See my itinerary for the summary.
Roswell, Billy the Kid, White Sands
- Roswell, NM – Alien encounter? The UFO Museum & Research Center will make you wonder.
- Lincoln County, NM – This is a bit off the main roads in the mountains. Pretty drive & cuter town. Most of the historical buildings remain. I remember it costing something like $10 for access to all historical sites in the town. We grabbed a yummy lunch at one of the local spots. We spent a good few hours here & loved it.
- White Sands, NM – a little thunderstorm moved through while we were here. So our time was cut short. But this place was crazy!
- Dripping Springs Natural Area – Sadly, while we were there the springs were dry. But we still enjoyed our walk around the area. Even saw the slot cave where they once found a hermit. Overall, a much needed break in our drive to Las Cruces where we stayed for the night.
Tombstone & Saguro National Park
- Tombstone – Super excited to see Tombstone. I found out the only remaining original building is the Bird Cage Theater. Most building date back to 1882. Still old, just not from the Earp days.
And prepare yourself, I also learned the shootout didn’t actually happen at the OK Corral.
This destination is pretty popular. Expect the crowds to grow during the day.
Also, the city is a bit more commercial than Lincoln County. So be prepared for a different experience.- Good enough to Mine – The silver mine that started it all. Take a tour & learn all about this life. This mine is the reason the Tombstone population grew to 20,000 its prime.
- Bird cage Theater – This is “the” building to see. When the town was abandoned, this became the storage unit & was boarded up for 40 years. When they went back in, there was a treasure trove of history & you can still see it all today. Including, Doc Holliday’s original Faro table.
- The O.K. Corral – We watched the reenactment and enjoyed learning the true history of these famous 30 seconds in history.
- Saguro National Park – Not our favorite of the National Parks, but glad we saw it. It was a unique pretty. All the cacti and what you imagine southwest landscape to look like.
- Driving to Phoenix – I only call this out because this was an unplanned adventure for us. As we were leaving Saguro, there was some flash flooding. Had to find another way out. Once we finally got back on the main highway there was crazy weather & insane traffic. We found out later a weather phenomenon called a Haboob had blown through. Our unplanned adventures tend to be some of our most fond memories.
Sedona
This was an intentional easy day for us. We did an easy hike through Red Rock State Park & drove through Coconino National Forest.
Meteor Crater, Winslow, Petrified Forest (& Painted Desert), Lowell Observatory
- Meteor Crater – The size is unreal. They have a full-size cutout of a person at the bottom to give perspective.
- Winslow, Arizona – they have a flatbed Ford & Eagles music playing. Very nostalgic downtown. We found a cute soda shop & had some yummy Italian Soda.
- Petrified Forest (& Painted Desert) National Park – This place is MASSIVE. Stop by for a map & enjoy the drive at your own pace.
- Lowell Observatory – Very educational & fun. This is where an astronomer discovered Pluto. The telescope is from the turn of the 20th century and still used today.
Grand Canyon
The reason for this trip. The Grand Canyon! Wowser! It’s everything you imagine. We only did the South Rim. We got the map & picked stops that looked interesting to us. The closer we got to the Canyon Village the more people we encountered, but that’s to be expected here.
We almost did the donkey rides & that still may be a future trip check-list item. But for this trip we enjoyed the scenery & taking in the park.
After moving away from the canyon views we drove through the park. This is where you should keep an eye out for wildlife.
Pro tip: If you see a bunch of cars pulled over, keep your eyes peeled! This is a good sign that there is wildlife nearby.
Horseshoe Bend, Antelope Canyon, Monument Valley, Four Corners, Mesa Verde
- Horseshoe Bend – Just incredible beauty. The colors are unreal.
- Antelope Canyon – Book tickets EARLY. Sadly, I learned this lesson the hard way. So don’t make my same mistake. We didn’t get to take a tour, but I still hope to get back for this one day, because oh my this looks gorgeous. I’ve included the link I would use to start making plans for this.
- Monument Valley, Utah – So this was more of a last minute decision for us. We had completed our “must do” list & decided to go visit family in Colorado. But glad we drove through here. If you want to reenact the Forest Gump scene, stop at Mile Marker 13 on Route 163. I remember there being signs at the time. There’s still so much in Utah we want to see in future trips, but this is what we did as we clipped this state on this trip.
- Lunch at Twin Rocks Cafe – a roadside diner with great scenery.
- Four Corners Monument – Be ready to stand in a line. It moves quick, but you will be standing in the sun. People were polite & we all took turns taking pictures for the groups in front of us.
- Mesa Verde National Park (Cortez, Colorado) – This was a pleasant surprise that we are glad we did. Incredible view into the live of our early ancestors.
Aztec Ruins, Santa Fe, Rio Grand Royal Gorge
- Aztec Ruins National Monument – it is mostly ruins, but you get to really explore.
- Santa Fe – I’m surprised I can’t find more pictures. We really like Santa Fe. But I’m not surprised the one photo I can still find is of the Spiral Staircase in the Loretto Chapel. I remembered this episode from Unsolved Mysteries and had to see it. I wasn’t expecting the chapel to be as beautiful as it was.
- Rio Grande Royal Gorge – wow! This bridge is amazing. After we drove over, we parked to walk out on it. I did look down, but quickly walked right back to the car.
Hollyday Planner 