I was reading the Money magazine’s best places to travel and found two places that are kind of off the beaten track but was part of two family trips in the past few years.
- St.George, Utah (details below)
- Las Cruces, New Mexico (that will be another post)
Many of our family vacations have been almost last minute and we try to find places that are kind of off the beaten path and serendipitous. The planning for this journey started with trying to find a place that had fascinated me called Four Corners Monument , this was a place where you literally could put your foot in 4 states at the same time - Arizona, Colorado, Utah and New Mexico.
To get to this place usually you have to go to Durango, CO and then drive down. Flights to Durango are not cheap atleast during spring break when we were planning this trip. We also wanted to visit the Grand Canyon on this visit and if you have watched enough Hollywood Western movies, another place called Monument Valley ( This is part of the Navajo Nation). As we researched Google Maps a plan began to take shape.
Day 1: Washington DC to Las Vegas Flight ( Flying to Las Vegas is usually inexpensive since there are many airlines flying there)
Rental Car from the airport
Stop 1: Drive directly from the airport to the first stop Valley of Fire State Park, NV
This is a beautiful park with a lot of red hills and mountains, and a very nice drive not too out of the way to our destination St. George UT
Stop 2: St.George UT is a very nice town, surrounded by hills. It is a excellent place to start your visit to Zion and Bryce Canyon National park. St.George has great hotels, restaurants. We stayed at the Courtyard Marriott, St. George
Day 2: Was ambitious to visit Zion National Park and Bryce Canyon on the same day but it is doable. We did not get out of the car at Zion much and it was a drive through. There are several parks in Utah, since we were focused on covering ground we limited our visits to these two National Parks.
Tip: If you visit 2 or more parks in one visit you are better off taking the National Park Pass ( America The Beautiful) at $80.
We settled into the Best Western Bryce Canyon
Day 3: This was the longest drive to the Four Corners National Monument. If you are comfortable with wifi, public transport and city life, you will be in for a surprise. On a Sunday, driving through Utah you will find most local restaurants closed. Drive is through beautiful country side and we were so happy to see a “subway” restaurant to quell our hunger. Four corners is exciting since you get to take a picture with your feet on 4 States. There are no upscale coffee shops and the Gas stations have great coffee
Monument Valley is in the Navajo Nation. The Goulding Lodge is where John Wayne stayed adn we stayed there as well. We loved the Navajo Fried Bread as part of our meal.
Day 3: Monument Valley trip and arrive at the Grand Canyon National Park. We took a trip through Monument Valley and it was worth it. Next stop was a drive to the Best Western Grand Canyon and then exploring the Grand Canyon.
Day 4: Grand Canyon is not just the most beautiful place but the businesses in the Grand Canyon Village and restaurants have a history. We had a wonderful meal at the El Tovar Hotel and then left the Grand Canyon for Williams Az. This is a nice town and there is a train that runs to the Grand Canyon from Williams. We also went through Route 66 that is now abandoned at Seligman, Az.
Day 5: Williams Az has a lot places to see and we saw the wagon trail of a wild west trail that is no longer used but preserved. well.
Day 6: Arrived at the Venetian, Las Vegas to enjoy a beautiful hotel, Blue Man Group
Day 7: Red Rock Canyon just outside Las Vegas is a great place to see and then go to the Hoover Dam.
Day 8: Fly back to Washington DC