I have most of our trip in July planned and reservations made. In park accomdations.
7/8 Yellowstone,3 nights,
coming in through Beartooth after staying night in Red Lodge. So as to be rested for morning ride, leaving 7/11 for Moab

7/13 Moab, 2 nights, leaving 7/15

1/15 Bryce, 2 nights, leaving 7/17

7/17 Grand Canyon south rim, 2 nights/

7/19 Monument Valley, 2 nights

7/21 Canyon De Chelly, 2 nights

7/23 Albuquerque,1 night

7/24 Santa Fe, by way of Tourquoise Trail,
3 nights Santa Fe....then home to Michigan
Questions:
1. where to stay in Moab. Or stay at Red Cliffs adventure lodge. I was looking at their special 3day thing with the horseback ride to the pictographs, and float trip, and something else, I think. But they are pretty expensive. And I'm a total beginner on riding a horse!! (and 50yrs old) But, It looked like fun, I think. Can a total beginner do this half day trip? Will I be hurting myself? Are the horses really that tame? Or, would it be more fun to stay in Moab. I'm planning on Arches, Dead Horse pt, etc. regardless. Would like a float trip (no rapids) here or Grand Canyon, I think.
2. Do you think we really need 2 nights in Bryce? Remember we are traveling on motorcycle from Moab to Bryce via 12. It can be so wonderful to be in the middle of the landscape on a bike, but the wind and heat can get very tiring after a couple hundread miles.
3. I was thinking maybe cut one day off Bryce and add it to Moab. Or add it between Yellowstone and Moab, and stay one night in Gr. Teton.
4. the reason I had for at least 2nights everywhere was to have time to rest up from traveling there. And plenty of time to explore, tour etc.
5. I think we're really going to wish we had a couple days for GR. Teton.?
6. I have been reading the forums extensivly for a couple of wks. on all the good advise for traveling in these areas, where to staty etc. You all are great, with all the good advise......thanks....Jeannie

I've only done the day white water rafting trip out of Moab and it was FUN. I was totaly scared to death before I went but now realize how much fun it is. I do belive they have a calm water trip. Most of what it I bet you can see from the roads in the area.

I'd cut a night out of Bryce and spend it at Page, AZ and do the 1/2 day float trip on the Colorado River. You can get this same trip from the Grand Canyon but they charge you more because they have to bus you first to Page and then back to the Grand Canyon. It's the same float trip but cheaper and you're not stuck on the bus more. Most of this area can only be seen on the float trip.

Utahtea

We were there last summer : Red Cliffs Lodge is great in scenery, confortable
and swimming pool is great...
Road from Moab to Red Cliff hasn't seemed to us too long because of the panorama.
We have stayed here 3 nights and we've been 2 times in Arches(quite all the hikes), one sunset and one sunrise at Dead Horse and a whole day in Canyonlands island on the sky district for a whole day hike.
We have been a couple of hours in Moab just to see the museum and Main street and also the "old buildings tour"...
Red cliff was a good choice to end the days.Staff is pretty good and diner was
very smart with the sunset on the cliffs from the diner room.
We've made the horseride and it's not difficult : this is only a "walking" ride without trotting or looping...
So for me, it's true the tarif is high, but it was adapted to what we got...
and 2 to 3 nights of "luxe" between
a tour in this area is welcome.
Before red cliffs lodge we were in
Canyonlands needle districts and after we've drive to Monument Valley, Bluff
for Grand Gulch primitive area..
Erik and Anny MONPETIT.
NB : we plan to return to Red Cliff next year in April/May also for 3 nights
in a new trip in the southwest.

Thank's Utatea. I think I read that you did the float trip from Page? I have searched and read tons of books, online info on traveling in this area, S. Utah. I've poured over maps, added up milage, looked for senic routes, not too many miles in one day. Especily on a motorcycle! You help people allot on this board......sure glad I found it.....very interesting to read everyones questions, answers, and experience....I don't think whitewater and my bad back will mix well.....is the float trip out of Page really,really senic, I want my husband to really like it. I's hard to get him to like to play tourist....

