Arizona, New Mexico & the Grand Canyon Trips (Lonely Planet, 1st Edition) - Aaron Anderson [114]
TRIP INFORMATION
GETTING THERE
Monument Valley, straddling the Utah–Arizona state line, is 430 miles east and north of Las Vegas in the middle of nowhere.
Do
Edge of the Cedars State Park
See how museum curators are piecing together the past in the pottery reconstruction lab. 435-678-2238; www.stateparks.utah.gov; 660 W 400 North, Blanding; admission $5; 9am-5pm
Grand Gulch Primitive Area
Call the Monticello BLM office permit line to reserve ahead your limited-capacity pass for hiking or overnighting in Grand Gulch. 435-587-1532; www.blm.gov; Hwy 261; day-use $2, overnight $8
Hovenweep National Monument
Six sets of Ancestral Puebloan sites were home to a sizable Ancestral Puebloan population before abandonment c AD 1300. 970-562-4282; www.nps.gov/hove; park entrance per week $3; trails dawn-dusk
Kane Gulch Ranger Station
Pick up advance-reserve Grand Gulch permits opposite Kane Gulch trailhead (some walk-ins available). Located 4 miles south of Hwy 95. Hwy 261; 8am-noon
Natural Bridges National Monument
See the bridges from disabled-accessible overlooks or hike down into the valley to the spans themselves. 435-692-1234; www.nps.gov/nabr; Hwy 275; admission $6; 7am-sunset, visitors center 8am-5pm
EAT
Cow Canyon
Only a handful of fresh-made entrées are on offer any given evening at this eclectic eatery. 435-672-2208; cnr Hwys 191 & 163, Bluff; mains $11-18; 5-9:30pm Thu-Mon Apr-Oct
Twin Rocks Trading Post
Diner-like meals include hearty stews and sandwiches. Owner Craig Simpson is a font of local lore. 435-672-2341; 913 E Navajo Twins Dr, Bluff; mains $5-12; 7am-9pm
SLEEP
Natural Bridges Campground
Fairly sheltered sites cluster in red sand among scraggly trees. Pit toilets and grills; water at the visitors center. 435-692-1234; www.nps.gov/nabr; Hwy 275; campsites $10
Recapture Lodge
Rooms are comfy (if basic) and super knowledgeable staffers put on slide shows May to September. 435-672-2281; www.recapturelodge.com; Hwy 191, Bluff; r incl breakfast $46-76
Sand Island Campground
Pitch your tent beside the San Juan River at some of the 27 first-come, first-served sites. Pit toilets, drinking water. 435-587-1500; www.blm.gov; Sand Island Rd, Bluff; campsites $10; May-Oct
Suggested Reads
Ancient Ruins of the Southwest, David Noble
House of Rain: Tracking a Vanished Civilization, Craig Childs
USEFUL WEBSITES
www.blandingutah.org
www.bluff-utah.org
LINK YOUR TRIP www.lonelyplanet.com/trip-planner
TRIP
17 Photographing Monument Valley
34 Polygamy Country
35 Written in Stone: Utah’s National Parks
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Return to beginning of chapter
NEW MEXICO TRIPS
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48 Hours in Santa Fe
Albuquirky
Brewpub Crawl
Ice Caves & Wolf Dens on Hwy 53
Mountain Biking Gallup
Pueblo Life
Out of This World
Fiber Arts Trail
Farm to Table: Organic New Mexico
On Location in New Mexico
Take the High Road…and the Low Road
In the Footsteps of DH Lawrence
Hiking the Jemez
Margarita Marathon
Skiing the Enchanted Circle
Rock It: A Geology Expedition
Hot Springs & Swimming Holes
Following the Turquoise Trail
Rafting & Fishing the Rio Grande
New Mexico’s Wine Countries
Geronimo Trail Scenic Byway
Stargazing New Mexico
Day Trips from Santa Fe & Albuquerque
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Strewn with boughs of blood red ristras and earth-tone adobes, and smelling of sage, piñon and roasting green chile, the “Land of Enchantment” is like nowhere else in the country. Home of Billy the Kid, the world’s most famous UFO crash site and America’s only Hispanic governor, New Mexico is also the country’s it destination du jour. Who’s coming? Hollywood production companies (seems everyone is shooting a movie here), Richard Branson (he’s planning to launch tourists into outer space from his Virgin Galactic Spaceport in 2010) and more than 15 million visitors a year (not all from this planet).
DH Lawrence, Georgia O’Keeffe and the Cohen brothers all found inspiration in the state’s ethereal backdrop of mesas, mountains and unique light, and so did we. These 22 New Mexico trips