peterboy

Nice picture of GCNR's Lodge...I suppose we all have one LOL.

http://www.pbase.com/peterb/image/35115489

Loved this guy with his 'drink at the brink' at sunset...

http://www.pbase.com/peterb/image/35115482

Glad to hear you made it up Angels's Landing...I chickened out
but have no regrets other than I wish we'd gone further on the
West Rim Trail...It goes without saying that I have plenty
of 'missed opportunities' to use as an excuse for the next trip.

iamq

Oh no, peteroy, I chickened out too. We made it as far Scout Landing. You're condusing me with nerves-of-steel smetz! He's the one that made it.

Yeah, the Lodge is very photogenic. Loved it there and could go back again and again.

peterboy

LOL too many trip reports all of a sudden!!

elnap29

iamq, thanks for posting your photos. I love them all! (especially since I've been to all these places). Great shots of Bryce, and I am especially fond of North Rim #16 and #17. I could feel your pain in the wound/bandage photos. I have similar shots captured on my phone from my fall at Hidden Canyon in April - needed it documented somehow. All our other photos and the camera are at the bottom of a deep water-filled pothole.

MomDDTravel

Grabbed a cup of coffee and am settling in for the read! Glad to find this!

iamq

Hidden Canyon is not an easy stroll in the woods. I bet the trail was slippery in April. Not sure I'd want to negotiate those steps around the pools when there was water in them. The holes were dry when I walked around them. There was very little water in the canyon at all. I am glad that you survived your tumble as I did mine so we can keep slogging on.

MomDDTravel

Really enjoying your report Iamq - you have a knack for the written word.

I have to say in Paris, I bought a Hermes scarf that I could have purchased for less money back here in the USA - something about buying it there was special - maybe that is why you bought your Lalique crystal goldfish? Loved the suite and the details - made me think of Scar Face with the big sunken tub .

My husband is 53 and has never been to the Grand Canyon either in all his world travels -so we keep talking about planning a trip - your TR inspires me!

Sorry about your fall - I skipped down to your photos and you look no worse for the wear. M is SO cute! Love the photo of him with his hands over his heart with the Grand Canyon behind him.

Looking forward to finishing my read.

iamq

Scarface indeed, momdd! Perfect.

Will be posting photos of Zion and wildflowers later.

jillh, I am working on scanning the lodge room layouts and will let you know when I am done.

iamq

Here is a link to an album that has all three Lodge maps. You will need to open each one, use the magnifying lense to see the images more clearly.

http://picasaweb.google.com/iamq59/B...ps?feat=email#

iamq

Zion photos.

http://picasaweb.google.com/iamq59/Z...on?feat=email#

Froderick

Two words

It's Wonderful
my baby

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s6Ce0NhehAk

a wonderful truly inspiring journey, it's wonderful its wonderful its wonderful
chips chips chips. . . .

smetz

Loved your pictures of Zion, especially Hidden Canyon - makes me wish we had time to do it. Well, next time!

cmerrell

Thanks for sharing your photos, iamq. Unfortunate bumps and scrape aside, it sounds like you had a really wonderful time. I'm glad I stumbled upon your very entertaining trip report.

enzian

Hi iamq---just back from Italy, I check into Fodors and find this terrific trip report! Great photos too.

I can tell you about the Observation Point trail---we did that hike in the morning and then the Narrows in the afternoon. It is a really fun hike, but . . . one section goes right along the edge of a vertical drop of oh, several thousand feet. However, the trail is wide enough and level and you don't have to look over the edge. I didn't even realize we were that close to the edge while walking it. Then I looked back from Observation Point and saw where the trail was and OMG. I had a bit of trouble on that section on the return, but just tried not to think about all that empty space below us.

Hidden Canyon looks cool---we might have to try that next time.

dcd

iamq, great, great report as always. Enjoyed the pics. We were in Bryce and Zion at the end of April and enjoyed reliving the experience. Magical places.

Since you enjoyed all these parks and are looking for next year's road trip, I think you'd also enjoy Capitol Reef, Arches, Canyonlands, Mesa Verde, Monument Valley and Page. They're all different, too. After our 12 nite adventure hitting all of these as well as Bryce and Zion, we weren't bored or "rocked out". But I could imagine some would be. I likened it to going to a bunch of art museums with different styles in a relatively short period of time. If you really like art and the museums are sufficiently different from one another, you won't get bored. Same with the western parks and monuments.

I've been too busy at work to post a trip report which probably means I won't get around to it. But when folks have reports like yours, I'm not sure I'd be able to add much.

Thanks again for your efforts in putting together a marvelous read.

iamq

Thanks cmerrell, enzian and dcd!

Oh enzian, I thought of you on this trip whenever I saw some wildflowers. Especially at Zion. I need to post the photos of some of them. Just lovely plant life at Zion! I can't wait to hear about your Italian journey!

dcd, the trip you describe is the something similar to what I've been thinking about for next time. I really want to see Monument Valley, Mesa Verde and Canyon de Chelly. We almost added Capitol Reef to this trip, but I wanted to keep this trip to 7 or 8 nights long.

Hershey

iamq,

Great report! I have read many reports on this general itinerary (more or less) and this just gives the right amount of useful information. I also hope to follow in your footsteps soon.

Do you think a week or two earlier could have made a big difference in the weather? 90s sounds a little hot to me but then the cooler windy days may be colder. I guess it's all a crapshoot.

iamq

Wildflower photos.

http://picasaweb.google.com/iamq59/Z...rs?feat=email#

Hershey

You said you made all your reservations a year in advance. Do you think that was necessary?

Thanks again for the great report.

iamq

To get rooms at the park Lodges at GC, Zion and Bryce they start taking reservations a full 12 months in advance. On June 1 they start taking ressies for the entire month of June and so on. The best room categories go first. I would have never gotten the rim cabin at the GCNR had I waited another day or two. I knew we were going to go and had decided on the itinerary, I wanted to be IN the parks at the Lodges and wanted the best choice of cabin category at Bryce and GC, so for me IMHO, while it might not have been "necessary" at all three parks to get SOME lodging, to get what I wanted, I felt it was necessary. In fact it would have been crazy for me to have waited. I guess some think it is crazy to reserve that far in advance or pay relatively more to be in the park, or perhaps can't commit that far out, but that was not the case with me. I can only travel during school holidays mostly, so that can make it challenging as well.

It also depends on the time of year I suppose too. Summer has the highest demand and things get snatched up quickly.