JeannieR,

YES, the float trip is VERY SCENIC! Both on water and the drive back on the big Tour Bus is too! It also was A LOT OF FUN. We had a fantastic guide and at one point they join all the floatoons and tell stories and sing a song or two. You can tell that ALL the guides are great too! It was a great experience all around. Here are my pictures if you haven't seen them already. I only posted about a dozen of the 100+ pictures I took on my digital camera that day!!!!

http://utahtea.lithium.com/vacation2003/float.htm

I guess the white water wouldn't be good for a bad back. Like I said, I've never done the float trip near Moab but I think you can pretty much drive on the roads (Potash Road or Kane Creek Blvd.)where the float tour would be going.

Utahtea

Thank you monpetit. Are you a regular horse rider? I can't decide how a non-riding beginner like me will do on the horse ride. A friend told me that it would really hurt my leg muscles, since I wasn't used to riding.

Did you ride to the pictographs? Were they really good ones?

Did you like Dead Horse Point better at sunset or sunrise?

You two are great hikers. I wish I could. My knees are too bad to really hike, and my husband doesn't like to go far away from his motorcycle.......thanks again.....Jeannie

If you are interested in seeing pictographs and petroglyphs there is a place called Sego Canyon and it would just be a short distance out of your way. They have so many different types in this one site.

When traveling east on Interstate 70 to get to Hwy 191 to get to Moab, don't get off I-70....keep going east to about 6 miles to Thompson Springs. Get off the Interstate and take the road North across the train tracks and keep going 3 miles to Sego Canyon. All can be observed just a short distance from the parking lot.

http://www.so-utah.com/green/segocny/homepage.html

If you don't mind going another 28 miles out of your way then get back on the I-70 going east to Cisco exit and then take scenic byway Hwy 128 into Moab. Watch out for bald eagles in this area! We almost had one hit our windshield.

Also in Moab there is the Potash Road and Kane Creek Blvd. (on opposite sides of the river) going east along the Colorado River have examples of petroglyphs along the road.

Utahtea

I am an occasional horserider...only
one week/year in a ranch near Tucson and one or two days in summer.
The day we have made the ride at red Cliffs Lodge there was real beginners-
2 of them for the first time on a horse and they have had no problems...
It was the beginning of their horse's activity at the Lodge and normally they
had the project, if the development was good to divide in beginners and non beginners. So I think you will not have
difficulties...
For Dead Horse it's difficult to give a
"honest" respons : I explain : for our sunset tour, we have had the "oppor-
tunity" to see the soudain arrival of a
summer's thunderstom on Dead horse and Canyonlands...So we have had more an
experience -terrific in beauty of a
strong weather.
Colours are warmer at sunset(red, orange) and perhaps cooler in morning.
In fact, perhaps you can choose upon your programm.
We have made the sunset a day we plan to dine in Moab and we have made the detour by Dead Horse in the morning before departing from Moab to drive to Monument Valley.
In Arches, the hikes are easy and so even with your knees it will not be a problem...
For Canyonlands, it's true that I think
this is a very "wild" park and the best to got its atmosphere is to hike.
So I cannot give you an experience on easy hikes or overview because we have
hiked whole days(2 times in Island on the sky and one day in needles district).
Thre are some "Falcon guides" on those 2 parks(Arches and canyonlands), with
very precise descriptions on the hikes, overview, difficultness or easyness which would allow you to choose what to do , second your possibilities and what
you are looking for(for pictures, for hikes, ...).
One of our preferred part of the US..
Erik and Anny Monpetit.

Jeanne, your trip sounds like it will be great!
Our family of 4 spent 11 days in CO/UT this past June.
My suggestion would be to only spend 1 nt in Monument Valley. It is quite spectacular, but there is much more to see & do in Moab, where we spent 5 nts at tha Aarchway Inn, and still wish we had more!
There are easily viewable petroglyphs at Sand Island, just outside Mexican Hat.
I would strongly recommend a stop at "Hole 'n the Rock," between Moab & Monument Valley.
The Moki Dugway was FABULOUS, and I would also suggest a stop at Mule Canyon Ruins.
We rafted from Moab wirh World Wide River Expeditions. It was a lot calmer that we had hoped, attributed to a low river because it was summer.
When I planned our trip, I considered the beautiful Red Cliffs, but opted to stay in town. We all enjoyed walking through the shops, almost nightly!
I would also recommend a sunset drive through Arches. It was beautiful, especially at the Fiery Furnace.
For a great meal, try Buck's Grillhouse in Moab.
Have a great adventure! Rose

Thanks everybody for taking the time to help me out! Utatea, Monpetit & rbs360. You all helped allot....Jeannie