# My South West Road Trip



## axon (Apr 30, 2008)

So, I'm off on roadtrip next week to see deserts, canyons and mountains.  Any suggestions of must see things on the route?

Rough route will be Denver, Santa Fe, Tucson, Flagstaff, Southern Utah then back to Denver.


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## quimcunx (Apr 30, 2008)

Are they near Lewisham?  I can't see them on the tube map.   

Have fun.


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## twistedAM (Apr 30, 2008)

Taos is nicer than Santa Fe

Avoid Colorado Springs at all costs.


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## chilango (Apr 30, 2008)

Monument Valley and the Navajo Nation

Zion NP

Arches NP

Bryce Canyon NP


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## trashpony (Apr 30, 2008)

Don't you have to go through Santa Fe to get to Taos? 

The Grand Canyon's quite nice 

And Painted Desert/petrified forest. 

Don't run out of petrol is my other tip


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## axon (Apr 30, 2008)

twisted said:


> Taos is nicer than Santa Fe
> 
> Avoid Colorado Springs at all costs.



What's up with Colorado Springs?  I'll check out Taos.


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## axon (Apr 30, 2008)

Papingo said:


> Are they near Lewisham?  I can't see them on the tube map.


That's coz Lewisham is in the East, the places I'm going are just further than Wimbledon.


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## axon (Apr 30, 2008)

chilango said:


> Monument Valley and the Navajo Nation
> 
> Zion NP
> 
> ...


Got these national parks on me list but hadn't thought of the Navajo's, I'll look them up, cheers.


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## axon (Apr 30, 2008)

trashpony said:


> The Grand Canyon's quite nice


Definately going to this, mainly so I can exclaim , "I've seen bigger".


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## twistedAM (Apr 30, 2008)

axon said:


> What's up with Colorado Springs?  I'll check out Taos.



Taos and Santa Fe are iirc about 60 miles apart. Just think Taos is a nicer base. 

CS is godsquad capital of the US. Lots of  fundy right wing xtian radio sattions based there and it's not much of a town really.

I did a similar rt from Omaha to Vegas about ten years ago....lots of driving in between places of interest.


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## D (May 1, 2008)

Some places to consider:

Sedona, AZ (between Tucson and Flagstaff - so is Phoenix, but you can skip Phoenix) - gorgeous place, great climbing and mountain biking if you're into it; big, aging, hippy/new age community

I'd like to visit Boulder, CO (only an hour and a half or so outside Denver) - quintessential Bobo ("bourgeois bohemian") town

I've driven from San Francisco to the Hopi Nation and back via Flagstaff, Sedona, and Phoenix.


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## Kanda (May 1, 2008)

trashpony said:


> The Grand Canyon's quite nice


 
*Just a bunch of rocks* was what I said to Treebeak when we went, underwhelming.


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## axon (May 1, 2008)

D said:


> I'd like to visit Boulder, CO (only an hour and a half or so outside Denver) - quintessential Bobo ("bourgeois bohemian") town


Glad that you mentioned Boulder, we thought about spending our last day here 'cause we heard it was good.


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## quimcunx (May 1, 2008)

axon said:


> That's coz Lewisham is in the East, the places I'm going are just further than Wimbledon.




Ooh, you should def go to Richmond park then.


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## Gavin Bl (May 4, 2008)

I'd wholeheartedly agree with on Bryce, Zion, Arches and Sedona.

As see Canyonlands NP near Moab - which is a nice trendy place to stop.

You can get a bit 'Red Rock-ed' out by the end, but it is fab and must be seen if you are in that part of the world.

I lived in Phoenix for a while, and while there is little of note there for a large city (though it is pleasant enough in itself) - if you do stop over nearby, the Botanical Gardens are excellent.

Enjoy plenty of mexican food too.

Can you detour to Vegas - or is it too much time lost?

Can't advise too much on the mountains, depending on which way you are going back - Leadville is very atmospheric as an old gun slinging town (at least it was 10 years ago), and driving over the continental divide at Independence Pass is great (12,000 feet)

have a great time....!


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## axon (May 5, 2008)

Cheers Gavin Bl,
Haven't decided on the rout back from Utah to Denver, either be up thruugh Grand Rapids-ish way or via Durango-ish way.  Will check out where Independence Pass is.
I lack the gene for wanting to go to Vegas, I'm not much of a gambler and it just doesn't get me all that excited.

Leaving tomorrow, I'll let you know how it goes!


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## Gavin Bl (May 5, 2008)

axon said:


> I lack the gene for wanting to go to Vegas, I'm not much of a gambler and it just doesn't get me all that excited.



Well have a great time, as for Vegas, the first night on the Strip is a fabulous night out, just insane. To hell with the gambling, enjoy the strip and the big breakfasts, and then bugger off back into the desert!

I had a bit of a recall from when I was in Phoenix, and a few smaller things worth looking at, ONLY if you are passing are:

the mesoAmerican settlement at Montezuma castle (basically a large house built into the cliff),

Prescott is a pretty little place to stop if you are passing,

Meteor Crater Park - a giant meteor crater

Canyon De Chelly is good to - but its more red rock...Bryce, Zion, Arches and Canyonlands are the big boys (Island in the Sky in Canyonlands is like being at the dawn of time). Monument valley too - for its sheer western icon value.

