jamny
Footballguy
It's so incredible coming down through the mountains in Utah and hitting the flatlands in Nevada. I couldn't stop looking in my rear view mirror as I headed to Vegas,Yeah, my current plan is to use Vegas for my loop.
It's so incredible coming down through the mountains in Utah and hitting the flatlands in Nevada. I couldn't stop looking in my rear view mirror as I headed to Vegas,Yeah, my current plan is to use Vegas for my loop.
uh... exactly. amazing trip.I don't know, I've been to all of those places except for Arches and they're all great but that just seems like scenic overload to me.
since it sounds like you're definitely doing moab area, Goblin Valley is right there and worth a half-hour+ of your time.he mentioned 4 corners, so I assume he's hit all of these... but if not- definitely. and while there, go to Goblin Valley. probably changed the rules since I was there 25 years ago- but you used to be able to walk amongst the goblins (IIRC, some ####head knocked one over for youtube fun HAHAHAHAHAHA, so hopefully they're protected against similar ####heads).
and of course in CA, Yosemite, Muir Woods (or redwoods further north... if they haven't burned down this week :( )
Make sure to stop and say hi as you drive along I-15 to your favorite Utah Buckeye.Thanks for all the feedback so far guys.
Looks like the Utah parks (Zion, Bryce, Arches) will most likely all be definite (at this point anyway).
I realized that if I start my trip on July 4, 2019 that basically gives me a couple of extra days. So will probably plan the 4th-24th. Air travel somewhere to start definitely seems the way to go even if it means missing out on a few things I'd like my daughter to see (in my head anyway).
I have a decent plan laid out at the moment, but it feels a little tight with some longerish drives. In my head, this is what it looks like:
Day 1: Fly from Philly to Denver and then drive to Pike's Peak area
Day 2: Pike's Peak
Day 3: ~9 hour drive to Arches
Day 4: Arches
Day 5: Arches
Day 6: ~6 hour drive to Bryce Canyon via rte 24 and rte 12
Day 7: Bryce Canyon
Day 8: Bryce Canyon
Day 9: ~4 hour drive to Grand Canyon North Rim
Day 10: Grand Canyon
Day 11: ~3 hour drive to Zion
Day 12: Zion
Day 13: Zion
Day 14: ~11-12 hour drive to Yellowstone
Day 15: Yellowstone
Day 16: Yellowstone
Day 17: Yellowstone
Day 18: ~9-10 hour drive to Denver
Day 19: Fly from Denver to Philly
That also leaves me 2 extra days in there somewhere.
That gets me to a lot of the major things I want to see (and want my daughter to experience). I'm not sure if some of that is too tight and if I should leave more time at some of those places. And I realize that insisting on including Yellowstone and the Rockies is a pretty large time commitment. As much as I love Yellowstone, 2 days of full day driving is a lot. I'm not sure I want to give that one up though.
Thoughts?
When you pass Phoenix, head northwest on Rt 60 and take 89 through Prescott, which is a nice town to stop to eat, before going to Sedona.Suggestions for Arizona? I think the wedding I'm going to will be in the Tucson area. I've marked Saguaro National Park (tallest cactus in the world!) as a place to go. Then there's obviously the Grand Canyon and Sedona. Is Arizona where the old Native American homes are that are built into the side of mountains?
Montezuma Castle is on the way to Sedona. If you end up in NM, I liked Bandelier more.Suggestions for Arizona? I think the wedding I'm going to will be in the Tucson area. I've marked Saguaro National Park (tallest cactus in the world!) as a place to go. Then there's obviously the Grand Canyon and Sedona. Is Arizona where the old Native American homes are that are built into the side of mountains?
Seems like you can save yourself the time and expense by just hitting a NJ beach. They're all the same, right?And, despite the expense and loooonggg plane ride, Hawaii is on my list to see the beaches and volcanos.
Well, they charge you to go on the beach in NJ, so if I'm paying to go on the beach, might as well just fly to Hawaii to do it.Seems like you can save yourself the time and expense by just hitting a NJ beach. They're all the same, right?
Great app. Although, "moderate" seems to cover a pretty wide range of trails, which I found out after almost killing my wife by taking her on a "moderate" hike in the Poconos.
Depends on the time of year but my kids love it. If I was alone or just me and my wife, then we would go somewhere less crowded. Still beautifulI'd vote a no on that one. Long lines of cars driving on a dirt road hoping to see a bear 200 yards away.
