Advice out west please

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jadealisen

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Joined
Apr 28, 2013
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Hello 

We are renting an RV out of New Mexico.  We only have a week and this is what we were thinking.

1st stop..four corners
2nd stop...possibly Grand Junction to some springs, we are not sure
3rd stop...Moab, UT
4th...Zion natl Park
5th Grand Canyon
Back to New Mexico

I would appreciate any must sees and if people think this trip is doable.  We have never been and wish we had more time.  Any advice you could offer would be much appreciated.

Thanks so much!
Jade
 
That trip is doable, but you won't see a thing, all you will be doing is driving. I would go from New Mexico directly to Zion and stay there two days, then head to the south rim of the Grand Canyon for two days and then back to New Mexico. That would be the very best stops on your route and you would have time to see some things in each place.
 
If it were me and had only a week, I'd skip 4 corners (it's a rest stop in the middle of nowhere with a nice stone compass marker on the ground), skip the Grand Canyon (yup... theres a hole in the ground. Not particularly scenic.), and spend some time at Mesa Verde visiting the ancient cliff dwellings, then hit Zion or Bryce for a few days. YMMV.....
There's so much to see that direction and I've seen most of it on a motorcycle. But I'm new with an RV. I've also heard the Grand Canyon is not particulary MH friendly. Perhaps others could confirm or deny.
 
Where are your starting?  ABQ?

What do you wanna do?  sightsee, hike, drive, shop, bike, fish, ????  Mountains, desert, national parks, busy places, remote places, full service RV parks, boondockin', ????

What are the folks traveling with you wanting to do?

What have you seen out west before?

The places you listed are about 1 day's drive from each other, more or less... hundreds of miles... figure on an average of 45-50 miles/hour once you are underway, unless you stay on the interstate hiways where you can average 55-60 miles/hour... then figure out the distance (google maps?) and you'll know how long the drive is going to be.  Probably takes at least 30 minutes to get going after you decide to leave and another half hour to "set up" once you get where you're going.  Add in gas stops, grocery stores, etc, etc.

There are literally hundreds, if not thousands, of places to visit in the states you mentioned... NM, UT, AZ, CO...
 
There are 7 of us going and we are open to anything.  I figured we were trying to get in too much.  We have only been to Vail, CO in the winter time a year ago.  Other than that, we have not seen anything in the area.

So maybe we should just focus on Utah?  We want to do atv's and sightsee, possibly white water raft.

Thanks again!!! :)
 
Grand Canyon, Monument Valley and Mesa Verde are easily do-able from Albq. maybe save Utah for another trip, flying in to Provo, Ut.

Grand Canyon is a must see in my books.  I can remember the first time I was there just standing there on the rim saying "oh wow....this is incredable" over and over.  I remember saying pretty much the same thing the few times we returned.  For me it was much, much more impressive than Zion or Bryce but then it's different strokes for different folks. 

Southwest Colorado is equally impressive and incredable and just full of so much history, also.....plenty to see/do there, too.  I guess it just boils down to what do you want to see and how much you want to do.
 
jadealisen said:
So maybe we should just focus on Utah?  We want to do atv's and sightsee, possibly white water raft.
Click to expand...

If this is your priority then I would suggest going to Moab and spending the entire week there.
 
Leaving from Albuquerque, with only a week, I'd stay around Abq. Do the balloon museum, Petroglyph Nat Monument, Salinas Pueblo Missions, Pecos Nat Mon, maybe Acoma, Santa Fe, Taos.


If you really want to leave the Abq area, skip Four Corners unless you're going right past it anyway and you really, really, really want to plant your ass in 4 states. Grand Canyon and the other NPS sites around Flagstaff would be a good week trip. Or Mesa Verde NP in Colorado and Monument Valley in Arizona. Or head straight to Moab and spend the whole time there but you'll be spending a day driving there and another day driving back.


Pick one or two spots and relax and enjoy.


