Arizona
and Utah are home to over a dozen National Parks and in ten
wonderful days, we’ll be adventuring in six of them. Toss in
Lake Powell (a National Recreation Area) and three Native
American Reservations and we have quite a trip planned for you.
We’ll hike, boat, jeep, horse-ride, helicopter, raft, and
kayak. There’ll be plenty of swimming at all our favorite
places including in the turquoise waterfalls at Havasu, in the
bottom of the Grand Canyon. Come join us for orange sunsets on
canyon walls and a for a peace only the desert offers which has
to be felt to be understood.
Wednesday
Arrive
in Sedona by 3pm and your tour leader will meet you at the
shuttle drop-off point (Super 8). Drive to our motel
and check in. Change into hiking clothes.
We’ll go on a short tour of Sedona
including a visit to a vortex and a hike among the
red rocks to Devil’s Bridge. Dinner will be at
Cheryl’s home.
Thursday
Depart
Sedona by 8am and drive up onto the Colorado Plateau where
we’ll spend the whole vacation. We just can’t go
past Winslow without stopping at “the
corner” that the Eagles made famous! Visit Little
Painted Desert, an unbelievable photo opportunity.
Drive to Hopi Cultural Center for lunch. Visit
the Hopi villages on First Mesa where we’ll visit
an artisan’s home and this is a great opportunity to
purchase a kachina doll or some pottery direct from the
artist. Drive to Chinle. All aboard a jeep
for a great ride into Canyon de Chelly including a
visit to famous White House ruins. Camp the night
beside Antelope ruins where you’ll be entertained around
the campfire by our Navajo storyteller.
Friday
After
a pancake breakfast we’ll jeep back out of the canyon with
a stop at the Ute raid panel. Load our van and have
time for a visit to a Hogan at the visitor center.
Drive along the rim looking down into the great views of the
canyon. It’s a short walk to enchanting Spider
Rock where spider woman lives. Navajo legend
claims she taught them to weave. Drive north to
Kayenta where we’ll see a small exhibit describing the
importance of the Navajo Code Talkers during WWII.
The scenes as we drive towards Monument Valley bring
back wonderful memories of watching cowboy movies as kids!
We capture the quintessential photo of the
left and right hand mitten buttes at the Navajo Tribal Park
and it’s on to lunch at historic Gouldings Trading Post.
Driving north in Utah we turn into Canyonlands
National Park to see the ancient pictographs at Newspaper
Rock. Then we head up towards the La Sal
mountains and stay at a wonderful country B&B. We
can relax before dinner in our luxurious cabins where deer
often come close to graze. Massages are available this
evening.
Saturday
After a delicious breakfast, we drive towards Moab and stop at Hole
in the Rock, a unique home. There is no place in
North America quite like this home so we indulge in a short
tour. In Moab, we’ll have time for shopping at the fun
stores before assembling for our river trip. Spend the
afternoon on a float trip on the Colorado River
in rafts and inflatable kayaks. This often involves
relaxing in the river, floating along in our lifejackets.
A picnic lunch is served riverside on a beach.
Accommodation is in town and close to the shops and there’ll
be more time for shopping before and after dinner at the Moab
Brewery.
Sunday
We have an early start this morning to beat the heat.
After a quick stop for breakfast on the run we drive into Arches
National Park. It takes about 40 minutes to hike
up to Delicate Arch one of the most beautiful
formations in the West. It’s extra special to enjoy this
vista before the crowds. On the way out we’ll take time
to walk through the Windows section of the park. Before
leaving Moab, your guide will drive you to more amazing roadside
pictographs. It takes another 40 minutes to
arrive at Dead Horse Point State Park.
Here we’ll see the famous Goosenecks section
of the Colorado River. Then we cross over to the eastern
side of Utah and lunch at Hanksville. Enter Capitol
Reef National Park with stops for photos at great
view-points. Drive up to 10000’ across alpine meadows of
aspens and great views of the Waterpocket Fold then through the
scenic Escalante Highway to Bryce Canyon for the evening.