No offense, but why spend so much time driving to Pike's Peak and Yellowstone when you've already done them? I know the rest of the family hasn't, but you might get more out of your trip exploring Utah. With Zion, Bryce, Grand Canyon, Canyonlands, Arches, Capitol Reef, and I've heard Dinosaur National Monument is really cool too.Thanks for all the feedback so far guys.
Looks like the Utah parks (Zion, Bryce, Arches) will most likely all be definite (at this point anyway).
I realized that if I start my trip on July 4, 2019 that basically gives me a couple of extra days. So will probably plan the 4th-24th. Air travel somewhere to start definitely seems the way to go even if it means missing out on a few things I'd like my daughter to see (in my head anyway).
I have a decent plan laid out at the moment, but it feels a little tight with some longerish drives. In my head, this is what it looks like:
Day 1: Fly from Philly to Denver and then drive to Pike's Peak area
Day 2: Pike's Peak
Day 3: ~9 hour drive to Arches
Day 4: Arches
Day 5: Arches
Day 6: ~6 hour drive to Bryce Canyon via rte 24 and rte 12
Day 7: Bryce Canyon
Day 8: Bryce Canyon
Day 9: ~4 hour drive to Grand Canyon North Rim
Day 10: Grand Canyon
Day 11: ~3 hour drive to Zion
Day 12: Zion
Day 13: Zion
Day 14: ~11-12 hour drive to Yellowstone
Day 15: Yellowstone
Day 16: Yellowstone
Day 17: Yellowstone
Day 18: ~9-10 hour drive to Denver
Day 19: Fly from Denver to Philly
That also leaves me 2 extra days in there somewhere.
That gets me to a lot of the major things I want to see (and want my daughter to experience). I'm not sure if some of that is too tight and if I should leave more time at some of those places. And I realize that insisting on including Yellowstone and the Rockies is a pretty large time commitment. As much as I love Yellowstone, 2 days of full day driving is a lot. I'm not sure I want to give that one up though.
Thoughts?
Permits to do what?Some other spots around the AZ/UT border that would be awesome to check out it not too far out of the way:
Secret Canyon (near Page, AZ)
The Wave (Kanab, UT/AZ border)
Antelope Canyon (near Page, AZ)
Havasu Falls (west end of Grand Canyon)
Buckskin Gulch (west of Page, AZ)
Permits can be a huge PITA for some of these. Havasu Falls permits open up in Feb and are gone very fast. For the Wave they have a lottery in Kanab each morning, 200 people show up for a chance to win one of the 10 permits.
Certified dark sky just means that the area meets the IDA's specifications for keeping the area as dark as possible (IE street/house lights that are covered on top and point down, etc). I live just outside of a massive metropolitan area and there is a certified dark sky area 15 miles from here that obviously has significantly worse star visibility than many of the places that have been listed here.This is a great thread!! Getting lots of ideas of where to go camping next year thanks!! One thing you absolutely must do, absolutely MUST DO, is when you are out West find out (web) where a certified dark sky is. This is a place where there is no light to obstruct the night sky. Surprisingly there are not too many places left. Then go there at night with the family, park and look at the stars. My kids were blown away at how many and bright they were! Show them the Milky Way and watch shooting stars!!
This actually was one of the highlights of our last trip to Utah. Kids didn't want to go but now they still bring it up.
Havasu Falls requires permit to camp. I think it is about a 10 mile hike to get down to the falls so most people camp for a night or two. It is on the Havasupai reservation on the west end of the Grand Canyon, not the central part of the canyon where the NP is located. At the NP you can day hike into the canyon with no permit, but to camp overnight you are required to get a permit or reservations at Phantom Ranch.Permits to do what?
Just vacationed in Colorado this summer and flew in/out of Colorado Springs due to prices (rental car was half that of Denver). I don't blame you for prioritizing west of the Rockies, but if prices force you into flying in/out of Denver or Colorado Springs, it's not a bad place to be. Gorgeous drive heading west and it's not all mountain switchbacks down by Colo Springs.Yeah, I think Pike's Peak is probably going to get chopped and SLC will be the start of the trip.
I still think Yellowstone will stick even though I've been there before since it is so unique and different than the rest of the parks on my list.
