DH has to be in Telluride CO on business so I've decided to fly out to join him for a long weekend. I'm flying into Montrose CO, renting a car and meeting him in Telluride for the first night, and then we have four full days and three nights before we will be flying out of Durango CO. We would appreciate any suggestions for good accommodations (under $200 per night), "must see" places, good food, etc. in the Four Corners area. We know we want to go to Monument Valley, Canyon de Chelly and Mesa Verde but have no set itinerary other than that. We are both into photography and hiking, we enjoy visiting pueblos and we love Native American pottery. Thoughts? Thanks in advance.

That should just about cover your time there. I don't think you can do much more with the time you have available. I would, however, get on the internet and book rooms near Monuement Valley and Canyon De Chelly. Small towns there and not a whole lot of motels to take a chance on just winging it. Durango will be great, many great restaurants to fit any budget. Also, the Strater Hotel is nice to stay at in downtown Durango and reasonably priced.

Thanks cgrk. Just booked a night at Goulding's in Monument Valley and one night at the Holiday Inn in Canyon de Chelly (you're right, there's not a whole lot to choose from!). Will look into the Strater in Durango too.

Any other suggestions?

To go into the canyon at Canyon de Chelly you are only allowed to take the Whitehouse ruins trail on your own. If you want to do any more exploring of the canyon, it has to be with a Navajo guide. We really enjoyed the 1/2 day tour out of the Thunderbird Inn. I wish we had done the all day tour.

You can drive Monument Valley yourselves but there are some roads you can't drive on with out a guide.

At Mesa Verde try to fit in at least two of the three ranger guided tours. You need to pay a small fee and get tickets in advance. The earliest would be the late afternoon on the day before or get to the visitor center early to stand in line for tickets. My favorites are Long House and Cliff Palace. Balcony House was fun because you have all those ladders and have to crawl though a small opening, but the other tours were more impressive as cliff dwellings.

Utahtea

Just a note on the Strater Hotel in Durango. It is right on main street and all the rooms are idividually decorated in victorian furniture like it originally was when built. Louis Lamore stayed there frequently and wrote much of his Sacketts story in a room above the bar. They say he liked to listen to the piano music below his room while he wrote.I think we paid around $75 a night there last september.

So of Monument Valley, Canyon de Chelly, and Mesa Verde, which should we expect to allot the most time for? We are only spending one night at each, and with driving time, I'm trying to figure out the order & how much time to spend in each, e.g.:
Friday night -- Telluride.

Saturday AM depart Telluride for either Mesa Verde or Canyon de Chelly -- which one should we do first? (given that our flight on our last day leaves at 5pm out of Durango which is near Mesa Verde, I wasn't sure whether to do Mesa Verde first or last). Saturday night in either Mesa Verde or Canyon de Chelly.

Sunday -- if leaving from Mesa Verde, depart for Canyon de Chelly. If leaving from Canyon de Chelly, drive to Monument Valley.

Monday -- Drive to either Monument Valley or Mesa Verde.

Tuesday -- 5pm fly out of Durango.

This is easy: one day in each corner!

You will get so much more out of a tour of Monument Valley rather than driving your own car. I highly recommend Simpson's Trail Handler Tours for your own private tour. Ask for Richard. Much better than a group tour.

I would do Mesa Verde last...it is just about 35 minutes from the main road to Durango. But keep in mind, it takes time to get down from the mesa...about 2o minutes.

The General Palmer in Durango is a really nice hotel too. Even the "inside" rooms without windows are very romantic. And truthfully, views from there [or the Strater] aren't anything special.

You can do either Monument Valley or Canyon de Chelly first. It really is a toss up on miles and driving time from Durango.

I agree with DebitNM and I'd do Mesa Verde last. DebitNM also mentioned it's only about 35 minutes from the main road to Durango, BUT plan on it taking about 1 1/2 if you are at the far end of the park road like at Long House or Cliff Palace.

Utahtea

Given your interest in pueblos, consider a stop at the Hopi mesas, Walpi in particular. Also recommend the Notah Dineh Trading Company in Cortez for Native American arts.

Lisa, Given your short time in the area, you really won't have time to drive Hwy 264 to Walpi whichis between Keams Canyon and Second Mesa as bon_voyage mentioned. I'd stick with the major attractions like Monument Valley, Canyon de Chelly and Mesa Verde. If you had more time in the area, I'd suggest Hovenweep. National Monument..but you are going to be short on time as it is.

Utahtea

Thanks for all the advice. As of now I think our itinerary is:
Friday night -- Telluride
Saturday -- Canyon de Chelly
Sunday -- Monument Valley
Monday -- Mesa Verde N.P.
Tuesday -- Drive to Durango, fly home

We also went to Monument Valley almost three years ago. We drove there from Grand Canyon, checked into Gouldings Hotel around 3:00 in the afternoon and met Richard of Simpsons tours for a sunset guided tour which we had booked in advance. He was great. We left the next morning, drove via the Four Corners to Mesa Verde and did the Cliff House tour. Sounds like you will have a great trip and quite a whirlwind tour.