Planning a road trip.

[mntbiker]

I am planning a road trip for next year with the wife and kids. It will only be about 2 to 2 1/2 weeks since we also have to go to NY for the holidays next year (guilt trip from mom ).

The very loose plans thus far are to fly into Arizona and fly back from Utah. We will rent a car and drive from A to B hitting as many sights as possible while leaving time to enjoy each one. The two definite locations thus far are the Grand Canyon and Monument Valley. I wouldn't mind being able to get to Yellowstone as well but that may not leave enough time to enjoy the other places.

Where would you go and why?

I would also like to hit Moab and ride the slickrock, not sure how the wife would feel about that one.

 

[Dennis S]

I would definitely go to Rio De Chelly, in Arizona, which is within a hour or so (if I remember correctly) from Monument Valley.You can't really compare such magnificent locations, but the beauty of Rio De Chelley is the equal of any place I have ever been.

The park service has a lot of materials. Here is a place to start: http://www2.nature.nps.gov/geology/parks/cach/index.cfm

Also, I have several pictures of both places posted at:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/dennis_and_barb/

(After you get through several dozen Ellie pictures)

Here is a sample of what I talking about:

 

[Guest]

So, you'll fly into Arizona (Phoenix..or?) and will drive to Utah ... and fly out of Utah (Salt Lake City?)....that correct?

Do you have a rough driving path? Do you know what cities/towns you want to drive to/through? Have any friends/family along the way to see?

Curiosity killed the cat, they say ... but,, for me anyway, it always helps to have a "plan of attack" ... and get an idea of where all I want to go ... how long I'm willing to drive each day, etc.!



Cort:33swm."Mr Monte Carlo.Mr Road Trip".pig valve.pacemaker
WRMNshowcase.lego.HO.model.MCs.RT.CHD = http://www.chevyasylum.com/cort
"I think it's time to give this game a ride" ... John Fogerty ... 'Centerfield'

 

[mntbiker]

Thanks Dennis that is just the type of thing I was looking for.

Hey Cort, Basically the only parts of the trip that have been planned thus far are flying to someplace and renting a car, the rest is still up in the air.

Driving from AZ to UT is only about 9 hours. The places we stop to visit will determine the driving path. The places we have picked so far are the Grand Canyon and Monument Valley. That only covers about a week so we wanted to add a few other places that would be between the two so we could limit the driving to less then three hours in any one day.

Stuff like Dennis has offered are exactly what we are looking for, we will make a final decision with the kids, they will each pick one place they want to see and then we will plan the route.

Thanks for any help.

 

[Susan BAV]

Sedona, Arizona, is one of the most beautiful places we have ever visited in the States. If you go there, one fun place to eat--your boys would probably love it--is the little restaurant at the local airport, right off the main strip and up a steep hill to the top of a beautiful mesa. Really neat! Jerome, an interesting old mining town not too far away, was really neat to drive through also.

If you go through Page, Arizona, you might enjoy a bit of Lake Powell.

Are you going to the North Rim or the South Rim of the Grand Canyon? We have never gone to the North Rim but have enjoyed the South Rim several times.

Do you like old narrow gauge railroads? I wonder if you could find any where you are going. Might be worth searching out. When our boys were younger we frequently incorporated a train trip when possible. So fun!

Have a safe trip!

 

[Marguerite53]

Sounds WONDERFUL!! Back when our kids were going into 2nd, 4th and 6th grades (13 years ago!), my husband lost his job at the beginning of summer. We took a month long road trip and spent a lot of time in Arizona and Utah.

The kids' favorite place by far was Arches National Park. Something about those soft (to the touch) stone arches. Great for climbing around on...kids can really get in touch with the whole experience there...beauty, climbing, geologic history.

We did Monument Valley and did not go to Canyon de Chelly....a monumental oversight! Please don't miss either one!

Sedona is amazing! I believe we drove down from Flagstaff...the smell of Pine trees not to be outdone, going down that hill! Oak Creek is famous for its slide rocks state park http://www.americansouthwest.net/arizona/sedona/slide_rocks.html
Unfortunately, we didn't know about it until after the trip. Your boys would LOVE THIS PLACE! We stayed in a gorgeous place up above Sedona....let me know if you are going to stay there...my husband will remember the name of the place.