The Wave is amazing but the online lottery is such small odds I don't think it makes sense to plan your route through that area specifically for that if you're planning early. If I recall they run the lottery just 3-4 months in advance of the month you're entering the lottery for so if you're planning the trip a year out I wouldn't necessarily change things for The Wave under the assumption you're going to get a permit because it's extremely unlucky that you'll land one.Havasu Falls requires permit to camp. I think it is about a 10 mile hike to get down to the falls so most people camp for a night or two. It is on the Havasupai reservation on the west end of the Grand Canyon, not the central part of the canyon where the NP is located. At the NP you can day hike into the canyon with no permit, but to camp overnight you are required to get a permit or reservations at Phantom Ranch.
The Wave gives out 20 permits a day to simply hike to the spot. 10 go online and 10 go in the walk up lottery in Kanab each morning. While the process is frustrating I imagine it makes the experience that much better, no crowds. You'll notice in most of the pics there is nobody else around. Compare that to pics from Angel's Landing or Half Dome, some of those lines look like the line to the men's room at a football game
We did it at archers and it was kind of spooky because you could barely see your hand in front of you face. My kids, and myself, were truely amazed at the beauty of the night sky. Seeing stars, Milky Way, satalights. Just gets you thinking of just how small you are in the scheme of things.Certified dark sky just means that the area meets the IDA's specifications for keeping the area as dark as possible (IE street/house lights that are covered on top and point down, etc). I live just outside of a massive metropolitan area and there is a certified dark sky area 15 miles from here that obviously has significantly worse star visibility than many of the places that have been listed here.
Either way, a majority of the places listed here are incredible dark sky spots. Bortle class blue or better. Here is a good site for dark skies: http://darksitefinder.com/maps/world.html
And yes I 100% agree with you that going out and watching the skies in a dark sky area (new moon!) is a must. If we are talking about spots like Grand Canyon, Zion, Bryce, Yellowstone, etc these are all already pretty great dark sky areas.
Interesting. Everything I've seen adds almost $1000 in "fees" for a one way rental.Do you need to stop/start in the same spot? I've dropped off a rental in a different place from where I rented, and I don't think it's that expensive depending on the rental company (some are better than others). I'd probably look into some kind of fish hook, starting in Yellowstone, south into Utah/Arizona then across to NM and up to CO.
Hmm. I must have gotten lucky when I did it (or was just able to find a car company that didn't mind the car ending up in the different location). In just doing some googling to see if I could re-create, I noticed some rental car companies offer one-way deals out of Arizona in the spring (with the transition from peak to low tourist season). May be relevant.Interesting. Everything I've seen adds almost $1000 in "fees" for a one way rental.
I've done it before and don't recall this. I looked at Alamo, and it's $300/week to rent a minivan at LAX and return it to Seattle. Not sure if other airports affect the prices differently, but it seemed reasonable.Interesting. Everything I've seen adds almost $1000 in "fees" for a one way rental.
If you are a Costco member, their rental car prices are tough to beat.Looks like I will have to research rental cars some more. When I was plugging in info on Hotwire a few weeks ago, all one way rentals had huge fees added.
Yup, when I went for a walkup spot in Kanab because I was in the area there had to be 200 people going for those 10 spots. Wave is N Coyote Buttes, you can get S Coyote Buttes as a walkup pretty easily most days and very easily online. Doesn't have the iconic Wave but some really neat rocks there too. Have wasted $5 many many times trying to get a permit to the wave. Odds of getting it are almost nonexistent.The Wave is amazing but the online lottery is such small odds I don't think it makes sense to plan your route through that area specifically for that if you're planning early. If I recall they run the lottery just 3-4 months in advance of the month you're entering the lottery for so if you're planning the trip a year out I wouldn't necessarily change things for The Wave under the assumption you're going to get a permit because it's extremely unlucky that you'll land one.
No, and it's the best thing about visiting Maine.NutterButter said:Is that where all the video games are?
Can you rent? I'd imagine some of the more popular camping destinations have rental places around them.So one of the things I realized last night, is that if we're flying in and then driving, that complicates my plan to camp for some of the nights.
The only solutions I can thing of for getting camping equipment there would be to either stow it in some kind of bin and pay to check it as luggage, pay to ship it back and forth somehow, or just buy it once we are there (with the problem of getting it home popping up).
Any recommendations there? I'd like to camp at a few spots both for the enjoyment and to help cut costs a bit.