Colorado Float trip--help!
 

I asked this question earlier but don't know where it ended up. I apologize if you're seeing it for the second time.

In response to another poster who was concerned about the advisability of taking a float trip down the Colorado River due to low water levels: We, too, have this trip planned for mid-June and am worried that we will come all the way from VA and the float trip be a "bust". Of course that is not all we are coming to AZ for, but that is one thing that my two boys are most excited about.

How can I find out honestly if the float trip is a good thing to do? I'm not sure the businesses would really level with me since they stand to gain if we come, whether the trip would be a good one or not.

I have driven everyone nuts (including those on this board) but we are due to leave in 2 weeks and will have to start over with my plans if you think the float trip will not be worth it.

Please help me with your knowledge and advice.

Thanks, Lynda

The whole purpose of Lake Powell is to have water storage for the arid southwest. They have to release the water into the Colorado River to do that. I really don't think that the float trips are going to be affected by the low lake levels this year.

I know you don't trust the tour operators to tell you the truth, but what about the National Park Service?

http://www.nps.gov/glca/docs/launchrampupdates.pdf

I think your boys would be more upset if they found out they could have done the trip and you cancelled it.

I expect a FULL trip report when you get back :)

Utahtea

BTW, you can find old messages of yours by clicking on your screen name (not the email address part of it)up under your title.

Of course if you can't find any of your messages to click on your name, just do a text search on it.

good luck on your trip!!

Thanks to all of you, especially Utahtea. You have been so helpful. I know you'll be glad when we finally go.
Can y'all help one more time?

One of my son's teachers says that we absolutely must do Monument Valley so I'm trying to work it out. What if we will do Sedona for 2 nights, go early the next day to the Grand Canyon and spend the day and leave after sunset for Page. Do the float trip and Antelope Canyon tour and head to Monument Valley where we will spend the night. Take the Monument Valley tour the next morning and go back to Flagstaff, visiting Sunset Crater and Wupatki and staying the night in FS. The next two nights in Scottsdale where I'll let everyone sleep late for once. Then home.

Do you think I have it right yet? I'm going to be insane by the time we leave! I look forward to hearing all of your thoughts on this plan. Is it too much driving and being in the car. I don't mind giving up something, but my little one wants to see Antelope Canyon so badly. We could go to Page just for that, but it seems a long way to go for a 1 1/2 hour tour, but maybe it isn't. I anxiously await your replies.

Thanks.

If I were to skip anything on that trip it would be Scottsdale... Why are you going there, just out of curiosity?

Second on the list would be Sedona, BUT, the natural slickrock water slides looked like a blast and a good way to beat the heat (we were there in winter). Sedona itself is just a tourist town, IMO, not at all worth staying around for two days. We based ourselves in Flagstaff and day tripped to Sedona, Grand Canyon, Sunset Crater and Wuptaki. I don't recall the driving being too much.

IMO, you are going to miss some spectacular scenery in the Painted Desert if you drive at night -- and do you plan to arrive at the Page hotel late, then get up early for the float trip? And have to pack up your vehicle as well, because you will be leaving for Monument Valley right after the raft trip? You have more energy than I do, lol.

Also IMO, a plan of Monument Valley, Sunset Crater and Wuptaki in one day is a LOT of driving and touring, especially in hot summer weather.

Just curious as to whether this is a potential revised itinerary or if you have already made plans and reservations since you are leaving in two weeks?

You were almost pushing it with the last schedule:

http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...p;tid=34500945

and to add Monument Valley is really insane unless you want to give up at least one night in Scottsdale. Do you really want to spend or need to spend a whole day by the pool?

Day 3: Drive from Sedona to Grand Canyon visit the canyon for several hours (really not enought time to get to many of the overlooks) and then drive in the dark to Page and miss the wonderful scenic views that you won't see if you drive to Monument Valley taking Hwy 98 (shortest route) Total miles 255 miles and about 5 hours total of driving time.

