adrian65
Cave Dweller 
Arch to golden memories and to great friends.
Member since February 2007
Posts: 10,790
|
Post by adrian65 on Apr 6, 2008 4:31:11 GMT -5
Hello, everyone!
Looking at the great pictures you folks have taken during your trips and then reading on the net about some interesting places, made us decide to start saving money for the trip of our life:
a vacation in the central - western area of US, for about three weeks, in the summer of 2009. (most probably August).
I sketched a possible route starting from some "must see" points. The route is (for the moment):
Landing in Denver - Arizona Petrified Forest - Lake Powell (with Antelope Canyon) - Hoover Dam - Grand Canyon - Las Vegas - San Francisco - Yellowstone - and back to Denver.
I would be glad if you could point me other objectives that worth to be visited (mainly natural wonders, but not only) which are close to this route. For example I was not aware about Lake Powell and Karen told me about it. Thanks again Karen!
No need to say that I'll be very happy to meet RTH members that live in the areas or are in vacation in the same areas in the same time.
Any advice is welcome.
Thank you for reading,
Adrian
|
|
|
|
Post by texaswoodie on Apr 6, 2008 4:48:54 GMT -5
Hey Adrian, that's great! Come out my way and I'll show you the Texas pet wood forest! ;D
Curt
|
|
|
|
Post by catmandewe on Apr 6, 2008 23:36:07 GMT -5
WOW, you going to see all that in 3 weeks?
Thats alot of driving.
I would be glad to help out anyway that I can, what about scheduling an RTH trip to coincide with your trip, maybe at some cool pet wood collecting area, or something?
Do you need camping gear for Yellowstone, or are you going to RV it, or just do motels/hotels?
(Yellowstone is a must see) I am only a few hours from there, so if you need anything holler.
I think its cool that you are doing this trip with your family. Let us know if we can help out.
|
|
adrian65
Cave Dweller
Arch to golden memories and to great friends.
Member since February 2007
Posts: 10,790
|
Post by adrian65 on Apr 7, 2008 2:12:45 GMT -5
Thank you for your offers Curt and Tony. Do you need camping gear for Yellowstone, or are you going to RV it, or just do motels/hotels? How would YOU do it Tony? That's the sort of advices I'm waiting for. We would prefer the rent a car + motels/hotels + a tent in the trunk for just in case option. I think the RV would not bring much economy bearing in mind the renting cost, the fuel consumption and the afferent taxes. Besides, I suppose there are traffic limitations and parking problems for those monsters. But on the other hand I don't know how many hotels/motels are available in US and how expensive they are. We don't need luxury hotels, a decent motel room with shower in bathroom is OK. You said there's a lot of driving. I agree, but I drive quite a lot and I think the roads in US allow that without major problems. Anyway, if you consider there are too many objectives for three weeks, please tell me. A rockhound trip sounds GREAT, especially a short one (one or two days) as my girls are not rockhounding addicted and I wouldn't want to get them boring. If anyone could help me with some information about expences (how much is to rent a car (small SUV or small car), how much would be a hotell/motell room, and so on) that would be very helpful to me for calculating the trip budget. Maybe I should mention I never was across the ocean before, so I have no idea about the lifestyle and the habbits there. Thank you, Adrian |
|
|
|
Post by rocklicker on Apr 7, 2008 3:06:43 GMT -5
Sounds like a lot of fun! When you stop by San Francisco (about an hour south of me), we can get Ed, Tony, etc and all hang out. I'll take you to a sweet rock collecting spot too! BTW, I spent the day cutting some more poppy jasper for you in case you were wondering where I was with that.
Steve
|
|
|
|
Post by rocklicker on Apr 7, 2008 3:12:56 GMT -5
Oh, and BTW, if you want to save on a Hotel and want to get up to Sonoma County (an hour north of SF depending on traffic) you are welcome to stay with us. We don't have a big place but you'll get a home cooked meal (to the best of my ability) and a bucket of rocks on the way out. But staying in SF is a cool experience. Waking up to the fog of SF is really nice. My wife and I like to stay in the city now and then.
