# Vacation in the American Southwest **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [April 23, 2012, 6:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vacation-in-the-american-southwest/619720 "2012-04-23T18:27:51Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2012, 6:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vacation-in-the-american-southwest/619720/1 "2012-04-23T18:27:51Z")
We’re heading out tomorrow for a month-long RV trip in the Southwest. We’ll basically be making a rough rectangle in the four corners region, bounded on the north by 70 and the south by 40, but will be starting with the North Rim of the GC. The basic sights so far will be Arches, Capital Reef, Bryce, Mesa Verde, Canyon Lands, Chaco Canyon, Monument Valley, and Canyon de Chelly, along with other pueblo spots in between them all. We’ll be spending a little time in and near Santa Fe and Albuquerque to visit some friends. I know there have been other threads on this, but they pretty much shotgun the whole area and we’re limiting our time to this specific region. If there is anything in this immediate area that absolutely shouldn’t be missed, let me know, but my wife has planned this out pretty well. ---
**Author:** ![beowulff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beowulff/32/542_2.png) [@beowulff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beowulff)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2012, 7:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vacation-in-the-american-southwest/619720/2 "2012-04-23T19:06:01Z")
I’ve always wanted to visit the [slot canyons](http://www.americansouthwest.net/slot_canyons/antelope_canyon/) around Page. ---
**Author:** ![blondebear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blondebear/32/1022_2.png) [@blondebear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blondebear)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2012, 7:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vacation-in-the-american-southwest/619720/3 "2012-04-23T19:26:26Z")
If you get a chance, check out the [Mossy Cave](http://www.nps.gov/brca/planyourvisit/mossycave.htm) trail while you’re in Bryce. ---
**Author:** ![mcgato](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ac8455/32.png) [@mcgato](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mcgato)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2012, 7:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vacation-in-the-american-southwest/619720/4 "2012-04-23T19:57:40Z")
I enjoyed the [Wall Street section of Zion National Park](http://www.flickr.com/photos/35592860@N08/4293566655/). It is a slot canyon that is pretty cool to hike up, but beware of flash floods. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2012, 8:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vacation-in-the-american-southwest/619720/5 "2012-04-23T20:40:44Z")
> [@beowulff](#): > > I’ve always wanted to visit the [slot canyons](http://www.americansouthwest.net/slot_canyons/antelope_canyon/) around Page. You and me both, but I don’t think we’ll make it there this time around. ☹ ---
**Author:** ![Bumbershoot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bumbershoot/32/3428_2.png) [@Bumbershoot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bumbershoot)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2012, 8:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vacation-in-the-american-southwest/619720/6 "2012-04-23T20:40:50Z")
If you take Hwy. 550 between the four corners area and Albuquerque, I strongly recommend a side trip up Hwy. 4 through the Jemez Mountains. It’s about an hour NW of Albuquerque. It leads to the Valles Caldera (but you don’t have to go that far) and features beautiful red rock canyons. You can stop for lunch at Los Ojos Tavern in Jemez Springs and have a green chile cheeseburger. When you’re in the Mesa Verde/Cortez area, a drive up Hwy. 145 to Telluride would be worth it. Spectacular scenery the whole way, and be sure to ride the free gondola in Telluride. ---
**Author:** ![Trinopus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/2bfe46/32.png) [@Trinopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trinopus)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2012, 8:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vacation-in-the-american-southwest/619720/7 "2012-04-23T20:41:03Z")
**mcgato** : the “Wall Street” section of Arches is even more fun to hike down! 😉 ---
**Author:** ![blondebear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blondebear/32/1022_2.png) [@blondebear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blondebear)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2012, 9:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vacation-in-the-american-southwest/619720/8 "2012-04-23T21:01:19Z")
If you’re going to Monument Valley, you might have time to stop and see the amazing view at _[Goosenecks State Park](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Goosenecks_State_Park)_. ---
