2gypsies
You're Not Goin' Find Us!
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We have done that similar route in our 40' motorhome with no problem. However, would suggest from Grand Canyon taking 64 east (no problems) to AZ 89 north to 160 to Kayenta then pick up 163 through Monument Valley and then UT 191 north through Moab and onto I-70. It's a beautiful drive. Do stop at Arches National Park if you have time and if you have to choose - do Arches rather than Monument Valley. To drive any route from Grand Canyon to Grand Junction would be too long of a drive for one day, in our opinion. The roads are all good. Four Corners in not worth a stop, by the way. It's a "nothing".
Full-Timers for 16 years
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Gale Hawkins
Murray, KY
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Joined: 07/22/2007
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2gypsies wrote:We have done that similar route in our 40' motorhome with no problem. However, would suggest from Grand Canyon taking 64 east (no problems) to AZ 89 north to 160 to Kayenta then pick up 163 through Monument Valley and then UT 191 north through Moab and onto I-70. It's a beautiful drive. Do stop at Arches National Park if you have time and if you have to choose - do Arches rather than Monument Valley. To drive any route from Grand Canyon to Grand Junction would be too long of a drive for one day, in our opinion. The roads are all good. Four Corners in not worth a stop, by the way. It's a "nothing".
Hey one man's "nothing" might be another man "something". On our 8000 mile cross country last fall me and the kids did not agree on every location. Four Corners was a must do for the son and so so for the daughter. I was okay with Four Corners because my kids were. Making memories is what RV'ing is all about.
The only place I would not do again in the MH would be Sky Walk and that was only because the damaging wash board gravel road to that stop. Rental car or better yet tour bus would be the only way I would consider Sky Walk again. Going to Four Corners did not cause any MH damage and is kind of cool to be able to have hands and feet in four different states at the same time. Is it the true four corners? I could care less about that discussion. 
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RexxRacerX
Omaha, NE
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Thanks everyone for the additional info. We have been planning and making reservations the past couple nights and have decided that the drive out, and getting to Estes is far too long for a one day drive, and will be staying 2 nights in Moab/Arches to catch our breath and take in the sites.
For those of you who have made that trek between the Grand Canyon and Estes, I have another question for you:
If you look at google maps and plan the route using it, or TripTik, etc. they both want us to take CO 119 and CO 7 from I-70 just east of Idaho Springs up north through several small towns, and eventually hit Estes Park. I've looked at that route using the "Street View" feature of google maps, and it appears there are several tight spots, and virtually the entire route has narrow lanes with no shoulders. Has anyone taken that route, or would we be better off taking I-70 over to I-25, and take it up through Denver? It sure is appealing to want to bypass CO Springs and Denver if possible on this route, but it has me a little concerned.
And again, thank you all for the great tips and suggestions, we're really looking forward to the trip!!!
When we get a little further along with reservations, I'll post our itinerary and route for future visitors/travelers, and we'll also come back after and tell everyone how it went,what we liked and disliked, etc.!
2010 Toyota Tundra Crew Max 5.7
2012 Keystone Hideout 30BHDS
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seance
nebraska
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Joined: 01/17/2012
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Yes thanks for all the tips! Doing research, I can see that we could definitely spend a lot more time on this trip to see more sites. Unfortunately, we are limited on vacation time and have to try to squeeze in what we can in our timeframe. If we were located a bit closer to start, that would help immensely. Here's our tentative itinerary:
Day 1,
Leave mid to late afternoon or after work.
Drive to Wichita, KS (appx. 5:30 hours).
Day 2,
Leave Wichita, KS, Drive to Tucumcari, NM, (appx. 8 hours).
Day 3,
Leave Tucumcari, NM, Drive W on I-40 to Meteor Crater outside Winslow, AZ. (Appx. 7 hours). Finally arriving to the sites we're headed to!
Day 4,
See the crater, and get back on the road afterwards. Leave meteor Crater, and head W on I-40, then N on SR 64 to Grand Canyon. (Appx 3 hours), stop for Grand Canyon Camping.
Day 5, 6, 7
Grand Canyon
Day 8, 9 10
leave Grand Canyon
Drive E on SR 64 to SR 89/160, take NE to SR 191 N.
Drive N on SR 191 to Moab/Arches National Park.
Camp around Arches NP (appx. 7 hours).
Day 11, 12, 13
drive to and camp around Estes NP (appx. 8 hours).
Day 14
Leave Estes, Drive to Ogallalla, NE or Lexington, NE
Camp for the night or just drive home.
