Man, sorry to back-to-back post, but this just popped up and I be needin help big-time. The deal:

Planned a big trip next month to go hike down into the grand canyon and camp on the indian reservation, bought plane tix to Denver, got the time off work, ditto for the wife, her sister, and a friend of the wife's who's coming with.

Then, it turns out the campgrounds are booked solid all month, and there's not really anywhere else to sleep down there that isn't 10 more miles further away! My ass ain't hiking 8 miles down rocky hills / cliffs with 40 lbs of gear on my back, only to magically hike another 12. Dat Trail o' Tears!

I need a Plan B. It needs to involve NM or AZ, as we have expensive rooms booked and paid-fer at a b+b in Santa Fe around the 13th I think. Oh please oh please sweet baby jeebus tell me somebody knows of another way to camp somewhere hikeable like that, or has a kickass outdoor idea for that area. Any and all suggestions, no matter how humorous, are welcomed, except "dude, have a 4-way." I asked.

What about checking out some of the Anasazi ruins in AZ? There's a few sites, and one of them is larger and more amazing than the others (and it's a good hike as well) - but I can't remember where it's located.

Nice! I'll see if I can find anything on it.

did you check grand canyon village? a friend & i just "popped in" w/o prior reservation on our 48 state trip & they had rooms (at about $109/nite) available. it's within walking distance of the south rim & they have horseback trips & i believe hiking as well from there.

on the way to abq from az there's the petrified national forest park which can involve some hiking of man-made walkways

[EDIT: also going south from grand canyon on the interstate just before going east to NM there's some cave-dweller national park (forgot the name) which can involve some hiking of mostly man-made walkways]

[PIX of my 48 state trip in AZ: http://www.dotphoto.com/GuestViewAlbum.asp?AID=391674]

taos, new mexico is pretty damn cool. and there are some kickass anasazi ruins near there too.

mulder!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!












scully!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Cool! Name and password are required to view, tho.

crap. didn't used to be that way.

How about Sedona? Very scenic, and there's probably some camping up in the hills outside of town. Sedona is a town of nothing but art galleries and new age freaks--the area's evidently got cosmic vortexes out the ass.


If I'm thinking of the right one, it's Chaco Canyon, north of Rt. 40 in New Mexico.


That's Walnut Canyon; which I thought was very cool--some of the earliest man-made structures in the area built into overhanging rock in a little mini-canyon. It's not back country hiking (the path's paved and there's lots of stairs), but a bit of a climb for tubby old me.

zion canyon national park -- really beautiful and not near the crowds.

and if you are coming from denver, durango, co is a very, very cool town. the animas river runs through town and you can see people white water rafting and fly fishing right in town.

i spent about a month in "canyon country" when i finished law school and had a blast. those two things are some pretty good suggestions, i suppose. . .

trev

Good suggestions all, and much appreciated. So far it looks like Coyote Gulch in Utah might be the backup plan. It can be hiked (or parts of it) over 2 or 3 days, with slickrock camping and fresh water available as you go. Should be cool, if we can figure it out. Wish I could bring my truck out there... some fine 4wd'in to be had.

I was just there... didn't do any camping and my tarred lungs could only handle about 1/2 mile down the Blue Angel trail. Beautiful but if I had to go again I'd book my ass on one of them Donkeys.

Good luck and have a great time... where are you saying in Santa Fe? We stayed at Las Palomas and it was very cool and cheap too. Maybe check their availability.

The painted desert is something to see, and is near the petrified forest. If you can get to Canyon de Chelly, you will probably be rewarded with a good experience. Just north of Flagstaff there's a string of really amazing Indian ruins that you can actually go into and check out, plus you can go into Flagstaff to Sunset Crater and take tours of the lava flows, which I remember as a kid digging the crap out of, fueling a several-years long obsession with volcanoes. Flagstaff is also home to the Lowell observatory and at night you can go look at stars there. Meteor Crater is east of Flagstaff and is truly something everyone should see if they have the opportunity. It sounds like just a big hole in the ground until you see it and realize it's a REALLY big hole in the ground. Last time I was up there a couple years ago, the winds were averaging 80 mph, so some of the observation areas were closed down, but it's still worth checking out.

I forgot about that one - that really is quite a cool experience. It's a LOT of stairs, the climb up is a bitch if you're not in good shape (ahem . . .) but well worth it.

go to Sedona, AZ.

Second. Love this place.

Always wanted to visit Durango when I lived in Denver but never got around to it.

what state is the grand canyon in?

The national park is in Arizona, but AFAIK parts of the canyon cross over state lines.

Zion, is Great; Also Arches N.P.; White Sands New Mexico is incredible....ahhh, so many places.....Eight years later and I STILL haven't made it back out there.

Most hostels are required to leave a certain number of last minute beds open; even if you have to join HI, if you really want to do grand canyon it'll be worth it. I'd be very surprised if there was no backpacker joint close to the canyon.

Yep, Zion is stunning, but you must have caught it in the off-season. It's the 2nd most frequently visited Park in the nation, and gets VERY crowded.

Kind of surprised nobody has mentioned Bryce Canyon, which is also in that general area, about an hour north of Zion.....the scenery might even be even more fantastic at Bryce. My favorite, though, is Cedar Breaks- an hour and a half or so west of Zion- much, much smaller, but jaw-droppingly beautiful- I though I had some pics on my computer here at work, but no joy.....

http://www.americansouthwest.net/utah/c ... raphs.html

friend & i, neither too athletically inclined, went here during a scattered rain storm. my instinct was to duck into one of the dwellings.

zion looks good, but what is there to do there? friend (same from above) & i didn't have time to stop and wander around much on our 48 state trip, but it didn't seem like there was much going on there anyway, outside of just looking at cool rock formations and such.

The plan is shaping up thus:

Monday we pick up the friend at the airport in CO and head to Escalante, UT, and camp at head of trail.

Tuesday - hike into Coyote Gulch, camp.

Wednesday - hike out, and drive down the road to Grand Staircase, camp.

Thursday - hike out of staircase and drive 1/2 way to Santa Fe, and try to camp somewhere (haven't found a good site yet for that).

Friday - check into Water Street B+B in Santa Fe, explore town, enjoy happy hour w/ quesadillas and margaritas.

Saturday - check out, drive to Denver airport, go home.

Should be really really nice. Only regret is having to rent something with decent ground clearance to drive for the week. One place wants $600 for a Jeep Cherokee, which hurts. I may wind up trying to convince a Daiwoo to go places it shouldn't.

is this the "main downtown" shopping/tourist district? if so, it's a fun place to briefly walk around. (too damn hot and not too many shops to stay outside for too long.)