Photo Page		USA 2016 Holiday Photos Page This page groups together sets of photos taken during our 3 week holiday in the southwest United States in the autumn of 2016.
From home to southern New Mexico Albuquerque Balloon Fiesta Northern New Mexico Durango to Silverton Railroad Colorado Road Trip Around Moab Bryce Canyon Monument Valley Grand Canyon Favourite Photos		From home to southern New Mexico, 28th of September to 1st October 2016 These photos cover the period from our leaving home on Wednesday the 28th of September through our arrival and journey through southern Arizona into New Mexico (with a minor detour into Texas) on the way to the White Sands National Monument and part of our subsequent journey to Albuquerque. Albuquerque Balloon Fiesta, 1st and 2nd of October 2016 The Albuquerque Balloon Fiesta is the largest hot air balloon event in the world with over 550 balloons taking part in 2016. We attended the balloon glow on the Saturday evening of the day that we arrived in Albuquerque and then the Dawn Patrol and Mass Ascension on the Sunday morning which meant leaving our B&B at 4:30am. For the event we purchased tickets for the Gondola Club which provided meals, drinks and somewhere to sit. The seating was especially welcome since the balloon launch area covers 47 acres with very little seating for the tens of thousands of people attending. Northern New Mexico, 2nd to the 4th of October 2016 After the balloon fiesta we took a little time to explore things around Albuquerque including driving up to Sandia Crest at over 10000 ft and also visting the historic mining town of Madrid and the state capital Santa Fe. Durango to Silverton Railroad, 5th of October 2016 From Albuquerque we moved on to Durango Colorado for 2 nights. In the full day that we had there we took the narrow gauge steam railway to Silverton which is a 45 mile trip each way climbing from 6512 ft in Durango to 9308 ft at Silverton. The track follows the Animas River for most of the route and affords spectacular views of the Rocky Mountains. Colorado Road Trip, 6th and 7th of October 2016 From Durango we headed through the Rockies to Aspen where we spent the night before departing the next day heading for Utah. These photos show parts of that journey as far as the Utah state line. Around Moab Utah, 7th to the 10th of October 2016 We stayed for 3 nights in a lovely cabin in Castle Valley which is about 20 minutes drive from Moab. From there we visited Dead Horse Point State Park, Canyonlands National Park, Arches National Park as well as Moab itself and we also enjoyed a jet boat ride on the Colorado River. Around Bryce Canyon Utah and the road to Page Arizona, 10th to the 13th of October 2016 We stayed for 3 nights in a very nice cabin in Tropic Utah which is about 20 minutes drive from Bryce Canyon National Park. Monument Valley, 13th to the 15th of October 2016 We stayed for 2 nights in a cabin in Monument Valley with a superb unobstructed view of the Mittens, the most iconic of the rock structures in the valley. The highlight of our visit was a sunrise tour with a Navajo guide into areas that are off-limits to unescorted visitors. Grand Canyon and Sedona Arizona, 15th to the 18th of October 2016 We stayed for 2 nights in Kachina Lodge a few yards from the South Rim of the Grand Canyon where we had easy access to the most spectacular of views. For the final (non-flying) night of our holiday we stayed in Oak Creek Village a few minutes south of Sedona before flying back home via Phoenix. Favourite photos from our south western USA holiday of 2016 This is a selection of my favourite photos from our holiday.