We love Native American culture. We planned our trip around a lot of Trading Posts. I'll have to quiz my husband as to where. Hubbard Trading Post coming to mind right now. (these might be more in New Mexico)

We only had two days in Grand Canyon and had to stay in Page -- a 2+ hour drive!! (well, we didn't know he was going to lose his job! try to get any reservations 2 weeks ahead of time when it's already June!!) It is more amazing than you can imagine....any part of it!!

I wouldn't miss Yellowstone if you can help it. It's very family friendly (albeit ridiculously crowded). You think it's passe to see Old Faithful, but then you get there (after passing buffalo and moose, etc.) and there it is...really....! Just going into the lodges at Yellowstone is a treat. They are magnificent timber towers! also many steaming, acidic, bubbling craters in the ground at different locations....very science-y and otherworldly. So many animals, too.

We went to the Petrified Forest. It was okay, just a bunch of ancient logs on the ground. Not terribly kid tantalizing. Cool from the geologic history aspect, but I don't know if I'd make any special trip to it again.

Saguaro Natl. Park is amazing, but it's kind of just a bunch of cactus! There's a GREAT dude ranch (okay....husband and I went one summer for a week by ourselves) called Tanque Verde Ranch. Very well run and abutts the Saguaro Natl. Park. Wonderful naturalist talks and horseback riding. The Sonoran Desert Museum is close by and is phenomenal and very unique. In Tucson area.

We LOVED Mesa Verde. It is in COlorado, but very close to Utah. Fun to walk in and out of the dwelling. You really get in touch with it...they let you walk through with the guide and it's very informative and just the right timing for school age kids.

My son went to Zion while in college (in LA) one summer and truly loved it.
My father worked for the National Park service for many years and spoke quite lovingly about Zion. We'll get there some day!

There are all kinds of things to do on Lake Powell. It is quite amazing.

Glad you are planning way ahead of time. We didn't have the advantage of the internet 13 years ago.....you can do a lot of looking and the photos and descriptions tell a good lot about these destinations.

Hope I didn't go on too much. We had the most magnificent family trip. The biggest and best one we ever had together. You will be carving out a very special memory for your family. Good choices!!

Marguerite

 

[Dennis S]

We did Monument Valley and did not go to Canyon de Chelly....a monumental oversight! Please don't miss either one!
Marguerite

Would missing Monument Valley count as a doubly Monumental oversight?

 

[Guest]

Hey Cort, Basically the only parts of the trip that have been planned thus far are flying to someplace and renting a car, the rest is still up in the air.

Swweeett!!!! Sometimes the unplanned is better than the planned. Well, SOMETIMES, anyway ... he he .

Driving from AZ to UT is only about 9 hours. The places we stop to visit will determine the driving path. The places we have picked so far are the Grand Canyon and Monument Valley. That only covers about a week so we wanted to add a few other places that would be between the two so we could limit the driving to less then three hours in any one day.

Ahhh....a family after my own heart. He he. When I plan my road trips, I try my best to limit driving each day. Obviously, when I went west in 2004 around the VR.com reunion in Golden, that wasn't always possible (i.e. 9 hr drive from Denver to Salt Lake City) ... but, I tried my best to not do more than 5-6 hours of driving in a day. Why? I had more time to visit people at each stop .



Cort:33swm."Mr Monte Carlo.Mr Road Trip".pig valve.pacemaker
WRMNshowcase.lego.HO.model.MCs.RT.CHD = http://www.chevyasylum.com/cort
"What I really need is an open road" ... Montgomery Gentry ... 'Speed'

 

[mntbiker]

Thank you all for the replies.

This helps quite a bit.

Susan - We are not far from the Smoky Mountain Railroad (about two hours) so we are taking the kids on the "Polar Express" this November. We will see how they like a longer ride, so far the only trains they have been on are NYC subways and Thomas.

