We spent the past month or so  in Colorado, Utah and Arizona where we were once again afflicted with Airstream Withdrawal. The endlessly picture-perfect landscapes full of BLM and National Forest land positively crawling with perfect (and free) places to park an Airstream made us long for the days when we were lucky enough  to have our own borrowed Airstream Safari SE in tow as we reported for the Airstream Adventure blog .

One particular standout was the Valley of the Gods drive in Arizona which is about 25 miles from the more-famous Monument Valley where we finally got to check out The View Hotel. The hotel is essentially a nicely finished motel, however, you can’t beat the location on a ridge high above the valley floor and every room has a view out over the monuments which makes it easy to see it at sunrise and sunset from your own little balcony. Rooms on the top floor at the far end of the wing have the best views–plus all rooms on this floor have skylights too. On some evenings The View also projects some of the dozens of westerns that were filmed in the area onto an enormous outside wall creating a dramatic al fresco cinema.

But back to the Valley of the Gods….this 17 mile gravel road winds through rock monuments that are nearly as stunning as those in Monument Valley. Better yet, it’s all BLM land so you can camp wherever you want for free. There are plenty of big, flat turn outs large enough to easily pull into and out of, but one warning: the middle of the road has quite a few serious dips that would challenge any tow-behind travel trailer so pick a camping spot within the first few miles of the drive and drop your trailer before continuing down the rest of the road.

No Airstream? There’s a quirky off-the-grid B&B out there called Valley of the Gods Bed & Breakfast.

Our sorely missed Airstream.

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