Saturday, 5th May, sunny
On the plane to Phoenix, Arizona
Accommodation: Best Western Apache Junction
On Saturday, 5th May, we boarded a plane from Düsseldorf via Atlanta, Georgia, to Phoenix in Arizona where we arrived in the early evening, local time. We picked up our rental car, a Jeep Liberty, and drove approximately an hour to Apache Junction where we had booked the Best Western Apache Junction Inn ($62 + Tax AAA Rate, nice breakfast area with do-it-yourself waffles).

Sunday, 6th May, sunny, 28 °C
Apache Trail - Saguaro NP West
Accommodation: Comfort Suites Sabino Canyon, Tucson
Miles driven: 255
We were up early, left at 7:20 a.m. 10 minutes later we arrived at the ghost town Goldfield, then we took on the 48 miles long unpaved Apache Trail to Lake Roosevelt. We had a prickly pear ice-cream at Tortilla Flat and the prickly pear cactuses along the road had pretty yellow flowers. From Globe we took the scenic route via Miami and Superior (Scenic Route) to Florence. We visited the Casa Grande Ruins and it was still early enough to see the western part of the Saguaro National Park which I had already visited with my aunt and uncle in 1991, but I didn’t remember much from that time.
This time the giant Saguaro cacti were in bloom. We did the Desert Discovery Trail, drove the Bajada Loop Drive and hiked the short Valley View Overlook trail and up to the petroglyphs on Signal Hill. Watched the sunset from Gates Pass. We checked into the Comfort Suites Sabino Canyon hotel in the eastern part of Tucson for three nights ($79 AAA Rate per night for a large room with kitchenette, nice inner courtyard, good continental breakfast.

Monday, 7th May, a.m. partly cloudy, p.m. cloudy, 31 °C
Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum - Saguaro NP East
Accommodation: Comfort Suites, Tucson
Miles driven: 79
Next day we visited the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum ($12 each), which is mostly a zoo. After spending 5 hours here we drove to the eastern section of the Saguaro National Park (1 hour across town). We did the Loop Drive and hiked the Loma Verde Loop (~4 miles in under 2 hours). The cacti in the western part of the Saguaro NP are more impressive, but the eastern part offers more options for hiking. Unfortunately the sky was grey this afternoon, so there was no chance of a nice sunset. Went back to the hotel for their happy hour.

Tuesday, 8th May, a.m. sunny, p.m. cloudy, 31 °C
Pima Air & Space Museum - Catalina Highway
Accommodation: Comfort Suites, Tucson
Miles driven: 120
This morning we went to see the Pima Air & Space Museum ($10,75 with AAA discount) where among others the aircraft of John F. Kennedy is displayed. We spent a bit more than an hour. Afterwards we went to find the Tanque Verde Falls in the eastern part of Tucson but they were dry at that time of year. In the afternoon we drove up the Catalina Highway, 26 miles to Mount Lemmon high above Tucson. It was almost snowing at the top! Back down in Tucson we did a tram tour ($5) in Sabino Canyon. Quite hot in the sun down here, fire danger was "high". Saw a rattlesnake crossing the road at one of the tram stops! Met with two folks from the USA travel community at Appelbee’s for dinner.

Wednesday, 9th May, sunny, 30 °C
San Xavier Mission - Madera Canyon - Tombstone - Bisbee
Accommodation: Larian Motel, Tombstone
Miles driven: 171
Our first stop today was at San Xavier Mission, then we drove to Madera Canyon where we hiked the Natural Trail as a 2.7 miles loop. This is a bird watcher's paradise. We even saw a few hummingbirds. From the road we saw a few deer. Via unpaved Box Canyon Road we reached Tombstone, just in time for the re-enacted gunfight of Wyatt Earp and Doc Holliday at the OK Corral at 2 p.m. ($7,50). We checked into the Larian Motel just across the road from the historic centre ($69 + tax, not bad). Being in Tombstone is like being in a Wild West movie. In the late afternoon we drove to Bisbee, an old mining town before returning to Tombstone for the night. For dinner we went to The Depot Steak House, then for a drink with live music in Big Nose Kate Saloon.

