Post by TexJohn on Mar 24, 2008 12:51:55 GMT -6
We just returned from our son Joey’s spring break vacation and it was a long one.
We (John, Nancy, Joey & his cousin David) drove out after work on Friday. We were equipped with a portable DVD player, snacks and a cooler. We drove to Wicita Falls, TX – about 360 miles. We got in about midnight.
We got up the next morning and drove to Palo Duro Canyon, just south of Amarillo, TX. We hiked for several miles around the Canyon and headed out. We drove to Cuba, NM and got in around 10pm.
Cuba is the closest town to Chaco Canyon, which was our first stop the next morning. We took a ranger guided tour of the ruins and took in the sights. We left out early afternoon and headed to Mesa Verde in southwest Colorado and did a drive through the park and looked at the cliff dwellings. We left around dark and headed to Moab, UT – closest town to Arches National Park.
That is where we spent the entire next day, hiking, climbing, and taking in the sights. We spent another night in Moab. It was a nice motel with a hot tub, which felt great after a day of walking/hiking.
The next morning we headed toward Monument Valley in southern UT. We were meeting Nancy’s, sister, dad and David’s younger brother, Michael. They flew into Phoenix the previous day and rented a car and were staying in Flagstaff, AZ. They were running a little late so we took a detour and drove through Valley Of The Gods. That was about a 25 mile (unpaved) road through some beautiful formations. We went on to Monument Valley and met up with the rest of the travelers. We took the very rough, unpaved 17 mile “road” through the sights, stopping to take pictures along the way. It was cool and very windy that day, so we skipped any hiking and headed back to Flagstaff for the night.
The next morning we dumped all luggage in the other vehicle, put up the extra seat, and put 7 people in my vehicle (Mercury Mountaineer) and headed to Meteor Crater (impact). We left there and headed to Sunset Crater (volcanic). We hiked a little there and drove out the back and saw the Painted Desert and some more ruins. We headed back to Flagstaff and dropped off everyone except Nancy, Joey & I. We headed to the Grand Canyon. We arrived right at sunset and checked in at the rim of the canyon and checked in for the mule ride in the morning.
We were up early and waiting for the mule ride to start at 8:00am. It was about 38 degrees and windy at the rim. We had on several layers of clothes. We started into the canyon and it warmed up quickly, after a few miles of an icy/snow packed trail. We stopped for lunch and peeled of many layers and headed on the to floor of the canyon. It was in the 80’s at the bottom. Had a great steak dinner and saw the canyon under a full moon which was very bright. We had a small cabin to sleep in.
The next morning (Good Friday) we had breakfast served and re-mounted the mules for the ride out. The ride out took about 4-5 hours counting the time to stop and rest the mules.
We were back at our car around 2:00pm. We decided to not try to visit friends in Phoenix or Sedona and just head home. With a long drive Friday afternoon/evening, we made it to Deming, NM to sleep for the night.
Near dawn the next morning we hit the road again and made the final 870 miles to Houston in 12.5 hours. Home at 9:15 pm in time to unload and get a good night’s sleep in our own bed.
Except for a brief visit at the top of the Grand Canyon, none of us had seen any of the places we visited before. Any of the placed deserved more time, but we wanted to see as many different sights as possible. Mission Accomplished!
3550 miles in 9 days
TexJohn
We (John, Nancy, Joey & his cousin David) drove out after work on Friday. We were equipped with a portable DVD player, snacks and a cooler. We drove to Wicita Falls, TX – about 360 miles. We got in about midnight.
We got up the next morning and drove to Palo Duro Canyon, just south of Amarillo, TX. We hiked for several miles around the Canyon and headed out. We drove to Cuba, NM and got in around 10pm.
Cuba is the closest town to Chaco Canyon, which was our first stop the next morning. We took a ranger guided tour of the ruins and took in the sights. We left out early afternoon and headed to Mesa Verde in southwest Colorado and did a drive through the park and looked at the cliff dwellings. We left around dark and headed to Moab, UT – closest town to Arches National Park.
That is where we spent the entire next day, hiking, climbing, and taking in the sights. We spent another night in Moab. It was a nice motel with a hot tub, which felt great after a day of walking/hiking.
The next morning we headed toward Monument Valley in southern UT. We were meeting Nancy’s, sister, dad and David’s younger brother, Michael. They flew into Phoenix the previous day and rented a car and were staying in Flagstaff, AZ. They were running a little late so we took a detour and drove through Valley Of The Gods. That was about a 25 mile (unpaved) road through some beautiful formations. We went on to Monument Valley and met up with the rest of the travelers. We took the very rough, unpaved 17 mile “road” through the sights, stopping to take pictures along the way. It was cool and very windy that day, so we skipped any hiking and headed back to Flagstaff for the night.
The next morning we dumped all luggage in the other vehicle, put up the extra seat, and put 7 people in my vehicle (Mercury Mountaineer) and headed to Meteor Crater (impact). We left there and headed to Sunset Crater (volcanic). We hiked a little there and drove out the back and saw the Painted Desert and some more ruins. We headed back to Flagstaff and dropped off everyone except Nancy, Joey & I. We headed to the Grand Canyon. We arrived right at sunset and checked in at the rim of the canyon and checked in for the mule ride in the morning.
We were up early and waiting for the mule ride to start at 8:00am. It was about 38 degrees and windy at the rim. We had on several layers of clothes. We started into the canyon and it warmed up quickly, after a few miles of an icy/snow packed trail. We stopped for lunch and peeled of many layers and headed on the to floor of the canyon. It was in the 80’s at the bottom. Had a great steak dinner and saw the canyon under a full moon which was very bright. We had a small cabin to sleep in.
The next morning (Good Friday) we had breakfast served and re-mounted the mules for the ride out. The ride out took about 4-5 hours counting the time to stop and rest the mules.
We were back at our car around 2:00pm. We decided to not try to visit friends in Phoenix or Sedona and just head home. With a long drive Friday afternoon/evening, we made it to Deming, NM to sleep for the night.
Near dawn the next morning we hit the road again and made the final 870 miles to Houston in 12.5 hours. Home at 9:15 pm in time to unload and get a good night’s sleep in our own bed.
Except for a brief visit at the top of the Grand Canyon, none of us had seen any of the places we visited before. Any of the placed deserved more time, but we wanted to see as many different sights as possible. Mission Accomplished!
3550 miles in 9 days
TexJohn
