Back from Arizona/Utah

DCPhotoGal

Photographer and Mom to 2 Princesses
Joined
Mar 4, 2011
We got back on Monday from a lovely week on ABD Arizona/Utah. Anybody traveling soon and have questions on this itinerary while it's fresh in my mind?
 
I am seriously considering this trip for next year, mostly because of the inclusion of Monument Valley. I would be interested in hearing your impressions of that part of the trip.

Thanks.
 
I am seriously considering this trip for next year, mostly because of the inclusion of Monument Valley. I would be interested in hearing your impressions of that part of the trip.

Thanks.
That's one of the things that pushed me to take this ABD. I'd been to most of the other places (LONG ago) but had never been to Monument Valley (or Arches). It is a beautiful, inspiring place and SO worth seeing! I really loved our day at Monument Valley. *HIGHLY* recommend it!

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Going on this trip in 2 weeks. I would love any info you have. Was Tiffany one of your guides? How were the hotels?
 


That's one of the things that pushed me to take this ABD. I'd been to most of the other places (LONG ago) but had never been to Monument Valley (or Arches). It is a beautiful, inspiring place and SO worth seeing! I really loved our day at Monument Valley. *HIGHLY* recommend it!

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Thanks for sharing. I have to say that Monument Valley had been on my "to-do" list since I first saw Stagecoach as a young child. I have looked at several other tours but most either skip Monument Valley or have it as an add on. By the way, reading your trip report first made me take another look at this ABD. I appreciate your response.
 
Doing the adults only trip next month. Do you need real hiking shoes or will a regular air of running/walking shoes be enough? Thanks!
 
Doing the adults only trip next month. Do you need real hiking shoes or will a regular air of running/walking shoes be enough? Thanks!
I had real hiking shoes for the hike to Delicate Arch, and I was really glad I had them. They don't call it slickrock for nothing! However, other people seemed to do fine with sneakers, so I guess YMMV.

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We just wore our normal sneakers when we hiked to Delicate Arch. They were fine. I think if the rocks were wet they could be slippery but on our hike it was 104 degrees and total sunshine. Bring water. LOL
 
I am seriously considering this trip for next year, mostly because of the inclusion of Monument Valley. I would be interested in hearing your impressions of that part of the trip.

Thanks.
It was very unique to be able to stay in the Navajo reservation. I felt like this trip does a good job of trying to include Native American culture as part of the experience. The housing at monument valley was cool--our family got two little mobile home-type things. Both had a living room with a bed, sitting area and kitchen, as well as a separate bedroom and bathroom. They all had porches, too, and I stayed up late watching the stars over the rocks.
 
I had real hiking shoes for the hike to Delicate Arch, and I was really glad I had them. They don't call it slickrock for nothing! However, other people seemed to do fine with sneakers, so I guess YMMV.

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I agree that good grip is important at Arches. My older daughter and I opted to do the window section instead of the Delicate Arch hike and I still was grateful I had some solid Merrills on for the grip.

The two hike option was a bit of a challenge for our family and we really would have loved to do both. So half of us did the delicate arch (1 parent, 1 kid) and the other the windows section. Neither was disappointed. But it was also about 60 degrees and sunny the day we went, so we didn't battle the heat that you would get in the summer.

For the red dirt in Moab and Monument Valley I found that my cowboy boots were the perfect shoe. They kept the dust from my feet and wiped off easily.
 
Going on this trip in 2 weeks. I would love any info you have. Was Tiffany one of your guides? How were the hotels?

Yes, we had Tiffany and Doug, and they are top-notch guides. Hopefully it'll be a little warmer when you do than when we went. It snowed at the Grand Canyon for us! There was a big concern in our group about rafting since it was so cold and they don't have drysuits like we had in Alaska. Some people taped trash bags to their feet. I went in my Chacos and was actually fine, we didn't get very wet. The rafting is pretty calm.