Thursday, 10th May, sunny, 29 °C
Chiricahua NM - Steins Ghost Town
Accommodation: Holiday Inn, Deming
Miles driven: 213
This morning we got on the road at 6:45 a.m. Via unpaved roads to Gleeson, Elfrieda and Rucker we reached Chiricahua National Monument after 68 miles at 8:15 a.m. We parked at Echo Canyon Trailhead and hiked Echo Canyon, then via Sarah Deming Trail up to the Heart of Rocks. A beautiful Sonoran Mountain Kingsnake crossed our trail! We learnt later that it's not poisonous. Via Big Balanced Rock Trail and Mushroom Rock Trail we were back at our car after 5 hours (15 km). We left the park at 2:30 p.m.
Via Apache Pass to Fort Bowie we reached the interstate I-10 and after a short stop at the ghost town Steins we reached Deming at 5 p.m. (6 p.m. New Mexico time). We got a room at the Holiday Inn ($60+Tax).

Friday, 11th May, a.m. sunny, p.m, cloudy, 29 °C
City of Rocks - White Sands NM
Accommodation: Motel 6, Alamogordo
Miles driven: 230
We were ready to go at 9 a.m., but when we got to the car park we noticed we had a flat tire! We called up Alamo, then we got it repaired at Big O Tires for $10 and within 30 minutes!
We drove to the City of Rocks ($5 per car). It took an hour to get there. We climbed through the rocks and met another snake that seemed to be more afraid than we were. It fled up a tree... At 12:15 p.m. we drove back the road to Deming. At 3 p.m. we reached Alamogordo and checked into Motel 6 ($39). We went for a early dinner at Applebee's.
At 4:30 p.m. we entered White Sands National Park. We walked the Dune Life Nature Trail and the Interdune Boardwalk and drove the 8 miles long Dunes Drive to its end that was still covered with sand from a flooding in the last autumn. Then we hiked a part ot the Alkali Flat Trail across the white gypsum dunes into the Heart of the Sands. Unfortunately it was rather cloudy and we had to wait for the sun to return. At least we hardly had any wind which can be a pain at this time of year in the dunes. With some rain in the distance we got rewarded with a beautiful rainbow. We stayed until sunset at 7:45 p.m. before we returned to Alamogordo. We didn't happen to see any of the Stealth Fighters that can sometimes be seen in this area. Occasionally the park gets closed for missile tests.

Saturday, 12th May, a.m. sunny, p.m. partly cloudy, approx. 30 °C
Three Rivers Petroglyph Site - Valley of Fires - Salinas Pueblo Missions
Accommodation: Club House Inn, Albuquerque
Miles driven: 241
We left at 8:30 a.m. and drove to Three Rivers Petroglyph Site ($2 or national parks pass). The trail was one mile return. The next stop was Valley of Fires, where we arrived at 11 a.m. This was only a short trail on a tarred track.
At 1 p.m. we reached Gran Quivira, our first stop of the three Salinas Pueblo Missions. At Montainair we stopped at Rancho Bonito of Pop Shaffer. At 2:40 p.m. we arrived at Quarai, another of the Salinas Missions. We also did the 1-mile loop Spanish Corral Trail. We didn't visit the third mission: Abó which would have meant an 18 miles detour.
At 5 p.m. we arrived in Albuquerque. We had booked a room at Club House Inn for three nights ($72 + Tax AAA Rate). This is a very central location at the I-40/I-25 and not far from the Old Town. We had dinner at 66 Diner on historic Route 66 (Central NE).

