wanderingcanadian

I will be driving from Cortez, Co, to MVNM October 11,

It seems like the options are
1. drive through Kayenta,
2. or Hwy 162 to Bluff and then south to MV,
3. or 160, to 191 and then south to MV
After MV we will be staying at the Desert Rose Inn, Bluff overnight.
is there a better or more scenic, or more interesting choice of route, the driving times are almost identical.
If it makes a difference we are driving a RAV 4
thanks

Bill_H

Probably just go thru Kayenta since you'll be heading north to Bluff after MV ...

Cowboy1968

I could not say which route I like/d better/best. The scenery is not that much different IMO.
I liked MV best in the morning or afternoon hours, when the light is softer and brings out more colors.

Hwy 160 to Kayenta is probably the "best" highway and the most obvious option, but also gets more traffic than the other routes. Not that it would be a lot of traffic. And you won't backtrack a single mile (if that is relevant).

option 2 will make you backtrack to Bluff, but I guess you already noticed that.

option 3 looks a bit odd - if I went that far on 160 I'd probably keep going to Kayenta to avoid backtracking to Bluff


Is the Four Corners Monument a must-see for you?
It's the only "sight" I can think of on the more direct route to MV (decide for yourself if it is one, but I have a soft spot for those artificial sights..)


Otherwise you also have Hovenweep National Monument "in the vicinity"
http://www.nps.gov/hove/index.htm

If that interests you, you can short-cut after you left Cortez on 160 and turn west on County Road G (follow signs for airport) and keep going. Somewhat scenic as you follow a canyon/small river, so the scenery is usually a bit greener than elsewhere until the road hits the desert. No worries, it's all paved.
Don't use Google maps for calculating the drive, as they put Hovenweep in the wrong place. Bing maps knows where it really is.

wanderingcanadian

Four Corners is not a priority, we will have spent the previous day at Mesa Verde, and are planning to get up early for the drive to MV, so if we leave by 7.30-8am, should be at MV by 10.30? We do tend to take the road less travelled so maybe not the Kayenta route. Yes option 3 was a Google map option. I usually use CAA/AAA directions for trip planning it's reasonably accurate on time and distance,I can save the finished triptiks as a pdf and there's always lots of local info, seemed to work well on an 8000 km trip last year.
The following day the 12th we are driving to Moab and Arches NP, should we drive south and then along the 261 and 95 loop on the way, seems like it might add a lot of time to the drive?

Cowboy1968

From Bluff to Moab, I would take US 191 straight north.
You can do the loop via SR 261/95 IF you want to visit Natural Bridges NP.
But first I would check on the web if you really want/need to do visit Natural Bridges as you plan to visit Arches same day.
As Arches is set, you could use the time to get away from the "crowds" that will stay on the main paved road, and do some hiking or take the (unpaved) roads in the the park's hinterland.
As I don't know how often you already spent time in the deserts: Please always check the visitor's center first for an update on weather and if the conditions of auto trails are OK for your type of car before you drive off-road or hike. Getting caught by rain, flash floods, thunderstorms is no fun...