Coming late to this discussion with European eyes, I can mention a few things:
- I remember a very nice AAA road map named 'Indian Country', one of the few AAA maps with a lot of explanatory text. This was in the 1990s, so I have no idea of the availability of this map today.
- one of my best memories of this place, outside iconic places (but close to) is Utah scenic byway #12 connecting Capitol Reef to Bryce Canyon.
In the Alps, the more you climb, the less you find vegetation, eventually you only find bare rocks and glaciers above 3000m / 10000 feet. Few paved European roads climb as high as 10,000 feet, but some places like Col de l'Iseran will give you an idea of this "basic principle" of Alpine geography that all Europeans learn at school.
Along Utah road #12, you'll find exactly the opposite, the road gradually climbs from places where you hardly see anything but bare slabs of rocks --at least as seen from Western European eyes
-- , and as you climb, you gradually find more and more vegetation, trees, and wild flowers ; I do not know how road conditions can be in May, but at Bryce Canyon and Cedar Breaks snow can stay late in the season.
Never been to Utah road#12 in May, unfortunately.
Finding flowers and moisture at high elevations is something I was not expecting to see in summer, driving to the North Rim of Grand Canyon.
So I'm sure that this experience can be lived in May in many places of Indian Coutry, at least at higher elevations.
To mention nice walking tours of about 2-3 hours, I can recommend walking from Capitol Reef visitor's center, again for a European, this is an amazing picturesque place. And also, when you visit the farm-museum with apricot trees, you can get a feeling of what the Pionneers did to live in this remote and dry country ... and of course how the Indians lived. At Navajo National Monument you have a nice botanical footpath leading to an overview to the sacred ruin under its magnificent red arch, explaining all about plants used by Indians in their day to day life.
When I was there, one summer, we followed a family on holidays. Everybody seemed to be very impressed by the scenery and the evokation of Indian Life. The father carefefully read the explanations posted along the footpath and explained solemnly to the children about plants and Indian life. The children listened silently, like at church. One of my best memory, indeed, yes the place has been inhabited since ... 20,000 years probably ?
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