Sunday, 13th May, sunny, 30 °C
Turquoise Trail - Kasha-Katuwe Tent Rocks
Accommodation: Club House Inn, Albuquerque
Miles driven: 180
After a free buffet breakfast at the hotel we drove up to Sandia Peak ($3 or national parks pass). This is at an elevation of 3000m with a great eagle's eye view of Albuquerque. This is also a skiing area in winter. You can also go up by cable car.
Then we drove the Turquoise Trail in the direction of Santa Fe. There are three ghost towns on this route: Golden, Madrid and Cerrillos.
Via Cochiti Pueblo and a few miles on a gravel road we reached the Kasha-Katuwe Tent Rocks at 1 p.m. Here we did the 1.5 miles long (one-way) Canyon Tail. This passes through a slot canyon and then to the valley of tent rocks. We climbed up to the canyon rim where we had a great view. At the end we also did the Cave Loop Trail. We were back at the car park after a bit more than 2 hours.
We continued the gravel road for another 3.5 miles to Veterans’ Memorial Scenic Overlook (or Cañada Kamada Overlook). Then we reached Indian reservation area (No Trespassing). We were back at the hotel at 5 p.m. and went to a Mexican restaurant for dinner.

Monday, 14th May, cloudy with occasional sunshine and local thunderstorms, 25 °C
El Malpais NM - El Morro NM
Accommodation: Club House Inn, Albuquerque
Miles driven: 180
We got on the road at 8:40 a.m. and drove on the I-40 towards Grants. It were 70 miles to El Malpais National Monument, about a good hour's drive. El Malpais is Spanish for badlands. We were advised by the rangers not to drive the Chain of Craters Backcountry Byway as this dirt road could still be muddy after the rainfalls the day before.
We drove to Sandstone Bluffs Overlook and La Ventana Natural Arch and through the Narrows with lava fields to the right and sandstone cliffs to the left. Shortly after 11 a.m. we reached the trailhead to the Lava Falls Area. 1.2 miles and 45 mins. later we continued to the Chain of Craters Byway but a rain front was coming up, so we turned back the 36 miles to the interstate.
After a lunch stop in Grants at 1 p.m. we drove to El Morro National Monument, another 40 miles from Grants. When we got there it started to rain. Lightning was flashing over the rock of El Morro, this was impressive! In any case we did the 0.5 miles Inscription Rock Trail at the base of the rock. There's a waterhole at the base of the rock where the first settlers left their inscriptions on their journey to the west. In this weather it wasn't a good idea to climb to the top of the rock on the 2 miles Mesa Top Loop Trail.
So we turned back and the rain stopped shortly afterwards. We turned into the Chain of Craters Byway from the other side to reach the Big Tubes Area. The 7 miles long route was definitely not suitable for normal cars in its current condition. When wet the road becomes impassable even for 4-wheel drive. But we took the risk with the rainfront in our back. The road was mostly dry. Shortly before 4 p.m. we started off on the 2 miles loop trail. This was one of the best hikes we did. We climbed across lava rocks following stone cairns. The lava caves and bridges we saw were impressive. We passed Seven Bridges, Four Windows Cave, Caterpillar Collapse and Big Skylight Cave on the way. After 1.5 hours were were back at the car. We met noone on this trail.
Via Zuni Canyon we drove back to Grants. We didn't make it to Bandera Crater and Ice Cave and to the El Calderon Area today. We were back in Albuquerque shortly after 7:30 p.m. We managed to see the Old Town Plaza in the light of the setting sun. It has a beautiful church. We had dinner at Applebee’s on Menaul Boulevard.

Tuesday, 15th May, partly cloudy, approx. 20 °C
Ojito Wilderness, Jemez Mountain Trail, Bandelier NM
Accommodation: Super 8, Santa Fe
Miles driven: 177
We left at 9 a.m. Our first destination for this day was the Ojito Wilderness near San Ysidro. Via a dirt road, Cabezon Road, we reached the trailhead to the Puñi Views Hike after 10 miles. The Puñi Views Hike leads to a viewpoint with some petroglyphts. It is 1.2 miles.
Then we drove the Jemez Mountain Trail between San Ysidro and Los Alamos, passing by Soda Dam, Battleship Rock, missing Spence Hot Springs somehow, and the Jemez Caldera or Valle Grande, with an extension of 14 miles one of the largst volcanic craters in the world. We also did a short hike to Jemez Falls.
Then we arrived at Bandelier National Monument ($12 or National Parks Pass).We walked the Main Loop Trail to the Big Kiva and several cliff dwellings (Tyuonyi, Talus House and Long House) and did a 1-mile (return) detour to Alcove House (Ceremonial Cave). You have to climb up a ladder of 140 ft. to see the cliff dwelling. We left the park after two hours, and after another stop at White Rocks Overlook with a view of the Rio Grande and the snow-capped Sangre de Cristo Mountains we arrived in Santa Fe at 6 p.m. Here we had booked a room at Super 8 ($52 + Tax AAA Rate) for two nights.