Steve
|
|
|
|
Post by catmandewe on Apr 7, 2008 22:37:47 GMT -5
Adrian, Personally I would tent it with a stay in a motel once in a while to get a good shower and a break from setting up the tent every night. Of course in Yellowstone, there are lots of wild animals running around so if you are not comfortable with that sort of thing, you may not get any sleep in a tent. I have never stayed in any of the lodges or cabins in the park, but they are available. (I have heard that you need to make reservations for many of them about a year in advance.) Another alternative would be renting a small RV, such as one of the smaller Toyota style motorhomes. Even with an RV if you plan on staying in Yellowstone, you will need reservations for a spot to park it. You can check out most of the prices and what is available at this site www.travelyellowstone.com/If you are planning on motels you can figure from 60 to 150 bucks per night, depends on day of the week, and where you are. The average should be around 75 per night. Most places you can find a motel/hotel, but there could be some areas that most of the motels may be full because of some event in the area (large events or proctologist conventions, just as an example). There are a few areas where it is along ways between motels, depends on which route you are planning on taking. And of course if you travel close to fellow RTHers you could probably bunk up there for the night and get a decent meal in the deal. Let us know as your plans formulate. Hope we can arrange something so we can all meet up and hang out. Tony |
|
|
|
Post by deb193redux on Apr 7, 2008 23:22:39 GMT -5
Sounds great. I will try to catch up with you somewhere if I can.
|
|
lapidopterix
starting to spend too much on rocks
Member since March 2008
Posts: 216
|
Post by lapidopterix on Apr 8, 2008 0:08:42 GMT -5
Why are you flying in to Denver? With the list of things you want to see you might be better off flying in to Phoenix or Salt lake. Or maybe you could fly into one of those two and leave from Denver. Other stuff you might want to see: Between Vegas and San Francisco you could go through Big Sur. Drive from Vegas to San Luis Obispo then take highway 1 up to Monterey. The highway is carved out of the cliffs above the ocean. It's arguably the best scenic drive in the country. There are several places to camp (make reservations if possible) and you go past Moonstone Beach and Jade Cove. The Monterey Bay Aquarium is really cool also. After Yellowstone you might want to check out Grand Teton National Park and Dinosaur National Monument. The drive from San Francisco to Yellowstone is mostly boring. Once you get over the Sierra Nevadas you have a lot of nothing to get through in Nevada and Southern Idaho. If you don't have Google Earth you should get it and set up waypoints for all the places you want to see, it's a huge help for planning things like this. Links that might help: Car rental: www.avis.com/www.budget.com/www.hertz.com/Camping: www.reserveamerica.com/www.nps.gov/www.parks.ca.gov/Vegas: www.cheapovegas.com/Motels: www.super8.com/ <--cleanest of the cheap motels in my experience If you belong to an auto club you may be able to get benefits from the American Automobile Association. www.aaa.com/Free help planning trips, free maps and guidebooks, free roadside assistance, etc. It might be worth joining a club just for this trip. I hope this is helpful. It sounds like it will be a great trip. |
|
karenfh
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since November 2006
Posts: 1,495
|
Post by karenfh on Apr 9, 2008 3:22:44 GMT -5
What fun, Adrian and family are coming to the USA!
So, what can we do to help out? I think we can all come up with some ideas....
Personally, I am very excited. If they fly into Denver, I am only 200 miles away, and would love to take them thru, for example, the Denver Museum of Nat. History (great rocks & minerals section there!) Or some old gold mines in the Rockies. Or the Denver Zoo. Or, time permitting, the Coors Brewery, where I have relatives who can, maybe, give us the grand tour.
I have a few other ideas, such as coupons for motels, discounts on those minutes-only cell phones, etc.
Any other ideas?
K
|
|
|
|
Post by BAZ on Apr 17, 2008 8:51:04 GMT -5
Regarding travel in San Francisco Adrian, the great thing about that town is BART (the subway) buses, taxis, cable cars and walking. The many times I went there I saved myself a lot of hassle of the busy streets and used all of the aforementioned. The sights are relatively close by and it is a great city to be on foot in. Just another tip!  |
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Member since January 1970
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Apr 17, 2008 22:45:34 GMT -5
Adrian that is great, if you make it to San Francisco area we can all meet up. Maybe we can plan a camping trip to the south coast?
|
|
MidNight~Rocksi3
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since January 2008
Posts: 1,716
|
Post by MidNight~Rocksi3 on Apr 18, 2008 0:41:13 GMT -5
Naaah skip all the other states Adrian.. just stick around here in AZ and do your camping.. LOL.. jks.. I'm so excited to hear you and your family are planning such a BIG Adventure! Sounds like it's going to be something that will be worth remembering!
I would enjoy meeting you guys when you head to the Pet Forest in Az.. So Keep us posted as to when.. Oh and Camping would be my suggestion too....
