The Best Stops On an Epic Southwest U.S. Road Trip

July 19, 2014 Rachel Kristensen

Starting Point:

Las

Vegas

, NV

End Point:

Las

Vegas

, NV

# of days:

I did it in ten days, but I would add two more to make the driving distances a little more relaxed.

The itinerary:

Two nights Zion, one night Moab, three nights Glen Canyon, and three nights Grand Canyon (with long distance driving in between).

Things to do:

Hiking is top notch in Zion, Arches, and Grand Canyon national parks, whereas kayaking is king in Glen Canyon. Biking is the way to go for Canyonlands but just watch out for those canyons! And of course, photographers will relish in every spot mentioned as the scenery is out of control.

My favorite part:

Watching the sunset from Plateau Point, half way down in the Grand Canyon, just above the mighty Colorado River.

My road trip essential:

Snacks! The whole drive has plenty of open roads with hardly any food stops, so stock up before you go. Also, get a tent with a large mesh 'skylight' to star gaze at night.

With cheap and regular flights into Las Vegas from nearly every North American city, America’s southwest is an easy and accessible destination. But why stay put in the glitz and glamour of a manmade city full of flashing lights and guilty pleasures that empty wallets?

Instead, use that destination as a starting point to take one of the most scenic road trips in the world. This circle route is full of adventure and some of America’s best national parks.

Zion National Park

(pictured above)

Three hours from Las Vegas is this national park in Utah’s southwest corner. Towering red canyons and deep river gorges make up this prehistoric-looking national park. Climb to the top of the canyon on Angel’s Landing, or go up river in the gorge of The Narrows.

As one of America’s favorite national parks, camping and access is easy and plentiful—just remember to pack your sense of adventure.

Bryce Canyon and Highway 89

Bryce Canyon proves to be a fan favorite for those who simply want to look out onto something beautiful. From the dusty summers to the snowy winters, the orange hoodoo—a spire-filled amphitheater surrounded by towering pines—is a photographers dream.

Highway 89, which leaves from Zion through Bryce Canyon and heads north until the Highway 50 turnoff towards Moab, passes nothing but national forests and alpine lakes. The scenery changes every few miles but don’t expect many services stations. Stock up on fuel and food before you set off and be sure the camera is charged for great road trip photos.

Moab

Truly an adventure town, Moab is the gateway to two phenomenal national parks: Arches and Canyonlands. Trek the easy but overly rewarding trail to Delicate Arch (pictured above) or find your backcountry trails on bike rides through Canyonlands. Base yourself here to recharge with a cold beer and a comfortable bed if you are tired of camping.

National Monument - Highway 191 - Rachel Kristensen

Highway 191 and Monument Valley

Typically southwest, highway 191 passes nothing but wilderness but offers miles of stunning views.

Driving south into Arizona you’ll pass countless filming locations of the American Wild West, making the entire drive feel like you’ve landed in frontier lands with Billy the Kid. Views of the flat plains are sprawling, the grand size of this area is best experienced with the windows down and country tunes up.

Glen Canyon

America’s bathtub playground is one for the record books. The damming of the Colorado River lead to the creation of Lake Powell, a boater’s paradise with hundreds of flooded canyons waiting to be explored. Either by houseboat or kayak, this is one amazing place to get onto the water.

For pre- or post-trip detours, head to the Antelope Canyon and Horseshoe Bend near Page for two of America’s top photography locations.

The Grand Canyon

Watching the sun rise or set in the Grand Canyon is an experience that cannot be duplicated.

For adventurous types, try hiking to the Colorado River on a rim-to-rim hike that takes trekkers over 4,000 feet down into the base of the canyon as they complete at least an 8-mile descent along the mule path. Just ensure to bring plenty of water as temperatures scorch well over 100 degrees.

This adventure is one to try sooner rather than later, with talks in 2014 of building a cable car gondola for those not wanting to hike or hire a mule to get to the river below.

Hoover Dam

An engineering marvel, the Hoover Dam is an easily accessible stop for those looping back to Vegas from the Grand Canyon. Over four million cubic yards of concrete dams the Colorado River, a number matched only by the amount of annual visitors who come to stare at this man-made feat.

Bonus: Route 66

If you have extra time, tack this iconic stretch of Americana onto your road trip. Most road trip bucket lists include driving across country on Route 66, only the entire length of the highway is now broken up into sections that cling on to the history and areas that are decommissioned.

Sections that are still in used are wrapped up in the tacky diners and "world’s largest ball of yarn"-style attractions. Find your stretch of Route 66 easily on the circle route between Seligman and Kingman in Arizona.

View this map on Google maps.

The State of the Art Scene in Madrid, Spain

July 15, 2014 Sean McLachlan

Madrid has always been famous for its thriving arts scene. Sadly, the Spanish capital got hit hard by the global financial crisis. For the past few years, madrileños have seen nightlife spots and galleries drop dead like victims of a plague. Thursday night, which had always been called “the first Friday”, became just another weekday with nothing special scheduled. Fridays and Saturdays became shorter, too, with more people choosing to stay home or stay out less.

(above) This giant frog, dubbed "The Frog of Fortune", appeared near Plaza Colón earlier this year.

This had a terrible effect on Madrid’s art scene. While the larger galleries and institutions soldiered on, labors of love such as the arthouse cinema La Enana Marrón and the gallery/café Entrelíneas Librebar fell by the wayside.

Now all that is changing. There’s a new electricity in the air, or one might say that some of the old electricity is back. Thursdays are discernible from Wednesdays now, and the weekends are revving up again. While Spain’s economic woes continue, it seems there’s more money and interest in art.

The Classical sculpture gallery at the Museo Arqueológico Nacional.