Wendy
Cortez Colorado
 
SeilerBird said:
If this is your priority then I would suggest going to Moab and spending the entire week there.
Click to expand...

I concur with  Tom.  Moab is an off-road Mecca and they have several companies who provide rafting trips down the  Green River as a day trip right outside of  Moab. The scenery at Arches ( right  next door) is awesome.  You won't be sorry for visiting any of the destinations you mentioned but with the priorities you listed Moab is the  ticket! Please don't exhaust yourself with  trying to go too many  places in too little time.

Have fun and please report back  so we know what you liked best!

Betty
 
jadealisen said:
There are 7 of us going and we are open to anything.  I figured we were trying to get in too much.  We have only been to Vail, CO in the winter time a year ago.  Other than that, we have not seen anything in the area.

So maybe we should just focus on Utah?  We want to do atv's and sightsee, possibly white water raft.

Thanks again!!! :)
Click to expand...

Here's a suggestion...Go North on I25 from Abq to Cochiti Lake.  It's about 50 miles...for your first day...a chance to get more comfortable with the RV....  there's a great COE RV campground there and a nice golf course BTW...get a Santa Fe National Forest map and find the Jemez area...about 4-5 miles West of Cochiti with miles and miles of ATV trails, forest trails, dirt roads...after a day there, pack up and head for Red River, NM(about 100 miles)... river rafting on the Rio Grande, fishing, food, cold beer, several RV parks, ATV's galore, jeeps to rent, ski lifts to ride, family friendly town, and, it's not hot in the summer.  OTOH, if you are going soon, Moab might be better... much warmer
than NM.

Have a great trip.


PS... the bridge over the Rio Grande just north of Taos is well worth seeing....800ft canyon
 
Thanks so much for the suggestions!!! So much to think about!

I appreciate all the replies!
 
Wendy said:
Follow taos suggestion and you can visit Bandelier National Monument, too.
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Yes!!!!  If you are interested in art, history, museums and cultural areas... by all means go to Bandelier Mon and Santa Fe/Taos, on the way to Red River...there are about 5+ major, world class, museums in Santa Fe, and countless galleries, but don't drive the RV into Santa Fe... the streets are narrow and crowded plus parking is terrible!
 
taoshum said:
Yes!!!!  If you are interested in art, history, museums and cultural areas... by all means go to Bandelier Mon and Santa Fe/Taos, on the way to Red River...there are about 5+ major, world class, museums in Santa Fe, and countless galleries, but don't drive the RV into Santa Fe... the streets are narrow and crowded plus parking is terrible!
Click to expand...

If Santa Fe is in the picture, and you like history, You might look up Kay Barber and take a walking tour. She is delightful and very knowledgable. (Google her name for more information). Especially fascinating is the history of Oppenheimer's project there.
 
We have a little over 3weeks planed in the area starting July 14. If you haven't been to the bridge crossing at Taos, it's a must. Then north to Antonio .CO and a train ride thru the wilderness , next day Canon City for a few days, seeing Pikes Peak, Cripple Creek, on to Gunnison for back trail driving. We understand there are endless sights to see. Santa Fe has lots of National Parks in area just take your pick. Be careful on the mountain road and have fun.
 
BinaryBob said:
If it were me and had only a week, I'd skip 4 corners (it's a rest stop in the middle of nowhere with a nice stone compass marker on the ground), skip the Grand Canyon (yup... theres a hole in the ground. Not particularly scenic.), and spend some time at Mesa Verde visiting the ancient cliff dwellings, then hit Zion or Bryce for a few days. YMMV.....
There's so much to see that direction and I've seen most of it on a motorcycle. But I'm new with an RV. I've also heard the Grand Canyon is not particulary MH friendly. Perhaps others could confirm or deny.
Click to expand...

+1.  Four Corners is only worth the stop if your travels take you very near to it.  Definitely not a destination stop.  Zion & Grand Canyon are well worth spending some time in and Bryce is close to Zion and is also worth a visit.
 
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