West Coast

2022 Arizona and New Mexico

April 27, 2022 - May 8, 2022

11 days 2,057 miles 9 stops

Sunrise at Yaki Point

Funny how a trip plan sometimes morphs into something totally different from whence you started. Originally my itinerary included Saguaro National Park, White Sands National Monument, Santa Fe, and Taos, but then Herb saw photos of the Bisti Badlands in the northwest corner of New Mexico, putting us much further north than our original intent.

So, I found some great stepping stones across northern Arizona and New Mexico, and all of a sudden “Voila,”we had a totally different trip.

Much of our trip was spent on the Colorado Plateau in the Navajo Nation, which made for some interesting Native American history and cultural exposure in addition to areas of incredible natural beauty.

I was quite pleased where the itinerary finally settled into place - Grand Canyon South Rim, Monument Valley, Goosenecks, Canyon de Chelly, Shiprock, Bisti Badlands, and Chaco Canyon.

Itinerary

# Stop Date Miles Hours
1 Rainbow Basin April 26, 2022 460 8
2 Grand Canyon - South Rim April 27, 2022 380 6
3 Gooseneck State Park, Muley Point, and Valley of the Gods April 30, 2022 250 6
4 Monument Valley Navajo Tribal Park May 1, 2022 37 1
5 Canyon de Chelly May 3, 2022 100 1.75
6 Shiprock May 3, 2022 85 1.75
7 Bisti Badlands May 4, 2022 130 3.5
8 Chaco Canyon May 5, 2022 75 1.5
9 Route 66 quirky stops, Barstow, and Home May 6, 2022 540 9