Hi Igor
Thanks for the tips - especially about the Utah police.
Unfortunately on a trip like this we had to make a number of
compromises and Bryce and Zion are two parks we had to miss. From Las
Vegas we're heading south and the trip up to Bryce and Zion would add
too much mileage and probably add an extra day that we don't have.
Our Grand Canyon options are also limited photographically. We wont
be driving there - instead we're taking the Grand Canyon Railway from
Williams so we'll be limited by whatever the shuttles at the Canyon
provide. We'll be at the Grand Canyon on 30 April so we probably
couldn't access the North Rim even if we had been driving.
We've looked in to buying the National Parks Annual Pass. In fact, I
tried to buy one online but they don't accept international orders
online. We'll pick up one at the first Park we hit.
We should be passing through Denver on 11 May.
Cheers
Brian
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Brian Walters
Western Sydney Australia
http://lyons-ryan.org/southernlight/
Quoting Igor Roshchin <[email protected]>:
That's a cool trip, Brian!
Too bad I am no longer in California, and Texas is big (or at least as
wide as your trip loop), so that being on the other side of TX puts us
too far away. I am sure you'll have lots of fun there.
I've seen both sides of the Great Canyon (south and north rims).
The north one is much more spectacular. Besides, on the way to
the Grand Canyon, you would drive through two other parks
(Bryce and Zion), which are different, but also very spectacular.
So, if you can, I'd suggest that from Las Vegas you can head through
Zion and Bryce to the North Rim of the Grand Canyon.
If you are in a hurry, you can do those three within 2 days.
Leaving from LV in the mid-morning, you can drive through Zion and Bryce
within that day, and then spend the next day at the Grand Canyon.
Sunset at the Grand Canyon is great!
If you don't have time for Bryca and Zion, you can still drive to the
North Rim of the GC. It'll take a bit longer than the south rim, but,
IMHO, it's worth it.
Be careful on those long stretches of the road in Utah: the police
looks for speeding people even during the deep night time. (And they
don't take prisoners. - Well, they will take you to a prison if you are
driving 20+ mph over the limit, but below that, you'd just have a hefty
fine. ;-) )
When in May?
North Rim is closed through about the first-second week of May or so, -
but that can vary, depending on the weather.
Check if the road will be open:
http://www.nps.gov/grca/planyourvisit/hours.htm
One important hint: Since you will be going through so many different
national parks, at the very first one, - you probably want to buy an
annual pass:
http://www.nationalparks.org/explore-parks/common-questions
It costs $80.00, and covers all _national_ parks (excludes state and
private parks). Check what you'd be paying for separate passes, but
$80 is less than the passes just to the three (Bryce, Zion, Grand
Canyons - if you go to the North Rim) Parks combined.
Even if you don't go to those, check what the cost of the others
that you will be visiting.
When we went through those three, we didn't think about that in advance,
so, we got the first park's pass. But then, using the receipt, we
upgraded it to the annual pass at the entrance to the next one.
I only skimmed through a dozen or so followups and didn't see what
I wrote here, but people may have written it in other responses, in
which case I apologize for the duplication.
Hope this helps,
Igor
PS. When will you be in Denver?
On Wed, Apr 17, 2013 at 08:17:17AM +1000, Brian Walters wrote:
.. the western part, anyway.
During May and early June my wife and I, together with our two adult
sons Chris and Jeff, will be taking a road and rail trip around the
western USA (Chris' partner Cassie will be joining us towards the
end of the trip).
We'll be starting in Los Angeles and heading though the South-west
before turning north into the Rockies, up into Montana, across to
Washington and Oregon and finally returning south to our starting
point. Here's a map of the trip (prepared by Chris):
https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/1370864/WesternUSA-blog.jpg
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