All 26 Southwest USA Twofisted Touristing Posts Collected in One Spot

OK, I can’t actually promise the full Great American West, that would basically be all of this:

The area Ed and I toured August 2019, and from which the 26 blog posts collected here arise, lies roughly in the middle of this map, from Death Valley to Navajo Nation:

Specifically, zooming in a little closer, the first set of tour posts take place here …

… and if we scooch the map a bit east and also a bit south, then between the two map details we got our tour area and all blog posts covered.

The tour started with us flying into Las Vegas, which would be our base for almost a week. I posted this first post, of Red Rock Canyon, an easy day trip west of Vegas, while we were still in town.

(It would take me until last Wednesday, one and a half years later, to get all that month’s travels translated to blog posts…)

RED ROCK CANYON

The next post takes us to another state park east of Vegas:

VALLEY OF FIRE

A two hour drive west of Vegas took us to the legendary Death Valley.

DEATH VALLEY

When I posted this little amuse bouche of a post, we were already in Arizona and I had a massive back log of post material accumulating…

Sunset in the Trailer Park

I didn’t have the time to sift through all the photos I had taken in Las Vegas until we had returned home:

LAS VEGAS STRIP TEASE

The Hoover Dam is another day trip away from Las Vegas.

HOOVER DAM, MEMORIAL BRIDGE and a CACTUS GARDEN

Except for Death Valley, which is in California, I had been posting about sites in Nevada (with Hoover Dam straddling the border to Arizona). Zion National Park would be my first post from Utah:

ZION!

Bryce Canyon is so freaking spectacular that I could barely cover it in three posts:

BRYCE CANYON AMPHITHEATER

BRYCE CANYON – NAVAJO LOOP TRAIL

BRYCE CANYON – PEEKABOO & QUEEN’S GARDEN TRAILS

On our way into Arizona to take our first look at the Grand Canyon, another smaller amuse bouche post:

Panaroma View of Grand-Staircase Escalante

90% of visitors to the Grand Canyon only see the South Rim. Wouldn’t want to miss that, and won’t, but ah, the marvelous North Rim…

GRAND CANYON NORTH RIM

Heading out from the North Rim to Lake Powell, eventually one must cross the Colorado River.

Navajo Bridge over the Colorado River at Sunset

But before we took our Lake Powell boat trip out of Page, AZ, we visited the nearby Upper Antelope Canyon…

ANTELOPE CANYON – Scooped Out Swirls of Light and Rock

… plus Horseshoe Bend and other sites around Page.

HORSESHOE BEND

Then we enjoyed our half-day long boat trip on Lake Powell.

LAKE POWELL & RAINBOW BRIDGE

The Grand Canyon of course is the spectacular centerpiece of our tour. Three blog posts are dedicated to the South Rim:

GRAND CANYON – DESERT VIEW DRIVE

GRAND CANYON – Long Walk along the South Rim

GRAND CANYON – BRIGHT ANGEL TRAIL

Next stop, Flagstaff, AZ, from which a short drive took us to Walnut Canyon National Monument.

WALNUT CANYON – Journey Through a 900 Year Old Native American Settlement

We also spent a day in Red Rock State Park and enjoyed the art galleries of Sedona.

A DAY IN SEDONA

Heading east through upper central Arizona, we stopped at Meteor Crater…

METEOR CRATER

… as well as Petrified Forest National Park ….

PETRIFIED FOREST

… which beyond the fossilized trees is also a large park replete with wide wondrous views.

ARIZONA VISTAS

Canyon de Chelly proved another uniquely beautiful site with its own singular landscape and historic and aesthetic attractions.

Canyon de Chelly

And finally (fittingly), legendary Monument Valley.

MONUMENT VALLEY