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I would suggest something like the following: 1.) Grand Canyon - North Rim. Very different from the south rim, a lot more greenery, different views. 2.) Drive across the Painted Desert to Southern CO. Mesa Verde and Black Canyon of the Gunnison are two interesting locations. Plus lots of state parks and towns. 3.) From there you make your way to Denver. Probably want to leave some time to check out the city so that's that. I would agree that Sand Dunes is too far out of the way and not worth the deviation given your tight schedule. You don't have a huge amount of time so I wouldn't try to pack in too much. The drive from Vegas to Denver will already give you a lot of different scenery no matter which route you take. As for motels, it helps to call ahead earlier in the day just to be sure. Generally though you shouldn't have a problem that time of year. You may be running into some colder weather at higher elevations at that time of year so be prepared for that. Roughly something like this: https://www.google.com/maps/dir/Las...2d39.737567!3e0 Mesa Verde might be a stretch. It takes a long time to actually drive into the park.
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Jul 30, 2014 13:09
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| # ¿ May 9, 2024 02:17 |
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Ok, so you're doing a helicopter ride to the Grand Canyon. While the Painted Desert is beautiful, as you said there's a lot of driving through that area and there's not a huge amount of stuff between the canyon and Cortez/Durango, at least on a route that would make sense for you. However, a route up through Utah and Grand Escalante could be cool and take you on some less crowded locations if you skip Bryce and Zion (which you already said you had decided on). Something like this for the first bit of the trip: Day 1(Sep 7): Vegas to Escalante, UT, taking Route 12. (~5 hrs driving). A great ride that will take you straight up a good chunk of the Grand Staircase. Some decent hiking, lodging, and food in Escalante as well. Day 2(Sep 8): Escalante to Cortez/Durango, southern route. (6-7 hrs driving). Longer day, but will take you through Capitol Reef, down through Northern Lake Powell, and near Natural Bridges. Day 3(Sep 9): From Durango, up the Million Dollar Highway, through Ouray. Or from Cortez, up 141/62. General destination is Montrose and Black Canyon of the Gunnison. This will put you within a day's drive of Denver. Day 2 could be broken up by taking the northern route to Moab, and then down towards Monticello and out to Cortez/Durango. Alternatively, for Day 3, you could spend a whole day in Cortez and check out Mesa Verde. You also have the option of stopping by Zion on Day 1 as well.
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Aug 1, 2014 01:52
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