USA Tour

Day 1.

Rush Creek, Yosemite

The idea for today is to take your time and travel from Monterey or wherever you are and meet for dinner at Rush Creek Lodge, a little north of the park gates for the Yosemite Valley.

Day 2.

Rush Creek, Yosemite

I have a scheduled an easy day to kick things off. If you have been to Pebble Beach you will appreciate a sleep in. In any case the Yosemite Valley is not to be missed and provides some awe-inspiring sights.

Day 3.

Lone Pine 219 Miles

There is a choice of route today. If you would like to see more of the Yosemite Valley there is a shorter day that takes you back into the valley before taking you east over Tioga Pass to the shores of Lake Mono and then down the interstate between the Sierra Mountains and the desert to the western town of Lone Pine.

If you had a good look through Yosemite already there is a longer, spectacular drive through a deep gorge and onto Sonoma Pass that before heading south to Lake Mono and joining the shorter route.

Day 4.

Las Vegas 273 Miles

This is a day you will remember. Leaving Lone Pine, we turn east into the desert and Death Valley which never ceases to amaze. The massive changes in altitude, the dunes, salt flats and the Artist Valley where the colours of the earth seem to constantly change. The starkness of the desert is then overwhelmed by the lights of Las Vegas. We stay at the Aria, right in the centre of The Strip. A bit of everything today.

Day 5.

Bryce, Utah 270 Miles

Time to head into the wild west. First up is the Valley of Fire on the northern shores of Lake Mead and our first look at some of the amazing landscapes to come. The Interstate helps tuck away miles pretty quickly before we head into Zion National Park and the start of the amazing canyon country. The final miles into Bryce takes us through Red Canyon. A visit to Bryce Canyon as the sun sinks is something you will never forget.

Day 6.

Moab, Utah 263 Miles

The scenery really kicks in 10 minutes from Bryce and continues all day. We start in the canyons but soon head into the hills climbing to 9,600 ft before dropping back into the canyons as we approach Moab. Feted as the adrenalin capital of the USA, Moab is a happening place, lots of nice little restaurants and bars.

Day 7.

Aspen, Colorado 286 Miles

The Rockies are the highlight today with some amazing roads as we enter Colorado, 10,600 ft at one stage and a lot of lovely little towns with cafes. Aspen is a great town full of fun places and all with-in walking distance.

Day 8.

Aspen, Colorado Rest Day

After a week on the road, you deserve a day off and Aspen is a great place to kick back, enjoy the sights and spoil yourself a little. Have fun.

Day 9.

Colorado Springs 254 Miles

As soon as we clear the Aspen town limits the road starts to climb as we head up Independence Pass all the way to 12,095 ft. Brilliant! Heading down the other side opened up what to me what was the biggest surprise of the tour, the high plains of Colorado which make for an easy cruise to Pike’s Peak, probably the most amazing piece of bitumen that I have driven. At 14,100 ft you really do feel on top of the world.

Our hotel in Colorado Springs is only 15 minutes from the base of Pikes Peak.

Day 10.

Quray, Colorado 272 Miles

Today is a pretty easy cruise through the old west. We take in the high plains, ghost towns, travel over Monarch Pass. Quray is an amazing little town nestled in the Rockies.

Day 11.

Bluff, Utah 188 Miles

A nice short but very enjoyable drive today we head back into the Rockies to the old cowboy towns of Silverton and Durango, not that they look like cowboy towns these days. At Cortez about 150 miles into the day we take to some back roads to give you a taste of life on the edge of the desert.

Home tonight is wonderfully named Desert Rose Inn.

Day 12.

Grand Canyon, Arizona 225 Miles

A fantastic day today, the most photogenic day of the tour. Soon after the start you start to see the rock formations of Monument Valley, then the closer we get the more awe inspiring it becomes. After so many movie scenes set here, you are still not prepared for how grand the scenery is. Take lots of photos and take the time to double back through the main section of the valley as it amazing how the light changes on the rocks.

There is then a desert cruise, past dinosaur tracks but not much else before you start to get your first glimpse of the Grand Canyon. If you haven’t seen it before, all the hype is justified, a true wonder of the world. Home tonight is the Hotel Grand, a great place to swap stories.

Day 13.

Twenty-nine Palms, California 378 Miles

A very big day today, but with a fair percentage of Interstate to ease your way and a number of short cuts if you have had enough driving. The reason for the extra miles is that we try and re-trace a fair proportion of the legendary Route 66. We travel close to 150 miles of the Mother Road from Speiglman through Kingman and the famous Dr Z’s Café to the old west town of Oatman where mules roam the main street. This drive has bit of everything. Route 66 pretty much disappears once we hit California, but we still find stretches before we hit Roy’s in Amboy and the turn off to Twenty-nine Palms.

Day 14.

Hermosa Beach, California 176 Miles

Today kicks off with a run through the amazing Joshua Tree National Park. This unique landscape seems like a fitting farewell for what has been a road trip of much of the best landscapes that America has to offer. Once out of the park it is a relatively easy run on the interstate back to Los Angeles where I have booked into a lovely hotel right on the beach in Hermosa Beach. It is located 50 metres from the pier and the plaza which has a great range of restaurants and bars. Perfect for shaking off some of that desert dust.