Colorado/Utah visit
 

Having mostly solved our rent a car pblm, i would like to ask for your recomendations regarding the best (most scenic) way to join Denver to Utah sites. Two possibilities seen from this side of the Atlantic :
1) i'd drive from Denver to Moab thru 1 70 (not much fun apparently)
2) i'd drive from Denver thru Aspen and visit San Juan Mountains, Mesa Verde, Monument Valley then Zion and Bryce, byway 12 and Moab (ARches etc..) and I 70 back to Denver; actually the other way around from first possibility. The difference in my opinion is in the discovery of Colorado that we shall miss under the first hypothesis.
What would you choose as i suppose that you know more Colorado than i do.
Thanks vm in advance.

Sorry for the trouble but i forgot to mention that we'll have 19 days to spend from Denver to Denver, from the end of sept till 17.10.07 !

Salut, Eze! (une ville tres jolie!)

Your No. 2 route is wonderful, very scenic through the mountains, but you must do it first because the weather may be a problem later on in your trip. Snow is a possibility in October in the high country and the only route out of Aspen south (or east actually) is over Independence Pass which is open only until Oct-Nov when the snow is too difficult to clear. In September, it should be OK, but pay attention to the weather forecast to make sure you're not going to encounter snow up there.

I-70 is actually a very pretty drive from Denver to Utah, going through the mountains by Vail, through Glenwood Canyon by the Colorado River and through the Continental Divide via the Eisenhower Tunnel. It's a very good highway, so even if you encounter snow, the road should remain open.

The trip through Colorado is a must if you want to see spectacular mountains in the best time of year. Utah is incredible, too, just very different. You have a good length of time to stay, so you should be able to see everything you want.

Would definitely recommend the #2 route for all the reasons mentioned above. Also agree that the drive back from Utah on I70 will be a really nice drive, especially spectacular from Gleenwood Springs to the Front Range just outside Denver. You also should get the leaves turning into fall colors during mid to late Sept.

merci à tous