*smiles*
|
|
adrian65
Cave Dweller
Arch to golden memories and to great friends.
Member since February 2007
Posts: 10,790
|
Post by adrian65 on Apr 21, 2008 12:49:42 GMT -5
Thank you everyone for the advices you gave me both here and in PM's. I appreciate and find useful all of them. Lapidopterix, thanks for the liks. I found them very useful. Thank you everyone who sent me invitations. I would be a pleasure to meet you, especially if you live around the places I want to visit. We'd stay at motels though, as we would like that meeting us to be a real pleasure for you, too. It's not so simple to accomodate 3 persons. I detailed a little the plan, you can see the stages of the trip in the table below. I think that having 9 trip stages in some 20 days allows us to see what we planned. The last column (and not only) is waiting for your sugestions. Lake Powel and Sequoia National Parkare included in my plan due to your precious advices.  Thanks everyone for looking, advices, PM's and invitations. You folks are so kind! Adrian PS. Could be a more elegant way to insert a table here than I did (print screen button) ? |
|
|
|
Post by fishenman on Apr 21, 2008 13:28:26 GMT -5
Sounds like a great trip. I suggest you travel through the Yosemite valley en route to San Francisco. Also, there are many stops between S.F. and Yellowstone too...........
Meeting in S.F would be great too.
Geogg
|
|
DeanW
has rocks in the head
Member since December 2007
Posts: 721
|
Post by DeanW on Apr 21, 2008 16:14:29 GMT -5
Ditto to what Geogg said, if you are going to Sequoia then you really must also visit Yosemite. I also have a lot more details/comments coming via PM.
Dean
|
|
adrian65
Cave Dweller
Arch to golden memories and to great friends.
Member since February 2007
Posts: 10,790
|
Post by adrian65 on Jun 8, 2008 13:36:37 GMT -5
Thank you everyone for all the support, advices, suggestions and offers coming either here, or via PM. They were very welcome and useful and helped us to get into detail even more. As you see in the table below, we already established the dates (a must for reservations). The dates in the table refer to August 2009. The only thing I didn't set for sure is the place to stay between Yosemite and Yellowstone (that 860 miles distance has to be split into two days). Any suggestions are welcome.  Any advices about additional objectives to see on the route are welcome. Thank you for looking and for support. Adrian |
|
Steve
has rocks in the head
Member since June 2005
Posts: 506
|
Post by Steve on Jun 8, 2008 15:03:23 GMT -5
On our RV trips to the national parks we often find that the RV next door is a rental with a family from Europe. Usually the husband speaks a bit of English while the wife and kids do not. This has never prevented our and their kids from having a great time playing together. Often we have to teach them some aspect on using the RV - the rental agencies do a horrible job at explaining things. Anyway this is just a longwinded way of re-suggesting that you seriously consider renting an RV. Everywhere on your list except for San Francisco is RV friendly (even RV preferred) - and even there, there are nice parks north of SF that offer transportation into the city where public transportation is abundant. Also the rental agency will often help with camping reservations. No rock collecting allowed in the National Parks. Steve
|
|
adrian65
Cave Dweller
Arch to golden memories and to great friends.
Member since February 2007
Posts: 10,790
|
Post by adrian65 on Jun 9, 2008 2:28:57 GMT -5
Thank you Steve. My personal option would also be an RV rather than a normal one, but traveling with two girls (wife & daughter) the vote is clearly against it. I didn't eliminate this option completely though. They are equally scared of not getting accomodation so in the end they might accept the RV idea. Now, about renting a car, any car, I noticed there are some aditional offers regarding the insurance. Some of them are really expensive, so I wander if I really need them. Do I have any included insurance without these options? Here's what I'm talking about:  I don't use the rent a car system at all so I really don't know which of the options above are really useful. Thank you, Adrian |
|
rollingstone
starting to spend too much on rocks
Member since July 2009
Posts: 236
|
Post by rollingstone on Jun 9, 2008 4:24:25 GMT -5
Check your credit card policy. In N. America, many of the expensive daily charges under "protections" are covered by many credit card policies. Might not be the same for out-of-continent visitors though, so check what you are already covered for.
If the credit card option doesn't cover it, you might be able to buy a relatively cheap add-on policy from your own car insurance company that covers you for rental cars. In my case, I think I pay a $25 per year surcharge to have my own car insurance policy be extended to rental cars (but it is only valid within North America I'm pretty sure). And I'm probably wasting $25 there, because I think my credit card covers many of the same things.
-Don
|
|
