# Utah Trip/ Itenerary?



## shagnut (Jun 21, 2009)

As many of you know Im going to St George in Sept for a week. Because of the fact we booked a cabin on the RIM at the North Rim we can't get this quite together. Will be staying at the new Coral Ridge.

Thurs: Arrive LAS drive to St George 
Fri & Sat  Expore Zion 
Sun? Need to be close enuff to get back to ts
Monrive to N Rim of GC and spend the night /see more of No rim and drive back to ts. Anything to see on way back? 
Tues: Rest up at ts & any suggestions for things near here
Wed : Leave ts & drive to Bryce/spend the night. 
Thurs: still at Bryce Either spend the night or any better suggestions as to where to go (will still need to spend the night somewhere)
Friday Drive back to Vegas as we have to leave early Sat am

Need suggestions of moderate places or little hidden treasures / mom's & pop's , 

OK, now y'all come and screw my mind up as we want to see it all,

TIA  Shaggy


----------



## Idahodude (Jun 21, 2009)

If you like musical theatre, check out http://www.tuacahn.org.  They have a fabulous setting, and the shows are pretty good.


----------



## DaveNV (Jun 21, 2009)

Small world:  We're also in St. George in September.  

Just a few ideas on your plans:  

It's only about a 90 minute drive from Las Vegas to St. George, depending on traffic.

Two full days in Zion is a lot of time, unless you plan to do a fair amount of hiking.  And the park is only about 45 mins from St. George; even closer to Coral Ridge, which is basically in Hurricane, as I recall.  You may find yourself ending that part of the trip early.  If you find yourself at the east entrance, check out the town of Kanab.  It's "Old West Utah" in a good way.

About all there is to see on the way to the North Rim is the scenery along the road.  The town of Jacob Lake is on that route.  (To be fair, I've only done that route once, and I dont remember there being much to see.)

Two days in Bryce is also a lot of time, unless you plan to do some hiking down into the canyon.

After Bryce, time permitting, I'd strongly suggest you drive Highway 12 toward Torrey.  In September the aspens will be in Fall color, and the drive is spectacular.

If you have enough time, maybe tour Capitol Reef National Park, outside Torrey.  It's really pretty there.  Then take the freeway back to St. George.

If anyone in your group is a dinosaur nut, there is a dino tracks exhibt in St. George.  I'm remembering it's off of River Road, but I may be mistaken.  It's a nice way to spend an hour or two.

Looking forward to your report about Coral Ridge.  We'd enjoy staying there next time we go to SG.  We'll be at ORE/Villas at Southgate this time around.

Have fun!

Dave


----------



## Rose Pink (Jun 22, 2009)

Kolob Canyon is part of Zion NP but is just off I-15 north of St. George and south of Cedar City.  The Shakespeare Festival in Cedar will have its fall season in September http://www.bard.org/plays2009.html

If you drive from Cedar City to Bryce (or vice versa) you can stop at Cedar Breaks.  The drive is very pretty.  

Cove Fort is near the junction of I-15 and I-70 and is worth an hour if you are in that area.  It is an historical site run by the LDS church.  Also near that area is a Native American state park. http://www.utah.com/stateparks/fremont.htm

The Parowan Gap petroglyphs are just a few minutes off I-15 just north of Cedar City http://www.utah.com/playgrounds/parowan_gap.htm

This can be alot of driving but if you are interested in history or Native American rock art, it may be worthwhile as these sites are not far off the interstates.


----------



## Rose Pink (Jun 22, 2009)

shagnut said:


> ...Thurs: still at Bryce Either spend the night or any better suggestions as to where to go (will still need to spend the night somewhere)
> Friday Drive back to Vegas as we have to leave early Sat am
> 
> *Need suggestions of moderate places or little hidden treasures / mom's & pop's* ,
> ...


 
Should you opt to spend the night in Cedar City, I would suggest the Big Yellow Inn B&B. Love the place. 
http://www.bigyellowinn.com/ It is only a block away from the theater. Cedar City to Las Vegas is about 2 and half hours.  Stop at Kolob Canyon on your way.


