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A trip out west

bczoom

Super Moderator
Staff member
GOLD Site Supporter
Four of us are going on a couple week trip through some of the western states.

We're going to fly into Denver, rent a RV then cruise around.

Below is our currently planned itinerary.

Any thoughts? Are there other places we should visit?

Pick up motor home in Denver
West on 70 to UTAH state line.
South to Arches National Park
South on 191 to 491
Southeast on 491 to Cortez and Mesa Verde
West to Hovenweep
South to Four Corners of AZ, NM, UT, CO
West on 160, then north on 191
South on 163 through Monument Valley and Navajo Monument
Southwest on 160 to 89 to ARIZONA
West on 64 to Grand Canyon
We will need to get best way to travel west in Canyon area
Northwest on 93 to Hoover Dam in NEVADA
Onward to Las Vegas
Northeast on 15 to UTAH and Zion National Park
East on 14 to Bryce National Park
Back to 15 (our choice of roads, perhaps 20?)
North on 15 all the way to Salt Lake City & Antelope Island Park
North on 15 to IDAHO and Idaho Falls
Stop at Craters of the Moon?
East on 26 and north on 89 to Jackson, WYOMING
Take routes closest to Teton mountains, including Jenny Lake
And Colter Bay
North on 29 to Yellowstone National Park
Explore park & head west on 287 to W. Yellowstone, MONTANA
If we have time to go to Joel’s in Moiese and Glacier National Park, we will have to determine route at that time
If not, take 14/16/20 east out of Yellowstone to Cody,WYOMING
Depending on remaining time, go east to SOUTH DAKOTA and
Mount Rushmore or southeast to Cheyenne, WYOMING,
Route to be determined
South on 25 to COLORADO; west on 34 to Estes Park
Continue west on 34 to Rocky Mountain National Park
Return to Denver
 

ghautz

Bronze Member
Site Supporter
Since the Grand Canyon is your only planned Arizona stop, you might want to consider the North Rim instead of the South Rim. The scenery is at least as good and the crowds are considerably less. From a glance at the map, I would say the total miles to Las Vegas would be about the same, going through Utah. A bonus would be a quick stop at the Pipe Spring National Monument between Fredonia and Colorado City. The downside would be backtracking along I15 to Zion.

My personal opinion is that the Four Corners area is a disappointment. I saw the pseudo four corners monument (the real state border junction is some distance away in the desert) several years ago. Now it is surrounded by a bunch of Indian vendors, with an entrance fee. If I were traveling the area, I would consider US163 north of that area into Monument Valley. It is more scenic than the drive along 160.

As far as going west from the South Rim of the Grand Canyon, the obvious route is to take 64 south the Williams, then I40 to Kingman, then north along 93 to Hoover Dam. A possible side trip would be along old Route 66 to the Grand Canyon Caverns. The drive along 66 would probably be more relaxing than I40, anyway. I prefer to avoid the interstates when traveling. The pace is slower and there is often more to see.

For the Colorado part of the trip, I would recommend you travel all the way through Rocky Mountain National Park and return to Denver via US 40 and I70. Better scenery and probably less traffic than doubling back through Estes Park and heading for Denver.

Sounds like a great trip.
 

Doc

Bottoms Up
Staff member
GOLD Site Supporter
No suggestions but it sure sounds like a fun trip!
I bet it will be one your whole family will never forget. :thumb:
 

bczoom

Super Moderator
Staff member
GOLD Site Supporter
I bet it will be one your whole family will never forget. :thumb:
Mrs. Zoom and the kids are staying home.

This trip will be my mom, my 2 sisters and myself. It was going to include the spouses and all the kids but that got to be too much of a mess.

My mom has pancreatic cancer and nobody knows how long she'll be with us. We're trying to spend more family time with her and do some traveling. We went to Hawaii last November and did a weekend trip to an indoor water park last month then this western trip this summer.
 

Doc

Bottoms Up
Staff member
GOLD Site Supporter
Sorry to hear about your mom Brian. She'll be in my prayers.
Good for you guys. Different family than I originally meant, but still it will be a trip you'll always remember. I hope you'll get some pics to share here in the travel forum. :thumb:
 

dzalphakilo

Banned
Brian

First of, apologies about your mom. I realize it's not worth anything, but apparently it seems you must have a good relationship with her, and thankfully you know that your time together is limited (as to having a love one pass away and not to be able to do and say the things you want to).

