U.S. Southwest Journey: From Colorado Peaks to Desert Icons
September delivered the kind of travel window you dream about—clear skies, thinning crowds, and just enough crispness in the air to stir up wanderlust. Andrea had a stretch of time off, and she had expressed a desire to visit Monument Valley and Antelope Canyon, two legendary landscapes of the American Southwest that neither of us had ever explored. With the forecast looking flawless and the timing just right, the stage was set for a road trip with serious promise.
I landed in Colorado from Spain a couple of weeks ahead of her, giving me time to sketch out a route that would carry us from Fort Collins all the way to Page, Arizona, weaving through some of the West’s most iconic terrain.
After picking her up from the Denver airport, this is what we visited in the ensuring weeks:
- Colorado Front Range: Fort Collins, Loveland, Longmont, Boulder, Lakewood, Golden
- Colorado High Country: Frisco, Breckenridge, South Park City (Fairplay), Gunnison
- Colorado San Juan Scenic Byway: Montrose, Ouray, Durango, Cortez, Four Corners
- Utah’s Monument Valley
- Antelope Canyon and Page, Arizona
- Arches National Park and Moab, Utah
- Colorado Western Uplands: Rangely, Steamboat Springs, Walden
- Colorado Western Slope: Fruita, Grand Junction, Glenwood Springs, Vail
It was a very good road trip!
