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Farmington NM - Aztec Ruins National Monument - Durango CO - Silverton CO - Ouray CO - Montrose CO Travel distance 187 miles Map Departing from Farmingtn, NM 8:00 am Arriving at Montrose, CO 6:00 pm Travel time 10:00 hrs

Today's trip definitively means goodbye to the vast plains of New Mexico. Instead, mountains up to 11,000 ft (3,350 m) are waiting for me. But first, there's an ancient pueblo waiting to be explored. Aztec Ruins National Monument, located half way between Farmington and Durango, is the first stop today.

After that, I drive straight thru Durango, towards Silverton. Highway 550 turns out to be a winding road thru a rather narrow valley. It climbs up to several passes, like Molas Pass (elevation 10,899 ft / 3,322 m). The scenic road provides numerous great views as it winds thru the mountains.

Then, descending from another pass, Silverton appears. The former mining town has been declared a National Historic Landmark, so its quite well preserved and still gives you pretty good idea of what the town once looked like. There are some impressive buildings along main street that reflect the wealth this remote area had achieved during the gold- and silver rush of the late 1800s. Since Silverton is a rather small town, it does not take a long time to walk around and enjoy the well preserved historic buildings.

North of Silverton, the valley turns into a gap and the mountains on both sides of the road are so high that hardly any sunlight makes it all the way down to the valley floor.

Ouray, about 23 miles (37 km) North of Silverton, also has some historic buildings along the main street, but basically it's a ski resort, which of course influences the cost of accommodation. Therefore, I chose not to stay here but to continue to Montrose.

North of Ouray, the valley opens to a rather wide plain. Montrose turns out to be a nice town to spend the night, although there are no specific attractions that might make me want to extend my stay.

Aztec Ruins National Monument

Telluride	Population	1,600
	Elevation	8,750 ft (2,667 m)
	Links	Telluride Visitor Guide List of movies filmed in Telluride
	My pictures	Picture gallery of Telluride

Telluride once was a booming mining town that produced gold, silver, zinc, lead, copper and iron. The town was established in 1880. With the coming of the railroad in 1890, the town flourished and Telluride's population soared to 5,000.

Silver prices crashed in 1893, followed by the first World War in 1917 and the end of the mining boom in Telluride. Gold prices were fixed during the war and many men left the mines to join the armed forces or work in war-related industries. Telluride never fully recovered. By the 1960s the place was barely more than a ghost town, the population having dwindled to less than 600 residents.

Nowadays, Telluride's primary source of income is tourism. In 1972, the Telluride ski area opened, which brought many visitors to the town. A mountain village was erected above Telluride to allow year-round skiing activities.

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Cortez UT - Four Corners National Monument - Moab UT - Arches National Park - Moab UT Travel distance 248 miles Map Departing from Cortez, CO 8:05 am Arriving at Moab, CO 11:45 pm Travel time 3:40 hrs

Today's first stop was Four Corners National Monument, the only place in the United States where where four states come together at one place. The singular corner shared by Arizona, New Mexico, Utah and Colorado is marked by a concrete monument featuring the Great Seal of each of the four states. Other than that, there's not much to see here, and so left after ten minutes. My stay would have been even shorter if there had not been quite a long queue of other visitors all waiting to get up to the small platform that provides a view from above of the monument.

Then I drove straight North to Moab, the town that serves as the gateway to Arches National Park. I arrived there well before noon, so there was plenty of time for vising the National Park right away. At the park, I hiked to several significant rocks and impressing natural arches. The most famous of these, Delicate Arch, can be seen from a viewpoint which is easily accessible. Unfortunately, the arch is pretty far away from this viewpoint. So I decided to do the 2.5 mile hike that is required to get a closer look of this arch. But since it already was pretty late and I was kind of tired from numerous hikes, I postponed this walk until tomorrow.

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Moab UT - Dead Horse Point State Park - Arches National Park - Moab UT Travel distance 169 miles Map

Today, I intended to hike to Delicate Arch at Arches National Park. According to the park guide, this arch is best to be viewed in the late afternoon. So I started the day with a visit to Dead Horse Point State Park some 30 miles (48 km) outside of Moab. This park, located on top of a mountain range, provides some great views on the Colorado river valley.

After returning to Moab, I still had plenty of time left, so I decided to drive thru Castle valley, which is part of a scenic loop drive recommended by local tourist guides. This valley, just East of Moab, is really beautiful and surprisingly green, in contrast to the desert-like environment of Arches National Park.

Then, after some recreation (after all, I still had some hiking ahead of me), I went back to the National Park. The sun was not too hot, so walking across the rocks (no shadow whatsoever) was not too strenuous. But the trail climbs up about 590 ft (180 m) over its 2.8 miles (4.5 km) distance, so inexperienced hikers (like me) still are quite exhausted by the time they reach the arch. It takes about 40 minutes to walk from the trail head to the arch.

The arch is located near a rather deep gap, shielded from the hiking trail by a wall of rocks. So rather than seeing the arch getting closer and closer, you just walk along this wall of rocks, and then, all of a sudden, you stand in front of this giant arch - among many, many, many other tourists, of course. Since the sky was a bit cloudy (which was great for hiking), everybody was waiting for the arch to stand in bright sunlight. So I spent over an hour waiting, taking pictures, waiting again and taking more pictures.

The way back is, of course, all downhill, and so it took me not quite as long to get back. After about 25 minutes, I was back where I started, and all that was now left to do was the short drive back to Moab.