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MPond
Thousand Oaks, CA
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seance wrote:Yes thanks for all the tips! Doing research, I can see that we could definitely spend a lot more time on this trip to see more sites. Unfortunately, we are limited on vacation time and have to try to squeeze in what we can in our timeframe. If we were located a bit closer to start, that would help immensely. Here's our tentative itinerary:
Day 1,
Leave mid to late afternoon or after work.
Drive to Wichita, KS (appx. 5:30 hours).
Day 2,
Leave Wichita, KS, Drive to Tucumcari, NM, (appx. 8 hours).
Day 3,
Leave Tucumcari, NM, Drive W on I-40 to Meteor Crater outside Winslow, AZ. (Appx. 7 hours). Finally arriving to the sites we're headed to!
Day 4,
See the crater, and get back on the road afterwards. Leave meteor Crater, and head W on I-40, then N on SR 64 to Grand Canyon. (Appx 3 hours), stop for Grand Canyon Camping.
Day 5, 6, 7
Grand Canyon
Day 8, 9 10
leave Grand Canyon
Drive E on SR 64 to SR 89/160, take NE to SR 191 N.
Drive N on SR 191 to Moab/Arches National Park.
Camp around Arches NP (appx. 7 hours).
Day 11, 12, 13
drive to and camp around Estes NP (appx. 8 hours).
Day 14
Leave Estes, Drive to Ogallalla, NE or Lexington, NE
Camp for the night or just drive home.
You mentioned family, but I didn't see any mention of children or ages (unless I missed it). If you do have young children that'll be a lot of driving on Days 1-3, and you'll want to plan ahead. Having activities for them while on the road will really help, as well as a rest stop here or there. For example, we've often stopped at local community parks / playgrounds along the way, just to give the kids a break in the middle of an 8-hour drive. It really helps if they can get out of the RV, run around, and burn off some energy. Then you can get back on the road with happier, more relaxed children.
Just my $0.02. Hope you have a great trip.
2003 Country Coach Intrigue, Cummins ISL 400
Toad: 2006 Jeep Wrangler Unlimited (LJ) toad, with just a few mods...
Other rig: 2005 Chevy Silverado 3500 Duramax Dually / Next Level 38CK Fifth-wheel Toy Hauler w/ quads, sand rail, etc...
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RexxRacerX
Omaha, NE
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2 kids along for this trip with us, one 12 and one 7, the suggestion about letting them have some run around time is fantastic.
We also have ample "things" to keep them busy during the trip ranging from DVD to ipads, to books and music and games, and plan to over pack on that portion to ensure they are not going stir crazy.
We've also imagined that we're going to add an extra hour + per day for fuel ups and potty breaks as well and are planning accordingly.
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MPond
Thousand Oaks, CA
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RexxRacerX wrote:2 kids along for this trip with us, one 12 and one 7, the suggestion about letting them have some run around time is fantastic.
Yeah - it seems so obvious when you say it (or type it), but we never even thought about it until one trip the kids were melting down around hour 6 of a 9-hour trip. We were in the suburbs of a medium-sized city at the time, so we pulled off the freeway, looked at Google Maps, and found a nearby neighborhood park with easy access and plenty of parking.
It made the rest of the drive so much easier that now we plan stops like this for all of our long drives.
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shoe777
AR
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Joined: 04/10/2004
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Just my opinion...... Have taken my kids all over these areas when they were young. Wish they would still go but they are in their mid thirties now and rarely ever get to go on our road trips anymore, but we still love it. Y'all will enjoy it all. With kids your age I would head straight across 80 to 76 to Denver. This will get you to the Denver area in about 8 hours. You could stop here for the night or head on South to Colorado springs to stop for the night. Near here is Pikes Peak, Garden of the Gods, and other attractions. From there to Canon City to see the Royal Gorge then head south to 160 headed to Durango. You can easily spend 1-3 days here by taking a side trip up the Million Dollar highway (the view) to Ouray (mineral pools to soak and swim in) and Silverton (old mining town). Take the train ride from Durango to Silverton (the kids will love this, as will you). I think you will find giving up a day or two at Grand Canyon worth seeing more sights. Grand Canyon is beautiful but not a lot to do. Also think 1-2 days in RMNP enough to see everything. After coming back from Grand Canyon and coming thru Canyon lands and Arches. They are beautiful, at least Arches is, (I've never been to Canyonlands (on my bucket list). Head East on 70 and wind up going up thru Grandby to come into the west side of Rocky Mountain National Park to Estes Park..............................Is it obvious I love Colorado?.......................
http://g.co/maps/q8zpn
DH and Myself
and 5 Fur Kids
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