Road trip from Grand Junction, CO to San Francisco
 

After Memorial Day, my husband and I will be doing a short road trip, departing from Grand Junction, CO on Sunday and arriving in San Francisco on Tuesday. We're aware there's not a lot of time, but we're bound by a wedding and a conference presentation. So far our plan is:
Sunday - drive to Moab, explore, then continue on to Salt Lake City
Monday - check out Antelope Island in Salt Lake City, truck through Nevada, going through Elko, and then stay in Reno
Tuesday - drive through Sacramento before arriving in San Francisco, in time to catch a ball game

We're both in good shape, excited to explore a little of the terrain and eager to get out to do some photography. We also enjoy city exploring and good, local food.

Anyone have specific suggestions on places to check out, adventures to explore in one morning around Moab, or any favorite eats? Acknowledging the limitations, any and all suggestions would be welcome.

About 55 miles from Grand Junction you can exit I-70 at Cisco and take Scenic Highway 128 into Moab. This starts out as a pretty boring drive, but once you cross the Dewey Bridge the scenery gets better and better as you follow the Colorado River and the canyon walls get closer and closer all the way into Moab. You will be doing this route in reverse of this description: http://www.milebymile.com/main/Unite...el_guides.html

The best hiking will be in Arches just 5 miles from Moab. The best bang for your hiking adventure would be the 3 mile round trip hike to Delicate Arch. http://www.utah.com/thingtodo24857.htm

For picture taking, you will find a lot of great opportunities as you drive in and out of the park. Make sure to go to the Windows section and Park Avenue is one of my favorites. If you still want to do some more hiking, take the 2 mile round trip to Landscape Arch.

Utahtea

Utahtea,

Thanks for the MilebyMile link. We had not found anything like that to point out good things to look for along the way.

Would you recommend the Delicate Arch and Landscape Arch trails over Corona Arch? That is the other one we were considering. My husband went to Canyonlands as a kid, but I've never seen any of this geography in person, so it all looks fabulous, and I'm having a hard time deciding what to prioritize given our limited time.

Those are long driving days except Tuesday. I'm not sure you will have much time for activities. You say after Memorial Day but if that's the case, the Giants are not at home on June 2nd. Maybe you are leaving this Sunday, the day before Memorial Day?

If you are driving back, consider taking US 50 across Nevada. I always find this a more scenic and much more enjoyable drive than I-80 which is dull and boring.

Do you live in GJ? If so, why not do Moab another time? It's only two hours.

GJLinda, I'm afraid we don't live in GJ, and Supercilious, we won't have the opportunity to drive the return trip. We live in NC, so we are just trying to take advantage of the few days we have between a wedding in GJ on Saturday, 5/23, and a conference presentation in SF on Wednesday, 5/27. (Supercilious, sorry for the confusion about dates - I was a little unclear.)

We know it's a long drive with not much time to explore, but we're hoping we can see a few fun things along the road. I think this will just be a little way to wet our appetite for a longer trip sometime in the future. But we're still open to some specific suggestions on must see stops.