Marguerite - Thanks for all the info. That gives me lots to work with. Every summer we usually go to Colombia to visit the wife's family. Last year we didn't go since I had that upgrade procedure done. Next year will be the first year we don't go visit her family and don't have other plans so we will have the time to do just a family trip.

Dennis - *groan* I did have to laugh though.

Cort - Just like you , we would rather be doing then sitting in the car. Not to mention that active young boys can become difficult to deal with if in the car for too long.

Thanks again everyone, this really helps.

 

[Marguerite53]

Would missing Monument Valley count as a doubly Monumental oversight?

Yes, Dennis....something like a monumentally monumental oversight!



David. We had 3 kids scrunched into the back of a Saab for a month. We rarely stayed in one place more than one night and generally travelled 3-5 hours a day (well, we went through 9 states!!). I made sure to pack only denim/dark, white, khaki /grey clothes for everyone so that we could do 3 loads at a time at a laundromat and be done (thus packing fewer things). We did the normal license plate games. I took a microphone/tape player thing which the kids had fun announcing new places on. Had they been available, I would have certainly given them each a digital camera (get a car charger). After a few days, they understood that there was going to be a long time in the car each day and they really just mellowed into it and started looking around a lot and asking questions. We were up and out at the same time each day (as much as possible) with one person manning the "toiletries" bag, and one person manning the shoe bag and the other schlepping all 3 kid suitcases out. We used 2 of those LLBean canvas bags; one for shoes, and one for "dopp" kits. Each kid had to pack up their own toothbrushes and comb, etc. each night and drop it into the LLBean bag. It all worked out rather easily. I think they each had a small backpack with their personal fun stuff in. I'm sure we had GameBoys along. Again. Get the power cords!

Another wonderfully fun place was Virginia and Nevada City Montana. I know. It's not Arizona or Utah. But it's kind of outside Yellowstone on one end. I'm sure you can google them. As well as being a great, restored little village, someone started collecting old nickelodeon and calliope machines....the nickel machines that play violin, a full orchestra, organ music, fortunetellers, etc. etc.. Here they have an enormous room full of them and they are all in working condition and so fun to watch. Still just a nickel! http://www.virginiacity.com/kids.htm http://www.ghosttowngallery.com/htme/nevadacitymt.htm


Have fun deciding!!!

Marguerite

 

[Rain]

Right on!

Right on!

Hey Mtn biker!!!

I?m wondering why you are flying into Phoenix?? Not that there?s anything wrong with Phoenix! lol But if you've never been to Las Vegas... its' certainly something to see, and inexpensive. From there I'd visit the Grand Canyon, Monument Valley then to Moab for a raft ride down the Colorado! And ride slickrock!! Moab has some awesome trails you do not want to miss!! Mesa Verde is also an amazing place and the Durango train will show you a bit of our beautiful Colorado mountains.
Oh, by the way.... there are now places to stay at Grand Canyon. One of them is a tipi/camp fire type of deal that I've heard is really fun. You might check that out too.

If you come through Cortez and have time, let me know... we?ll fix you a BBQ.

 

[Guest]

Cort - Just like you , we would rather be doing then sitting in the car. Not to mention that active young boys can become difficult to deal with if in the car for too long.

Ohhhh...I can imagine .


He he ... years ago, when my sis and I were younger, during family road trips, we would switch ... one day I'd sit in the front seat with Dad and her with Mom, the next day she'd sit in the front seat and I'd have the back seat. It was Mom and Dad's way of keeping us apart so that we wouldn't fight ... not that we did, of course .

Mom tells stories of when she was a kid. When they went on road trips, all 4 kids piled in the back seat. Course, back seats were a bit bigger back then. When they wanted to sleep, they'd put stuff on the floor and put pillows on top of those and then sleep with their feet along the back window ledge. These days, that'd land the parents in hot water .

*sighs*

Man, I need a road trip right now. Heck, it'd be just nice to get the older 4 MCs out for a drive.....



Cort:33swm."Mr Monte Carlo.Mr Road Trip".pig valve.pacemaker
WRMNshowcase.lego.HO.model.MCs.RT.CHD = http://www.chevyasylum.com/cort
"We can take anything that comes our way" ... BJ Thomas ... 'As Long As We Got Each Other'