Trip to the Grand Canyon

[LWW]

Well, after lots of time and patiently waiting I've made my reservation at Matter campground in AZ. My wife and I leave monday before Easter and plan to stay in the Mobile area for easter weekend to visit her son. We have agreed that it will be about every 3rd or 4th day in a Motel, campgrounds the rest. We have several stops to make in louisianna, texas, new mexico and colarado then on to the grand canyon. The only planned stops are Mobile and the grand canyon and the only time limit is to be home before the last weekend of April. It will be just the wife and I and our 4 hounds so this should be an adventure. No time limits at any particular spot and we reserve the rite to bypass a stop or add a stop. Kind of like winging it by the seat of my pants, that's the way my wife says I work anyway. Wish me luck.Larry

[wagondude]

Have a nice trip. Swing through the Painted Desert and Petrified Forrest. It's an easy day trip with incredible scenery.

[daveesl77]

In Mississippi, Rocky Springs is a great little campground on the Natchez Trace run by the National Park Service. Cost is FREE. There are no hookups, there is a toilet and water is available. Milemarker 54.

There are several Corps of Engineer sites in Texas, with full hookups and showers. Cost is around $25/night, all on lakes. The one north of Jasper, TX is huge.

In New Mexico, just west of Corizozo, is the BLM's Valley of Fires recreation area. It used to be a NM State park. It has full hookups and is pretty impressive. The bathrooms are super modern. Cost is maybe $25/night. Check the dates and you might be able to visit the Trinity Site, which is now only open one day a year. It is about 30 miles west of VoF. Just past the intersection of 380 and I-25 is the Very Large Array. You can camp at either the BLM sites nearby or stay for free in the parking area at the array. Do a timelapse of the antennas.

If in NW New Mexico, consider Chaco Cultural Park. One of the most important historical areas in the world. 22 campsites. NOTHING is available except water and pit toilets. The camp hosts are all fantastic and a couple of times a week they do some serious star gazing. You'll drive down a 20+ mile washboard road to get there, but it is worth it. Be sure to rise before sunrise to climb the cliffs over Pueblo Bonito. (see my avatar)

8 Miles south of the Grand Canyon you'll find Ten-X national forest campground (just south of Tusayan). Sites are pretty big, it is very serene and cost is much less than GC. Water is available and pit toilets. No services available and bring everything, as the costs for everything in Tusayan are insane.

[48Rob]

Larry,

You're going to have a great time!

Happy camping!

Rob

[Wild Bill]

Sounds like a great adventure, 4 lucky dogs hope they like to ride in the car! That trip is on my bucket list. Bill

[Vedette]

4 dogs????
Do you a B train with a "Dog House Teardrop"?
Good Luck with that??????
Good Roads
Brian & Sandi

[LWW]

I can't wait to get started. I pasted through the area about 4 or 5 years ago and realized you can't see it just passing through.

The dogs are all seasoned travlers. They go everywhere with us. They ride in crates in the car and you never know they're there. A little potty break for them every couple hours makes for a nice break for us.

We'll go to Louiville to the dog shows in a couple weeks then come home and start packing.

Like I said, I can't wait to get started.Larry

[JuneBug]

I always recommend Navajo National Monument (Arizona), which celebrates the Ancestral Puebloan culture (previously Anasazi), but is in the middle of the Navajo reservation. Betatakin Ruin is the most beautiful and photogenic of all the cliff dwellings, IMO; the setting is just stunning.

No guided tours to the cliff dwellings between Oct - April, but there are things you can do on your own. To me it is a special and beautiful place. I used to use it as a half-way camping spot between Dolores, CO and Flagstaff, AZ when going to visit my ex, who was in grad school in Flagstaff in the summers.

They have two camping areas, one somewhat more developed than the other. Beautiful setting, with red rocks more typical of Moab (Utah) and Gallup (NM) area.
http://www.nps.gov/nava/index.htm
However, it is relatively high elevation (~7,000') so check the weather first.

Photo gallery (not mine) of Navajo National Monument here. Yes, it IS that amazing.

Villanueva State Park is also one of my favorites . It is a modest little park in a small canyon right on the Pecos River. There is a hike up on top of the mesa to an archaeological site. Again, this is New Mexico (relatively high elevation), so check the weather. The winding road along the Pecos River that connects the two interstates is like a trip through time, New Mexico style.

If going the southern route, never miss Carlsbad Caverns!