----------



## Werner (Jun 22, 2009)

Angel's Landing Trail at Zion NP will take a morning.  Use the rest of the day for the other stops along the canyon bus route.
Kolob Reservoir Road (2WD gravel road) between Virgin and Cedar City is the scenic way to get to Cedar City.  (The main site for this link is one of the best websites for planning a trip to the US Southwest).
I agree with Rose Pink; Parowan Gap Petroglyphs are stunning.
Cedar Breaks NM is a mini-Bryce, easy access, great views.
Red Canyon, on the way to Bryce, is a beautiful picnic lunch stop.
At the North Rim, of course walk out to Bright Angle Point.  But also take the paved road to Cape Royal and Point Imperial for completely different views of the canyon.  Time it to listen to the Ranger led archeology tour at the Anasazi ruins.  Also try to catch the Geology talk at the Lodge.  Take some of the gravel side roads to other view points, ie, Point Sublime, Marble Point (if they are open)
On the way back to St. George take the route through Northern Arizona rather than Utah and stop at Pipe Springs NM, not a WOW! but interesting.
If you have an extra day at St.  George you might come back to the western Grand Canyon and take the 60 mi. gravel road to Toroweap, the site of the lava flows that dammed the Grand Canyon several times during its history.  We ran out of time on our trip and I regret skipping it.  The total distance from St. George is 113 miles. of which 60 is washboardy gravel. 
Be sure to try a bottle of Polygamy Porter or Evolution Ale while you're in Utah.  Quite good actually.

PS;  I have a Google Earth file of hundreds of Rock Art and Ancient Ruins sites of the Southwest if you are interested.  GE files can easily be converted to Garmin POI files.  I used the Garmin files on our "Rocks and Rock Art" tour of Utah and Northern Arizona last year.


----------



## John Cummings (Jun 22, 2009)

Unless you plan on doing a lot of hiking, 2 days at Zion and 2 days at Bryce are far too much. We spent 3 hours at Bryce and 4 at Zion and that included stopping and taking pictures at every view point and shuttle stop. It also included some short hikes for my wife at Zion and eating lunch at the Zion lodge's restaurant. If it was me staying in St. George, I would drive to Zion early in the morning and do Zion and then continue on to Bryce that afternoon and stay the night at Bryce. I would do Bryce the next morning and then drive back to St. George. The parks are not nearly as crowded in the morning.

We took over 1500 pictures which I have edited down to 740 now. We watched them on our TV yesterday and they were awesome. I will edit them some more so I can post a manageable list for you folks.

The scenic drive at Bryce is 18 miles each way ( it is not a loop ). Definitely drive it yourself as the shuttle does not go to all the scenic view points. The scenic drive at Zion is much shorter and you will have to take the shuttle. There are lots of opportunities for hiking at Zion but really very little at Bryce.

Zion is one hour from St. George and Bryce is another 2 hours past Zion.


----------



## jamstew (Jun 22, 2009)

I feel totally the opposite about Zion--we spent two days there, and it wasn't nearly enough. I do think one day is enough for Bryce since it's best seen, IMO, from the scenic overlooks.


----------



## Werner (Jun 22, 2009)

jamstew said:


> I feel totally the opposite about Zion--we spent two days there, and it wasn't nearly enough. I do think one day is enough for Bryce since it's best seen, IMO, from the scenic overlooks.



I agree, Zion is a remarkable environment and I could easily spend a few days doing some of the shorter trails into different parts of the Canyon.  If you are a more serious hiker, the Narrows Trail that starts at the end of the canyon often shows up as one of the top adventure trails in hiker trail guides.

At Bryce, we did take a short loop trail down into the canyon and it does present an entirely different view of the hoodoos when you are standing next them.  But I agree, one day is enough, even with a short loop hike.


----------



## Werner (Jun 22, 2009)

*Brain Head Ski Area*

Our recent trip to Utah/Az was a road trip, not a TS stay but while I was researching the trip I read where most TUG people that want to tour the Zion/Bryce area using TS most often stay at St. George.  I see lots of summer availability at a Brian Head ski area TS through II and it appears to be far more centrally located than St. George. 

http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&sou...-112.703247&spn=1.423653,1.917114&z=9&iwloc=A

Has anyone ever used Brian Head as a base for touring this area?  I realize that a small local ski area will not have much "resort" to it, but it is near Cedar City and if the purpose of the trip is mostly to sight-see, this TS might work.


