cmstraf

Hi all,
Spent much of today planning (hopefully not jinxing) an actual two vacation for next October. The plan currently is to drive from home to
1 night Truckee (Cedar sports hotel)
1 night Ely Nevada (La Quinta)
7 nights Moab Utah (Red Cliffs Lodge)
3 nights Monument Valley (View Hotel) --crossing fingers that Navajo Nation will have reopened by then
1 night outside of Las Vegas (Best Western)
Home

Any thoughts, criticisms, suggestions? One doubt is whether to spend an extra night in Monument Valley because it looks so stunning and we almost certainly won't be back. I know many people just drive through..but that's not our style. We are both moderately active and moderately inert, if that makes sense. We used to like hiking, now are walking/hiking border; we love hanging out.

Mille grazie and Happy Thanksgiving to all!

tomfuller

Just 2 of you or are there kids on the trip? To avoid a long boring drive across the Nevada desert, you could take the Amtrak California Zephyr overnight from Emeryville to SLC and rent a car there. Moab is an easy drive from SLC. I see no need to spend 3 or more days in Monument Valley. If you do head for home by way of Las Vegas, stop to see Hoover Dam. There is a good hotel/casino about 3 miles from Hoover Dam.

oldemalloy

Have you been to the parks between Monument Valley and San Francisco? I would take a day and night at Grand Canyon and/or stop at Bryce and Zion even if I had visited them before. If that meant taking a day or two from MV or Moab it would be fine since you do not hike much.

This is your trip though and if sitting and enjoying the view is your style then go for it, but you will be so close to those spectacular places why not enjoy? This is from a person who has flown from the east coast and stopped for a night at GC any time we are close enough to see it and it is always a new experience.

Michael

I do not think that you need more than 2 nights in Monument Valley and possibly cut out one night in Moab. Use the time saved to see Antelope Canyon and the Grand Canyon.

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mlgb

Red Cliffs is a bit out of town, I split my stay between Moab and Red Cliffs.

If you have never driven Hwy 12, I'd consider dropping down and doing that in one direction. Instead of Truckee and Ely, I'd try for say, Fallon, NV area and the next night either Cedar City or thereabouts or the Best Western or Ruby's outside of Bryce. Bryce would be better, if you don't mind getting up early just to see sunrise. Then you can drive Hwy 12 to Torrey and via Hanksville to I-70 and down to Moab.

I would also consider adding a third night on the way to Moab in Torrey so that you can see some of Capitol Reef.

That area is very popular in October so good idea to plan and book early.

MichelleY

I was going to say the same about the first night. Push on further than Truckee.

cmstraf

Thanks, all. We have done a two week road trip from Las Vegas: going to Zion, Bryce, Antelope Canyon and the Grand Canyon, coming back a couple of years later to spend a week at Zion for Thanksgiving, but I've been arguing for the North Rim of the Grand Canyon and shifting things around a bit to do so. Tell me more mlgb, about how you liked Red Cliff and why you switched between them. DH hates changing hotels; I love hotels and thus am more interested in the advantages of changing.

The reason for making our first day only to Truckee is that it's our anniversary. We decided if we waited to the next day to leave, we'd exhaust ourselves and a nice medium would be the shortish drive to Truckee (otherwise DH wanted to drive all the way to Ely).

When we did a loop of Wyoming and Montana etc in 2017, we did stop at Fallon and Cedar City (at Best Westerns our chain of choice). If anyone thinks there are any aesthetic advantages of 80 over 50, please say so, we just kind of had a crush on 50.

I am concerned that 7 nights might be too long around Moab, but we'll be pretty tired when we get in. In terms of our activity level, we used to do all day hikes with picnic lunch. Now we do morning walks/hikes 4-6 miles, then lunch in room, naps, sitting outside. I have osteoarthritis in one knee and some lung problems, but am hoping to get in shape to do 5 miles, up and down 1500=2000 feet.

I really empathize with going out of your way even for a night at Grand Canyon and will talk more with DH. Yosemite is the home of my heart; we go 3-4 times a year and I'd happily stay for a week.

A COVID tip: This is a good time to splurge at the Ahwahnee only if you can snag a cottage. Inside too crowded, need to cross lobby, elevators with only narrow stairs as alternative. We think the Lodge rooms are safer for the duration.

Thanks again, hope to hear more.

bon_voyage

Cmstraf, just reading your itinerary brought back so many good memories. Arches is one of my two favorite national parks, Yellowstone being the other; I love the red rock country. Given that you’re going to be pretty far east, consider a tour of Walpi village, https://experiencehopi.com/walpi-village, fascinating, on the Hopi reservation. You could then spend the night at La Posada, Home - La Posada Hotel, an historic hotel designed by Mary Colter, in Winslow. The Hubbell and Cameron Trading Posts offer high quality Native American crafts if that’s of interest. Will enjoy watching your plans unfold.

mlgb

I missed the question about Red Cliffs. I liked the cabins and the setting, and having a kitchen. The food in the cafe was okay, if you kept to simple (I like trout). The location seems like it isn't far out of town, but an extra hour or more roundtrip starts to get tiresome, especially if you are going to sites farther west or north (such as Island in the Sky or the rock art trail). I worried about hitting wildlife in the dark. There was a musty smell to the linens (I assume they are washed in creek or well water and air dried). Seemed to be popular with groups so if your timing matched theirs it was a little too busy.

There are assorted restaurants and services in Moab which were more convenient from in town. Also I was taking an early float trip and wanted to be near the boat launch. I don't mind switching hotels. On the down side, Moab town was super busy especially with some kind of cyclist event in town and I had elephants staying in the room above me. Not an issue at Red Cliffs which was one story. I would still go back there and thought about it a few times.

Don't miss the paintings at Courthouse Wash. Short walk.