Wednesday, 16th May, a.m. cloudy, pm. partly cloudy, approx. 20 °C
Santa Fe - High Road to Taos - Taos Pueblo - Rio Grande Gorge
Accommodation: Super 8, Santa Fe
Miles driven: 185
This morning we got on the road at 9 a.m. We visited the Old Town of Santa Fe first with the San Miguel Mission, Loretto Chapel, the Cathedral Basilica of St. Francis de Assisi and the Plaza of course. Via Chimayó with its beautiful adobe church we reached the High Road to Taos where we arrived around 1 p.m. We visited Taos Pueblo ($10 each plus $5 per camera). This Indian village is still inhabited, so it was an interesting visit. Taos itself also has a nice plaza.
We continued on our way at 2:45 p.m. Our next stop was the Rio Grande Gorge Bridge, then the San Francisco de Asis Church in Ranchos de Taos. We followed the Rio Grande back to Santa Fe.

Thursday, 17th May, partly cloudy, 26 °C
Abiquiu - Chaco Canyon - Angel Peak
Accommodation: The Region Inn, Farmington
Miles driven: 302
Shortly after 8 a.m. we left Santa Fe in the direction of Abiquiu which also has a nice adobe church. We drove to Ghost Ranch where Georgia O'Keefe lived and where you can find some red rocks and colourful badlands. Via Cuba we continued to Chaco Canyon, or Chaco Culture National Historic Park ($8 or National Park's Pass) which can be reached via a 16 miles long dirt road. We arrived here at 1:30 p.m. and had a look at Pueblo Bonito, some petroglyphs on a cliff wall, Chetro Ketl and Pueblo Arroyo. On the Pueblo Alto Trail we hiked to the Pueblo Bonito Overlook (1 mile one way).
We left the park at 4:30 p.m. and stopped once more at the Scenic Overlook at Angel Peak south of Bloomfield with a view of some beautiful badlands.
We reached Farmington at 6:30 p.m. Here we had booked two nights at The Region Inn ($65 + Tax AAA Rate).

Friday, 18th May, a.m. sunny, p.m. cloudy with local thunderstorms, approx. 28 °C
Bisti Wilderness - Aztec Arches
Accommodation: The Region Inn, Farmington
Miles driven: 233
We left Farmington at 8:15 a.m. to see the Bisti Wilderness. Bisti is badlands in Navajo. Access is 35 miles south of Farmington via 3 miles of dirt road. We had found GPS details on some German internet sites. We found the Brown Hoodoos, the Bisti Arch, the Cracked Eggs, the Eagle’s Nest, the Valley of the Bones and the Stone Wings. It got quite hot around noon. After 4 hours and 13.5 km we were back at the car.
We drove back to Farmington and in the afternoon we turned from hoodoo hunters to arch hunters, trying to locate the Aztec Arches. It's quite amazing how quickly the weather can change sometimes and how locally different it can be. We were now driving right into the thunderstorm while it was still dry south of Farmington. But at least it stopped after a while. We were a bit apprehensive of driving dirt roads in this weather. We found the Arch Rock, the Anazasi Arch or Cox Canyon Arch (we had to do some rock climbing to get to it), Petroglyph Arch, and Rooftop Arch.
At the end of the day we drove to Navajo Dam which took a bit longer than expected. We were back in Farmington at 8 p.m. and went to the Mexcian next door for dinner.

