Southwest:
Arizona, New Mexico, Oklahoma, and Texas
Southern Arizona features some of the largest and most distinct cacti forests in North America, as well as preserved archeological and cultural remnants of cultures both ancient and modern, who thrived in the desert canyons. If not visiting between late November and mid-April, the heat can be prohibitive, and the hours of major sites might be variable. As with all of our tours, this one can be adapted, depending upon where you might opt to linger.
Spotlight, Parks & Points
Our weeklong tour covers 1,000 miles of stunning landscapes -- desert canyons, ancient ruins, and petrified forests. You can pick up the tour in the middle if not traveling through Phoenix. You also might choose to stay on longer than we have indicated in a few places, or to adjoin this with our tour of southern Arizona. For both tours, we advise making a daily habit of packing plenty of water and checking your fuel, as at times the next gas station is 50-100 miles away. The optimal time for a visit to northern Arizona, weather-wise, is between May and October.
Spotlight, Parks & Points
As my husband and I drove through the Texas Panhandle, the bobbing and clacking of the pump jacks, oil derricks, greeted us...We hadn’t realized previously that Palo Duro Canyon is the second largest canyon in the United States. We drove down to our primitive campsite in the Cactus Camp Area for the night.
Essays, Suzanne Cottrell
“There are places where the ground cracks opens like a book, where earth’s long history is written in the rocks. Stretches of land in northeast Arizona are filled with the pages of the past: here sandstone sweeps into shadowy rills and the mesas carve their cut jaws against the sky.”
2016 Fall Essay Contest Winner
Essays, Melissa Carroll
“Your fifth mistake was not bringing sunscreen. Your fourth mistake was to wear flip-flops, shorts, and a tank top. Your third mistake was to only bring one twelve-ounce bottle of water for each of you. Your second mistake was to tell Missy that her obnoxious friend Clementine could go with you. Your first mistake was falling in love with Scott eighteen months ago.”
Essays, Allyson Whipple
Andrea Ross writes about a heroic experience high in the Arizona mountains at Mount Humphreys that changes her life forever.
Essays, Andrea Ross