Southwest US trip ideas

Itching2go wrote:

Purdueboiler wrote:
We live in Indianapolis and took a 17 day trip to the Southwest a few years back. Here is what our itinerary was. We started in Indy and drove to St. Louis and stayed the night. There we picked up I-44/Old Route 66. We took I-44 down to southwestern Missouri, turned off at Joplin and followed Route 66 across the corner of Kansas and then down in to Oklahoma where stayed the night at a state park on the Lake O the Cherokees. We then drove on Rt 66 and saw old stuff including the Catoosa Blue Whale until we got to Tulsa. There we took I-44 south till we got to OKC. From there we traveled westward on I-40 into the Texas Panhandle and stayed at Palo Duro Canyon. We made a stop at the Big Texan Steakhouse in Amarillo as well as Cadillac Ranch and drove on to Albuquerqe, NM for the night at a KOA. From there we drove up US 550 to Durango and over to Mesa Verde for a couple nights. From there we drove down and saw 4-Corners before taking Utah 162 to US 191 to Utah 95. Utah 95 is a must see scenic drive, amazing red rock canyons and Lake Powell. We then stayed Torrey and visited Capitol Reef NP. From there we drove on Utah 12 and stayed a couple nights in Escalante Petrified Forest State Park for a couple nights and visited the sites in Grand Staircase-Escalante NM. Utah 12 is an absolute must see scenic drive. From there we took Utah 12 and stayed at Bryce Canyon. (you could also hit Kodachrome Basin if you had the time) We then took Utah 12 west through Red Canyon (awesome scenery and cool tunnels) to US 89 and on to Utah 14 and stopped by Cedar Breaks NM. From there on this trip we took I-15 down to Vegas for a night to pick up someone at the airport and swung by Hoover Dam but you could skip this and go on straight to Zion NP if you wanted. After Vegas we went and stayed a couple nights at the Watchman Campground at Zion. That place is amazing (think Yosemite with red rock). After Zion we drove through Kanab and took 89A to the North Rim of the Grand Canyon. North rim is good on this loop since it is hours out of the way to get to the south rim from this area. After the Grand Canyon we took US 89A to US 89 to Page, swung by Horseshoe bend of the Colorado and Glen Canyon Dam and then took AZ Rt 98 to US 160 and stayed in Kayenta, AZ for the night. The next day we drove up and saw Monument Valley and the place Forest Gump stopped running. Continuing on up US 163 takes you past Goosenecks of the San Juan and Mexican Hat. From there we took US 191 up to Moab and stopped by Arches before getting on I-70 and driving home.

That, my man, is one heck of an itinerary, and very similar to one that we followed back in 2010, although we passed by a few of these stops due as we didn't want to cram that much into a couple of weeks. But then, being from Fort Wayne with a brother that graduated from Purdue, I recognize that folks with that pedigree can be overachievers at times. :)

Seriously, though, given you're wanting to do something in the Southwest in the late-May/June time frame, I'd suggest you might use this itinerary as the 'bones' of a plan, and then adjust to remove or add routes and destinations as fits your style. It is a great loop, although with two weeks, I'd stay to the east of Vegas.

Great itinerary....but way too much driving and too little seeing for me....we spent 4 weeks in 2012 seeing Capital Reef, Escalante, Bryce, Zion, GC North Rim, GC South Rim, Flagstaff, and Sedona.....We moved every 3 or 4 days and that just didn't give me enough time to explore. Am in Albuquerque now on the way to Flagstaff and Sedona. Spent 5 days at Palo Duro Canyon State Park in the Mesquite campground....absolutely gorgeous ....but way to hot 106-110 etc so no hiking, instead sightseeing in Canyon (Pan Handle-Plains Museum) and in Amarillo (don't miss the RV museum) and get a good steak at the Big Texan Steak house.

Bope your trip is a great one.