I've been to almost all of those places you've mentioned.

I sincerely think you're trying to do and see too much for 14 days.

Make sure you buy a national parks pass for the year. Hitting all those parks, it will save you money.

What time of the year are you going? After Memeorial day, it can get really crowded with people and RV's.

Craters of the moon is cool, but may not be worth the time and travel to get there.

Mesa Verde is cool, however, I hope everyone isn't afraid of heights. You'll end up climbing on ladders on the side of a canyon wall to actually get to the indian cave dwellings. That's whats really cool about that spot.

Four corners is ok, however, unless you just want your picture taken there and to pick up some indian trinkets, you won't miss anything.

When you hit Arches, stay in Moab. Take my word for it, Canyonlands will amaze you. Dead Horse state park (just outside of Moab) is cool as all heck. Murphy trail is worth walking. Potash road is incredible down to the canyon. Needles overlook is, at least for myself, more spectacular than the Grand Canyon (and no crowds). With Canyonlands, Arches and the needles district all within hours of driving, you could spend 4 days there easily and still not see everything.

Monument valley is ok, but your just driving and compared to some of the other sights, well, again, it's ok.

I'd seriously consider looking at route 12 into Escalante (going up to Capital Reef). One of the most scenic highways in the U.S. Goblin Valley state park is cool to (off of 24 from 12 from Escalante). Thinking about, some of the state parks were neater than the national parks, but everyone "hears" about the national parks.

With the Grand Canyon, look at the north rim.

However, from the monument valley area, you'll need to go into Arizona, and hit Page, where you can see the Glen Canyon dam (from there, just go due north to the north rim of the Grand Canyon). For myself, when you see one big ass dam, they all look the same anyway:) From Page, you're right at lake Powell. From PAge you can also hit Antelope Canyon, which is on the Navaho reservation. That place is neat. You also have Horseshoe canyon which is pretty cool.

I don't think the north rim is as "spectacular" as the south rim (Grand Canyon), however, as mentioned, it is less crowded. Then again, I sincerely think that the south rim of the grand canyon isn't as spectacular as some of the views in Hell's canyon and some other areas, however, those other areas are less traveled and not as "touristy".

The Navaho indian reservation is another world, and can be an interesting drive if you make it that way (actually learning about the people). I found the local Navaho people to be more interesting than the monument, for what that's worth. Although the Navaho bridge was pretty cool to walk over.

Again, the issue I see is time and too much to try and see.

Glacier is great, but unless you go during the summer, some of the most spectacular roads can still be closed due to snow.

Personally, Mount Rushmore was just ok, I thought it would of been bigger. I think I had a better time at Wall Drug.

Then, if it is summer, although Yellowstone is cool, it can be crowed (more so than some of the other parks). I just hate crowds, but that's just me. However, it is something to be aware of.

My advice would to be cut your travel time in half and only choose half of what you want to see. You could end up making a time table for yourself and unless if you stick to it, you may put you and your family under pressure because you may want to stay in some places longer than other areas. For myself, some of my best adventures and trips were never planned. I just go there with no expectations and see what I can find (which can take time).

From what I've read of your planned trip, the most important part of this trip is that your mother is with you. It's not the destination, but the journey. Take it slow, enjoy the sights, don't put any pressure on yourselves to see all those things you've mentioned, and enjoy your mothers company.

I can assure you, even if you see only half of what you want to see, you'll still enjoy yourselves.

The picture is from Dead Horse State Park, just north of Moab. What you're looking at is the north section of "Canyonlands".

Give you an idea of time, the last trip I took out to Utah was with my future wife and father. We flew into Vegas, drove to Utah, and in 14 days, I put on over 2600 miles on a rented SUV and we never left Utah and Arizona. From you're planned trip, looks like you would end up putting even more miles on.
 

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Erik

SelfBane
Site Supporter
good luck on the trip - trail ridge road at rocky mtn nat'l park is often closed due to snow from september into June. There will be times it is open in May, but then again, there's a lot of times it's not. Plan for alternate routes. (on the plus side, Estes is pretty cool - even for a tourist town - another good one up there is Ft Collins)
 

RedRocker

Active member
I've been going to Moab every year for over 22 years and have only scratched the surface of all there is to see in that area. I'd check out Dead Horse point as mentioned above, Arches is pretty amazing too. Rent a Jeep and get in the back country. I have friends that spend weeks at a time all over that part of Utah exploring out in the boonies.
 
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