Motorcycle Tour: West, the parks of Arizona and Utah

Phoenix, the capital of Arizona, is a huge urban conglomerate with countless shopping malls in the Valley of the Sun. In fact, the sun shines for almost 300 days a year, and it is scorching hot in the summer; but in the other seasons, the climate is mild and pleasant, and nearby Scottsdale, with its elegant resorts, pools, and golf courses, becomes a sought-after vacation destination.

A pleasant village amid the pines of the Kaibab Forest, standing at the end of the line of the Grand Canyon Railroad. The iconic Route 66 crosses this nostalgic old town.

Your destination today is Page, a trip across a great variety of natural landscapes, from ponderosa pine forests to the desert. But first an unforgettable sight awaits you: the Grand Canyon National Park. The Grand Canyon is the most famous and most spectacular example of river erosion - an inconceivable abyss formed by the Colorado River. The Canyon is 1,500 m deep, 450 km long and 16 km wide. Its layers disclose the geological history of the last 2 billion years and its rocks change color according to the time of the day - your first glimpse of this majestic landscape will leave you speecheless. The Grand Canyon, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. After your visit you drive along Desert View Drive, a scenic route to the east of Grand Canyon Village, which follows the south rim for 25 miles (40 km) out to the Desert View Watchtower and East Entrance. Along the way you find a number of viewpoints; Grand View, Moran, Lipan, Navajo Point and Desert View should not be missed. You should also stop at the Little Colorado River Gorge lookout to enjoy the view of the deep canyon.You leave Route 64 and turn left on Route 89 at Cameron, where you can find one of the Southwest's truly historic trading posts. You have just entered the largest Indian Reservation in the US, the Navajo Indian Reservation that extends into New Mexico and Utah and is home to about 200,000 Navajos. From Cameron to Page it's about 1-hour drive. Before arriving, you should make a stop at Horseshoe Bend, just 5 miles south of downtown Page. The outlook at Horseshoe Bend is easily reached on a gently graded 2.5-km trail from a free parking lot. The path is mostly sand over hard-packed dirt. Bring water. Lake Powell was formed when the Glen Canyon Dam was erected on the Colorado river. The reservoir, surrounded by an immense desert, makes for a striking landscape – its turquoise water clashing with soaring cliffs made of red sandstone.

The soaring canyon walls of Zion are Springdale's postcard backdrop. Here, every sunrise is a natural phenomenon of shadows falling away like curtains and multicolored sandstone coming alive before your eyes. At dusk, the icons of Zion glow with the lingering light then yield the spotlight to the Milky Way. Zion National Park sets the bar high for unforgettable landscapes and outdoor adventure. The charming town of 500 permanent residents welcomes a couple million visitors from all over the world to their spectacular corner of southwest Utah — though happily spread out across the year, primarily during the spring through fall. In Springdale there are nearly three dozen restaurants, shops, srt galleries and cafés.

Las Vegas is beyond words. It shines like a diamond the middle of the desert, dazzling with its extravagant luxury hotels, bustling with all sorts of shows and revelry. A place – but can such a place even exist? – without equal in the whole world.

The largest city in Northern Arizona is located on Route 66 and about an hour's drive from the Grand Canyon. Surrounded by cool ponderosa pine forests that grow on the slopes of the San Francisco Peaks, it has a much more pleasant climate than the scorching Phoenix.