Can't-Miss Museums

The biggest news for the mainstream arts scene is the expansion of the Fundación Mapfre. This is one of the many large exhibition spaces owned by major corporations, which perhaps out of a sense of guilt offer top-notch exhibitions for free. Fundación Mapfre has been a Madrid institution for many years and this year doubled its space by opening the Bárbara de Braganza exhibition building with 868 square meters (2,848 square feet) devoted to photography, and a small but interesting model ship museum.

Museum junkies will also want to check out the newly renovated Museo Arqueológico Nacional. Spain’s national archaeology museum was closed for several years and locals were beginning to wonder if it would ever reopen. Now it has, with a more open, better lit floor plan that shows off its extensive prehistoric collection, a sumptuous display of large Roman mosaics, and several rooms dedicated to medieval Spain’s mixture of European and Islamic cultures.

Lomographic photo of Retiro Park. (Courtesy flickr user Ser… Ser…)

Good Things Come in Small Galleries

A few smaller art spaces have cropped up recently, including The New Gallery, which is only a little more than a year old. It specializes in international photography exhibitions. For those who want to go old school, check out the Lomography store, where Soviet cameras that take distinctively off-color, tunnel-vision photos are still the tool of choice. There’s always an exhibition of photographs on display, they sell cameras and accessories, and they are one of the few places left that develops film.

Inside Tipos Infames Libros y Vinos. (Courtesy Tipos Infames Libros y Vinos)

Burgeoning Bookstore Cafes

Madrid has always been one of the literary centers of the Spanish-speaking world, and now there’s a trend of opening bookstore cafes to bring together two of Spain’s loves of chatting over coffee and reading. There are several good ones, including Librería Café El dinosaurio todavía estaba allí, where once a month English-speaking writers give readings and the owner herself is a poet. Atticus Finch is a cozy little place with a small but select collection of books in the front room and a café/art space in the back. Readings, talks, and storytelling sessions happen regularly here. There’s also the spacious Tipos Infames Libros y Vinos (Infamous Types Books and Wine). With a name like that how can you lose?

Still from a production at Microteatro Por Dinero. (Courtesy Microteatro Por Dinero)

A Larger-Than-Life Microtheater Scene

For those with confidence in the Spanish language, check out Madrid’s burgeoning microtheater scene. Microtheaters are tiny spaces that seat only a few dozen audience members or less. You’re often right up against the stage and immersed in the scene. You might even end up being part of it! Some good new microtheaters include Godot and La Pensión de las Pulgas. There’s also Microteatro Por Dinero, which thumbed its nose at the financial crisis by opening in the black year of 2009 and managing to remain in business. It’s housed in an old brothel and has retained its original floor plan with a series of tiny rooms, once rented by the hour, where it’s often just you and the actors.

Street art at Plaza Juan Pujol. The two posters on top are painted on cardboard. Late at night, you’ll sometimes glimpse street artists carrying a ladder as a well as paint. Getting their work in hard-to-reach places has become a badge of pride.

A Thriving Street Art Culture

Madrid has always had an active and skilled graffiti scene. While there are the usual ugly tags, there’s also impressive spray paint work as well as poster and sticker art. Urban art seems to thrive during bad economic times (think New York in the 70s and 80s). Some Spanish street artists have moved away from traditional spray paint and are experimenting with posters, stickers, and even pieces of painted cardboard. With the economy on the up and more shops opening, you’re beginning to see more commissioned street pieces, where shop owners have graffiti artists paint murals on their shutters.

Good sources for what’s going on in Madrid include esMadrid (in English and Spanish), Angloinfo (in English) and CineyTV (in Spanish).

Packing List for a Multi-Day Hike

July 3, 2014 Rachel Kristensen

When getting ready for a multi-day hike—or any hike for that matter—it's important you only pack what you need. Here is the list Rachel Kristensen uses to make sure she's packing light for a long weekend on the trail.

Item	Category
Hiking Shoes, Flip Flops	Clothing
Raincoat	Clothing
Long-Sleeve Shirt	Clothing
T-Shirts and Short-Sleeve Shirt	Clothing
Shorts (1 Pair)	Clothing
Thermal Underwear	Clothing
Pants (1 pair)	Clothing
Sweater	Clothing
Bathing Suit	Clothing
Sandals	Clothing
Wool Socks	Clothing
Underwear	Clothing
2 backpacker meals per day	Food
Individual Instant Oatmeal (2-3 per morning per person)	Food
Booze (I do a plastic mickey of vodka, pick your own favorite)	Food
Tent	Gear
Sleeping Bag	Gear
Sleeping Pad	Gear
Headlamps	Gear
Knife for Cooking and Protection	Gear
Stove and Pot for Cooking	Gear
Bowl for Cereal in Morning	Gear
Cutlery – Something Like a Spork	Gear
Whistle for Emergencies	Gear
Waterproof Bags – Garbage Bags Also Work	Gear
Aqua Tabs to Purify Water Sources	Gear
Rope/Carabiner to Hang Laundry	Gear
Toilet Paper	Gear
Backpack	Gear
Cards	Gear
Insect Repellent	Gear
Sunscreen	Gear
Band Aids, Aspirin and First Aid Kit	Gear
Camel Packs or water bladders	Gear
Bear Vault to Protect Food from Animal Attraction	Gear
Fuel for Stove	Gear
Water Bottle - Something with Volume Measurements for Cooking	Gear
Garbage Bags – Trek Out What You Trek in With	Gear
Duct Tape	Gear
Gaiters if the Trail is Muddy	Gear
Quick Dry Towel	Gear
Lighter/Matches	Gear
Camera!	Gear
Map and Communication Device in Case of Emergency	Gear