The Gipper's Guide to America
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How long do you think it would take to do Yosemite? I get you could spend forever (and trust me, I'd love that but no time) but is a day enough, a week, a month?
How long do you think it would take to do Yosemite? I get you could spend forever (and trust me, I'd love that but no time) but is a day enough, a week, a month?
You can hit the highlights more or less in a day. But if you had two you could get a little more in depth. If you had a week you could cover almost all of Yosemite and Sequoia as well.
When are you going?
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October-ish.
One issue with October....and I know this from personal experience because the two times I have been to Yosemite it was in October. At that time of year the "spigot is turned off". By that I mean, there are wonderful waterfalls in Yosemite. But toward the end of summer and into fall the streams that feed these waterfalls dry up because of lack of precipitation. Upper and Lower Yosemite Falls...nothing. Bridal Veil Falls is just a trickle. Don't get me wrong, the scenery is still spectacular...its just that the waterfalls are dormant. When I go back there sometimes I would hope to go earlier in the summer or in spring.
Cysco is going in May? That should be a good time for full waterfall action. October, nyet.
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Hmmmm, interesting point gip, I hadn't considered that, thanks.
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Speaking for myself Chris, I'm guessing it would take at least 10 days.
http://m.yelp.com/search?cflt=breweries&find_loc=YOSEMITE+NATIONAL+PARK%2C+CA+95389
WSS
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What a trip fellas. Highly recommended. I've spent the last two weeks in Northern California. Armstrong Redwoods state Park, Goat Rock beach, Point Reyes national Seashore and Today and the rest of the week I spent (will be spending) at Yosemite. A killer drive to be sure, but so f'ng worth it. I'm going to need a vacation from vacation.
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I managed to get a day trip to San Francisco in there too, wearing Cavs gear of course.
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The Waterfalls are fully waterfall-y right now.
This shit ain't nothing to me, man. -
Very cool.
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The Waterfalls are fully waterfall-y right now.
The Waterfalls are fully waterfall-y right now.
Good to know. Have a great time.
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The upshot of all the questions is, the good lady and I will be doing a trip around the grand canyon, zion, arches, bryce canyon, monument valley, and the antelope one. Probably flying in to Phoenix since direct flights aren't so crazy - £700 compared to closer to £900 for Vegas and Salt Lake City.
If people have any recommendations - whether it's visiting other places in the area, or a way to get more out of those, it would be greatly appreciated. I think we're likely going to be winging it in terms of accommodation, so we will be booking maybe a couple of days ahead so we can be more flexible. Are they plenty of places to stay, and will we be ok not booking far in advance?
I've not been to the US since I was 7, so in terms of planning things, and things that I might not anticipate, I'm at a bit of a loss!
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Also, we'll obviously be picking up a car - any recommendations on what company to use? I'd love to get a real beastly convertible muscle car, but might have to settle for something more budget-friendly. Top down might be nice though...
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The upshot of all the questions is, the good lady and I will be doing a trip around the grand canyon, zion, arches, bryce canyon, monument valley, and the antelope one. Probably flying in to Phoenix since direct flights aren't so crazy - £700 compared to closer to £900 for Vegas and Salt Lake City.
If people have any recommendations - whether it's visiting other places in the area, or a way to get more out of those, it would be greatly appreciated. I think we're likely going to be winging it in terms of accommodation, so we will be booking maybe a couple of days ahead so we can be more flexible. Are they plenty of places to stay, and will we be ok not booking far in advance?
I've not been to the US since I was 7, so in terms of planning things, and things that I might not anticipate, I'm at a bit of a loss!
The upshot of all the questions is, the good lady and I will be doing a trip around the grand canyon, zion, arches, bryce canyon, monument valley, and the antelope one. Probably flying in to Phoenix since direct flights aren't so crazy - £700 compared to closer to £900 for Vegas and Salt Lake City.
If people have any recommendations - whether it's visiting other places in the area, or a way to get more out of those, it would be greatly appreciated. I think we're likely going to be winging it in terms of accommodation, so we will be booking maybe a couple of days ahead so we can be more flexible. Are they plenty of places to stay, and will we be ok not booking far in advance?
I've not been to the US since I was 7, so in terms of planning things, and things that I might not anticipate, I'm at a bit of a loss!
When is this trip to take place? If you are coming in this summer, know that in Arizona and southern Utah it will be hot, hot, hot. So prepare for that. Also....if it is in summer, you may find it necessary to pre-book some of your hotels. But in and around that area there are a lot of fairly inexpensive motels that you can find just on your day of travel. Just "winging it would probably work Ok. in towns like Mexican Hat, Panquitch, Page, Tropic, Mt. Carmel, etc.
As for things to see/do...you are definitely hitting some of the major spots. However, a few others you have to consider:
A. For your first and foremost stop coming out of Phoenix and before you go further you must go to Sedona Arizona. It is every bit of a highlight to go there as any other place you will go. Many, many people may say that it is the most beautiful setting for a town in America. And I would probably be one of those. So, you MUST go there. The one booklet with scenery that I have in my waiting room is a book on Sedona.
A few other places in Northern Arizona/Southern Utah to consider that you have not mentioned:
B. The Meteor Crater just outside of Winslow . The "finest" example of a Meteor Crater in the world perhaps. If you remember the movie Starman with Jeff Bridges and Karen Allen, the ending was filmed here. And you can stand on a corner in Winlsow Arizona if you would like.