**Author:** ![Yeticus\_Rex](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/a698b9/32.png) [@Yeticus\_Rex](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yeticus_Rex)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2012, 11:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vacation-in-the-american-southwest/619720/9 "2012-04-23T23:15:09Z")
If you are still around the area on May 20th, try to put yourself in the [annular eclipse path.](http://eclipse.gsfc.nasa.gov/SEgoogle/SEgoogle2001/SE2012May20Agoogle.html) ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2012, 11:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vacation-in-the-american-southwest/619720/10 "2012-04-23T23:28:44Z")
> [@Yeticus\_Rex](#): > > If you are still around the area on May 20th, try to put yourself in the [annular eclipse path.](http://eclipse.gsfc.nasa.gov/SEgoogle/SEgoogle2001/SE2012May20Agoogle.html) We’ll be on our way back at that point, probably someplace in Idaho. I’d like to work in the observatory tour while we’re down there, but don’t know if we’ll have time. ---
**Author:** ![Alpine](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alpine/32/17813_2.png) [@Alpine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alpine)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2012, 12:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vacation-in-the-american-southwest/619720/11 "2012-04-24T00:14:00Z")
> [@Bumbershoot](#): > > When you’re in the Mesa Verde/Cortez area, a drive up Hwy. 145 to Telluride would be worth it. Spectacular scenery the whole way, and be sure to ride the free gondola in Telluride. The gondola (and almost everything else) is closed for off-season until about the end of May, but get in touch if you decide to come up! ---
**Author:** ![markdash](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ba8739/32.png) [@markdash](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/markdash)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2012, 12:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vacation-in-the-american-southwest/619720/12 "2012-04-24T00:18:13Z")
You already mentioned it, but yes. Bryce Canyon. ---
**Author:** ![jharvey963](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/54ee81/32.png) [@jharvey963](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jharvey963)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2012, 4:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vacation-in-the-american-southwest/619720/13 "2012-04-24T16:16:41Z")
Granted, it’s 45 minutes south of I-40, but I’d highly recommend Sedona, Az. In my not so humble opinion, it’s one of the most beautiful places on earth. [Here’s](https://www.google.com/search?tbm=isch&hl=en&source=hp&biw=1035&bih=797&q=sedona+az&gbv=2&oq=sedona+az&aq=f&aqi=g10&aql=&gs_nf=1&gs_l=img.3..0l10.1283.3920.0.4560.9.9.0.2.2.1.827.1164.6j6-1.7.0.8oBd9DfcdbA) a sample. J. ---
**Author:** ![jharvey963](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/54ee81/32.png) [@jharvey963](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jharvey963)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2012, 8:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vacation-in-the-american-southwest/619720/14 "2012-04-24T20:00:30Z")
> [@jharvey963](#): > > Granted, it’s 45 minutes south of I-40, but I’d highly recommend Sedona, Az. In my not so humble opinion, it’s one of the most beautiful places on earth. [Here’s](https://www.google.com/search?tbm=isch&hl=en&source=hp&biw=1035&bih=797&q=sedona+az&gbv=2&oq=sedona+az&aq=f&aqi=g10&aql=&gs_nf=1&gs_l=img.3..0l10.1283.3920.0.4560.9.9.0.2.2.1.827.1164.6j6-1.7.0.8oBd9DfcdbA) a sample. > > J. Browsing through the pictures, I found [this](http://www.google.com/imgres?hl=en&safe=off&biw=1035&bih=797&gbv=2&tbm=isch&tbnid=Qwe7a_-iK8otBM:&imgrefurl=http://www.barbarabaker.com/&docid=EhUeehfCWGdCyM&imgurl=http://www.barbarabaker.com/img/rotation/sedona-az-real-estate3.jpg&w=620&h=300&ei=kQWXT869I_TWiAK5rKHDDw&zoom=1&iact=hc&vpx=607&vpy=170&dur=5042&hovh=156&hovw=323&tx=117&ty=73&sig=100182428249582575971&page=3&tbnh=92&tbnw=191&start=41&ndsp=22&ved=1t:429,r:7,s:41,i:248)one which reminded me of the popular quote about Sedona. “God may have created the Grand Canyon, but he lives in Sedona.” 🙂 J. ---
