Planning Late October Southwest Road Trip

[Car-Guy]

Too much to pick from .I do feel the biggest hazard of road trips is overestimating how much ground you can comfortably cover. I'd be inclined to do a Moab area trip with hiway 12 and a separate GC Arizona trip or add a few more days.

Not for me... But I've been to them all... But if heading that way, I'd add a few more days if that's doable for the OP, especially since he asked for opinions and he's retired... He can always "prioritize" along the way if he likes.

Personally, when I take road trips I plan what I'd like to do/see but remain flexible to add or delete stops as my trip plays out. Hard to add stops "if you don't know about them". Much easier to do after I retired than when I worked . YMMV.

 

[ivinsfan]

Not for me... But I've been to them all... But if heading that way, I'd add a few more days if that's doable for the OP, especially since he asked for opinions and he's retired... He can always "prioritize" along the way if he likes.

Personally, when I take road trips I plan what I'd like to do/see but remain flexible to add or delete stops as my trip plays out. Hard to add stops "if you don't know about them". Much easier to do after I retired than when I worked . YMMV.

Yes in Moab I'd definitely do Dead Horse State Park.Thats just one example. We've done all the stops mentioned except Santa Fe ,in about half a dozen different trips

 

[grasshopper]

If you stay a couple of days in Santa Fe one hour away is
Bandelier National Monument. It is a really great place for hiking, cliff dwellings. and it is right on the way from SF to Moab.

 

[Northforker]

If the North Rim is open, it is by far a superior experience. Bandolier NM is awesome, hands on Anasazi ruins.Chaco canyon is also anazing as is monument valley. Id spend one day in Sante Fe for the downtown market and the GOK art museum. We felt like moab was over touristy. Loved all of the rest of Utah NPs. Excellent historical Monument and story in Panguitch UT if you are passing through.

 

[TripleLindy]

Thank you for all of the excellent suggestions! We’ve already modify the itinerary to reduce time in Santa Fe and are working to add Bryce Canyon and Zion. And we’ll extend the trip - probably closer to 14 nights now. I only wish I could talk my wife into some camping!

 

[TheWizard]

Regarding Sante Fe. I have never spent any time there in my NM travels. I think we had lunch there once. I have nothing negative to say. It is a lot about arts and history. I think the main reason for never spending much time there is not having mush to see that interested us.

When you said 3 nights in Sante Fe I was surprised because I did not know what you would do. But said nothing because I assumed you had plans.

Not dissing Sante Fe at all. It is a nice town. I have just never found much to do there besides walk around in galleries.

Taos is another potential place to check out nearby

Los Alamos National Labs is also nearby and may give tours. I have never been there.

LANL is mostly classified work so probably no tours, but they have a few nice museums downtown that are interesting.
Nearby Bandelier NM is worthy of a visit and a day hike.
I usually stay at the Silver Saddle in Santa Fe, outside of downtown...

 

[TheWizard]

Last two times in Amarillo, I had dinner at the Big Texan Steak Ranch and last time I stayed at their adjacent motel and just walked over for dinner. I had a small steak both times, not the five pounder.

In the morning, be sure to stop at Cadillac Ranch just west of town off I-40. Bring a can of spray paint for full participation...

 

[TheWizard]

When planning road trips lately, I've been using the Only In Your State daily emails for a while beforehand to find lesser known POIs that appeal to me, including eating places. I pin them on Google maps for later reference.

As someone else mentioned, New Mexico has a ton of interesting national monuments, state parks, hot springs, etc. I could do a month in that state alone.

I'm just starting to scope out Utah for a trip 12 months from now. It's been DECADES since last I was in Utah...

 

[ivinsfan]

When planning road trips lately, I've been using the Only In Your State daily emails for a while beforehand to find lesser known POIs that appeal to me, including eating places. I pin them on Google maps for later reference.

As someone else mentioned, New Mexico has a ton of interesting national monuments, state parks, hot springs, etc. I could do a month in that state alone.

I'm just starting to scope out Utah for a trip 12 months from now. It's been DECADES since last I was in Utah...

