Hot weather Southwest vacation help needed
 

Hello all,
I am hoping for some suggestions on our upcoming May 2008 trip that we take every year. My husband and I LOVE hot desert weather (we live in Seattle and get cold and rain all year, so we love the extreme opposite!)and we have already vacationed in places like Scottsdale and Palm Springs in May and June (and yes, we love that 110 degree heat) but since we really like lots of "tanning" sun and desert heat, I am at a loss for a new desert area to visit? I thought of New Mexico or Flagstaff AZ but the temps there seem a bit too cool for what we are looking for. Also, Death Valley and the Mohave seem to have little in the way of resort type accomodations for the most part. We are easy to please on vacations..lots of sun, a pool to dip into and some forays to a local restaurant and a few local attractions or scenic drives and we are happy. Any help on some ideas for a dry heat vacation would be appreciated! Thanks!
Eileen from Rainy Seattle :)

It's pretty remote, but Lajitas (Texas) might fit.
http://www.lajitas.com/hometxt.html

High temps in May and June should be somewhere around 100-105.

Hi vladdie, if you don't find a suitable location with a dry heat, a couple of more humid (but not overwhelming in May) options are San Antonio, TX or New Braunfels, Tx (where I live). NB is a tourist destination with people coming from all over. I'd get a place on the river with a pool if I stayed here. I don't think there are any real resorts in New Braunfels (not the way we think of them). Some may call themselves resorts but check carefully for amenities you want because I'm not aware of any real resorts in town.

In San Antonio, there's the Hyatt Hill Country Resort or Westin La Cantera (www.westinlacantera.com for resort lodging.

I love New Mexico, but in May the weather is not assured to be suntanning-friendly.

Vladdie,

Have you ever visited the southern Utah Natl Parks and all the other desert delights? Temps in Zion can be in the high 90's or even up to 100. Bryce would still be pleasant, as it's at 8,000 ft. Moab (Arches, Canyonlands) would be in the 80's at least.

It's dry, beautiful and May is one of the perfect months to visit. Wildflowers abound!

Death Valley actually has some very good accomadations. Furnace Creek Inn is one of the Premier Places for lodging at a National Park. Furnace Creek Ranch isn't bad either. The pool is nice and is a constant 85 degrees because it is heated with a spring. There is not any chlorine in the water and it is constantly replinished. I believe the rate was 300 gallons per minute.

If Death Valley still doesn't sound good to you go with Dayle's suggestion. Zion and Bryce both have outstanding Lodging. Southern Utah is stunning and is one of my favorite places to go. Grand Canyon gets mighty warm in the summer as well. El Tovar is another Premier spot for Lodging. Big Bend Texas is another option, but it is difficult to reach. If you like a Big City feel and not really the National Parks, you might consider Sedona, AZ.

What are you interests? Hiking, rafting, etc?

I have not been to Lajita. It is close to Big Bend. It might be what you are after as the Weasel indicates.

What about heading down to Mexico? There is so much ground to cover and that time of year is always nice!

Wow, what great responses from everyone, thanks so much!
Yes, we did actually look into Death Valley and the two places there that you mentioned (Furnace Creek Inn and the ranch also)but they are booked solid for May already, wow.
I had not even thought of the Texas options and I will also look into Utah..those were super suggestions, thanks!
To answer your question Spiro, yes, we like nature and animals but I have to say we are not in shape enough to be called serious hikers, ha. But we try to get in some nature on our vacations.
We have been to Mexico before and even though we liked it, we were just hoping to see a new place since there is such a big world out there. The Grand Canyon is still on our list to think about. I really appreciate the suggestions and I will look into the Texas and Utah options also. Thanks a million!
Vladdie aka Eileen

Eilene,

You can still enjoy the Natl Parks even if you don't do serious hiking. Also, there are plenty of rivers, streams, lakes and nice places with pools you can stay just outside the parks.

Do a search under Utah, "Zion", etc. and you'll get tons of trip reports and info.

Have you been to Tucson? I'm a Seattleite living in Tucson and it's WAY too hot for me in May and June. You'd probably love it. Tucson has some terrific resorts and you'd likely get a better price at that time of year. In fact, why don't we do a house swap. :)

Lenny,
Yes, we actually also have Tucson on our list as well, as we really enjoyed our last Arizona trip to Scottsdale and we managed to get down to Tucson to go see some of the sights and have some super Mexican food there. So Tucson is something that is still on the list. Believe it or not, we even have Maui on our list of possibles. My husband has always wanted to go to the Cook Islands but it is too expensive for us right now and he loved Kauai the two times we have been there so I thought I might show him Maui for contrast, but a desert vacation is still our primary choice at the moment. I will also keep looking into Tucson, as we did like it there very much when we did a day trip last year. Thanks Lennyba!

Lennyba,
By the way, it is very very cold in Seattle right now. I am wearing a parka and turtleneck outdoors. I knew you would relate, being a former Seattlelite. :)

Would also agree that Tucson would fit your desired location perfectly. There are many upscale resorts here plus national parks, museums, southwestern cultural events, desert museum, great Mexican (and other types too) food, an easy drive to Mexico for a day trip with stops at Tubac for art and browsing. As of 1/1/08 passports are required for entrance back from Mexico. It is sunny and mid 60s now, but it will be much warmer in May and sunny 360 days of the year. Travel time to Tucson and costs while on vacation would be much less than Hawaii.

Thanks for the post CollegeMom!

Yes, flying to the Southwest is much easier on the budget than Hawaii, you are so correct. :)

Hey vladdie - I'm actually in Seattle at the moment. And I'm happy as a chilly little geoduck. :)

Welcome back to geoduck land Lenny! :)
There are probably posters asking about Seattle vacations you can help, being a native of these parts and all, eh?

I would go with Dayles Suggestion or Utah. Any one of them or a combination of 2 or 3 of them could be worked out easily. You could do Zion, Bryce, and even the North Rim of the Grand Cayon (only 10% of the canyon visitors see the north rim).

If you're looking at the southern Utah area, I'd say St. George fits your criteria for hot desert weather more so than visiting Zion or Bryce. If it's hot in Zion, St. George will be a furnace - which seems to be what you want. Take a look at the Red Mountain Spa: http://www.redmountainspa.com/

It's just a few miles from Snow Canyon State Park, and the main canyon of Zion is a pretty doable daytrip. I think Zion is a fine destination, but if you're looking for lots of sunshine you don't want to be at the bottom of a fairly narrow canyon - and that's where you'll be if you spend much time at Zion. And you'll be sharing that space with a whole lot of people on a shuttle bus.....

Why do try Sedona, perfect weather at that time of year?
Plus the evenings are lovely for viewing the stars temps. in day time about 10 derees cooler than Scottsdale and in the evening even more so.
Lots of places have pools and there is also Slide Rock on 89A.
Plenty to do in our great town.
2 hor drive from Phx. 2.20 hrs. to Grand Canyon

Super suggestions everyone, thanks so much! This is enough info to keep me busy researching for a month! :)

Thanks again!