Monday
After breakfast we saddle-up for an incredible three-hour
mule-ride through the hoodoos in Bryce Canyon
National Park on the Peek-a–Boo Loop Trail. We
think this is the most stunningly scenic park in the US and
you’ll photograph amazing views from your horseback vantage
point. We get a break half way through the trip and it’s
great to dismount and stretch our legs. Change out of our
horse clothes before a quick lunch. It’s just over an
hour to drive to Zion National Park. The drive down to the
canyon demands several stops along the way for photos.
We’ll check into our lodging in Springdale, UT. Ride the
eco-bus into Zion National Park late in the
afternoon enjoying the magnificent scenery. We'll hike up the
Virgin River, sloshing our way towards the Narrows. On the
return, you can float some of the way back. We break our rule at
dinner this evening and include famous bumbleberry pie for
dessert!
Tuesday
Drive to Lake Powell where we’ll board our vessel and take a boat
ride on Lake Powell to Rainbow Bridge. We’ll
lunch on the lake and relax and swim in the warm water. Return
south on the lake with a stop at Dangling Rope marina for ice
creams. Further south we’ll find a campsite and set up
camp for the night. Dinner prepared while you swim
and relax. Lake Powell is one of the most wonderful
places in the West to get away from it all and you may choose to
sleep under the stars outside the tents. Watching the sun
set the canyon walls ablaze with it’s last light is one of
those indelible lifetime travel memories. After dinner you
can be kids again and roast marshmallows for smores.
Wednesday
It’s fun to get out of your tent and dive straight into the
warm water before breakfast in camp. We’ll motor back to
the marina and load our van. Then we’ll climb onto a truck for
a trip to Antelope Canyon, the most famous of
the slot canyons. Heading south from Page we’ll stop at
a scenic overlook to see Marble Canyon, our first view of how
Mother Nature sculptured the Grand Canyon out of the Colorado
Plateau. This is also an opportunity to shop for Native
American trinkets at roadside stands. An hour south
we’ll arrive at an opportunity to view dinosaur tracks
in the desert. We’ll lunch at Cameron Trading Post where
Navajo Tacos are the specialty. There will be a chance to
shop here and also view the museum. This afternoon will be
spent at the Grand Canyon, taking it all in
from Desert View and Lipan Points. The I Max
Theatre presentation is a wonderful overview of the
history of the canyon. Drive to old West Williams for
dinner and lodging.
Thursday
It’s a 5am start today to make the most of the cool morning
air for our hike to Havasu. We’ll drive to the old Route
66 town of Seligman for breakfast. Then it’s another 90
minutes to arrive at the staging area at hilltop on western rim
of the Grand Canyon. We’ll hike down to the village of
Supai with lunch on the trail. The hike is eight
miles and takes four hours with a sandwich along the way.
The first hour is all downhill and the last three hours and flat
and slightly descending. If this is beyond your
capabilities or desires then you can helicopter into the village
for an extra $85. We’ll check into Havasupai Lodge and
change into swimsuits and sandals. Then
we’ll walk another mile down to Navajo Falls.
This is the most amazing place to swim. The water is
turquoise and clear and the maidenhair fern growing on the banks
makes you swear you’re in Hawaii! It’s a short walk to
the amazing view down to Havasu Falls.
Then we’ll walk through the campground to the Mooney
Falls overlook – another WOW! We’ll refill
our water bothy at Havasu before the walk back uphill to the
lodge. Your guide will prepare dinner at the lodge.
After this wonderful day, you’ll find yourself asleep by 8pm!
Friday
Sleep in! Breakfast at the Tribal Café and wait in the
village for our turn on the chopper. It’s a scenic
seven-minute helicopter ride back to Hilltop.
Return to Seligman for lunch and some great Route 66 photos.
Drive down Oak Creek Canyon into Sedona and check into motel.
Farewell dinner in Sedona. Tour ends.