Day:4 Early float trip which ends around 1:30, then do the 1 1/2 hour Slots canyon tour...which I do belive both of these can be done in one day, but then you are looking at driving 125 miles that will take about another 3 1/2 hours. That's ONE LONG DAY.

I know you want to make this trip memoriable, but you don't want them to remember that every minute of siteseeing was rush, rush, rush.

If you gave up one of your nights in Scottsdale for a night in Page it would help.

I'm with Questionmotives, I like Sedona but National Parks & National Recreational Areas are designated as as such for a GOOD reason.

Utahtea

Thanks for your replies. I have digested everything you've said, and you're right: I don't want them to only remember how we rushed to everything.

Yes, I do have reservations but I can cancel them, although I have to cancel the ones in Sedona today. I just keep revising,hoping to come up with the "perfect" trip.

Here is one that I came up with last night after my last post:

1. Arrive in Phoenix, drive to Sedona, stopping at Montezuma Castle
Hike, sightsee, trolley, etc.

2. Early a.m. jeep tour. Slide Rock
Park (I could leave this out--just thought it would be fun and something different from driving and touring, although we have a beautiful state park about 30 minutes away--no slick rocks, though)In that case, we could do the jeep tour the day we arrive and stay only one night.

2. Leave early for GC stopping at IMAX on way in. Hopefully, Arizona Room for dinner (OR we could do IMAX after sunset) Stay at Kachina Lodge. If we opt for only one night in Sedona, we will have to stay at Maswick in GC, which is not a problem.

3. Leave GC at 8:00 am, stopping at overlooks, for Lake Powell and do float trip at 1:00. Spend night.

4. Antelope Canyon tour. Drive to Monument Valley. Spend night.

5. Tour Monument Valley in am. Leave for Flagstaff, spend night.

6. Tour Sunset Crater, Waputki Ruins
Drive to Phonenix spend night to return home early next am.

With this trip, we won't do Petrified Forest, but we can't do everything--yes, I've finally figured that out!!!

I don't mind leaving MV out, but everyone seems to think that it is a "must-see". I'll follow your advice;
Tell me what and when to do it and I'll not ask another piece of advice!!

Thanks SO, SO, much!!! BTW, the only reason for staying 2 nights in Scottsdale was to give them a break and relaxation from touring and rushing.

Lynda

Lynda,

That looks like a much better plan! I have a few suggestions.

Do the IMAX after sunset as you mentioned! Spend as much time at the rim during daylight as you can.

Before you do the tour of the slots canyon, take the short drive to Horseshoebend and do the short hike to see where you floated the day before. Your boys will really like this!

If I had to choose between Monument Valley and the Petrified Forest, then Monument Valley would WIN every time!

You have to save something for next time!

When our boys were young and vacation time was short, we did our relaxing at home and saved vacation time for siteseeing and we have no regets.

Have a great trip. You HAVE to do a trip report when you get back!

Utahtea

Thanks, Terry! I'm excited now. I had almost made myself sick worrying about what to do and how to go about it. I'll stick with this plan. I've called all the places where we have reservations and they all will let us tell them how many days when we get there. Only thing left to do is find a room at Monument Valley. We'll probaby try Kayenta.

Thanks again.
Lynda

Everyone travels differently don't they? Some like to drive and spend each night in a new place, while others prefer to base themselves and do day trips. To each his own. :)

Your trip sounds fun, but I have just one more suggestion which you can, of course, completely disregard, lol. You will be spending a good portion of just about every day driving. If it were me, especially with kids in tow, I would want my out-of-the-car activities to be just that --activities, not more sedentary driving and touring.

It's just a hunch, but I think on a hot day in June, if your boys have had a glimpse of the slick rock park and you ask them if they'd rather get in the back of an open, un-air conditioned Jeep on bumpy, washboard, dusty dirt roads to look at rock formations, OR don some swim trunks and slide into water pools, I wonder which they'd choose? lol Don't skip that park, just my two cents.

