Believe me, if the debt ceiling is not raised, there will be chaos.

Myer - I've read your report on Willis Creek and was planning on possibly doing that even if Bryce is open (we would have three nights at Ruby's). And now that I'm looking for more things to do if Bryce is closed I've looked into all the things you just mentioned. However, it looks like most of them involve dirt roads and as utahtea points out, driving on dirt roads if there's a threat of rain is not a good idea. Seems like most August afternoons there is a possibility of a thunderstorm. While I'm not a whimp, I'm thinking that being on a dirt road with no cell coverage in what is technically a 'closed' national monument is not really smart. I'm certainly hoping I won't need Plan B, and if that's the case I'm still really looking forward to Willis Creek if we get good weather (maybe mornings are safer).

However, since none of the Utah/Az options look that good to me (assuming closed parks), and I have 8 full days to fill, I'm looking into Plan C - know anything about Calif?