94 pages with 100+ photographs (1.3 MB PDF)

The Grand Circle is essentially in Arizona, Southern Utah and Colorado.  This area has a high concentration of National Parks and National Monuments, which can be visited easily.  Each one is distinctly different from any other - they are not just mountain ranges and lakes.  The landscape has been created, carved, moulded and blended over millions of years, and can only be experienced by being there.  Man has also played his part in altering the area - towns have been built by pioneers, and ranching has altered the vegetation.  This itinerary provides you with a wealth of experience, which can only help you to become closer to the world in which we live.

This itinerary is a basic 16 days, which has two 'built-in' optional extensions.
Each one of the options is for 1 day, and so the itinerary can be extended to 17 or 18 days.

Visit up to 7 National Parks and Tribal Parks:

Bryce Canyon	weird, colourful, eroded pinnacles and spires
Zion	its beauty was thought to be a natural temple of God by the Mormons
Capitol Reef	enchantment combined with a 100-mile wall of rock
Arches	the greatest concentration of natural arches in the world
Canyonlands	a vast area of magnificent peace, solitude, and overwhelmingly expansive views
Monument Valley	the towering monoliths that are known world-wide in films and commercials
Grand Canyon	this needs no explanation - it must be seen!

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Visit up to 3 National Monuments (in the USA, Monuments are like small National Parks):

Natural Bridges	away from the standard tourist trail, these 3 bridges cannot be missed
Grand Staircase - Escalante	a newly-designated area of outstanding natural beauty
Navajo	an excellent insight of ancient Indian life, like a small Mesa Verde National Park

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Visit up to 10 State Parks, including:

Valley of Fire	scarlet, mauve and red craggy sandstone formations create this eerie landscape
Kodachrome Basin	sandstone chimneys, towering rock spires and arches.  The 65 petrified geyser holes - freaks of nature - are unique to this area
Goblin Valley	weird formations where you can imagine all sorts of fantasy creatures
Dead Horse Point	spectacular views and panoramas, over the mountains and mesas
Goosenecks	a spectacular view of the San Juan River, cut into the mesa, 1,500 feet below

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Visit Las Vegas, and other towns, including:

Las Vegas	this needs no explanation, with its casinos, night-life and opportunities to get married!
Grafton	a ghost town, used in 'Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid' and other films
Oatman	on old gold-mining town, and now a sort of ghost town, with wild mules, and an interesting history

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Visit other fascinating places, including:

Crystal Geyser	a rare cold water geyser, powered by carbon dioxide and other gases
Muley Point	1,200 feet up on Cedar Mesa, with breathtaking views of the San Juan River, and Monument Valley in the distance
Hoover Dam	built in the 1930s to harness the power on the Colorado River, it created Lake Mead
Route 66	travel along a section of America's 'Main Street'

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Suggested walking/hiking: In addition to visiting the many interesting places on this itinerary, separate walks are also described, where appropriate back to top

Two built-in optional extensions:  click for a summary...