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Old 03-12-2017, 02:18 PM   #1
TravelswithCharley
 
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Best places to hang out in Utah/Colorado

hi Streamers... happy Sunday afternoon to you all

My girlfriend and I are taking a three week trip in late May through June. We want to spend some real quality time in the area around Arches NP, Monument Valley, Mesa Verde. We are starting and finishing the trip in Phoenix AZ. I'm from New Zealand, and haven't experienced Utah or Colorado before. Does anyone have some suggestions for great places to see/camp? We prefer dry camping, and I can go 3-4 days without hooking up. All any any suggestions/advise welcome.
thanks!
Mary
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Old 03-12-2017, 03:42 PM   #2
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The narrow gauge railroad is a must see if you are in Durango. The trip on the train to Silverton is worth the time and money.
Dress for weather varying from the 40's F to the 70's F.
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Old 03-12-2017, 04:11 PM   #3
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Marygb, sent you some info in a THANK YOU message. Check User CP (Control Panel) for Thank You's.
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Old 03-13-2017, 07:38 AM   #4
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So many places so little time. If you go Northwest. There's the North Rim of the Grand Canyon, Zion and Bryce National Park. Side trip to Escalante and Boulder Utah. If you go Northeast, do Monument Valley Az, Valley of the Gods Utah. Then through Bluff Utah to Moab Utah to Grand Junction Co to Durango. I trust you have Google Maps.
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Old 03-13-2017, 08:06 AM   #5
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Mesa Verde is a must see...plan to spend a day or more exploring it's wonders.

If you have time...take a drive up the Million Dollar Highway from Durango to Ouray. One of the best in the country!
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Old 03-13-2017, 09:28 AM   #6
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If you have time...take a drive up the Million Dollar Highway from Durango to Ouray. One of the best in the country!
Yes! But if you go from Durango to Grand Junction, you'll almost certainly take it. Have your heart checked first, especially if you're towing anything!
I always went to Montrose as a home base. I highly recommend Centennial Campground, big pull throughs and nice people. But visit Ouray, Silverton, (stop at the saloon and say hello to Lacy Black if she's still playing piano. Great burgers.), Ridgway (True Grit Cafe and Ralph Lauren's ranch Double R, just west of town.) Telluride and take a trip up highway 141 if you can (Beautiful road through a 50 mile canyon). Black Canyon of the Gunnison NP, too.A side trip to Crawford (for a view of rocker Joe Cocker's home, Mad Dog Ranch, and the north rim of the Black Canyon.)
It's where I spent most of my vacations and still love it. It's at 8,000' so it takes a bit to become acclimated to the altitude.
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Old 03-13-2017, 11:30 AM   #7
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I think Capitol Reef is good for at least a week - lots to do around there in terms of other parks and things to do including Grand Staircase Escalante. The Moab area is good too, as you have a variety of parks we stayed at the state park nearby I think it was called Dead horse
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Old 03-13-2017, 12:03 PM   #8
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great spots in Co.

My two favorite places in Co. are Crested Butte and Basalt. Crested Butte is great little town and ski resort--very nice Crested Butte RV resort on the river and near town--near Gunnison and the Black Canyon--Some of the best fishing in the state
Basalt is a great small town where the Frying Pan river runs into the Roaring Fork river--about 15 miles from Aspen--beautiful rivers and lakes and without the ski resort prices of Aspen--be sure and have a drink and fish taco at The Woody Creek Tavern
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Old 03-13-2017, 12:34 PM   #9
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Sounds Awesome, we definitely have Mesa Verde on the route, and hope to do the narrow gauge railway at that time too.
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Old 03-13-2017, 01:55 PM   #10
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To be honest the three places you've mentioned are awesome and worth the trip - but (there is always a but) - be aware that they are all three pretty far apart and if you want to end up in Phoenix I would take some time to look at drive times and distances. If you start at Arches then you would want to probably stay in Moab. You can hit all three parks from there - Arches, Canyonlands, and Bridges. If you can only do one go to Arches and make the hike to beautiful arch for sure. Deadhorse Point is a great state park worth going to see in that area also and may have dry camping. Then on the way to Monument Valley you will go by Bryce and Zion - I would say, if you can, that you would happy that you make time to see at least one both if possible! Monument Valley is on the way back over toward Mesa Verde. 4-corners is on the way and is fun for pictures, etc.. Cortez is pretty much the place to stay for Mesa Verde. Then you've got a pretty good drive on down to Phoenix. A fun spot to stop is Sedona AZ and go see the area around there like Cottonwood and Jerome. Phoenix is about 2-1/2 hours from Sedona. Enjoy the western US and the Rocky Mountains!
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Old 03-13-2017, 02:10 PM   #11
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I like to dry camp in Canyonlands Utah on BLM land (Bureau of Land Management), especially in the Needles District of Canyonlands. Distances in Colorado, Arizona and Utah are greater than most tourists from overseas are aware of. However, New Zealand may have wide open places too. You can send for free BLM, State Park and National Park maps and brochures. Go to this link to get info on the area refereed to as "The Grand Circle"

