The Great Canyon Trip

The Grand Cross Country Drive

August 17, 2012 to August 25, 2012

Our longest cross country drive with some amazing canyon stop overs. A trip that we always have dreamed of, finally came into reality....8 Days | 3300 Miles | 9 States.Visit to multiple awe-inspiring canyons, drive through the barren lands, hike up the mesas, climb down to river gorges, and pass through the Rocky mountains to top it off.

In short..

Day 1 | Austin, TX to Clovis, NM | 500 Miles

We loaded up the trunk of the Camry, and bid adieu to Round Rock Dell campus. Apprehensive about how the car would endure the 3500 mile long drive, we set out for the greatest adventure of our lives so far. Loaded with caffeine, we charged for about 500 miles on the first day, taking advantage of the close-to-zero traffic and great weather. In an apparently uneventful day, we managed to enter New Mexico, and stopped for a night in a small motel in the little town of Clovis, NM. Had mexican food for dinner, and called it a day pretty early.

Day 2 | Clovis, NM - Albuquerque, NM - Aztec Ruins - Farmington, NM | 540 Miles

KiMo Theater

On the Saturday morning, loaded with continental breakfast, and coffee (well, could not spot a Starbucks around), the drive to Albuquerque, NM began. We reached the town around noon, and found a nice place for lunch on the historic Route 66. We knew that the Route 66 would be with us for a major period of the
drive, but this was probably the only spot en route, that had any touristy value. Route 66 was laid in 1926, and ran from Chicago, IL to Santa Monica, CA through MO, KS, OK, TX, NM, and AZ, a 2300 mile long endeavor. The city of Albuquerque, NM, though a historic city, did not have a vibe about it. Rusty buildings, and lower than expected pedestrians on the main street was disappointing. Apart from the historic (and often referred to as ghostly) KiMo Theater, the downtown did not have much to offer.

Aztec Ruins

The Great Kiva

So, we decided to focus on the later part of the day, which was to check out other national parks along the way. We did some research on the go, and decided to swing by the Aztec ruins in Aztec, NM. We reached towards the end of the day's hours, but managed to take a close look at the ruins in the park. There was a self-guided tour available, and all you had to do was to walk along the designated trail. Intriguing aspects of Aztecs' lives were depicted in the rooms that were built thousands of years ago. Skillful stone masonry, wood roofing, and other architectural structures apart, the great Kiva, the subterranean structure that housed major events in Aztecs' lives, were literally enlightening. Further details about the Aztec Ruins National Park can be found here. It is a must visit for anyone interested in the history of the native civilizations of the area.
At the end of a busy traveling day, we decided to stop at the nearest small-town of Farmington, NM. An early start of the next day was looming!

Day 3 | Farmington, NM - Four Corners - Monument Valley - Kanab, UT | 200 Miles

Poetic literature often associates beauty with greenery, ice-capped mountains, or serene water bodies. But our rendezvous with some of the most barren lands in the area rendered those definitions of natural beauty, incomplete. On our way to the Monument Valley, UT, from the Travelodge in Farmington, we encountered numerous Mesas and Buttes in the Colorado plateau. With elevation slowly increasing, the human habitations were becoming scarce with every mile traveled.
As we entered the Navajo habitats, we came close to a distinct point of interest: The four corners monument. A part of the Navajo Nation parks, the area is very remote, but once you get there, it is a serene environment with nothing other than square miles of open barren land surrounding it. It is the only place in the USA where four states Utah, New Mexico, Arizona, and Colorado meet. Spend a few minutes with the local Navajo artisans to check out their handmade jewelry, crafts, and traditional food. Nothing extravagant on display, but if you must, it is better to buy from these places compared to larger visitor parks so that the money goes to their families.

Monument Valley

The next 100 odd miles approaching Monument valley from south, through highway 163 was like a John Denver song playing in repeat mode; Mesas, serene valleys, and country roads. For the entire trip through the highway 163, we fell in love with the road. With multiple stops to capture the vista, we almost started Monument Valley national park, also a part of the Navajo nation parks and recreation areas.
running late to reach the national park. But after a ton of photos, and a quick stopover at a gas station to get overpriced gas we finally reached the

Further details about Monument Valley can be found here.

Our aim was to put icing on the cake by setting foot in the charismatic Antelope Canyon in AZ by the end of the day. But alas, not everything may go as planned, since the weather Gods intervened with a heavy downpour that flooded the canyon bed. We were disappointed to reach the canyon through Page, AZ, yet it was something that we did not mind paying another visit, another time.

Horseshoe bend

Rather than wasting precious time, we headed for the Horseshoe Bend. It is conveniently located on Rt 89 (although I hear that a landslide in early 2013 closed that approach road). An extremely tiring hike taking close to 90 minutes, one-way, was unplanned, but rewarding. The sand on the hike path may seem like a nuisance, but it is a walk through history. From pre-historic times, the biggest sand dune in the region went through a lot of weathering, resulting in sand stone layers known as 'ergs'. As seen in the photo here, it is a fantastic view to witness a vertical drop of a whooping 980 meters, and a 270 degree turn by the Colorado
river. You need a wide angle lens to capture the entire canyon bend in the picture. The iOS panorama mode does the job too! But the mighty Colorado river has eroded through the sandstone from millions of years to get to this natural bend, and may be in the near future (in geologic time scale), we might witness a natural bridge where the river abandons the circular bend altogether.

Anyway, after a thousand pictures and dipping in the serenity of the spectacular Horseshoe Bend, our tired, dehydrated souls sought the comfort of a bed and warmth of dripping hot water from the shower. So we started driving, again, to search for our hotel in Kanab, UT, Shilo Inn and Suites, a less than standard hotel in the small Mormon town. In spite of being a relatively famous town for the shots in a number of Hollywood movies, the town remains closed for businesses on Sundays(!). We managed to not find a decent place for dinner, and found it hard to locate even a gas station that was open on Sunday. Crazy, yah?

Day 4 | *** -

Day 5 |

Day 6 |

Where the Journey is the Destination