I found that the hotels matched the descriptions I read in previous trip reports. The hotel in Sedona is a fancy spa resort. You may see people walking around in robes. The rooms are in little buildings spread out over the property and there are golf carts you can take to get around or you can walk. Our family had two rooms, one had a king bed, and the other was adjoining and only had a queen-sized Murphy bed. It was a huge room with a kitchen and fireplace (and porch with a grill), though. My girls hate sharing a bed, so asked to add another bed to the room with the Murphy bed. This hotel has the fanciest rooms and the only one with the disposable slippers, so be sure to bring them along for the other hotels if you use them. The breakfast there is good but sometimes slow. We didn't have cell service and the wifi wasn't great.

The hotel at the Grand Canyon was a hot mess, but it is all about the location. Our room had a Grand Canyon View (not super great, since there is a walkway and fence in the way) but it was like a 1960s motel on the inside and the door didn't latch properly. Another family on the trip had a room where when they flushed the toilet the water came out the shower! But again, you stay there for the location and it was certainly amazing to wake up to a snowy Grand Canyon.

The rooms in Monument Valley are great little modular apartments, complete with a porch you can sit on to look at stars. There is a lot of space and they are very nice on the inside. I think both had two queen beds. You can see the monuments from them as well. A short hike up the hill a little made for a great sunrise view.

The rooms in Moab were also very nice. Ours had a kitchenette and patio with a view of the horse pasture. We enjoyed watching the horses. Both of our rooms there had two queen beds. The rooms are separate from the main building with the food and front desk. But it's just a short walk to get there. The ranch is lovely and the views were great.
 
We’ll be going on this trip in June. We’re interested in eating at El Tovar for dinner - I thought previous trip reports had mentioned that the guides may make some reservation slots available for anyone interested. Was this the case on your trip? I’ve been contemplating making our own reservations just in case, but I wasn’t sure of timing. We don’t want to eat too late, but most likely will go on the group hike that day. Would 6:30 reservations be a good time?

Thanks!
 
We’ll be going on this trip in June. We’re interested in eating at El Tovar for dinner - I thought previous trip reports had mentioned that the guides may make some reservation slots available for anyone interested. Was this the case on your trip? I’ve been contemplating making our own reservations just in case, but I wasn’t sure of timing. We don’t want to eat too late, but most likely will go on the group hike that day. Would 6:30 reservations be a good time?

Thanks!
Hi - we just returned from this trip on April 3rd. LOVED every bit of it. I did make reservations at El Tovar before the trip, but the guides did have some time slots open to offer us. Most were pretty early (5, 5:30). Happy to answer any other questions :)
 
We’ll be going on this trip in June. We’re interested in eating at El Tovar for dinner - I thought previous trip reports had mentioned that the guides may make some reservation slots available for anyone interested. Was this the case on your trip? I’ve been contemplating making our own reservations just in case, but I wasn’t sure of timing. We don’t want to eat too late, but most likely will go on the group hike that day. Would 6:30 reservations be a good time?

Thanks!
Oops - meant to say that our reservations were at 6:30 and that was perfect!
 
Going on this trip in 2 weeks. I would love any info you have. Was Tiffany one of your guides? How were the hotels?
Hi. We returned on April 3rd and loved every minute of this trip. Tiffany and Doug were our guides and they are the best! We had perfect weather - sunny and 60-70 everyday, with cool nights and mornings. The hotels were all great. Enchantment definitely the nicest, the Thunderbird was actually remodeled and not bad at all, and you can't beat the location. Red Cliffs was really cool and we were pleasantly surprised there, too! Hope you have an amazing trip!
 
It was very unique to be able to stay in the Navajo reservation. I felt like this trip does a good job of trying to include Native American culture as part of the experience. The housing at monument valley was cool--our family got two little mobile home-type things. Both had a living room with a bed, sitting area and kitchen, as well as a separate bedroom and bathroom. They all had porches, too, and I stayed up late watching the stars over the rocks.

Wow, I didn't realize you were actually staying on the reservation. Unless they make some serious changes to the itinerary for 2020, I will be booking this trip when it becomes available in a few weeks. I definitely want to do some stargazing, though my luck with that is not the greatest, I always seem to get the cloudy nights.
 

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