amr67

Hi everyone!
Time for us to return home and we are planning to go by a new route. My husband is a paraplegic in a w/c, but does all the driving and loves it.We usually like to drive no more than 5-6 hours a day.
So we are leaving on April 1...staying in Flagstaff for the night since we won't get away until after noonish. Will take Hwy 89 then 89A through Kanab to Springdale. Have booked Driftwood Inn (Apr 2)(forgot it was Easter week) Plan to take the shuttle through the park...getting off in a couple of spots for pictures. There are a couple of accessible paths, so we may do a short one, have a picnic...any suggestions on which would be best?
Then we will drive to Bryce...staying at Best Western.(Apr3)..touristy I know, but they have an accessible room. It sounds like sun set and sun rise are the to do things in Bryce. Could we also drive through the park the next morning?
Then I guess we will drive Hwy 89 to #20 to #15. Probably stay in Salt Lake City Apr 4th.
Any suggestions for areas to see or just a drive by of the Tabernacle, and then leave?
Then head north to #84 and west...maybe to Boise for the night.(Apr5th)
Not sure where we should stay the next night. Columbia River area must be beautiful..we usually stay in Astoria on the way south, but think we will go north on #5 and take the Black Ball Ferry from Pt Angeles to Victoria. Should be home by the 8th or 9th. There is a ferry leaving at 2pm daily.
Thanks so much for any ideas and input...you've always been my go to forum!
AM

Michael

Could we also drive through the park the next morning?

You can drive on the rim but not in the formations themselves.

Gardyloo

After Boise I'd stop in Hood River. In April the waterfalls along the Gorge rim will be full of water; the biggest one, Multnomah Falls, has an accessible viewing area (and also a good accessible restaurant with a killer view of the falls) and is well worth a stop. If you stop in Hood River (around 6 hours from Boise on I-84) you could drive the "historic" Columbia Gorge Highway the next morning, head through Portland, and end up somewhere in Washington (Seattle or beyond) from which making the 2 PM Coho the next day would be easy.

amer_can

There is an interesting expo site near Boise of the Oregon Trail. Can be pretty moving and if i remember correctly easily accessible for wc.

tomfuller

It is not worth driving into downtown SLC if you are only going to d rive by. Find a place to park and visit the visitor center just inside the south gate to Temple Square.
From Boise, if you didn't want to drive I-84 all the way to Portland, take US 20 west to Bend from Ontario.
It is 265 miles from Ontario to Bend across the High Desert.
From Bend head north on US 97 to Madras and US 26 to just south of Mt. Hood. Either stay at Timberline or head on down Rt. 35 to the town of Hood River along the Coulumbia. You can easily visit Multnomah and the other falls going west from Hood River.

amr67

Thanks everyone, great info. Gardyloo, just what I was hoping for! Amer_can, will look for that site, and Tom, will keep that option open.
Since we are in SLC on a Thursday, we might try to hear the Choir practice.
Any recommendations for a nearby hotel.and restaurant..so that we could just walk to Temple Sqaure?
Usually stay in HIxp, or BW, or some where breakfast is included, or on site. Prefer to keep it under $170 if possible.
Thx
AM

tomfuller

This should be helpful for SLC: http://www.templesquarehotels.com/
There is also light rail service from Sandy with a stop close to Temple Square.

amer_can

Right now, Sheraton has a special for 1 night reg. price and the 2nd and 3rd ,if wanted, is your birth year. LAX this lst week was 139$ plus 31$..A big smile from me!!! Look at it for SLC if you have time to use it.(or anywhere along the trip)

amr67

Thanks tom and amber_can...will get serious now!
AM

live42day

Hi amr67 We are doing the opposite way. Driving from Vancouver island to Casa Grande. We just left Bryce last night and stayed at the Best Western Grande, the new hotel. It is gorgeous and the breakfast included is a very good hot buffet. They had a special on the web site and we got a king room for $89. If we stayed two nights the second night was 1/2 price. Very good value for sure.

The parks each charge $25 per car for up to 7 days.

The weather yesterday was so cold, -10 but -20 with the windchill, however it is warming up every day. Yesterday we drove to the end, Rainbow Point and stopped at all the pull outs on the way back. You can do all the stops, without hiking, and spending time taking pictures in less than 4 hours. I dont know if you will need to do a shuttle by the time you go, we just drove ourselves.

We stayed in Springdale the two nights previous and did Zion for two 1/2 days. We could drive ourselves as the shuttle does not start until tomorrow. There are a few accessible trails and the map you are given are very well marked as to difficulty. We found that if it said 2 hours round trip that allowed time for stopping and pictures, we are not fast hikers and still did it in the aloted time. We loved staying in Springdale, it is a very small, touristy cute town only minutes from the park

We are right now in Kanab and going to Flagstaff, then Sedona for a quick stop to our final destination for this part of our trip which is Casa Grande.

Do you live in Parksville? We live in Coombs.

amr67

Hi Liv42day...small world! Thanks for the up to date info! Guess I can put my shorts away!
You'll love it down here now...all the orange blossoms are out and it smells wonderful...and you should see lots of desert flowers.
We live in Nanoose Bay...go to Coombs a lot...love the restaurant..Cuckoos.
How long will you be in Az? How are you going home? We came down the coast.
Have a great trip
AM

amer_can

It's hard to beat a good Best Western... but some??? Your Bryce BW sounds great.
So there are 2 good bets..Sheraton year of birth special and BW.web special.. Your trip home sounds like you will enjoy it!! Just hope you don't run into any Spring Snow Storms!! Your route crosses some brutal lands if you encounter bad weather..Good luck and happy Trails!!

amr67

Oh thanks, amer_can...hoping the snow stays in the east! Have new tires, and car is good to go...even my little fold up shovel..and boots! But we'll just pull over and wait it out if necessary!

amer_can

Take water...You'll do jsut fine..

live42day

We are now in Casa Grande, heading for Palm Springs tomorrow for threee nights.

We will make our way home via the sequoia forest up to the redwoods and then back to Mission to see my father in law.
We plan to take 5 or 6 days to get back.