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Clearly it seems there is no need to stray outside of the boundary created by interstates 25, 40, 15 and 70. First question, now, is where to fly in and out? A one-way trip is a possibility if we can find a good enough deal on a rental, but the rates I have seen indicate that a different drop-off location is something like 3-5 times more expensive than returning the car to the same location (when we were in Denver earlier this month, we rented a car for under $20 a day). It seems to me that a 2 week loop is doable enough that flying in and out of the same city would be fine, but I am open to suggestions.
Next big task, then, is to begin nailing down specifics of the route. What I am most interested in is maintaining a good variety in the places we visit. Someone mentioned that we might see more canyons than we care for, and that is something I want to avoid if possible. Not canyons specifically, but in general. Yes I want canyons, but I also want mountains, desserts, rivers, lakes, old mining towns, ghost towns…anything out there that is different than the last. In a way, I sort of look at this as a scouting trip. I want to find an area that really speaks to us that we might want to return to in the future, spending extended time in just that location. That’s why I want to cover so much ground with this trip.
Anyway, with everyone’s suggestions, I will begin devising an itinerary. If any of you feel the inspiration to fire up Google Maps and put together a route, I’d love to see it. At this point I’m not really looking for suggestions that are far outside of the natural loop my map presents, but anything that has been overlooked that is on or near the route, please let me know!
The Sedona area landscape is really impressive. We stayed at a B&B in Oak Creek Canyon
after seeing the Grand Canyon, but the town of Sedona itself is a waste. There's nothing
historic left; it's all Kalifornia Fern Bar and Trendy Shoppes.. I wouldn't plan on staying
there, just drive through..
The drive from Durango to Silverton is very pretty, but so is most of that area of Colorado.
If pushed for time, I'd drop it. Understand, I LIKE Silverton and just rode the bike out there
a couple weeks ago, but if you need to trim...
Chaco Canyon is very important, but fairly isolated from the rest of your route. I'd rather
spend more time at Mesa Verde.
One more thing to bear in mind: Santa Fe and Colorado Springs have airports with regularly scheduled flight service (SAF and COS respectively), as well. You may find renting a car from these locations to be far more reasonably priced (and getting through security is likely to be far less of a hassle).
Sedona's town may not be historic anymore, but that's hardly a reason to avoid it. The topology and natural beauty ranks up there with anywhere else in the U.S.. just be aware that it's much farther from Flagstaff than it looks on the map...
Mike, it does sound like the North Rim is the way to go. I will have to see how that fits in with the route.
OH MY.... I thought when speaking of an airport at Las Vegas, you meant Las Vegas, NEW MEXICO. Of course landing at Las Vegas, NV makes a lot more sense in terms of how you've laid out your desired route. Thinking in those terms, my recommendation would echo that of others who suggest the NORTH RIM of the Grand Canyon. That would, for me, eliminate altogether driving the relatively boring IH-40 interstate. Instead take time to see the major Nat. Parks in southern Utah, as well as the Nat. Monuments in that area (Arches Nat. Mon. as an example).
From Moab (Arches) travel to Grand Junction, up and over the Grand Mesa, to Montrose, Grand Canyon of the Gunnison NP, OURAY - aptly named the Switzerland of America, over Red Mtn. Pass to Durango, Mesa Verde NP, and thence down to Taos and Santa Fe, and beyond. Book your return flight from either Albuquerque or Denver, depending on how much time you've worked off.
Although your plan is incredibly ambititous, I want to add to it. Colorado National Monument, on the edge of Grand Junction, is absolutely beautiful scenery. We were there a year ago, in May, and it was not overly crowded. We spent an entire day there, walking trails and just enjoying the place. http://www.nps.gov/colm/index.htm
We took the 2 lanes north from Cortez, 491 to 141, to 141/50. In places it was like driving at the bottom of the Grand Canyon. I thought the drive was better than the drive from Sedona to Flagstaff. If you're into cars at all, there's also a wonderful auto museum in Gateway. This is one we'll do again, maybe north to south next time.
LOL jax. I have to say, you really had me wondering how Vegas (NV) wouldn't have non-commuter commercial flights. Glad we got that cleared up. I think the confusion came due to you thinking purely in terms of your own state, which is fine and is why I posted this thread on each state's forum. I was joking with my brother (who is planning a similar trip and has been following these threads) that it seems many of the posters in each state thread like to talk about every state other than their own (which is fine too!). I told him if he wants to find out about stuff to see in Utah, check the Arizona thread. LOL.
Anyway, I like your suggestion of eliminating I-40 between Albuquerque and Vegas but that requires us to do the one-way rental. We'll just have to try hard to find a good deal on that, because it seems like the way to go.
I think the confusion came due to you thinking purely in terms of your own state, which is fine and is why I posted this thread on each state's forum.
Actually it was because I had this mind set about leaving Denver and traveling in a clockwise direction. Not sure why I assumed that would be your choice, but that would have meant Las Vegas, NM in order to avoid landing in Denver. I think the added expense of one-way rental and booking two different flight plans would be well worth it if you can spend more of your time in southern Utan and the 4-Corners area (SW CO and NM).
It's not out of the realm of possibility to do Zion, Bryce and Capital Reef in one day, assuming you just do a drive through. My all-time favorite area of the entire USA is the Ouray/Teluride experience, and the high passes on US-550. That road over the passes is referred to as the "Million Dollar Hiway" for good reason - gold mine tailings were used to form the road bed when it was constructed for "modern" traffic.
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I wouldn't plan on staying
I think the confusion came due to you thinking purely in terms of your own state, which is fine and is why I posted this thread on each state's forum. I was joking with my brother (who is planning a similar trip and has been following these threads) that it seems many of the posters in each state thread like to talk about every state other than their own (which is fine too!). I told him if he wants to find out about stuff to see in Utah, check the Arizona thread. LOL.