----------



## John Cummings (Jun 22, 2009)

jamstew said:


> I feel totally the opposite about Zion--we spent two days there, and it wasn't nearly enough. I do think one day is enough for Bryce since it's best seen, IMO, from the scenic overlooks.



If you reread my post, you will see that I said without doing any hiking. We were there 3 weeks ago. I didn't do any hiking. This is not because I didn't want to. It is because I suffer from AS ( Ankilosing Spondalitus (sp?) ) in my hips that makes it very difficult to walk very much, especially on uneven surfaces. My wife did some of the shorter hikes while I waited for her at the shuttle stop.


----------



## Laurie (Jun 22, 2009)

Shaggy, haven't you eaten bumbleberry pie near Zion??

I don't think 2 days at each park is too much ... loved Cedar Breaks too... and 2 nights at North Rim wouldn't be too much either if you can swing that... 

Another idea for your Thursday after Bryce is to drive scenic byway 12 - see Kodachrome Basin State Park - drive along the Hogback for a bit of adrenalin - we did a 1-day loop way up past Capitol Reef and back to St George thru some really different landscapes, and loved it.

Enjoy!


----------



## shagnut (Jun 22, 2009)

I want to thank everyone for all the help.  I am sure I will have more questions coming up. I have to digest all this and work on my days.  shaggy

Laurie, yes I have had the bumbleberry pie. It was probably 25 yrs ago.  My neighbors have never been so I want to make it super special.  Hugs, shaggy


----------



## Rose Pink (Jun 22, 2009)

Werner said:


> Our recent trip to Utah/Az was a road trip, not a TS stay but while I was researching the trip I read where most TUG people that want to tour the Zion/Bryce area using TS most often stay at St. George. I see lots of summer availability at a Brian Head ski area TS through II and it appears to be far more centrally located than St. George.
> 
> http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&sou...-112.703247&spn=1.423653,1.917114&z=9&iwloc=A
> 
> Has anyone ever used Brian Head as a base for touring this area? I realize that a small local ski area will not have much "resort" to it, but it is near Cedar City and if the purpose of the trip is mostly to sight-see, this TS might work.


 
Brian Head is dead in the summer so if you like quiet it may be a good base.  It advertises itself as a mountain bikers nirvana.  It is on a winding road and so take into account the speed limits are slower for the miles traveled.


----------



## Werner (Jun 23, 2009)

Rose Pink said:


> Brian Head is dead in the summer so if you like quiet it may be a good base.  It advertises itself as a mountain bikers nirvana.  It is on a winding road and so take into account the speed limits are slower for the miles traveled.



Thanks Rose. 

Brian Head might work if you planned to be out touring all day/every day and all you needed was a bedroom and kitchen.   It seems to give you a nice head start (compared to St. George) if you want to explore further east in the Grand Staircase/Escalante National Monument area.  Brian Head wouldn't have worked for us last year because we were working our way east along Rt 12 to Moab (with lots of excursions into the outback) and then south to Page, AZ and back along the North Rim.


----------



## talkamotta (Jun 23, 2009)

The first time I saw Bryce it was a drive through.  3 hours tops.  

The next time it was a family reunion for 4 days.  Did more hiking, camping, visiting, etc.  In order to fully appreciate Bryce you must do at least one hike.  You need to get down into the hoodoos and be surrounded.  I think my favorite was the Navahoo/Peekaboo Combo wasnt very long, took only about 2-3 hours max. There were 30 of us,  my family ranges from my 74 yr old mil to a 7 mo pregnant daughter.  If you arent used to hiking just take your time and take lots of water.

