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Wild Wild West II

I think this would be one awesome trip, but I do not think we can do it in the time we are talking about. We are looking at a minimum of 28 hours drive time for this trip. That would come out to almost 6 hours driving over a 5 day trip. That does not leave enough time to get out and explore. As much as I would like to do Moab and Arches, it saves a 12 hour roundtrip drive to skip it. I think we should make a choice and focus in on it.

1. Focus on the southwestern portion of Utah and Northern Arizona.

2. Skip the parks in southwestern Utah and keep the Grand Canyon portion very short. Make good time to Moab area and spend a few days exploring Moab, Arches and Canyonlands in centraleastern Utah.

I think option 2 would be more fun at the destination, but option 1 probably gives us better bang for the buck and time.

hq said:
I created a map of the possible destinations:
image_map.gif


1-Las Vegas
2-Hoover Dam
3-Lake Mead
4-Valley of Fire
5-Mesquite, NV
6-St George, UT
7-Zion National Park
8-Bryce Canyon
9-Arches National Park / Moab
10- Grand Canyon National Park
11-Flagstaff, AZ
12-Lake Havasu City, AZ

The total route (all green lines) is about 1,500 miles. ?It could be substantially less if we bypass Moab/Arches and go to the Grand Canyon from Bryce (Saves 500 miles - a full day).

Flagstaff looks like a good stopover, it saves a trip futher south into Phoenix. ?Lake Havasu (London Bridge) or Laughlin, NV is a nice stop for people returning back to California and points further north.
 
WOW!!! :eek: :eek:

You guys have written down some good ideas. I look forward to maybe being able to do this trip ;)

 
This is a revised version of the map with Moab and Arches deleted. ?Total mileage 990 - It is managable in 3 days and a breeze in 4 days.

Stop 9 is now Grand Canyon Village (South Rim), 10 is Flagstaff, AZ, 11 is Lake Havasu, and 12 is Laughlin.

Vegas is a good starting point with cheap and plentiful food and hotels. ?It is also easy to get to from most parts of California, Southern Utah, and for the folks from Arizona.

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JUST A THOUGHT! CUT OUT LAKE MEAD, AND THE HOOVER DAM. DAY ONE. (SAT.) MEET IN VEGAS, AND CRUISE TO ST. GEORGE. (SUN.) DAY TWO ZION. (MON.) DAY THREE, BRYCE,TRAVEL TO ARCHES ON MONDAY AFTERNOON. (TUES.) DAY FOUR ARCHES. (WED.) DAY FIVE TRAVEL TO THE GRAND CANYON NORTH RIM. (THURS.) DAY SIX GRAND CANYON. (FRIDAY). DAY SEVEN TRAVEL DAY. (SAT.) DAY EIGHT HOME. JUST MY THOUGHT. I KNOW, I'M A GLUTTEN FOR PUNISHMENT. I THINK THIS MIGHT BE A GOOD SECONDARY OPTION FOR THOSE WHO MIGHT WANT TO DO ARCHES AND THE GRAND CANYON. I KNOW IT'S A LOT OF DRIVING, BUT IT'S THE MOST BANG FOR THE BUCK. ( ALSO CONSIDERING THIS IS A SAT. TO SUN. WEEK LONG TRIP). JUST FEEDING THE FRENZY. ;D
 
If we committ to a whole week, this will work fine. Just can not do it in 5 days. Only problem is, the North Rim of Grand Canyon is closed most of the winter. Depending on when we go, might have to go down to South Rim. November should be ok, but December or later is cutting it close.

CA_HIKR said:
JUST A THOUGHT! CUT OUT LAKE MEAD, AND THE HOOVER DAM. DAY ONE. (SAT.) ?MEET IN VEGAS, AND CRUISE TO ST. GEORGE. (SUN.) DAY TWO ZION. (MON.) DAY THREE, BRYCE,TRAVEL TO ARCHES ON MONDAY AFTERNOON. (TUES.) DAY FOUR ARCHES. (WED.) DAY FIVE TRAVEL TO THE GRAND CANYON NORTH RIM. (THURS.) DAY SIX GRAND CANYON. (FRIDAY). DAY SEVEN TRAVEL DAY. (SAT.) DAY EIGHT HOME. JUST MY THOUGHT. I KNOW, I'M A GLUTTEN FOR PUNISHMENT. I THINK THIS MIGHT BE A GOOD SECONDARY OPTION FOR THOSE WHO MIGHT WANT TO DO ARCHES AND THE GRAND CANYON. I KNOW IT'S A LOT OF DRIVING, BUT IT'S THE MOST BANG FOR THE BUCK. ( ALSO CONSIDERING THIS IS A SAT. TO SUN. WEEK LONG TRIP). JUST FEEDING THE FRENZY. ;D
 
It might be just me, but I think we ought to try to keep the trip to around & within 5 days...

