Planning Southwest (CO/UT) tour, skip/add anything?

JimKarczewski

So, I'm going out west with a friend for 2 weeks, leaving Oct 4th from Chicago and driving straight through to Colorado Springs the first night. I lived in Denver for 3 years, so I know a lot out that way, however, I never really explored a lot of UTAH. My partner in crime has NEVER been west, so I'd like to make it a decent experience for both of us. Since I've been to Arches, Canyonlands & Monument Valley (and I have NO problem going again, especially Arches, which I've never really scratched the surface of) My trip so far has been planned as this:

Chicago -> CO Springs (Garden of the Gods Obligatory stop!)
CO Springs -> Aspen/Maroon Bells (Gotta check out Peter Lik's gallery in Aspen, only thing besides Maroon Bells)
Aspen->Arches
Arches->Canyonlands (Needles District)
Canyonlands->Natural Bridges
Natural Bridges->Mexican Hat/Monument Valley
Monument Valley->Grand Staircase/Escalante
Escalante->Bryce
Bryce->Goblin Valley SP (and Slot canyons around there)
Goblin Valley->Colorado National Monument
Colorado National Monument->Black Canyon of the Gunnison NP
Black Canyon ->Great Sand Dunes NP
Great Sand Dunes -> Chicago

What I excluded... Zion & Capitol Reef NP's. Honestly, the one thing I'd love to see/do in Zion is the Subway. But after reading about the hike and having to swim/hike the creek, etc.. I'm not going to be up for a 5 mile hike one way, no way in Hell. Capitol Reef.. I didn't see anything that I'd really miss that I wouldn't make up somewhere else... I was also going to do the North Rim of Grand Canyon, but it's iffy that time of year and might be closed by the time we make it there. That said, I don't want to stop at one place, look and then, "we have to get on the road..." So yeah, I'll be spending 2 nights at certain locations, most only one night. I think Arches is 2 and Bryce will be 2. All others 1.

So, am I really missing anything along the way here? I know from driving southeast UT there is a hell of a lot to see in Monument valley. Next year I'm planning on a 6month+ trip, but this is 2 weeks and well, it will be tight, but I'd like to see some places I haven't seen (pretty much Arches, Canyonlands, Sand Dunes and Maroon Bells are the only places I've been)

I was almost thinking Natural Bridges is overkill? Between arches and Canyonlands.. I think we'll manage to see a few arches here and there... :rofl

CWSkopec

Hey Jim,
Sounds like you've got a uber-busy trip planned and I hate to recommend squeezing more stops in there, but the shameless self-promoter in me is forcing me to reply. You're going to be in an area of amazing cultural artifacts and ruins. The landscapes alone are amazing, but in my mind no trip to the southwest is complete without seeing at least some of the amazing ruins in the area.
It may be too short of notice to help for your upcoming trip, but for your longer trip next year, the book my dad and I recently self-published may be of some help. America's Southwestern Treasures is our guide to over 170 different sites in the southwest and with 6 months to spend in the area I'm positive it'll point you towards some really interesting locations!

Brewmaster

I did a SW tour this last spring.....incredible part of the US with so much to see. Too bad your not doing Zion.....Angles Landing hike is has an awsome view. You can see my photos in several folders here:

http://mdmphoto.smugmug.com/Vacation-and-Weekend/Southwest-US-Vacation-2010

Mike

Nikolai

Jim,
while I don't know Southwest to a degree Marc and David Muench do, I've been to the majority of the SW places you have on your list.
And let me tell you - this list is a recipe for disaster.
You see, all those glorious landscapes look fairly bad if captured during the day. Essentially, any decent picture requires either sunset or sunrise time, including PRE-sunset and POST-sunrise. The latter are relatively easy, since you at least can arrive to the location while you still can see something and hence have some time to prep. Pre-dawn shooting is very hard - you have to wake up in an ungodly early hour, drive in a pitch black night and know exactly where/when to point your camera even though you can't see a damn thing (camera can:-).
This means you have only a few hours a day to shoot properly (and only a few hours to sleep). It doesn't mean you can't shoot during the day at all, but typically you will end up either with a "glorified snapshot", or with a lot of post work. And I'm not even talking about the fact that those locations are wide spread and getting from one to another may take a whole day of driving, if not more (you will make stops on your way, trust me, since you will be passing some great photo ops:-).
My sincere advise - cut down your list just to just two-tree locations. Moab area alone (Arches/Needles/Canyonlands/LaSalle mountains) can easily eat up a whole week if not more, and yet you will only scratch the surface...
Otherwise you will most likely come home with a few thousands of frames you will never be able to process and use.
HTH
Nikolai

misterb

Garden of the Gods in Co. Springs is an awesome place.. actually Co. is nice almost everywhere!

Some of the best sunsets and reddish soil... that's why the named it "Colorado"!

EDIT- Don't forget the Royal Gorge in Canon City

http://www.royalgorgebridge.com/