Saturday 29 October 2016

New Mexico

When the planning for New Mexico began, we had already agreed on two things:

1) We had to spend time in the home of Breaking Bad Albuquerque
2) This was the best opportunity to camp in a dark sight and enjoy the night sky

Yet again there is a lot we are missing out on but hopefully we have chosen the highlights



State:New Mexico
Towns of Interest: Albuquerque
Roswell
Las Vegas (not visiting)
Santa Fe
Carlsbad (best place to stay of visiting the NP)
National Parks:Carlsbad Caverns National Park
State Parks of Interest:City of Rocks State Park - not visiting
Places of Interest: Santa Fe
Santa Fe Plaza
Original Trading Post
Santa Fe Southern Railway (trip to Lamy, stop for lunch and return - 3-4 hours)

Roswell
White Sands
International UFO Museum and Research Center in Roswell

The Very Large Array
Four Corners
Shiprock
Bisti/De-Na-Zin Wilderness
Hatch (Chile Capital of the World) - not visiting

Carlsbad Caverns National Park
Kings Palace Tour
Dolls Theater
The Big Room (self tour)
Underground Lunch Room
Bat Cave

Albuquerque
Visit the Candy Lady (Produced Meth in Breaking Bad)
Sandia Peak Tramway (15 min ride to viewing platform)
Old Town Plaza
Breaking Bad Tour
American International Rattlesnake Museum
Turquoise Museum
Tent Rocks
New Mexico Mining Museum (Grants)
Routes of Interest: Albuquerque to Santa Fe - The Turquoise Trial (52 miles down highwy 14)
Where to Stay:Cosmic Campground (1 night)

Albuquerque (3 nights) - stay near Old Town Plaza
Hotel Albuquerque (£101 per night)

Roswell (1 night)
Days Inn (£54 per night)
Budget Inn (£48 per night)
Towneplace Suite (£87 per night)

Las Vegas

We have had a number of discussions recently on whether we should visit Las Vegas on this trip. We have both been to Vegas a number of times and whilst we love the madness of the place, the road trip is about finding new places. 

Whilst reading about New Mexico I found a town also called Las Vegas. It doesn't have the glamour or glitz of its Nevada cousin, it does have the same name and should have a town sign which will confuse the hell out of people when its uploaded to this blog! 

Sunday 2 October 2016

The Mule or not to Mule...

When I read about mule trips in the Grand Canyon in the DK Arizona & Grand Canyon book, I instantly added it to the list. We have done sight seeing trips before on horse / mule back in Yosemite, Lake Tahoe and Iceland and really enjoyed them, it allows you to see parts of the landscape inaccessible on foot or by car and I find it a really peaceful experience. It might be less peaceful for Lee who always lets his mule eat along the way and then has a fight to ensure he doesn't end up drifting off to the biggest clump of grass.

There are a two options for mule rides that I have been looking into (NB: there is a third option - a 2 night stay in Phantom Ranch but we really don't have the time to do this so I haven't considered it any further):

  1. Canyon Vistas Rim Ride
    • A four-mile ride along the rim of the canyon along the East Rim Trial. It lasts 2 hours and there can be up to 20 riders in each group. 
    • The cost of the ride is $135.08 per person, including tax but you do receive a souvenir water bottle!
  2. Overnight Rides to Phantom Ranch
    • A ride over the course of 2 days which includes a 10.5 mile / 5.5 hour trip down into the Grand Canyon, a stay in Phantom Ranch and then a 7.8 mile / 5.5 hour journey back up to the top
    • The cost of the ride for two people is $961.24 and includes lunches, breakfast, dinner and accommodation
There are only 10 people per day able to do the second option due to a limitation in the accommodation and the number of mules available to travel into the Canyon and it books up 13 months in advanced so we can't leave it until the last minute to book! 

So the question is - is the cost and the 2 day impact to our plan worth the experience of option 2 and if not, is it worth doing option 1 on this trip or do we save it for another holiday..... decisions decisions 



Arizona - The Grand Canyon State

Having been to Arizona a number of times, I expected this state to be an easy one to plan for. I was wrong. There is so much to see and do, deciding what to cover in our road trip ended up being really difficult.

After hours of reading and searching, the plan now looks like this:

Las Vegas -> Grand Canyon (South Rim) -> Flagstaff -> Sedona -> Phoenix -> California

Unfortunately with this plan, there are some key areas we are going to have to miss out including:

  • Petrified Forest 
  • Holbrook and the Wigwam hotels (a previous fav of ours) 
  • Saguaro National Park
  • Oatman's Historic Main Street 
  • Grand Canyon North Rim 
  • Grand Canyon Railway - a holiday in itself! 
So here's the map: 


And here's the plan: 

State:Arizona
Towns of Interest: Flagstaff
Sedona
Phoenix
Scottsdale
Jerome (Largest Ghost Town in America)
National Parks:Saguaro National Park (Not visiting)
Petrified Forest National Park (Not visiting)
Grand Canyon National Park
State Parks of Interest:Slide Rock State Park
Places of Interest: Utah Border
Antelope Canyon
Four Corners
Lake Powell

Flagstaff
Lowell Observatory
Downtown
Snowbowl Sky Ride
Sunset Crater Volcano National Monument
Sedona
Cathedral Rock Hikes (esp Sunset and Sunrise)
Oak Creek Canyon
WIlliams (Route 66 themed restaurants, shops and motels)
Grand Canyon Caverns (45 minute tour)

Phoenix
Downtown Phoenix
Scottsdale (2nd & Indian School Road, Downtown, Marshall Way, Old Town, Fifth Avenue)
Mystery Castle
Challenger Space Center

Grand Canyon - South Rim
Mule Trip
10 Mile Trail Havasu Fails, Beaver Falls, Havasu Creek, Mooney Falls
Grandview Drive
Desert View Drive
Bright Angel Trail
Yavapai Point
Hermit Road Shuttle (Free)
Grand Canyon Village
Grand Canyon Skywalk
Routes of Interest: Red Rock Scenic Byway (SR 179) (Sedona)
Where to Stay:Grand Canyon
Mather Campground (only campground available in the National Park - must pre book) - $50 per night

Flagstaff
Embassy Suites by Hilton (previously stayed in)

Sedona
Cedars Resort - £135
Sedona Motel - £105
Star Motel - $100
NB: staying outside Sedona is cheaper and there are campsites
Phoenix
Springhill Suites By Marriott Phoenix Downtown - $129
Super 8 Phoenix Downtown - $80
Econo Lodge & Suites - £35

Saturday 1 October 2016

AZ

Arizona - It's a state we've done lots in in the past, so Sam is trying to hunt out hidden gems we've missed.