C. If you are heading up to eastern Ariz, there is the Petrified Forest and Canyon DeChelly (pronounced "de-shay).
D. Sunset Crater is a example of an almost perfect cindercone volcano.
E. At Page Ariz. see the Glen Canyon Dam and Lake Powell. If time, take a boat tour to see the Rainbow Arch.
F. If you are going to Arches, then you will also want to go to Canyonlands Nat. Park
G. If you can hit Goblin Valley State Park, it would be well worth your time
H. Also coming back southwest you will want to go to Capitol Reef NP. From there take the Escalante Highway (rt. 12) through the Grand Staircase/Escalante. This will let you out at Bryce Canyon.
I. In between Bryce and Zion you may want to stop at Cedar Breaks National Monument, and the Coral Pink Sand Dunes state park.
I hope you have about two weeks for all this. Let me know if you need any other info.
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We have about two weeks, and will be going mid to late september, possibly in to october. Weather should have calmed down a bit by then hopefully, but I'll probably still burn to a crisp.
Thanks for the list, plenty to research!
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BTW, I'd love to hit a football game but it seems a bit of a dry spot. Anything I might have missed? UNLV maybe the best bet if flying in to there, or Phoenix or Utah.
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We have about two weeks, and will be going mid to late september, possibly in to october. Weather should have calmed down a bit by then hopefully, but I'll probably still burn to a crisp.
Thanks for the list, plenty to research!
We have about two weeks, and will be going mid to late september, possibly in to october. Weather should have calmed down a bit by then hopefully, but I'll probably still burn to a crisp.
Thanks for the list, plenty to research!
Two weeks is good...you should be able to get everything in in two weeks. And Sept/Oct. is good. Offseason but better somewhat cooler weather. And you should have no problems with finding motels. I have been in and around that area 3-4 times in fall and summer and you really shouldn't have a problem even if you wing it.
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BTW, I'd love to hit a football game but it seems a bit of a dry spot. Anything I might have missed? UNLV maybe the best bet if flying in to there, or Phoenix or Utah.
BTW, I'd love to hit a football game but it seems a bit of a dry spot. Anything I might have missed? UNLV maybe the best bet if flying in to there, or Phoenix or Utah.
If you want NFL, then Phoenix is really your only option out there. Here is the Cards home schedule for Sept/Oct:
9/11 Pats
9/18 Bucs
10/2 Rams
1017 Jets
10/23 Seahawks.
I have no doubt that you can wriggle some tickets for that...and that is really your most convenient place to see a game if you are flying into Phoenix.
As for College games. Forget UNLV. As someone said before, lousy stadium, lousy team. Again, if you are in Phoenix, an Arizona State Game would be a better option. Better team, more atmosphere. Plus, a couple of Super Bowls were played in Sun Devil Stadium before the dome was built out there.
AZ St. Schedule for Sept/Oct:
9/10 Texas Tech
9/24 Cal Bears
10/8 UCLA
10/22 Washington St.
The middle two are the good games.
If you are going to go up to Salt Lake, then that area has BYU in Provo, and Utah in SLC
BYU:
9/17 UCLA
9/30 Toledo
10/12 Mississippi St.
Utah:
9/10 BYU....you can see the battle of the Mormons
9/23 USC
10/8 Arizona
10/29 Washington
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Also, we'll obviously be picking up a car - any recommendations on what company to use? I'd love to get a real beastly convertible muscle car, but might have to settle for something more budget-friendly. Top down might be nice though...
Also, we'll obviously be picking up a car - any recommendations on what company to use? I'd love to get a real beastly convertible muscle car, but might have to settle for something more budget-friendly. Top down might be nice though...
Actually the last time I had to rent a car I went with Hertz and found them to be very reasonable and very easy to get along with. One always thinks that the off-brand rental companies might give you a better deal but that wasn't the case and the service was outstanding.
WSS
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Yeah I think in some cases the bigger companies are probably just a better bet all around. When it comes to things like hotels, perhaps a smaller place with a more personal touch is better, but essentially a car is car, whether it's provided by Hertz or Mom-and-Pop-rent-a-car, it's made by ford or chevy, and knowing that they have access to plenty of spares is pretty useful.
I'll probably stick to the bigger brands. Hertz, Alamo, Enterprise - any others to look at? I've seen names like 'dollar rent a car' and 'thrifty' and thought they might be worth avoiding.
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Yeah I think in some cases the bigger companies are probably just a better bet all around. When it comes to things like hotels, perhaps a smaller place with a more personal touch is better, but essentially a car is car, whether it's provided by Hertz or Mom-and-Pop-rent-a-car, it's made by ford or chevy, and knowing that they have access to plenty of spares is pretty useful.
I'll probably stick to the bigger brands. Hertz, Alamo, Enterprise - any others to look at? I've seen names like 'dollar rent a car' and 'thrifty' and thought they might be worth avoiding.
Yeah I think in some cases the bigger companies are probably just a better bet all around. When it comes to things like hotels, perhaps a smaller place with a more personal touch is better, but essentially a car is car, whether it's provided by Hertz or Mom-and-Pop-rent-a-car, it's made by ford or chevy, and knowing that they have access to plenty of spares is pretty useful.
I'll probably stick to the bigger brands. Hertz, Alamo, Enterprise - any others to look at? I've seen names like 'dollar rent a car' and 'thrifty' and thought they might be worth avoiding.
Dollar and Thrifty are big names also in renting. I don't know if you have the equivalent of a AAA membership (American Automobile Association...there is also a CAA...Canada)....but most rental cars will charge an extra daily fee for an additional driver (no legitimate reason to do so...just a money grab).....but with Hertz and both members are AAA, they waive that extra fee.
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