Hi all --

My wife and I are planning a two week trip to various places in the four corners region at the end of August through the beginning of September. I would love to get any suggestions on our itinerary, including any additional stops we may like to make while en-route from one place to another, any "must-sees" or "must-dos" and recommended restaurants. The goal is to see the highlights and hopefully more, including some light to moderate hiking, but to do so in a somewhat leisurely manner to really enjoy the scenery and the place rather than just doing a "drive-by" to the extent possible.

We will be flying into and out of Albuquerque and making a loop. Here's what we have planned and in mind so far:

Day 1: Arrive Albuqurque early afternoon, pick up rental car (planning on a small SUV -- like Toyota RAV) and drive to Cortez, CO. (we are considering stopping somewhere in route to sleep because it will be a long day with the flight from the east coast, but haven't decided yet).

Day 2: Train to Silverton, Van to return. Overnight in Cortez. (I know it would make most sense to stay in Durango on Day 1 and Day 2 rather than Cortez, but hotel rates seemed better in Cortez and the drive isn't that far. Big mistake?)

Day 3: Drive Million $ Highway to Telluride and Ouray. (Too duplicative of Day 2? We thought it would give us the chance to spend time on our own schedule, while the Train would allow enjoyment of the scenery without worrying about watching the road). Overnight in Cortez.

Day 4: Drive into Mesa Verde and do a hike (Petroglyph trail?), stop at visitor's center for tickets for Cliff Palace, Balcony House and Spruce Tree House on Day 5, maybe something with a ranger in the evening. Stay Overnight in Far View Lodge.

Day 5: Early morning tour of Cliff Palace, etc. as noted above. Overnight at Far View Lodge.

Days 6 -8: Drive to Moab on Day 6 and spend 3 nights. Visit Arches and Canyonlands National Park.

Days 9-10: Drive to Kayenta. Two nights in Kayenta, visit Monument Valley.

Days 11-12: Drive to Chinle. Two nights in Chinle. Visit Canyon de Chelly.

Day 13: Drive back to Albequerque

Day 14: Flight home.

Any input is greatly appreciated.

We did Four Corners a few years ago. We had several fabulous meals at Metate in Mesa Verde (we also stayed at Far View Lodge). We stayed at Gouldings in Monument Valley and did the Navaho led tour (which I recommend). We spent several nights at Hotel Tamaya in Bernalillo (just north of Albequerque) (as we were also exploring Santa Fe and ABQ). If you decide to start your trip well rested I suggest you stay the first night there and then head out to Cortez. We did that drive in one long day in the rain.

Go to www.nps.gov and do a search for Mesa Verde and make reservations for Far View asap. If they say they are full, take the number and keep calling as they do get cancellations all the time. Do the mesa top loop in your car and stop at the overlooks, very nice. If you can reserve the Cliff Palace and Balcony House tours on line, otherwise as soon as you get to MV.

On day 1 if you are a little tired, but not ready to stop in Bernalillo, there are a couple of chain motels in Bloomfield,NM, a couple of hours south of Durango if I remember properly.

On day 3 you might try for Far View lodge in MV instead of driving back to Cortez.

Day 4, When we did petroglyph trail it took us about 2 and a half to 3 hours and we are geezer types who don't go very fast. You get on the trail near Spruce Tree House and can tour it without a ticket.

Have a wonderful trip.

Thanks for the tips and info. emalloy, we have already made our reservations at Far View for the days I mentioned, so we are set there. I'll check to see if we can get tickets online for Cliff Palace and Balcony House and maybe about day 3 at Far View. Thanks for the information about the trail.

POIson, Gouldings was pretty much booked, so we'll go with one of the other option in the area. Will check into the tour. Thanks.

Day 2- I would do the train/zipline combo and spend the night at Durango. The zipline is the #1 rated tour on the entire tripadvisor website and for good reason, it is great. first zip is scary and then you will be begging for more. first class operation and the train is nice, but does get boring after an hour or so of it.

Day 3 and 4 looks good. we did petroglyph trail and enjoyed it. Do as many of the houses as you can in Mesa Verde. You might consider making it to the wetherill area, we didn't make it to there. Food is pretty darn good at Far View Lodge. lodge is typical national park.

I highly reccomend www.deserthighlights.com in Moab for canyoneering. again, scary at first but absolutely the best thing I have ever done.

peronally, one night for Monument Valley would be plenty for me.

Moki Dugway, Goosenecks of the San Juan, Muley Point are nice and not far from Monument Valley.