http://grandcircle.org/grand-circle-map

You could not choose a better place in the USA to visit! I lived in Boulder and Durango Colorado, and would visit The Grand Circle as often as possible!!!
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Old 03-13-2017, 02:23 PM   #12
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Take a look at this: http://www.campgroundreviews.com/regions...resort-rv-park

Pretty unique park.
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Old 03-13-2017, 02:59 PM   #13
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By far the best map--at its scale--for exploring the Four Corners area. It shows all national and state parks, and all US Forest Service and BLM campgrounds:

AAA Indian Country

https://www.amazon.com/Map-AAA-Guide...an+country+map
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Old 03-13-2017, 03:02 PM   #14
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this is the place I just posted: http://www.utahcamelotresort.com/
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Old 03-13-2017, 03:12 PM   #15
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All these suggestions are great. Be careful of temperatures and the dry air in Moab in late May and June. It's a desert! Temps can easily go into the 90's (Farenheit). Drink and take lots of water. I mean LOTS.

http://www.discovermoab.com/climate.htm
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Old 03-13-2017, 05:00 PM   #16
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The narrow gauge railroad is a must see if you are in Durango. The trip on the train to Silverton is worth the time and money.
DITTO!!!
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Old 03-13-2017, 05:31 PM   #17
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Moab and vicinity can be a pretty busy place. If you want to stay in an RV park, it's best to book ahead. The campground in Arches National Park is closed this year for renovations, unfortunately.

You might see about an advance reservation at Dead Horse Point State Park, nearby, which has fabulous overlooks. Our go-to campground close by, managed by the Bureau of Land Management, is the Horse Thief Campground. It is "dry" camping (bring tons of water for the dry desert climate) but there are designated campsites with a few amenities like pit toilets and picnic tables. In town, we tend to stay at the Spanish Valley RV park: it's a bit further out, so they're a tiny bit less busy.

In fact, please don't under-estimate the amount of water you will need. There's no reason to break down in a boondocking situation, but if you did, you want to be sure to have enough water. It's not like there are service stations or convenience stores in the Back of Beyond.

An out-of-the way campground south of Moab in the BLM Canyon Rim area is called Hatch Point. We like it a lot because it gets so little use.

Basically you can camp most places on BLM land that are not posted to the contrary, but a bunch of their land is not exactly accessibly off a normal road, or is littered with cow patties from grazing.

If you google the Bureau of Land Management for the Moab and other field offices in Utah, you should find websites with further camping information. There are a lot of designated primitive campsites all around Moab, but these actually tend to fill up on a spring weekend.

If you'd really like to do some "dispersed" desert camping, you can phone the appropriate BLM field office (they have a state map on-line) and ask to speak to their recreation specialist for recommendations. For one thing, I wouldn't take an Airstream down the rough dirt roads in the desert. We're apt to park it somewhere more civilized, and then have an adventure day-trip in our truck.

We'll be down that way in early April.
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Old 03-13-2017, 06:54 PM   #18
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Agree with all the posts. I would add a recommendation that you look at the wonderful weaving and rugs in the Four Corners area. Todalina, Two Gray Hills, Tec Nos Pos, Cameron and Hubble Trading Posts, to name a few, are good places to see them. You won't have to hit them all to get the flavor, but Navajo rugs are a unique Southwestern US cultural phenomenon. You'll also find them on display in Farmington at various places, and a real highlight if you go through Sedona, as suggested in another post, is Garland's. I'd recommend checking out a book on Navajo rugs before you begin your trip. Have fun in this magnificent country.
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