Where should we go? South from Zion...

[Stella]

It's 10 days until we leave on vacation from the snowy Jackson Hole area and I'm starting to daydream about where we'll go.

Scott will tow Stella (who's getting a new converter and battery this week, yay!) with his 2006 Dodge Ram quad cab 2500, plenty of room for two humans, two dogs and the copious amounts of lawn furniture. Our plan is to leave pretty early on Friday, March 28 and drive south. I hope we can make it all the way to Zion National Park's western gate, Springdale, UT, in one 600-mile push. We can spend two nights there and figure out which way to head. Mojo (feisty 60-pound 7-year-old mutt) and Java (80-pound 10-year-old mix) may go to daycare for one day while we hike in Zion, but I'd prefer not to ditch them very much. We want to hike and play with them a couple hours per day, at least.

Southeast would take us to the Grand Canyon, then along Rt. 66 to New Mexico to explore Santa Fe and Taos. We could loop back north through Colorado on the way home.

Straight south lies the red rocks of Sedona, a Diamondbacks ballgame in Phoenix, saguaro cacti near Tucson, lots of sunshine and maybe even a trip past Bisbee over the border to Mexico.

Southwest? It's Death Valley, Joshua Tree, our pick of baseball games at four or five stadiums around LA, the beach, seafood, circling north along the coast and back up through Nevada.

We plan to be back home in Wyoming after about 12 nights. We'll be seeking out dog-friendly RV parks, hikes, beaches, outdoor restaurants, sunshine and funky sights. Does anyone have a "don't miss" place to picnic, spectacular sunset-watching venue, comedy club, aquarium, bike ride? Now taking suggestions...

Jo in Wyo

[eubank]

Originally Posted by Stella

...
Southeast would take us to the Grand Canyon, then along Rt. 66 to New Mexico to explore Santa Fe and Taos. We could loop back north through Colorado on the way home.
Jo in Wyo

Santa Fe and Taos are neat destinations, but I'd recommend that you give up on Route 66 for that stretch and go the northern route:

-Route 66 along that stretch doesn't really exist except in very brief stretches. The vast majority of the time, it'll just be I40.

-Instead, I'd recommend Hwy 164 /Hwy 64 across northern AZ and into NM. Beautiful country with lots to see and do!


Lynn

[jayray5]

Best weather and great boondocking. Desert museum,Bisbee, Tombstone and then loop up through New Mexico. What a trip!

[JakBluMule]

You'll need to purchase a permit, and possibly get an escort, to go through the tunnel in Zion. This is separate from the park admission fee and would not be included on your national park pass. Measure the height of your trailer.

If you still want to go through Zion, when you come out the east side go over to Bryce Canyon and/or down to the north rim of the Grand Canyon. You could go through the Navajo Reservation on US 160 (Navajo Natl. Monument is a few miles north of 160 on a nice paved road and has a free campground....small spaces so you'd have to unhook...no hookups but clean restrooms) If you want to go to Monument Valley leave the trailer, because the "road" in there in pretty rough. See the four corners monument. US 64 across northern NM is a very nice drive, but may be closed between Tierra Amarilla & Tres Piedras if there's still a lot of snow.

[Boondocker]

Originally Posted by eubank

-Instead, I'd recommend Hwy 164 /Hwy 64 across northern AZ and into NM. Beautiful country with lots to see and do!


Lynn

yep

[Mr Greg]

Have a great trip Stella. I have two dogs also and one is a pound puppy. Maybe your dogs would love to go with you for awalk in Zion? I live in Wyoming. Lets keep this place a secret.

[BIGED52]

Jo, Have a great trip and post your adveture here when you get back home! We all enjoy a good read and I am sure Stella will treat you right. As with all Safari's you're in good company with one of the last three years of Wally's designs. ('66, '67, '68) I hope you have a lot of fun and see lots of stuff to tell us all about. Happy Trails, Ed

[flitzwhopper]

Meteor Crater on the way to Taos is a good pick... get in early in the day, go to the crater, down to Winslow for lunch at the railroad station (big Route 66 monument). Southward, Kartchner Cavrens off I-10 just west of Benson. There are scenic state highways to both places if you want to stay off the interstates. Toombstone and Bisbee are near by.

[Jimandrod]

If you're going to be at Zion you're too close to Bryce to not stop there too! I really like Bryce much better than Zion.

Come across Northern AZ and catch Monument Valley. It will take your breath away. You'll have to leave the trailer behind when you drive through Monument Valley. 4 Corners is worth seeing too.

