Destination: USA
LONELY PLANET'S OFFICIAL ITINERARY INFORMATION
Itinerary: The Grand Circle
TWO TO FOUR WEEKS/LAS VEGAS TO LAS VEGAS
In another era, the Grand Circle was a leisure-class journey to all the rugged, raw natural splendors of the New World. It took several months, and still can, but today you only need a few weeks to witness some of the most amazing geological spectacles Mother Nature has yet devised - as well as get acquainted with the Southwest's Native Americans.
You want the big, untamed West just like in the movies? Here it is, pardner. Canyons a mile deep, deserts painted a rainbow, crumbling buttes, pueblo-topped mesas, ancient civilizations hidden in the cliffs - you can't make this stuff up. To see it all requires 1400 brutal miles of slow, sun-baked roads, and it's worth every saddle sore.
Nothing natural about Las Vegas, but it sure is a fun place to start. From here, take I-15 northeast to Utah's Zion National Park. Catch Hwy 89 and then go east on Hwy 12 - one of the most amazing drives in the world, containing as it does Bryce Canyon National Park, the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument and Capitol Reef National Park. You'll gain a new appreciation for rock.
Take Hwy 24 to I-70, head east, then catch Hwy 191 south to Moab, Arches National Park and Canyonlands National Park, which are already beyond belief - and you're not even halfway home. Head southeast on Hwy 666 to Mesa Verde National Park, then take your cultural wonder west on Hwy 160 to Monument Valley and the Navajo National Monument. Double back to go south on Hwy 191 to catch Canyon de Chelly National Monument, then west on Hwy 264 through the mesas of the Hopi Indian Reservation.
Next, it's the granddaddy of river erosion, Grand Canyon National Park. Go south and clean up in Flagstaff, then return to Las Vegas by way of I-40 and Hwy 93, pausing to admire the concrete pile called Hoover Dam.
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