church) and a longer stop at Chimayo to see El Santurio de Chimayo church. We were there four years ago and it has changed some, a little bit more commercial but still a very nice place to see. We got some of the sacred dirt and looked around for a while. People put crosses up on the fence made out of anything they can find laying around to pray for their loved ones. There were all kinds of reasons, including families who had relatives over in Iraq, etc. We also went to the Ortega Weavers shop on the way out and I would recommend that if you are looking for blankets, rugs or other nice gifts. We are thinking about having a blanket made for a wall and the lady was very nice; gave us cuts of yarn in all the colors we were interested in as well as taking a picture of a pattern we liked.
We arrived in Sante Fe around 12:00 and had a little trouble finding a place to park near the plaza but we were on our way within 30 minutes. We headed straight for La Casa Sena for lunch. My husband and I have been to Santa Fe three times in the past four years and we always eat there. It is beautiful and the food is very good. Lunch is outdoors in a courtyard with wonderful plants, trees, flowers and a fountain. We shopped around after, went to the Loretto Church to see the spiral staircase and then to the Courtyard by Marriott on Cerillos Rd. Cerillos Rd. is very busy and the hotel chain, shopping center, area of town but we don't mind! The downtown hotels are gorgeous but very expensive but I would like to stay at some of them sometime. It is worth walking through them to see anyway. That night we went to the plaza and had drinks and appetizers at three places: The Ore House balcony, La Fonda belltower bar (on top of hotel) and La Cantina at Coyote Cafe. All of these are outdoors with great views, atmosphere and people having a good time. It was really a fun way to introduce our friends to Santa Fe.
Day 7: We started our day by driving up to Hyde Park and taking a short hike then going on up to the Ski basin just to get a look . Nice temperatures about 57 up there in August. BTW, the temps and air felt great everyday and the sky was always fantastic whether it was blue or building clouds over the mountains. Around 12:00 we started touring all over town to see the Hacienda Parade of Homes. Contracters and architects from the area design and build about 35 homes every year and showcase them in August. If you like to tour unique homes, it is great. We saw homes ranging in price from 350000 to 6 and a half million.
That evening we went to the Cowgirl Hall of Fame for dinner and had a great time. It is a very happening place and seems to draw a lot of locals.
Day 8: Last day. We packed up for the flight home and stopped to see a few more model homes on the way out. We also went to the parking lot at Big Lots where the people from Hatch were set up to roast chilis and sell to anyone. It was very fascinating to watch and they explained the process. People were buying them by the bushel, having them roasted then taking them home to freeze for cooking all year. The lady working there told us that once you start using them in lots of dishes, you get addicted to the flavor! We also went to Jackelope, which is a popular store with lots of stuff, kind of like World Market but with a huge outdoor area of all kinds of pottery, plants, etc. My husband had to buy a terra cotta coyote last time!
We took the Turquioise Trail from Santa Fe to ABQ and stopped in Madrid for a couple of hours. We ate at the Mine Shaft Tavern and it was fun and good food. There were some very interesting shops and nice art galleries there too. It has really changed in the past four years as well, much more there!
That is about it. Of course, I had to leave out some details because I am tired since I am back to reality and working again but if anyone has questions, feel free. We had a wonderful sampling of lots of places and enjoyed every minute. I spent many hours planning the trip and it turned out almost exactly as I planned. I know some people enjoy being more spontaneous, but planning a trip is like therapy for me. I am already starting to think about the next one!!!!!

Nice report !
I especially enjoyed the part from Grand Canyon to MV thru Cameron since I just did the same thing...
I also enjoyed the change of scenery. I agree that Cameron feels like a tourist trop, nevertheless the food was very good at the restaurant.

In my report, I should have mention that we had NO problem at all with parking when we arrived a 4pm. I still feel that we were in the park at the best possible time (from 4pm to 11 am next day)


Celine

thanks for the great report! so many nice details. i'm on my way there in two weeks, wrote down some of your recommendations.

We just returned from some of the same places (some will be on list for future trip)

We also had decent meal in Cameron - but we went one step further and took the detour to Tuba City trading post - could have easily skipped that, but it was a little less tourist-y. Ended up in Cameron because there was nothing to eat in Tuba City except at a KFC.

Also agree with dinner comments about El Tovar - except we got free entertainment as there was one of the most powerful thunderstorms I have ever seen going on while we were eating - we had a window seat and saw some magnificent lightening illuminate some of the Canyon.

If by any chance you were at Grand Canyon mid-August, maybe we were fighting you for the same parking space!

Hi Jet:
Just a quick question regarding the Sky Ranch Lodge in Sedona. I have heard from other review's not to stay there...apparently smells mildewy, old grungy and dusty rooms etc.
While I am not really particular, my allergies would go nuts in a damp, moldy environment so I would like your honest opinion of the Lodge.
My husband and I (mid 40's)are going to Sonoma after LV 9-20/10-8 so I really enjoyed all the info on your trip report as we will be staying in some of the same areas. What a great site this is!

I loved the location and the grounds, but the furnishings and buildings are old so it could be a problem for you. I don't think about that type of thing since I don't have allergies myself. Some of their rooms looked like they might be newer but I am not sure. Our room was so inexpensive, I think around 88 with tax and all so I didn't expect anything very fancy. You might call and ask if they have newer rooms and when they were built and that might help your decision. By the way, we had the garden view room so that was one of the cheaper ones.