Go West (not so) Young Man

[2 for the road]

Hi all, My wife and I are hittin' the road from St Louis in a few weeks for our first real Voyager voyage. We were riding a Roadstar before buying the Voyager last fall.
If anyone has any "must see" stops along or near our route or "overrated, don't bother", I would appreciate your input.
We will be heading west on Interstate 70 from St.L to Colorado Springs. From there we will head to Hwy 50 west thru Monarch Pass to Montrose. Then we'll go south on Hwy 550 thru Ouray (down the Million Dollar Highway) to Durango. From Durango Hwy 160 toward Four Corners. We will continue on Hwy 160 to Hwy 89 south to Flagstaff and then continuing south to Sedona, Arizona. From there we'll head north on Hwy 180 to the Grand Canyon. Then Hwy 64 east to 89 north in to Utah, to Bryce Canyon Nat.'l Park. Then northeast on Hwy 12 to Hwy 24 east to Interstate 70 east. We will head east on 70 to Hwy 40 north to Hwy 34 (thru Estes Park) to Hwy 36. Then back toward Denver and the looong ride back thru Kansas on I70 east.
We have been to the Estes area several times but most of the rest of the trip will be new to us.
Looks like about 3400 miles round trip. We are planning on doing lots of sight seeing and have alloted almost three weeks of time. We should be either lovin' or hatin' the Voyager by the time we get back. I really hope it's the beginning of a long love affair. We can't wait to get on the road! Thanks in advance for any tips or suggestions that you may have.
Dennis

[debron]

The entrance to Arches National Park is only about 30 minutes south of I-70 on which you will be traveling after leaving Bryce Canyon. Well worth the detour.

[2 for the road]

Thanks Ron,
Every place I read about sounds great, so personal recomendations are really appreciated. Hope to make the stop you mentioned. Thanks! Dennis

[debron]

Confession - The entrance is only about 30 minutes south of the freeway but you will want several hours to spend in the park. There are a lot of campgrounds and motels in Moab if you need to spend the night.

I'm going to try to get back there in September and visit the canyon country in S. Utah, N. Arizona and N. New Mexico/

[glich54]

The old narrow gage steam railroad day trip from Durango to Silverton along the Animas river is amazing (get reservations before you arrive)..Black Cannyon of the Gunnnison National Monument East of Montrose is worth the short detour....The Hot Springs in Ouray is a nice break and the Giant Hot springs/huge pool in the middle of Glenwood Springs is a great place to spend the day or evening...

[phill12]

IF YOU TAKE THE TRAIN RIDE, RIDE THE BUS BACK TO DURANGO. IT GETS YOU BACK A-LOT FASTER.

[2 for the road]

Thanks a lot, guys. I had read about the train but was wondering if it was worth the price. Sounds like it is! And thanks for the bus back tip. I had noticed that it was a lot of time on the train...tho I'm sure it's beautiful. The hot springs may be really well received after a few long days on the road. Great idea.
We are planning to head out on Saturday, but may leave mid-afternoon on Friday if the weather looks better than Saturday A.M. We can't wait! Like always, hope the ride is safe and smooth..I know it will be lots of fun! Hope to represent the AVA well on the road.

[Brenda Herring]

Don't know how close your trip takes you to the Petrified Forest, but it is well worth seeing.
The rest of the trip sounds great. John and I have been to most of the places you mentioned, Loved it.

Brenda

[2 for the road]

I wanted to thank you guys for your suggestions for our trip. We did all three, Arches Nat'l Park, the Durango/Silverton railroad and the Petrified Forest/Painted desert. You were all right, awesome!
We had an unbelieveble three weeks covering about 4,200 miles. We loved seeing sights we had never seen before and meeting people we never met before. Like lots of folks, we had some tough stuff to overcome this past year and this was kind of a celebration of getting through and looking to the better days ahead. Taking three weeks vacation meant saving up time and money, but it was well worth it. It was a trip that we will never forget. (and tons of photos to remind us). The Voyager performed well. Only repair was in the parking lot at the Four Corners. I hit a bump in some road construction and the upper end of the speedometer cable came loose. We had a little issue in Arches N.P. also. May have gotten something hung up in the fuel filter. Dumped in a can of fuel cleaner and my power came back. Glad we didn't have to have it towed back to St. Louis! I'll try to give a little more detail about the trip when I have a chance (if anyone cares). I would post some photos, but the directions scare me.
If you have been thinking about a trip you really want to make and haven't for what ever reason...DO IT! The memories will last long after the bills are paid, and someday your chance may be gone.

[debron]

Glad you had a good time! Lot's to see and do in that area. If I can't get back there this fall (not looking promising) I plan to make to the AVA rally in Kanab, Utah next July and see more of the canyon country then.

[Okie34]

Sounds like a great ride! Looking forward to your photos. It's not really has hard as you think to post photos. Just make sure you have an online photo site that allows linking (flickr is one I use, Picasa is a common one, there are others out there as well).

I was looking at your earlier directions and I was afraid you were going to get lost (or a real adventure anyway) as I-70 comes into Denver and is about 2 hours north of US-50 which hits the mountains around Canon City. You would have to drop southwest on US-24 at Limon to get to the Springs from I-70 or I-25 south in Denver (hat intersection is better known as the Mouse Trap!) Colorado Springs is a beautiful place and I plan on paying my toll to get to the top of Pikes Peak with my XII. May be a struggle, but I'm going to do it! US-50 through the mountains is another great area. I have plans to spend a week in the areas south of I-70 in the future.

Again, I'm looking forward to a nice, long, illustrated ride report!

-- JD