Moab	Population	4,500
	Elevation	4,025 ft (1,227 m)
	Links	Grand County Travel Council List of movies filmed in Moab

Located on the banks of the Colorado River, nestled in a fertile green valley between soaring red sandstone cliffs, the town of Moab is truly an emerald in the desert. Moab's close proximity to several national and state parks has made it a popular destination, and a wonderful location to begin any adventure in southeastern Utah. The majestic LaSal Mountains tower over the southern end of town attaining heights of nearly 13,000 ft (3,965 m. Just five miles north of town is Arches National Park, which contains the world's largest concentration of natural stone arches. Thirty miles west of Moab is Canyonlands National Park, containing over 500 square miles of incredibly rugged and spectacular canyon country.

Map of Moab

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Moab UT - Monument valley - Kayenta AZ Travel distance 304 miles Map

In the morning, I left Moab on southbound Highway 191. Today's destination was Monument valley, located on the border of Utah and Arizona. I arrived at Goulding just after noon. Since I had visited the area twice before, I still had in mind that all the motels around here are charging exorbitant prices even for basic rooms. To save some money, I called at the Goulding camp ground - after all, there was this brand new tent in the trunk of my car waiting to be set up for the first time. Unfortunately, I was not the only traveller looking of a camp site, and so I learned that there was not even one single tent site vacant on that camp ground. So I had no choice but to drive to Kayenta, where I checked in at the local Best Western Motel.

Since I had done the guided tours at Monument valley on both my previous visits (in 1994 and 1995), I chose to do only the self - guided tour this time. I intended to watch today's sunset, so I went to the park in late afternoon.

Watching sunset at Monument valley is quite comfortable, as the best spot to do this is right at the visitor center. Even though many tourists gather for this event, the viewing platform was not too crowded.

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Kayenta AZ - Grand Canyon Natonal Park - Flagstaff AZ Travel distance 308 miles Map

From Kayenta, I headed straight to the Eastern entrance of Grand Canyon Natonal Park, where I arrived at 9 am. Since Kayenta is part of a Native American reservation, Daylight Saving Time is observed there whereas the rest of Arizona is on Pacific Time all year. So, I gained one hour.

Since I had visited Grand Canyon twice before (1994 and 1995), I pretty much knew what was waiting for me. Nevertheless, I stopped at nearly every single view point along the road. It's always a great experience to look down that giant canyon.

I arrived at Grand Canyon village well before noon. So there was plenty of time left to also visit West rim, which is only accessible by shuttle bus. But then, I saw the huge crowd of visitors waiting for the bus. Since standing in line is not much fun, I decided to suspend this trip for one day. After all, I still had to drive to Flagstaff and find an accommodation for the night.

So I left the National Park on Highway 180 which takes you directly to Flagstaff in about 90 minutes.

Flagstaff	Population	65,000
	Elevation	7,000 ft (2,134 m)
	Links	Flagstaff Chamber of Commerce City of Flagstaff Flagstaff Visitor Guide List of movies filmed in Flagstaff

Flagstaff, located at the intersection of Interstate 17 and I-40, is the largest city and is the regional center of northern Arizona. It is the county seat for Coconino County. Flagstaff is one of the highest U.S. cities and its breath-taking backdrop is even higher. The community sits at the base of the San Francisco Peaks, Arizona's highest point at 12,633 feet (3,851 m).

The town has long been a transportation hub. Located along an old wagon road to California, Flagstaff began after the railroad arrived in 1881. Today the town links I-40 to I-17, Highway 89 to Page and Utah, and Highway 180 to the Grand Canyon. Historic Route 66 passes through Flagstaff. Flagstaff's name comes from a tall pine tree made into a flag pole in 1876 to celebrate the Declaration of Independence Centennial.

Today, Flagstaff also serves as a gateway for visitors to the region's attractions, first of all, of course, Grand Canyon Natonal Park which is located 75 miles North of the town.

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Flagstaff AZ - Historic Route 66 - Kingman AZ Travel distance 217 miles Map

This day is dedicated to Historic Route 66. The first stop, right after exiting Interstate 40 (westbound), is Seligman, where some buildings have remained unchanged for decades. The town features a few interesting Route 66 souvenir stores.

The road from Seligman to Kingman is one of the longest sections of the original Route 66 still remaining. Since most of the traffic uses the nearby Interstate 40, travelling this historic stretch is quite comfortable.

The next stop is a former gas station that has been converted into a souvenir store. Obviously, selling overpriced items featuring the Route 66 emblem to tourists is by far the most profitable type of business in this area.

Approximately 20 miles (32 km) further down the road, we're back from the past as we arrive inKingman. But even though it's just an average, modern town, the past is still alive along Route 66. There are a number of quite old motels and diners which constantly remind you of the history of the road.

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Kingman AZ - Laughlin NV - Hoover Dam - Las Vegas NV Travel distance 230 miles Map Departing from Kingman, AZ 7:40 am Arriving at Las Vegas, NV 2:00 pm Travel time 6:20 hrs

Route 66 takes me further West. After entering Nevada at Laughlin, a town that's not really worth to stop at, I drove straight to Hoover Dam. Although I didn't get to join one of the tours, I really enjoyed the visit. Even though I had visited the dam before, it was great to walk across this gigantic structure. Nowadays, it's no problem to find all the facts you need about the dam on the internet ( right here, for instance), but you still have to actually go there and see it to fully understand its dimensions.

All right, for those of you who absolutely need to know how I failed to get on one of the guided tours (I've been told they're really interesting): When I first approached the visitor center's entrance, I learned from a rather disgruntled security guard that there are absolutely no bags whatsoever tolerated inside that building - for security reasons. So I hiked all the way back to the car to leave my camera case there (cameras, without a bag, are allowed). When I finally returned to the checkpoint, the guard was just about to close down the entrance "for at least 45 minutes" because the visitor center just had reached its visitors capacity. At that point, I really got pissed and decided not to wait that long only to end up in another queue at the tour ticket counter. So I left this otherwise nice place and headed towards Las Vegas.