Desert Mountain
Escape
(Arizona,
Colorado and Utah)
August
23 - 29, 2009
$1,795.00
plus 9.35% sales tax
The San Juan
Mountains of southern Colorado are an unspoiled summertime
adventure haven. Deer stand with their fawns on the edge of aspen
forests as you horse ride through “Sound of Music” meadows.
Wildflowers flourish along the valley while biking the old
Galloping Goose trail into Telluride. The town of Silverton is
great fun to explore and natural hot pools in Ouray envelope us
under the stars. What a contrast these green valleys are to our
stay in the high desert of Canyon de Chelly and Mesa Verde. Walk
in the footsteps of the Anasazi, enjoy waterfalls in the mountains
and kayak small rapids on the Colorado. What a splendid mix of
contrasting experiences this trip is.

Saturday
Arrive in Sedona by 3pm and your tour leader
Cheryl, 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.
Sunday
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.
Monday
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 to Cortez for lunch then on to Mesa Verde National
Park, one of the treasures of the National Park system.
We’ll explore Spruce Tree House, an amazingly well preserved
collection of ruins. Drive to the fun western town of
Durango and check into our hotel for the evening. Dinner in town.
Tue
Breakfast in a local café then head up over the pass towards
Silverton. Saddle up for a two-hour horse ride at a high
country stables. The scenery is breathtaking with
views of a river canyon and the Grenadier Mountain range. Travel
to the old-west mining town of Silverton and lunch in a wonderful
old restaurant that’s changed little since the mining era.
You’ll have a couple of hours free to explore after lunch and
maybe even dress up for an ol’ tyme group photo. Then
we’ll travel over the million-dollar highway to the adorable
mountain town of Ouray. It’s fun to ride a small train
down into the Bachelor Syracuse Mine and learn
the heritage of mining in this area. Check into our motel
and after dinner soak under the stars in luxurious natural
hot pools.
Wed
Drive over to the beautiful skiing town of Telluride and assemble
for our bike ride. We’ll drive high up into the nearby
mountains and ride bikes down the Galloping Goose trail, the
old train route. This ride is a wonderful
mixture of forest and lakes, mountain flowers and stunning views.
We’ll lunch in Telluride with time to explore afterwards. Drive
to La Sal, Utah where we’ll enjoy accommodation and dinner at a
cozy country B&B. We can relax before dinner in our
luxurious cabins where deer often come close to graze.
Massages are available this evening.
Thur
Drive into Moab via a stop at Hole in the Rock, a
unique home created in sandstone. 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.
Friday
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.
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. Drive south to
Kayenta where we’ll see a small exhibit describing the
importance of the Navajo Code Talkers during
WWII. View dinosaur tracks in the desert
outside Tuba City. Our wonderful week together draws to a
close as we drive down Oak Creek Canyon into Sedona and check into
our motel. Farewell dinner in Sedona.
Sat
Sedona Shuttle will pick you up at our lodging – service begins
at 6am.