The thing to see from Sedona is Oak Creek Canyon, IIRC.

Man, I can just recall pulling up into in a nice motel, feet up after a day in the desert - cold beer and burritos - love it. Cheers


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## chilango (May 8, 2008)

axon said:


> Definately going to this, mainly so I can exclaim , "I've seen bigger".



Last time I was there whilst hiking back up the canyon my friend kept loudly mentioning that the Copper Canyon of Mexico is bigger (true) every time a yank went past...


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## phildwyer (May 13, 2008)

Bisbee, Arizona is the coolest town I've ever visited.  Lovely setting, populated entirely by hippies, 4 miles from Mexico.  Tombstone is just 20 miles away too, and worth seeing--they re-enact the gunifight at the OK Corral.


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## axon (May 21, 2008)

Well I went, I saw, and I came back.  Had a fantastic time, some of the highlights....

Taos:  Fantastic little town, very artsy, beautiful mountains, bloody amazing Rio Grande in a huge gorge.  1000 year old pueblo building!  Could do with a bypass though, really heavy traffic on the main road through town.

Stayed in the most beautiful campsite in the world in Abiquiu, massive red rocks, massive lake, sunset, deserted.

Delicious green chiles in every dish in New Mexico, stopping off in Hatch (apparently the source of most of them) to buy freshly roasted chiles by the roadside.

Tuscon:  Massively huge 40 foot saguaro cacti just outside of town, still can't get over them, boom boom.

The drive from Phoenix (95 deg. C) to just outside Flagstaff (about a foot of snow) was pretty unique.

Grand canyon: I knew it was coming but still left me breathless when I first saw it.  The scale is just staggering, especially with 130 mile + visibility we had!

Monument Valley: It's just like being in a Western 

Canyonlands, Utah:  Some bloody big holes in the ground, plus just outside the park saw two gopher snakes!  Drive down to Mineral Bottom down scary mountain ledges!

Driving over the Rockies into snowy winter wonderland.

Boulder:  Has a great fast flowing creek running right through town, lots of brew pubs , good food, encourages pedestrians over cars!


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## D (May 21, 2008)

sounds pretty fantastic!

welcome back to the humidity


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## twistedAM (May 21, 2008)

axon said:


> Well I went, I saw, and I came back.  Had a fantastic time, some of the highlights....
> 
> Taos:  Fantastic little town, very artsy, beautiful mountains, bloody amazing Rio Grande in a huge gorge.  1000 year old pueblo building!  Could do with a bypass though, really heavy traffic on the main road through town.



Glad you went to Taos. I loved that place.

I need a road trip!!!


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## axon (May 21, 2008)

D said:


> sounds pretty fantastic!
> 
> welcome back to the humidity


I need the humidity to repair my cracked lips!


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## axon (May 21, 2008)

Gavin Bl said:


> The thing to see from Sedona is Oak Creek Canyon, IIRC.



Stayed in a campsite on Oak Creek, very picturesque.  Didn't like the town of Sedona much, a bit plasticky and posh boutiquey for my taste although fantastic scenery.


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## phildwyer (May 22, 2008)

axon said:


> Taos:  Fantastic little town, very artsy, beautiful mountains, bloody amazing Rio Grande in a huge gorge.



As well as home to both Donald Rumsfeld and Julia Roberts.  You didn't get to Bisbee then?


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## axon (May 22, 2008)

Didn't stop in Bisbee but sounds familiar so probably passed it.  

Did stop off in Tombstone, I thought they did a good job of balancing preserving the main street and letting it still be a functioning town.  Did not get shot.

It's a shame that Taos is soiled by the odious toad Rumsfield


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## chilango (May 23, 2008)

axon said:


> Stayed in a campsite on Oak Creek, very picturesque.  Didn't like the town of Sedona much, a bit plasticky and posh boutiquey for my taste although fantastic scenery.



That was my take. Yeah the red rock is nice, but Moab is a cooler town to see it from.


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## Gavin Bl (May 23, 2008)

axon said:


> Stayed in a campsite on Oak Creek, very picturesque.  Didn't like the town of Sedona much, a bit plasticky and posh boutiquey for my taste although fantastic scenery.



hi axon, really glad you had a good time - its a fantastic part of the world, thanks for the highlights! I wanna get out on the highway now...!


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## twistedAM (May 24, 2008)

axon said:


> Stayed in a campsite on Oak Creek, very picturesque.  Didn't like the town of Sedona much, a bit plasticky and posh boutiquey for my taste although fantastic scenery.



It's worth an hour or two stop just to see the rich Cali freaks in the crystal shops.

Did you go to Jerome, AZ?


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## Gavin Bl (May 24, 2008)

twisted said:


> Did you go to Jerome, AZ?



Oh that rings bells, remind me about Jerome?


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## phildwyer (May 26, 2008)

Gavin Bl said:


> Oh that rings bells, remind me about Jerome?



Another small former gold-mining town that's been taken over by bikers and hippies.  There's loads of such places in southern AZ.


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## Mation (Jun 4, 2008)

I'm looking forward to seeing pics


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