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10 Southwest by Train

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Four Corners Cruise

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WHY GO From the neon chaos of Las Vegas to the solitude of the Grand Canyon, the scenery on this epic 3000-mile road trip across five states is ripped straight from the silver screen. Throw in a Wild West back-story, neo-Hippie art colonies, giant cacti and UFOs and get ready for one grand Jack Kerouac–style adventure.

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TIME

2 – 3 weeks

DISTANCE

3000 miles

BEST TIME TO GO

Year-round

START

Las Vegas, NV

END

Las Vegas, NV

ALSO GOOD FOR

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Your iconic journey starts in Las Vegas, America’s most scintillating adult playground. Seedy yet decadent, Sin City is a puzzling paradox where fate is decided by the spin of a roulette wheel and time seems irrelevant. Here the sight of the Great Pyramids of Egypt, the Eiffel Tower, the Italian lake country and the Brooklyn Bridge in the same mile, leave you feeling like you’ve stumbled into someone else’s acid trip. Is that really a bible-toting Elvis kissing a giddy young couple that’s just pledged eternity in the Chapel of Love? A Gucci-garbed porn star hawking her hip-hop demo amid the chaos of clanking slots and flashing neon? The answer is more than likely yes.

All that glitters is likely gold in this high-octane desert oasis, where the poor feel rich and the rich lose thousands. At the opulent Bellagio, glamour’s sweet stench is thicker than the cigarette smoke of the blue-haired grandmother feeding quarters into the nickel slots. Inspired by the beauty of lakeside Italy, the casino resort is the city’s original Euro pimp pleasure palace. Check out the ceiling in the hotel lobby. It’s made from a vibrantly colored bouquet of 2000 handblown glass flowers.

Las Vegas tempts you to lose your inhibitions and indulge your naughtiest fantasies. And what better place to loosen up than Sin City’s guiltiest new pleasure, the Pussycat Dolls Lounge? Lingerie-clad ladies do a little aerial swinging, play rub-a-dub-dub in a tub and flaunt their bodies during sexy song-and-dance numbers at this burlesque lounge inside Caesar’s Palace. When the club opened, Busta Rhymes got so excited he jumped on stage and inadvertently started a tradition. Eva Longaria Parker, Nicole Kidman and Jessica Simpson are just a few of the celebrities who have performed impromptu with the Dolls since.

High-drama and neon drenched, the Palms casino hotel is just off the strip and caters to the Hollywood crowd. Paris Hilton and her pals like to play in exclusive sci-fi inspired ghostbar on the 55th floor. It has amazing 360° panoramic views of the famous Las Vegas Strip. When you can’t keep your eyes open, move the party to your room. We hear the Hugh Hefner suite – with a round bed, and a glass-enclosed infinity pool on the porch – is the sexiest room in town.

After a couple days in Las Vegas, make a run for the border. The Arizona border, that is. It’s about 250 miles from Sin City to Arizona’s favorite crunchy college-meets-ski town, Flagstaff, your destination for the night. The drive itself is attractive, linking up Route 66 in Kingman and following an old stretch of the “Mother Road” east over empty umber hills and tumbleweeds before climbing into the gentle mountains outside Flagstaff. You’ll be feeling road worn and weary by this point, so check into the Hotel Monte Vista, once the inn of choice for film stars like Humphrey Bogart, Clark Gable and Jane Russell. As befits a place with such a pedigree, it is said to be haunted (but only by friendly ghosts, the proprietors proclaim).

It’s just under 80 beautiful, winding miles from Flagstaff to America’s most iconic natural attraction, the Grand Canyon. Although many people (and tour buses) see little more of the park than the South Rim viewing center, to do so would be a shame. To make the most out of this national park, you need to devote at least three days to the region. Whether you get to the bottom via mule or foot power is not important, but spending the night at Phantom