Desert SW trip advice, please.

[DWeikert]

I'm thinking of making a trip to the desert southwest maybe late winter, early spring next year. Stops on the short list so far are Grand Canyon, Valley of the Gods (and/or Monument Valley?), and Meteor Crater.

Seeking advice to narrow down the time window as well as any other must see destinations in the area. Just looking to do some sightseeing and stargazing. I'll be boondocking so suggestions for remote sites is appreciated. Just nothing that requires advanced 4x4 skills, please. 🙂

Thanks all,

[Mike_and_Terry_]

We did the SW trip 2 yrs ago ( spring) to see the cactus bloom in the 4 deserts . Had a great trip. Went out on Rt 66 ...Grand Canyon(south rim) Vegas, Death Valley, Yosemite, some of Calif Coast. Went home thru Texas and part of Gulf Coast. To much to write about,I have a river camp just north of Harrisburg let me know and I can give you what info I have. Safe Travels

[aruba5er]

canyon de chelly 100 miles north of Interstate 40, near the New Mexico boarder, free camping on federal land Peterfied forest, standing on the corner in Winslow AZ. (Eagles song) Grand canyon is much prettier on the south rim. Go south to Bisbee copper mine Tombstone cornado nat'l memorial San Xavier mission.So much to see and do you will run out of time before you run out of things to do.

[ReneeG]

Amazing profdant139. Last September we were at Henry's Lake State Park and one night around 10pm I stepped outside to look at the sky. I quickly called DH and we were both in awe of the stars and constellations we could identify.

[profdant139]

On the other hand, the winter stars are pretty darn good -- here is Orion and the Watchman at Zion in November:


Click For Full-Size Image.

[DWeikert]

Once again, thanks all for the input.

profdant139 wrote:
Several of the national parks in Utah are "Bortle 1" areas on the light pollution map -- so many stars that it is hard to find the constellations. In May and June (when the galactic center is up) the Milky Way casts a shadow.

Bring lots of warm clothing and be prepared to sit outside all night with your mouth wide open!

That's the one thing that bugs me about the April time frame. Having to wait up all night for the Milky Way to rise. I guess it's better than taking desert day hikes in June.

Again, Thanks.

[profdant139]

Several of the national parks in Utah are "Bortle 1" areas on the light pollution map -- so many stars that it is hard to find the constellations. In May and June (when the galactic center is up) the Milky Way casts a shadow.

Bring lots of warm clothing and be prepared to sit outside all night with your mouth wide open!

[Hemi_Joel]

There is a great museum at the White Sands Missile base, and the White Sands National Park is really cool.

[joerg68]

Antelope Canyon (tours operated from Page) is well worth the visit.
Other than that... enjoy the landscape. It is breathtaking, at least for this european.
I liked Canyonlands.
If you go a bit further south... Saguaro N.P. near Tucson, and they have what they call the Desert Zoo there. If you are into aviation, Tucson is also interesting.
Can't really go wrong. But the "infrastructure" can be very scarce there.

[Rocknita]

Have to disagree with Juzaxadar about the Meteor Crater. Been driving by on I-40 since the mid 70s. Don’t remember when it opened as an attraction but always thought it was just another Rt 66 tourist trap so we never stopped. We went to the North Rim in June and my wife wanted to see it. She teaches 5th grade and talks about it in her science class. So we did and it surprised me. It’s more like a museum than I figured. Very interesting. Also if you stay at the campground back at the exit you get a discount on the entrance fee.

[Optimistic_Para]

There are four observatories in AZ that have publicly accessible telescopes:

https://stardate.org/astro-guide/publicly-accessible-telescope-viewing

[NMDriver2]

If you are coming from the east, use US 60 from Socorro west as far east as you can tolerate 2 lane driving. The Very Large Array is just west of Socorro, NM on US 60 and, if it is not to far out of the way, use US 380 from Roswell, NM over to Socorro to drive past Trinity site, Fort Stanton, Lincoln (Billy the Kid jail break town) and Valley of Fires (lava beds) state park near Carrizozo has camp sites.

[DWeikert]

Optimistic Paranoid wrote:
Death Valley would certainly be on my list.

And I don't know if you've heard, but the Petrified Forest in AZ is now an official Dark Sky site:

http://darksky.org/petrified-forest-becomes-newest-dark-sky-park/

Thanks. I hadn't heard that. Compared to the skies where I live (4 on the Bortle scale, Light pollution map) most skies where I camp out west are dark. Definitely worth spending a night or two there, if the weather cooperates.

[ReneeG]

Juzaxadar wrote:
Meteor Crater is not worth the entrance fee. There is better stuff around Flagstaff.

Maybe, but if it's on your must see list, then you've got to see it! We did and we enjoyed it. We stayed at their RV park and really enjoyed it.

[TenOC]

DWeikert wrote:
I'm kind of a science/astronomy buff ,

You may want to check out Lowell Observatory an astronomical observatory in Flagstaff, Arizona, AKA Home of Pluto.

I have stopped at Meteor Crater three times to show it to different family members. It is only a hole in the ground, but for a science buff it is well worth the time.