Come on over to New Mexico. Lot's to see and do here in addition to Taos and SFe. It's interesting that several of the responses here are from New Mexicans. Hmmm... there might be a reason for that.

[eubank]

Originally Posted by Jimandrod

... It's interesting that several of the responses here are from New Mexicans. Hmmm... there might be a reason for that.

They don't call this place the Land of Enchantment for nothin'!

Lynn

[Jimandrod]

Originally Posted by eubank

They don't call this place the Land of Enchantment for nothin'!

Lynn

You got that right Lynn! Not only is it enchanting but when NM bites you it bites hard! I fell in love with NM on my very first trip here. It was all I could think about for the next 5 years until I moved here.

Like Grorgia O'Keefe said "When New Mexico bites you it will itch you forever"

I'm sitting in my studio right now gazing at the mesa's on the Santa Ana Pueblo with the Jemez in the distance - truly enchanting. I can never grow tired of the view. Hold on, I'll take a pic. (Sorry for the trash can in the picture but today is trash day.)

Come on Jo... Stella want's to come to NM. Besides, the people here are really friendly and the green chile is delicious!

[joe3957]

When I look at your list of things you like to do...It would seem you should bike ride (MTN) in Moab...there is nothing like it. Then I think the route Lyn suggests is great into NM. Chaco Canyon is incredible, but the washboard road is hard on the rig, Mesa Verde, near Durango Co or Bandelier near SF are unique cliff dwellings if you have never experienced. There is a great aquarium and zoo in Albuquerque, and actually a very nice paved bike trail up and down the bosque (river woods). If you end up here PM me and I will tell you some nice patios for dinner and drinks. Enjoy

[Jimandrod]

Like Joe said, the washboard road to Chaco is pretty nasty. You'll loosen every one of Stella's screws. However, it's worth unhitching and driving in. There are a few RV parks in the area.

If you head down 550 towards I-25 and Santa Fe you can park at Stage Coach RV park for the night and drive over to the Range Cafe in Bernalillo. Also nearby at US 550 and NM 528 I often see a lot of people parking at the Santa Ana Star Casino parking lot (RVs, semis, Class As) I guess if you're playing in the casino they don't mind.

Then you can either head up to Santa Fe on I-25 or NM4 through the Jemez Mts. The drive through the Jemez is beautiful and ends up right near Bandalier. From there it's an easy trip to Taos or Santa Fe. It's also nice going to Abiquiu and Georgia O'keefe country.

Once you hit the road, your TV is going to automatically steer you towards NM. You may not have any choice in the matter!

[joe3957]

I think you can still camp right next to the river at the Coronado State Park I would do that over parking in a Casino parking lot.

[Jimandrod]

Originally Posted by joe3957

I think you can still camp right next to the river at the Coronado State Park I would do that over parking in a Casino parking lot.

That's right - Coronado is right behind Jackelope and is pretty decent. It would be a better choice over the casino lot. Yup, you can camp next to the Rio Grande and the river is going to be running well as the spring thaw starts.

Jackelope is a must see and so is the Coronado monument.

Avoid the Bernalillo KOA at any cost.

[Stella]

Thanks for your input, everybody! I'm saving these suggestions for this trip, and trips down the road if we don't get to them.

I've got the Dogfriendly guide to the West coming in the mail this week, so that will, I hope, steer us to cute outdoor cafes where they provide water bowls for furry friends, and to beaches where they can chase a frisbee and wrestle.

Looks like our first stop will be Snow Canyon State Park near St. George, UT or if they're full (they appear to be) the Zion Canyon Campground in Springdale, UT. Pups can stay at the Doggy Dude Ranch for a day while we hike, and then we'll load up and tow down to Williams, AZ to catch the train to the Grand Canyon (again, a little doggy jail time for the day).

From there, it'll be east or west. I think the weather may influence us a bit... we're craving warm weather but not super-warm. That may be all the national park hiking we do, as the pups want to sniff out some trails.

DH wants to see at least one MLB game. That would take us west, as the Dbacks aren't at home until April 7, and we plan to be back in Wyoming by April 9. Oh OH unless I can get him to delay his gratification until the end of the trip, when the Rockies are playing at home on April 7-8 against the BRAVES! (Being from Memphis, that's the only team I ever followed) That way we could go east!

Okay, I have decided absolutely nothing except to see which way the wind blows us.