I'm so glad to see the early interest in this meet. (y)
We've all got a good amount of time to really discuss, plan and organize and make it one outstanding event!

I don't know who said it, but I think OCT. or early NOV 03 would be good time to go...
 
SoCalCindy said:
It might be just me, but I think we ought to try to keep the trip to around & within 5 days...

I'm so glad to see the early interest in this meet. (y)
We've all got a good amount of time to really discuss, plan and organize and make it one outstanding event!

I don't know who said it, but I think OCT. or early NOV 03 would be good time to go...

IF YOU WANT TO KEEP IT TO 5 DAYS, THEN LETS JUST FOCUS ON ZION / BRYCE, AND MAYBY THE GRAND CANYON. THESE PLACES ARE TO GREAT TO NOT SPEND ENOUGH TIME THERE.
 
I think the Southwest loop with Zion, Bryce, and Grand Canyon (North or South Rim) would be the best bet. It will give you the most bang for the buck. Keep in mind that the days get shorter as we go into October, November, etc. Late summer or early fall will give you a lot more daylight hours for sightseeing.
 
Let me weigh in on what's been discussed.
  • We (others, those spoken up already) should definitely plan this as opposed to waiting for Chief. Just because he did last year and had planned to do the Nationals doesn't mean there is precedent. I think he would be glad to see that others are taking on some of the load.
  • I'm not sure I understand the status of the National Meet. Chief says it's off; others say they're still going to meet for a good time anyway. But without the Big Meet that was planned, a Western Regional sounds like a good idea. (Remember (as Lance did), Moab was originally planned for WW03 and ultimately canceled in favor of the national.)
  • Cindy is right--we definitely owe it to the southwesterners to have it more "southern" this time (even though the first Southern Rendezvous was in N.M.).
  • But there's no way I'm driving from Salem to LA, Tehachapi, or Mojave in one day. Bishop, maybe, but that's just crazy. I've decided to Enjoy the Ride, take it leisurely, and my daily limit is 400 miles. Would rather it be 300.
  • For this reason, I suggest keeping the actual "tour days" to 4 (like Wild West '02) so that us northerners can make it there and back on a long weekend on each side of the "tour dates". An arrangement like Chief had for the National Meet with choosable activities (or at least a segmented trip) would allow folks to join late or bail early if they didn't have as much time.
  • Due to the timing of this concept, I hope no one is seriously considering scheduling it for this summer yet. I think we're already out of vacation for the summer. I don't know what kind of conditions you find in Oct/Nov/Dec in these places, but at least it would be cooler. If it's a 3000-mile (counting my round-trip to Oregon) trip at 100F, I'm gonna start joining the Canadian and Alaskan cruises--you desert dwellers can handle that stuff way better than I can!
  • Kevin: Your 3-section wagon trail seems like a good candidate for a Northwest Safari 2004 in the spring!
That's all from me for now.

Brendan
 
You're right. This should head south this year. I would love to cruise down to see the SW again. :) My roasted green chili supply is running low. :(

This year is too tight budget wise for our family to make an extended cruise no matter how much we would like to. I miss the margaritta's at Sadies in Albuquerque.

Maybe next year for the Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta. Now that would really be something to cruise to! You have to plan for that though ~ the hotels sell out 7-9 months in advance.

This year we are staying closer to home and heading north to see our Canadian neighbors.

Have a blast and post lots of photos!
 
You know? ???

I haven't seen anyone from Arizona, Nevada or Utah chime in here... Where are you guys? I know you're out there! Hello?
 
Well here is an Arizona reply. I like the idea we would definetaly be interested in attending. I will make sure a link gets posted on the AZ Chevy Avalanche site AZ Local that links to this thread. So that the rest see it.
 
Check out the new thread with all the final details of the meet.

http://www.chevyavalanchefanclub.com/cafcna/index.php?board=46;action=display;threadid=16447;start=msg264999
 
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