National Parks Club bus tour group photo
Miriam Brock and Laura Haslett
Our SaddleBrooke Ranch (SBR) community National Parks Club (NPC) organized a 6-day bus trip for 48 people to explore northern Arizona and two National Parks outside of Moab, Utah. A special thanks to Frank Morris and the National Parks Club Travel Committee for organizing such an amazing trip.
Our very first stop was Chinle in northern Arizona and the tip off point for a jeep (actually an Austrian Troop Carrier circa 1970) tour of the valley located within Canyon de Chelly National Monument. The Valley belongs to the Dine (Navajo) and so to enter, one must ride with an authorized guide. It’s a bumpy ride well worth the dust and chattering teeth. We observed cliff dwellings, petroglyphs, pictographs, and beautiful red rock canyon topography.
Arches National Park
On to Moab, Utah, where we visited Arches and Canyonlands National Parks. Our local guide, Izzy, shared the history of these Parks including geology, indigenous peoples, history, wildlife, and flora/fauna. At Arches NP, we saw Double Arch, Windows Arch, Delicate Arch, and Turret Arch (separate hike in the afternoon). Canyonlands NP provided vistas of the Green and Colorado Rivers plus beautiful mesas and buttes.
Wait—there’s more! We visited Dead Horse Point State Park with expansive vistas of the Colorado River and Blue Ponds which are part of the Potash Mining process.
Another highlight was the Colorado River Tour—live music, libations, and dancing. We experienced a dance off between our group and a German motorcycle club riding through the Southwest. On our trip home, we stopped in Monument Valley, which was the location of the filming of Forrest Gump and numerous John Wayne westerns. Our final stop was Sedona for lunch and retail therapy.
We enjoyed our variety of accommodations, including the rustic Thunderbird Lodge in Chinle (Chinle is a Navajo name which means “flowing out” and is a reference to the location where the water flows out of the Canyon de Chelly), the high tech and modern Field Station in Moab (it had all the accouterments for serious climbers and mountain bikers), and upscale Little America in Flagstaff.
Our custom designed trip was created by the NPC and Pleasurebent Tours featuring tour Guide John Shattuck and bus driver, Joe—both true professionals.
BTW—a joke contest held on the bus on the last leg of our trip was won by Doug West—three things that never lie: children, imbibing adults, and yoga pants.