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Yellowstone. Grand Canyon. Anyone done these?


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Three years ago we did a 2 month trip out west. We started in CO at Mesa Verde NP, went to UT where we hit Arches NP, Zion NP, Bryce Canyon NP, Monument Valley, north rim on the Grand Canyon, then up to Yellowstone NP where we spent 2 weeks. On the way home we stopped at Custer SP in SD. It's a trip we'll never forget. 

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We didn't camp, but we did spend a week in Sedona, AZ and made a day trip to the Grand Canyon. Both the red rocks and GC are amazing. 

 

I had this weird sensation while looking at the GC that my eyes couldn't believe it was real. I don't know how to explain it. 

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We didn't camp, but we did spend a week in Sedona, AZ and made a day trip to the Grand Canyon. Both the red rocks and GC are amazing.

I had this weird sensation while looking at the GC that my eyes couldn't believe it was real. I don't know how to explain it.

It is so big. Sil kept saying it looks like a painting.

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Thanks Jason.  Will re-read this soon.  BTW went to last page #21 to read last post, here it is.

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Posted 31 March 2013 - 09:19 PM

Lou......., on 31 Mar 2013 - 7:08 PM, said:snapback.png

What did that take 5 minutes?

Come on Jason, you can do better than that. How about my dog ate my TR?

 

 

LOL ok you got me. I was acutally having a problem with getting the date order on photobucket and I kept locking up trying to get to where I left off since it not uploaded in a very organized way. Believe me a lot of people harassed me this weekend about not finishing. It will be worked on once I write up Gettysburg. Or my wife promised she would nag me...

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Jason, finish it already :rofl2:

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  • 2 weeks later...

Just got back a few weeks ago from a trip from Florida to the Grand Canyon, Arches National Park, and Canyonlands National Park.  It was a great trip.  It was our third trip to the canyon (2 times south rim and once north rim) and second time to Arches.  All stops were fanatastic and are not to be missed. 

 

Wrote a short trip report and added links to more pictures here:

 

http://www.fortfiends.net/forum/topic/13874-florida-to-arizona-and-utah/

 

Do yourself a favor and make reservations to stay at Trailer Village inside the Grand Canyon National Park (assuming you're taking a camper).

 

We've been to Yellowstone about 12 years ago, but stayed in the Old Faithful Inn.  It was also a great place to go.

 

There are so many parks to see between Grand Canyon and Yellowstone, you may want to think about breaking it into two or more trips.  Around the Grand Canyon you could see (in addition to the Canyon), Petriefied Forest National Park, Walnut Creek Canyon, Meteor Crater, Meesa Verde National Park in Colorado, Arches and Canyonlands National Parks in Moab, UT, Bryce and Zion National Parks (a bit longer drive, but still a lot closer than Yellowstone), Durango/Silverton Railroad in Colorado, and a lot more. 

 

Around Yellowstone, you could see Grand Tetons National Park, Mt Rushmore, Crazy Horse Memorial, Devils Tower, Badlands national Park, Custer State Park, Fort Laramie, and a lot more.

 

Plenty to see and do in that area of the country.

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There's also Canyon de Chelly in Chinle, AZ on the Navajo Indian Reservation.  I lived there a couple of years and there's a lot of history there, as you could imagine. You could hit Monument Valley and the 4 corners on your way up to Durango from there.

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There's also Canyon de Chelly in Chinle, AZ on the Navajo Indian Reservation.  I lived there a couple of years and there's a lot of history there, as you could imagine. You could hit Monument Valley and the 4 corners on your way up to Durango from there.

 

Forgot about Canyon de Chelly.  When we drove from the Grand Canyon to Moab, UT last month. we drove through Monument Valley.  That is amazing.

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Monument Valley is amazing!  It never got old - no matter how many time I visited that area.  The Four Corners area is very much a tourist trap, when I was there 20 years ago.  That may have changed since then but how often can you go somewhere and stand in one spot and say you are standing in four state at one time?

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I was talking about traveling solo and coordinating runs and tourism using a RV ... Now I don't see a way that can happen. It would have been difficult setting up and breaking down before I broke my foot - in a wheelchair by my self, it just can't happen.

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We've been to the Grand Canyon several times, heck we even camped there for our honeymoon. We took the kids on a camping trip about 6 years ago when we still lived out west. We have not made it to Yellowstone yet, funny thing though is that our oldest son moved out west for school in the fall and went his second weekend there. We are hoping to make the drive out in a few years. I absolutely love going out west. Last summer we drove from Ohio to Washington then onto Oregon, then down to Idaho and Utah and then home. It was a trip of a lifetime. We had planned on doing Yellowstone on that trip but even with two weeks we just didn't have enough time.  

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I agree that you should break up the vacations as there is just to much to see in one trip.  We did the Grand Canyon, Sedona, Oak Creek Canyon and Flagstaff and it took two weeks not counting travel time to get there.  Our best trip was to the Grand Tetons, and Yellowstone.  We went in early June and all the Bears had just come out of hibernation and looking for food.  The Tettons and Jackson Wyoming plus a side trip to Cody took us away from home for almost 3 months.  The thing about the Grand Canyon is that you can't just go and look at it.  You need to stop and experience the sunset from the east entrance.

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  • 2 months later...

And don't forget the rain storms that roll across the canyon.  That is cool.  We've done these many times.  When you are in Yellowstone watch for people with the big telescopes.  They are wolf and grizzly watchers.  Stop and go over by these folks. Talk to them and ask if you can take a look.  They are all very friendly and almost seem to enjoy letting folks see what they have found.  

 

Also did the Grand Tetons a lot less populated there.  They offer dinner horse rides which are kind of fun and something different to do.  We did one and enjoyed it.  South of the Tetons is Jackson Hole.  Its a pretty cool town.  The park has elk antlers as an archway into it.  

 

Grand Canyon - we were going to do the trail on the mules.  Dh decided we needed to go in and find out more.  WELL... when they told us the mules were trained to walk on the edge (you know with half their big belly hanging over) I was like-NOPE I'M GOOD!  lol

 

it is beautiful out there.  We have gone out there in tents and campers and never had resies.  But, that's just how we roll.  But, it's easier to take that chance with a tent-truck camper or smaller mh.  We've always gotten a site somewhere in the park.  The key is to get a site in the morning-mark it and then go enjoy your day.  If you wait until afternoon they fill up fast.

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I did the GC and Mt Rushmore years ago in a '75 Class C 18 foot MH while on a business trip for the USAF.  A fire at the Canyon forced us back to Williams for the night, and the wind battered the MH all night...sorta rocked us to a nervous sleep.  At Mt Rushmore we blew an exhaust manifold and had to get that replaced in Rapid City before we could start for home.  And a rare tornado threat scared us at a motel in Rapid City.

 

Seems like somewhere during all this we saw the Canyon and the faces at Mt Rushmore.

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