The_D_Dawg

tbw - great report! I hope your friend's recovery is swift and complete - sounds like a bad one...

We're planning a blitz like yours ourselves: Denver, Colorado National Monument, Arches NP, Canyonlands NP, Capitol Reef NP, Bryce NP, Zion NP, Las Vegas, Grand Canyon NP, Sunset Crater, Walnut Canyon MN, Meteor Crater, Sedona, Montezuma's Castle, and Phoenix.

Once again - great report and thank you so much for taking the time to write - we all enjoyed it.

maria_so

thanks for your trip report. i too live in texas and the "just driving out of texas can take days" has always discouraged me from driving from home and instead opt into flying in to somewhere and then drive around, sometimes in a loop, sometimes as an open jaw. that's what we did last summer with flying in to idaho falls seeing craters of the moon, through to tetons, yellowstone, montana, and south dakota and flying out of rapid city. we had 10 days and felt we still needed more days. the thing is, we like to hike so the drive through thing won't work for us but glad it worked out for you and your family. it is a lovely country and we are huge supporters of the national parks. we get the annual pass every year.

happy travels and glad you got the last chance to take your daughter to the places you love! memories that you can't buy anywhere at all.

peterboy

Whew, I'm tired just reading your report.

Thanks for the effort posting this. As
a kid, I was involved in similar family road
trips. Now, as an adult, I enjoy revisiting
all the places we went and spending more time
exploring them. I'm sure it will be the same
for your kids. Trips like this are a great
gift to your children and will have life long
benefits.

Again, thanks for the effort....loved the report

spirobulldog

I never did read this TR until now. Not the kind of trip I like to take, but it does sound like you saw a lot and had a good time.

I gotta ask how things turned out with your friend? Funny how something like that sticks in your mind even though I know noone involved here.

texasbookworm

spirobulldog--I hadn't noticed until today your response/question here. How kind of you to inquire. She is doing ok. Actually, amazingly well. There is permanent spinal nerve damage and loss of the uses of some muscle, both internal and external. But she is back on a bike some, quite active despite pain, heading up a ministry to an inner-city apartment complex for after school activities, driving 3 kids still at home to all their home-school activities and classes--she's a miracle we all thank God for often. Again, thanks for the inquiry. Hope you see this soon.

spirobulldog

Well good. It's good to know that she is still able to pretty much do most of the things she did before.

4sharie

I'm sooo glad this report was linked to in a recent post. It's just the encouragement we need as we plan something just as ambitious.

I've been trying to formulate questions to pose to this forum, but I'm afraid I'm going to be met with a lot of "you can't drive that much" and "you need more time in xyz park" so I hesitate.

Loved the breakdown in the beginning: "motivation" "boundaries" "goals" "equipment" haha I could so relate as I'm a very detail oriented person!

thanks for the great report!

Myer

For some reason I think this is my first reading of your report. Great trip and report!!!

I'm not sure I'd want to drive that much, but I have no problem going to as many places as you did. I'd probably want to spend more time in most.

I have to disagree with you about the cars in zion. I've been there twice and both times stayed in the park. I left my car in the lodge parking lot and drove the shuttle.

Last year I took my daughter and granddaughter to Yosemite. While beautiful I would have a hard time convincing my self to go back. A big part of the reason is the traffic. It could be avoided but people like there cars and the park doesn't help much.

Now, any chance to see the photos?

Myer

4sharie,
I don't think you get as much of "you can't do that" here. Much more on the European forums. Renting a car vs not.

There are things i would have suggested be added but in the end you have to do what interests you within your timeframe and budget.

Don't be afraid to ask. Just sift thru the responses and use what fits.

emalloy

4sharie, Don't be afraid to ask questions. There are folks who like to go to an area, unpack and examine every inch of it, and there are people who drive to the next destination, only take out the clothes they will wear tomorrow, check the high points and decide they will come back and do more the next time. I'm one of those who likes to go for a drive and seldom stays more than 2 or 3 days in one place when on vacation. As Myer says just sift through the responses and use what fits.

BTW I also agree about Yosemite -

texasbookworm

Ah, so fun to have people still reading "old" trip reports and finding them helpful.

No, I didn't post pics and won't do so now. Sorry.

However, if you look at the Fodors (2010?) guide to the National Parks (or maybe the western parks--I'm not home to check my book) you can see a full page pic of my hubby on the boardwalk with a bison! Sorta the "What not to do" caution! I entered the pic in the contest Kay mentions way up this thread, in an early response, and while I didn't win, they did use the pic in a guide--so I got a free one.

And yes 4sharie, ask questions, post itineraries for feedback. Just be a bit "thickskinned" and protect the uniqueness of YOUR trip and know that you know yourself, family, and circumstances best. And I agree generally with Myer that there's more "can't do" on European forums. But then I think there is more chance of being totally clueless about a foreign country.

And Myer not sure what you mean by disagree with me about the cars in Zion-- ? The lodge was full so we didn't have option in the summer of driving into the park at all. And we went there with an opinion and left with same--we'd rather have our own transport in a park. I do "get it" as to why Zion has had to adopt this plan, but that doesn't mean I enjoy it as much, even when I agree with the policy for environmental/economic/logistic reasons.

Myer

texas,
Some parks are laid out for better car traffic and other are not. I noticed how small the parking areas were in Zion. There's no way they could have orderly parking.

Bryce has less traffic so it's not mandatory.

Yosemite is impossible.

4sharie

Thanks for the encouragement to ask away! 4 years ago we did a big trip to California and Oregon and got a lot of "that's WAY too much driving" on here during the planning stages. At first I was a little "but you don't know what we're capable of" but the more we thought about it, we actually did tone down the trip and not go as far north! So I did appreciate all the opinions.

We've been to Yosemite twice and traffic wasn't an issue, but we always travel off season (before Memorial Day or after Labor Day).

I hope to get something up here tonight or this weekend about our preliminary plans. Please jump in TexasBookWorm!

Myer

4sharie,

Make sure to start a new thread.

And you make get some of "that's way too much driving". You admitted that it did get you to tone down the trip. I assume that was good.