Saturday, 19th May, a.m. sunny, p.m. cloudy with local thunderstorms,approx. 24 °C
Shiprock - Canyon del Muerto - Hope Arch - Canyon de Chelly
Accommodation: Holiday Inn, Chinle
Miles driven: 214
Back onto the road at 9 a.m. We passed by Shiprock, a volcanic core, and caught a glimpse of Royal Arch in the distance from Cove. Via Lukachukai Pass and Tsaile we reached the North Rim of Canyon de Chelly National Monument, Canyon del Muerto, shortly after 12 p.m. By now storm clouds had appeared. We had a look at Mummy Cave from the viewpoint. At 1:45 p.m. we arrived in Chinle, back in Arizona, but still at New Mexico time because they have daylight savings time in the Navajo reservation. There are only three hotels in Chinle and we had booked the Holiday Inn ($89 + Tax). Our room wasn't ready yet, so we went for some lunch first.
Then we drove to Hope Arch which is only accessible via 8 miles of dirt roads. We were back at the hotel at 4 p.m., dumped our luggage, then set of for the Canyon de Chelly's south rim. Unfortunately it was still overcast. The south rim road is 37 miles (return) with 7 viewpoints. We reached Spider Rock at 5:30 p.m. This would have been a perfect late afternoon location in the sunshine. Finally we wanted to hike down into the canyon via the White House Trail. This were 2.5 miles (return), 500 ft. down into the canyon. We started off with dark clouds over our heads, but when we reached the canyon floor, the sky suddenly turned blue again!We were back at the car after a bit more than an hour.
The hotel restaurant was full at 8 p.m. so we had to wait a bit to be seated. I had a Navajo Sandwich and Volker the Steak Salad.

Sunday, 20th May, partly cloudy with local thunderstorms, 28 °C
Window Rock - Painted Desert/Petrified Forest
Accommodation: Super 8, Holbrook
Miles driven: 202
We left at 8:45 a.m. and drove south. Our first stop was at the Hubbell Trading Post. Here we saw a snake crossing the road! It must have been a Gopher Snake or Bull Snake (not poisonous).
Next we drove to Window Rock. This is also the capital of the Navajo Nation. Now it was time to change the clocks to Arizona time and we gained an hour.
Around 11 a.m. Arizona time we reached Petrified Forest National Park and the sun came out. We stopped at the Painted Desert viewpoints, then we did a backcountry hike to the Onyx Bridge, a fossilized tree trunk that spans across a wash. This took about two hours.
By now the sky had turned black in the distance. We were driving south with the thunderstorm in our back. We stopped at Newspaper Rock and the Tepees and did the 1.6 km long Blue Mesa Loop Trail as well as the 1 km long Crystal Forest Loop. Our final stop was at the Giant Logs. We left the park at 5 p.m.
30 minutes later we arrived in Holbrook which still has some Route 66 charm. Here we had booked the Super 8 ($50 + Tax) north of the railway line. We went to an Italian restaurant for dinner.

Monday, 21th May, sunny, 20 °C
Grand Falls of the Little Colorado - Flagstaff - Sunset Crater/Wupatki NM
Accommodation: Sugar Loaf Lodge, Sedona
Miles driven: 249
Finally we had a beautiful sunny day again, but it was very windy and cool. We left at 8:15 a.m. We drove towards Leupp and onto a dirt road to the Grand Falls of the Little Colorado. However, the falls can only be seen after snowmelt or a heavy rain. We saw some volcanic cones on the way to Flagstaff.
Flagstaff has a nice historic center and the trains pass through the town making an incredible noise sounding their whistles! At 1:15 p.m. we continued on our way to Sunset Crater und Wupatki National Monument. We did the Lenox Crater Trail which leads up a volcanic cone and the Lava Flow Trail. Then we had a look at Wukoki Pueblo, Wupatki Pueblo and Citadel Pueblo.
At 4:45 p.m. we left the park and drove through the Oak Creek Canyon to Sedona. We got there at 6:30 p.m. and saw the red rocks in the area bathed in beautiful evening sunlight. For four nights we had booked a room at the Sugar Loaf Lodge in West Sedona ($60 + Tax), which is very moderately priced for pricy Sedona, but the reviews were good and it fulfilled our needs. We had dinner at Casa Bonita - good Mexican food!

