Route 66 and the Monument Valley West

Neon Museum

The graveyard of neon signs from the historic casinos. Visits are guided, and the night session, with the signs lit, sells out first.

Fremont Street

Old Las Vegas, the 1950s one, from before the Strip existed. The original casinos are still here under the canopy screen.

Recoger el coche del viaje

This is where the road trip really begins. Skip the convertible: summer runs past 40 °C and much of the drive is open desert.

Valley of Fire

Red sandstone an hour to the northeast. It is the first taste of the landscape that dominates the rest of the trip.

Horseshoe Bend

The Colorado's meander seen from a 300-metre drop. Ten minutes on foot from the car park, without a scrap of shade the whole way.

Antelope Canyon

Entry is only with a Navajo guide and only with a booking: you cannot visit on your own. The midday light beams run from March to October.

Glen Canyon Dam

The dam that created Lake Powell and changed the course of the Colorado. The viewpoint is next to the bridge and free to reach.

Lago Powell

Flooded canyons you tour by boat. It is the one stretch of water in a trip made of rock and desert.

Valley Drive

The 27 km scenic track between the mesas John Ford turned into the landscape of the western. It is unpaved: a low car suffers, and some stretches need taking slowly.

John Ford's Point

The exact viewpoint the most repeated shots in Western cinema were filmed from. It sits halfway along the scenic track.

Forrest Gump Point

The straight stretch of US-163 where Forrest stops running. It is outside tribal land, some 20 km north, and you pull over on the shoulder.

The Mittens al amanecer

The two mesas shaped like mittens. First light is the reason to sleep here rather than drive on through.

Tour guiado navajo

The only way into the part of the valley closed to the general public, with a guide from the Navajo Nation, who own the land.

Seligman y el tramo histórico de la Ruta 66

The town that inspired Radiator Springs in Cars, an hour and a half away along the original 66 rather than the interstate.

Wigwam Motel de Holbrook

You sleep inside a 1950s concrete teepee with classic cars parked out front. It is one of the last still standing on the 66.

Meteor Crater

An impact crater 1,200 metres across, 60 km east along the I-40. It is privately owned and charges its own admission.

Route 66 a su paso por Williams

The last stretch of the 66 to be replaced by the interstate, in 1984. The town keeps the signs and the diners of the period.