There are a bunch of Utah threads on this board, for good reason. Also I can recommend the you tuber ...RVer TV... on Utah he did a long series of driving videos in UT 18-24 months ago lots of details and scenery.

 

[TripleLindy]

Feedback has been phenomenal - thank you! We now have a much better plan and have added Zion to the trip, as well as extending it by several days. We’re only spending the night in Santa Fe, so we’ll enjoy dinner there and head out the next morning for Moab. We’ll hike a couple of days in Arches and then on to Zion, spending 3 days there, and ending the National Park tour at the Grand Canyon. I suspect there will be many stops in between. There’s so much to see in this region and I know we won’t be able to get to everything. We’ll probably make this similar to a trip we did to Jackson/Yellowstone/Grand Tetons a few years ago. We only spent a couple of days in each area and then went back a few weeks ago and focused only on Grand Tetons for 4 days.

 

[Car-Guy]

We’ll probably make this similar to a trip we did to Jackson/Yellowstone/Grand Tetons a few years ago. We only spent a couple of days in each area and then went back a few weeks ago and focused only on Grand Tetons for 4 days.

Just curious where did you fly into (airport) for these trips?

 

[TripleLindy]

Just curious where did you fly into (airport) for these trips?

We flew into Jackson Hole. Interestingly, the Jackson Hole airport is inside Grand Teton National Park and less than a 30 minute drive from the Jenny Lake Lodge, which is where we stayed. It’s also less than 30 minutes from the town of Jackson. Yellowstone entrance is about an hour’s drive.

 

[ivinsfan]

Are you booking Zion Lodge. We did for one trip and from then on stayed in Springdale. If you do book the lodge I'd recommend the cabin type. Also highly recommended the Desert Pearl in Springdale.. the large hot tub makes soaking under the night sky primo

 

[TripleLindy]

Are you booking Zion Lodge. We did for one trip and from then on stayed in Springdale. If you do book the lodge I'd recommend the cabin type. Also highly recommended the Desert Pearl in Springdale.. the large hor tub makes soaking under the night sky primo

I tried the Zion Lodge and thought I had it at one point, but either there was a glitch or someone else was able to book the room before I could complete the reservation. I would have had to adjust our trip, as the available dates were a little out of order, but we ended up with reservations at Flanigan’s. I’ll keep checking the website, just in case something pops open at the Lodge. I just took a look at the Desert Lodge website - looks nice! We’ll probably stick with Flanigan’s because it has a spa, just in case we have a bad weather day.

 

[ivinsfan]

I tried the Zion Lodge and thought I had it at one point, but either there was a glitch or someone else was able to book the room before I could complete the reservation. I would have had to adjust our trip, as the available dates were a little out of order, but we ended up with reservations at Flanigan’s. I’ll keep checking the website, just in case something pops open at the Lodge. I just took a look at the Desert Lodge website - looks nice! We’ll probably stick with Flanigan’s because it has a spa, just in case we have a bad weather day.

As far as the lodge it was underwhelming. You'll be happy in Springdale it's a really cute walking town. Check out David West and the Worthington Gallery...take money!

 

[meridiver]

If you are avid, relatively strong hikers and not bothered by heights, there's an amazing hike in Zion called Angels Landing. I haven't been there in years, and apparently there is now an advance lottery because it got too popular thanks to Instagram . I'm not sure of the demand this time of year, so if you hit it on a week day, you might be able to snag a next day permit.

The hike is about 5 miles round trip, 1500 ft in elevation gain and most of it is "normal" desert mountain hiking, but the last 1/2 mile is a steep uphill over a rock formation with chains to assist. I don't recall it being tremendously challenging or scary, but then again the last time I hiked it was 15+ yrs ago so I was quite a bit younger .

As for the GC, even though the North Rim is closer and will be virtually deserted in late October, it doesn't have any good river views so I'd recommend skipping it and going to the South Rim.

 

[Chuckanut]

In my mind a really good loop would be Northern Arizona and then Southern Utah. Allow a week for each state.