Tuesday, 22nd May, partly cloudy, 27 °C
West Fork of Oak Creek - Jerome
Accommodation: Sugar Loaf Lodge, Sedona
Miles driven: 89
We got something for breakfast from a nearby bakery. As we had the National Parks Pass we didn't have to buy the Red Rocks Pass. There are 200 miles of hiking trails around Sedona (Hiking Map). For today we had decided on the West Fork of Oak Creek Trail. This was an $8 fee for the parking area. The mostly level trail is 6.5 miles return. At the end there is a subway-like passage. After 3.5 hours we were back at the car. It was 12:45 p.m. and we returned to the motel.
We spent some time at the pool and spa and left again at 3 p.m. to visit the ghost town Jerome. Then we drove the Red Rocks Loop (7 miles). We had dinner at the Oak Creek Brewery & Grill in Tlaquepaque, an arts and crafts village in Mexican-style.

Wednesday, 23rd May, a.m. partly cloudy, p.m. sunny, 27 °C
Schnebly Hill Road - Boynton Canyon - Honanki Ruins - Red Rock Crossing/Crescent Moon
Accommodation: Sugar Loaf Lodge, Sedona
Miles driven: 59
We left at 9 a.m. and drove up the Schnebly Hill Road which is a 12 miles dirt road in rather bad condition leading to Interstate 17. We turned back to Sedona when we reached the viewing point at half the distance. This road is also used extensively by jeep tours from Sedona. Next we drove to the trailhead of the Boynton Canyon Trail. This was a hike of 5 miles (return) for which we needed about 3 hours. We were back at 3 p.m.
Then we drove the Boynton Pass Road to the turn off to Palatki Ruins and Loy Butte. To the Honanki Ruins it was 4.5 miles along a rocky dirt road. We visited the ruins and even saw a Kokopelli painted on the wall!
At the end of the day we drove to Red Rock Crossing at the Crescent Moon Recreation Area ($8 fee). The Red Rock Flats are the classic photo location for the Cathedral Butte at sunset. We had dinner at Olde Sedona with live music.

Thursday, 24th May, sunny, 30 °C
Vultee Arch - Devil's Bridge - Red Rock Crossing/Village of Oak Creek
Accommodation: Sugar Loaf Lodge, Sedona
Miles driven: 51
The first hike of this beautiful morning was the 1-mile long Devil’s Bridge Trail leading to a natural bridge. Continuing for 5 miles along the rocky Vultee Arch Road we arrived at the parking area for the Vultee Arch Trail. We started off around 11 a.m. This trail was 3 miles return.
Back at the motel we spent some time at the pool. In the afternoon we drove to Oak Creek Village and found a way to Red Rock Crossing from the south, an even better photo location and no fees! Then we drove to the Chapel of the Holy Cross, built into the rock. The location offers a great view of Courthouse Butte and Bell Rock. Finally we drove up to the viewpoint at the Airport Mesa which is a great sunset location.

Friday, 25th May, sunny, 36 °C
V-Bar-V Petroglyph Site - Montezuma Castle - Scottsdale
Accommodation: Best Western Papago Inn, Scottsdale
Miles driven: approx. 140
We left Sedona at 9:30 a.m. We visited V-Bar-V Petroglyph Site which is only open Fridays to Mondays. Our next stop was Montezuma Well, a large sinkhole, water source for the Sinagua Indians, then Montezuma Castle, a pueblo ruin built high into the cliffs. Around 2 p.m. we reached our hotel in Scottsdale, Phoenix, Best Western Papago Inn & Resort ($60 + Tax AAA Rate). The hotel has a nice courtyard and pool. We did some shopping at Scottsdale Fashion Square and visited Old Town Scottsdale.

Saturday, 26th May
Return flight
We had to get up at 4:15 a.m. At this time of day there was hardly any traffic. We returned the car and queued at check-in. The queue at the security check was really long. Probably due to Memorial Day weekend. Our flight departed as scheduled at 7:15 a.m. We changed flights in Atlanta and landed at 7:30 a.m. the next morning in Düsseldorf. Two hours later we were back home.