**Author:** ![Hari\_Seldon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hari_seldon/32/5173_2.png) [@Hari\_Seldon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hari_Seldon)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2012, 11:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vacation-in-the-american-southwest/619720/15 "2012-04-24T23:30:44Z")
I just spent a week in Sedona and, in its own way, it was more spectacular than the Grand Canyon. The red rock formations were just staggering. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2012, 2:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vacation-in-the-american-southwest/619720/16 "2012-04-25T02:02:11Z")
I’m in Weed, CA at the moment, camped at the bottom of Mt. Shasta’s foothills. Nice view. Great town names up here; very lilting: Hilt, Weed, Yreka. I doubt that Keats could have penned words this seductive. ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2012, 4:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vacation-in-the-american-southwest/619720/17 "2012-04-25T04:44:49Z")
Hope you’ll be driving on Route 12, between Capitol Reef and Bryce. It’s a truly spectacular drive. And if you have time, hike through Horseshoe Canyon to see some gorgeous ancient rock paintings and dinosaur tracks. But most of all, you’re gonna love Bryce! ---
**Author:** ![Mama\_Zappa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/71e660/32.png) [@Mama\_Zappa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mama_Zappa)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2012, 1:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vacation-in-the-american-southwest/619720/18 "2012-04-25T13:12:55Z")
> [@mcgato](#): > > I enjoyed the [Wall Street section of Zion National Park](http://www.flickr.com/photos/35592860@N08/4293566655/). It is a slot canyon that is pretty cool to hike up, but beware of flash floods. Yep. We didn’t do much hiking, but of all the places we visited in 2010, Zion was my favorite. In fact I’m looking at a water bottle I bought there (metal, with a panoramic photo of the park) right now. A [thread](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=568968&highlight=kanab) I started a couple years back when planning our trip. I think my favorite _activity_ was the smoothwater rafting out of Glen Canyon Dam. If you decide to go to a nearby swimming spot (Lone Rock - just over the border into Utah), be careful… there’s no paved parking. While we saw a lot of RVs parked on the sand there, we made a bad turn and wound up quite literally stuck in the sand before we could get back to more firmly-packed sand. A couple of teenagers happened by and helped us push the car out of the mess. The rafting trips themselves gather in downtown Page, so no issues with sand there! We also visited the Hoover Dam at the end of our trip. That was before the new bridge opened up, so we drove directly over the dam itself. Expect long backups (vehicle inspections) though perhaps that’s improved since the bridge opened - at least I think it’s opened by now. Valley of Fire State Park, about an hour northeast of Las Vegas (en route from LV to Kanab, UT) is worth an hour or two. If nothing else, I know know what a chicken feels like when roasting in a convection oven - see, a breeze is normally a good thing, but in Nevada in July, it just cooks you all the faster. The road to Zion NP from the east (Kanab) is not RV-friendly. There’s a section where you have to make prior arrangements if you have any kind of outsized vehicle, because they have to block off all traffic for you so you can drive down the middle of a tunnel - and then there are some winding switchbacks after that which weren’t all that much fun even in a smaller SUV. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2012, 1:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vacation-in-the-american-southwest/619720/19 "2012-04-26T01:13:41Z")
> [@panache45](#): > > Hope you’ll be driving on Route 12, between Capitol Reef and Bryce. It’s a truly spectacular drive. And if you have time, hike through Horseshoe Canyon to see some gorgeous ancient rock paintings and dinosaur tracks. > > But most of all, you’re gonna love Bryce! Yes we are! Looking forward to it. In Santa Nella tonight. Long slog through the SJ Valley. On the plus side, I finally got to try an In n’ Out Burger that people on this board constantly rave about. I wasn’t too impressed with it, but was starving. ---
**Author:** ![blondebear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blondebear/32/1022_2.png) [@blondebear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blondebear)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2012, 1:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vacation-in-the-american-southwest/619720/20 "2012-04-26T01:38:01Z")
FYI, some of the best burgers in the Grand Circle can be found at _[Oscar’s Cafe](http://www.cafeoscars.com/)_ just outside of Zion. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vacation-in-the-american-southwest/619720.md?page=2)