Distances are long and sparsely populated. I would not let your tank go under 100 miles of driving range. On one trip I was just under 1/4 of a tank but only 20 miles away from the next town. But, a flash flood closed a road and the new route added 60+ miles to the drive to the next town with gas. Thankfully, my hybrid gets excellent mileage so I made it with a gallon or so to spare.

 

[Mark1]

If you are avid, relatively strong hikers and not bothered by heights, there's an amazing hike in Zion called Angels Landing. I haven't been there in years, and apparently there is now an advance lottery because it got too popular thanks to Instagram . I'm not sure of the demand this time of year, so if you hit it on a week day, you might be able to snag a next day permit.

Don't feel bad if you don't win the lottery as you can still do the west rim trail as it too has amazing views beyond the "angel landing" turn off at "the saddle". And besides sharing the same trail for much of the hike, you still get go by the sign that provides the number of fatal falls off of the angel landing section (something like 14 deaths in the last 21 years).

Observation point is another amazing hike out the valley and although you can still die from a fall at least the trail is relatively wide in the scariest section and you can hug the safe side of the trail against the rock wall.

 

[COcheesehead]

There are a bunch of Utah threads on this board, for good reason. Also I can recommend the you tuber ...RVer TV... on Utah he did a long series of driving videos in UT 18-24 months ago lots of details and scenery.

YouTube is our go to resource for travel planning. Search an area or town and see what comes up. We have found a number of interesting places in videos that have not been mentioned elsewhere.

 

[zippy2020]

If the OP is still stopping in Albuquerque, this just showed up in my Gastro Obscura newsletter, as one of the favorite Native American restaurants a senior editor tried on a recent trip:

Indian Pueblo Kitchen
A Native American restaurant
Eatery at the Indian Pueblo Cultural Center with Native-inspired & New Mexico fare, a bar & a patio.

Service options: Dine-in · Curbside pickup · No delivery
Located in: Indian Pueblo Cultural Center
Address: 2401 12th St NW, Albuquerque, NM 87104
Menu: indianpueblokitchen.org

The GO description was:
" Over the years, the concept for the restaurant has evolved, while staying true to its mission to educate visitors in the most delicious way possible. Curators view the eatery essentially as an extension of the museum itself. In the near future, they plan to unveil a Teaching Kitchen, where students can learn indigenous cooking techniques, as well as a commercial kitchen and greenhouse that will act as an incubator space for Indigenous food artisans and chefs. "

 

[SecondAttempt]

Or just try a Travis when you are in Albuquerque:

https://www.onlyinyourstate.com/new-mexico/travis-burrito-outrageous-nm/

 

[TripleLindy]

So many great suggestions! In the words of the late Freddy Mercury, “I thank you all.”

We’re considering Angels Landing as one of our hikes, recognizing that we’ll need to enter the lottery. Depends on the crowd. We’ve done the Via Ferrata in Telluride, so I think we can manage it.

Our current route limits driving to a max of 325 miles on any given drive day, except when heading back home, and every route goes through multiple towns, so I think we’ll be ok with fuel, but I’ll definitely keep an eye on it. Our SUV doesn’t get the best mileage. Just my luck that OPEC decides to reduce production now.

Current route:
DFW to Amarillo - Palo Duro Canyon
Amarillo to Santa Fe
Santa Fe to Moab (possible night in Durango, but probably not)
Moab to Springdale (Zion)
Springdale to Grand Canyon (South Rim)
Grand Canyon to Albuquerque (long drive!)
Albuquerque to DFW (another long drive!)

If we find something between the Grand Canyon and Albuquerque, we may add some time in that route. There have been some suggestions that have our interest. Experience tells me there’s nothing between Albuquerque and DFW but dirt, so that will be the longest grind of the trip.

Thanks again for all of the feedback, especially the dining suggestions. In addition to hiking, we enjoy good dining experiences! We’ll probably be eating lots of sandwiches, so we’ll relish a few good meals.

 

[Ronstar]

^ looks like a great itinerary - Enjoy!