If you get a chance see Goblin Valley State Park and Dead Horse Point State Park-depending on your route when you leave from Moab. Sipapu Bridge is a very impressive arch/bridge at Natural Bridges National Monument.

weather has potential to be hot, so you might plan your hikes early and late in the day.

link to our 4 corners vist a couple of years ago.http://www.photoworks.com/slideshow/...4?source=pw980

pictures are out of order

http://www.photoworks.com/slideshow/...6?source=pw980

link to our pics in arches

I agree with spirobulldog about only needing 1 night in Monument Valley. I was able to get up early and tour completely around by myself, taking MANY pictures and still got done in 2-3 hours. The tour would have been nice, but didn't fit into our schedule & I felt like I got to see so much on my own - got some beautiful pictures!!

In Canyon de Chelley, I highly recommend using Adam Teller and Antelope Tours for a personal tour of the Canyon floor - it's his family's and ancestors land and he is a great storyteller!! He took my husband and I and our 5 kids in his Suburban and it was one of the highlights of our 2 week Southwest trip!
http://www.canyondechelly.net/

Thanks again for the help. spirobulldog, nice pictures. Looks like you had a great time.

If we decide to make it only one night at Monument Valley, where would you recommend we allocate the additional day?

Also agree on one night in Monument Valley. Try "The View" Hotel. It's right inside the park and, as the name implies, has wonderful views. I recommend driving the scenic road in late afternoon, a few hours before sunset, when the light is so dramatic.

In Canyon de Chelly, definitely do the White House Ruins hike to the bottom of the canyon.

trips4fun,

If it is too late to get lodging in Monument Valley, the closest places south are in Kayenta and north are in Mexican Hat. These are mostly small motels or chain type places, although there is a B+ B in Valley of the Gods (Mexican Hat). If you click my name you will find a couple of trip reports of the area with links to pictures.

Hi trips,

We decided not to do the train ride up to Silverton because it would have taken too much time. Instead, we used a 4x4 road that follows along the same canyon as the train for a long distance. Not for the faint-hearted, but not dangerous. Great scenery. Then, we just continued on on the million$ hwy.

Have fun. You might use your extra day in Moab. So much to see and do!

If you are interested in seeing more of the “off the beaten path” ruins that are between Monument Valley and Mesa Verde in the area around Bluff, Utah, you might want to check out my two blogs on that area. You might find a short hike there to one of those ruins you would like to do.
http://theanasazi.com/
http://anasaziruins.blogspot.com/

You can also stay at The Desert Rose Inn in Bluff….it is pretty nice and not too far from Monument Valley, Goosenecks State Park, Valley of the Gods and the Moki Dugway.

All great information and suggestions. Thank you all so much. I initially thought two weeks was more than enough time, but it seems no matter how much time you have, there is always more to see .


Reddirtdawg, thanks for the link to your blog. I was curious, what camera are you using for your pictures?

I just use a "point and shoot" Canon Powershot SX10IS.
http://www.amazon.com/Canon-Powersho.../dp/B001G5ZTZO
I have always loved this camera....I have gone through 5 of them in as many years...through no fault of the camera. I am pretty rough hiking with them. The problem is...Canon just recently REALLY raised the price on this model....and though I still love this model....I think I will be looking at something else when I am in the market for my next camera.

Yes, it is a very good camera. I have something similar except it is a Panasonic. I like it because it is very versatile, takes nice pictures and is light and easy to carry. I was just wondering if you had used a DSLR or a "point and shoot." I had been considering getting something a little "better", but honestly I'm not sure I'm not sure that whatever difference in picture quality and price is warranted by the inconvenience of having to carry different lenses. I guess it depends on whether I am just sight seeing or hiking.

I'm not sure whether Canon was responsible for that price increase for your camera. They replaced it with a new model that you can actually get cheaper.

http://www.amazon.com/Canon-PowerSho...5694002&sr=8-1

Some people like the older model better and because the old model is in short supply now, those that still have them have decided to increase the price.

Anyway, nice pictures

Thanks Trips4fun ~ I did see that Canon had this newer version out....I think I am one of the folks that like the older version better. I still have my Nikon F2 Photomic and my 2 & 1/4 Mamiya with all the lenses but like you said....I don't like hiking with all that stuff anymore and won't ever go back to film again. So I retired them both to the closet years ago. LOL
Not many, if any, of the DSLR's have the tiltable LCD viewfinder screen...I find this the BEST feature on these Canon "point and shoots" I find myself very often putting my camera on the ground when I am taking shots..or over my head...and would find it very difficult to do this without this totally tiltable LCD screen.
I don't think I could get any better shots with a higher end DSLR. The only draw back to both of these Canons...is that they only shoot in Jpeg and not RAW. So I am somewhat limited in my processing in Photoshop with my images and can't do a lot of work on them with that.