Arizona, New Mexico & the Grand Canyon Trips (Lonely Planet, 1st Edition) - Aaron Anderson [2]
Richard Harris Richard Harris, a gourmet cook, has written 36 travel and history books, including many on the American West, and is president of the New Mexico Book Association. He lives in Santa Fe and provided valuable guidance on the Farm to Table: Organic New Mexico trip.
Fran Lightly Fran Lightly, Sonoita Vineyards’ winemaker, worked for 10 years in California’s Livermore Valley before touring the country’s up-and-coming wine regions. Southern Arizona wines knocked his socks off, so he stayed. For a sip of his expertise take the Grapes & Hops in the Desert trip.
Cliff Ochser Cliff Ochser, founder of Evening Sky Tours, was instrumental in helping Lowell Observatory build the Discovery Channel Telescope, under construction in Happy Jack. He lent his stellar insights to the Big Skies & Weird Science trip.
Shipherd Reed Shipherd Reed hauls a copper-plated trailer around Arizona and New Mexico to record the stories of underground miners – a vanishing breed – for the University of Arizona’s Miners Story Project (www.minersstory.org). He shared his insights in the Gunfighters & Gold Miners trip.
William Reese Ranger William Reese has lived and worked on both rims of the Grand Canyon for more than 10 years and logged hundreds of canyon miles; he shares some favorite hikes in Hiking the North Rim.
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ARIZONA, NEW MEXICO & THE GRAND CANYON ICONIC TRIPS
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Four Corners Cruise
Motoring the Mother Road: Route 66
Rafting the Colorado
A Green Chile Adventure
Rim-to-Rim Canyon Hike
Gunfighters & Gold Miners
Dam Diving
In Search of Georgia O’Keeffe
Billy the Kid Byway
Southwest by Train
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Road trips were invented for the Southwest. The birthplace of atomic energy, alien mania and sin (city) has long served as the luscious backdrop for Hollywood movies and magazine photo shoots with good reason. The blockbuster scenery is of the crimson rock, pumpkin mesa, big blue sky and golden light persuasion. Not only is the Southwest blessed with iconic good looks, she offers a healthy dose of history, adrenalin-pumping activities and tarmac worthy of a convertible.
In this chapter we take you on epic road, river and train trips. Drive deep into the heart of the Wild West, revisiting cowboy and Indian culture in ghost towns where the scent of last century’s tobacco mingles with the grease of yesterday’s cheeseburgers at the saloon where Billy the Kid knocked down a few cold ones back in 1882. Cruise the nostalgia highway on our Route 66 road trip, passing tumbleweeds, 1950s billboards and greasy spoon diners along the way. Or snap a photo with a hand and foot in four states on our Four Corners loop. Adrenalin junkies will find their speed while dam diving New Mexico’s astonishingly clear, almost tropically warm Blue Hole or rafting the Grand Canyon’s monster rapids. Whether you’re soul-searching at a quirky rural highway art-house next to a giant saguaro cacti or dancing your heart out on the Strip, these are the trips of your lifetime.
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PLAYLIST
Everyone has their own idea of the ultimate road-trip mix. Below are a few tunes we find ourselves singing along to while cruising America’s most iconic scenery and down her most famous stretches of pavement.
“Take it Easy,” The Eagles
“Route 66,” Nat King Cole
“Route 666,” Brian Berdan
“Arizona,” Kings of Leon
“Yuma, AZ,” Damien Jurado
“Taos, New Mexico,” Waylon Jennings
“Santa Fe,” Bob Dylan
“Viva Las Vegas,” Elvis Presley
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BEST ICONIC TRIPS
2 Motoring the Mother Road: Route 66
4 A Green Chile Adventure
5 Rim-to-Rim Canyon Hike
ARIZONA, NEW MEXICO & THE GRAND CANYON ICONIC TRIPS
1 Four Corners Cruise
2 Motoring the Mother Road: Route 66
3 Rafting the Colorado
4 A Green Chile Adventure
5 Rim-to-Rim Canyon Hike
6 Gunfighters & Gold Miners
7 Dam Diving
8 In Search of Georgia O’Keeffe
9 Billy