Questionmotives: We definitely are going to let them siwm at Slide Rock Park and will have a picnic. Actually, my first and foremost consideration was not to be in the car every day going to a new place. The young one won't mind, but the older one will be hard to placate. That's one reason we were going back to Scottsdale for 2 nights and staying in Sedona for 2 nights--so they would have some time that they didn't have to get up and be somewhere. But I hear from so many--not just on the boards, but from friends who have been west--that we just can't miss things such as Monument Valley, that I feel terrible leaving anything out. It's like, if we're going all that way, then it would be a crime to leave something out. I do want it to be enjoyable, however, and memorable for the time shared and not for the excessive driving. In the end we may just opt to come back to Flagstaff from Page/Lake Powell, spend 2 nights at Little America and do and see things in that area. IN that case, we'll just have to come back to see what we missed.

I am indebted to you and Utahtea for your assistance in helping our family have a wonderful vacation. Please, if you ever come to the VA/DC area, let me return the favor.
Lynda

Lynda,

I'm glad your leaving your options open as far as Monument Valley. I'm sure what ever you end up doing, you will have a good time!

Utahtea

Rick Steves has a great line in his European travel books when people are trying to cram everything into an itinerary..."Tell yourself you WILL be back!" It really does help you leave some things out and slow down a bit. I'd have seen every village in France without it. ;) And there will be no end to people telling you what you "must" do, so take it with a grain of salt and decide your pace for yourself.

Just FYI, Monument Valley was visually great, but there is not that much to do there other than ride on a paid tour or buy Indian market trinkets. I promise, by the end of the trip you will not be ooooing and aaaahing at every rock formation any more, you will have seen plenty. And you can only stand and look at rock for so long.

I sympathize with your eldest, even today I have trouble sitting still on long car rides, but as a kid it was intolerable! You just don't care that much about scenery, you want to get out and DO something, lol.

Have a great time, thanks for your generous spirit.

Did a rafting trip through the GC, and as I recall, we had to wait each morning until they started releasing water from the dam for us to get on the river. So go, and don`t worry about water levels.

Hi Lynda, I'm coming into this thread late and as others have said, take it for what its worth LOL. (we were actually just in your neck of the woods - VA & MD) Just a few comments -You've got a great itinerary going already and yet i totally understand how and why you want to squeeze as much in as possible. Been there done that 8 times LOL. But whatever you end up doing, it will be awesome.

Once you're actually doing it, you'll likely see things you wish you had more time for - and visa versa - which is why we've done the eight summer trips! Even with 8 trips of 3 weeks each, we still haven't done it all - which is why we continue to do them. And also because they're just soo much fun!

Also, while Slick Rock would be ideal in the HOT afternoon, it will likely be very crowded. We arrived around noon and had to wait until others left; the parking is limited which makes the difference. You might want to do the jeep tour in the afternoon and swim in the am - when it still will be HOT.

Also, Monument Valley wins hands down compared to Petrified Forest. Actually, there's no comparison. Although it's late, try to find a place at Goulding's Lodge, in the heart of Monument Valley. Like nat'l park lodges, they frequently get cancellations so call often. The sunrise and sunset there are unreal. Plus, you'll be sleeping where John Wayne and others stayed while filming their westerns.

I'm sure you'll have the best time!

I appreciate everyone's help so much! Just to let you know, I scheduled a 1/2 day fly fising expedition in Oak Creek Canyon with a gentleman named Joe McInnis for EARLY Sun. morning while in Sedona. This will be for dad and the 22 year-old. Because of this, definitely will have to put the jeep tour off until afternoon, so I think we will do the sunset tour. Fly fishing is a new thing in our household so I think the two of them will enjoy it.

I do hope we get to see Monument Valley, but if they are tired of driving, I'm not going to push it.

Thanks again for all of your comments.
Lynda