I think its sad when people drive up to a National Park, such as the Grand Canyon, look at it and get back into the car and they think they saw it.  Our National Parks are amazing, we are so lucky. I think they need to be experienced and taken in my thier unique charm.  IMHO


----------



## John Cummings (Jun 23, 2009)

talkamotta said:


> The first time I saw Bryce it was a drive through.  3 hours tops.
> 
> The next time it was a family reunion for 4 days.  Did more hiking, camping, visiting, etc.  In order to fully appreciate Bryce you must do at least one hike.  You need to get down into the hoodoos and be surrounded.  I think my favorite was the Navahoo/Peekaboo Combo wasnt very long, took only about 2-3 hours max. There were 30 of us,  my family ranges from my 74 yr old mil to a 7 mo pregnant daughter.  If you arent used to hiking just take your time and take lots of water.
> 
> I think its sad when people drive up to a National Park, such as the Grand Canyon, look at it and get back into the car and they think they saw it.  Our National Parks are amazing, we are so lucky. I think they need to be experienced and taken in my thier unique charm.  IMHO



Not everybody is physically able to do any hiking such as myself. I would have loved to gone hiking, especially at Zion, but am not able to do so. However, Capital Reef, Hwy 12, Bryce, and Zion were still spectacular sites without doing any hiking.


----------



## Laurie (Jun 23, 2009)

Werner said:


> Has anyone ever used Brian Head as a base for touring this area?  I realize that a small local ski area will not have much "resort" to it, but it is near Cedar City and if the purpose of the trip is mostly to sight-see, this TS might work.


We swung thru Brian Head during our trip, which was during May and HOT in St. George - over 100 degrees most days - but a bit of snow on the ground at Brian Head. The locations looked about equal to us for the ground we wanted to cover, and we took what came up and we had more information on. 

But actually I would probably have preferred being in Brian Head instead of St. George during the hot months, the cooler air was such a relief, and I really loved the scenery - worth the beautiful drives over the winding roads. So personally I'd opt for Brian Head next time, if it were available.


----------



## Werner (Jun 23, 2009)

Laurie said:


> So personally I'd opt for Brian Head next time, if it were available.



Thanks Laurie.  I think we are done with southwest Utah for a while but I do like the Grand Staircase area and we might go back.  There is still a lot of publicly accessible rock art in that area that we haven't seen although we did get to a lot of it last year.  

Once in while, when a TS is centrally located, we can work in a timeshare week while on a touring road trip.  This year we will be staying in park lodges at Yellowstone and Teton NP's but we will then go to the Marriott Mountainside in Park City for a week to tour the Wasatch and Uintah region.  We worked out several day-trip driving tours around Park City that cover much of the scenic mountain areas in Northwest Utah.


----------



## DaveNV (Jun 23, 2009)

Werner said:


> that cover much of the scenic mountain areas in Northwest Utah.



Not sure how close you'll be, but near Vernal, Utah is the Dinosaur National Monument.  One side of the park is next to Vernal, the other side is accessed through Dinosaur, Colorado.  It's a VERY cool place to visit.

Dave


----------



## Werner (Jun 23, 2009)

BMWguynw said:


> Not sure how close you'll be, but near Vernal, Utah is the Dinosaur National Monument.  One side of the park is next to Vernal, the other side is accessed through Dinosaur, Colorado.  It's a VERY cool place to visit.



We've been to Dinosaur National Monument on a prior trip we took when our son was young.  We worked our way north from Phoenix to Bozeman and passed through many of the National Parks along the way.  That was back in the days when you had a reasonable chance of getting a walk-in reservation at the park lodges.  Google Maps says that it's about a 4 hr ride one-way to the West Entrance of the Monument from Park City.  That's a bit much for a day trip.  We will be on the road running just south of the Uinta's toward the Monument but I don't think we'll get that far this trip.


----------



## susieq (Jun 23, 2009)

shagnut said:


> Laurie, yes I have had the bumbleberry pie. It was probably 25 yrs ago.  My neighbors have never been so I want to make it super special.  Hugs, shaggy





Shaggy,

You've got some excellent suggestions there ~ all are great.  Good luck in narrowing down the search!!    The one thing I didn't see mentioned, and I don't know what time you get into Vegas, but Hoover Dam is only about a half an hour south of there.   It is really amazing ~ and we had plenty of time still to drive up to St. George after spending 3 - 4 hours there. (Could've spent a lot longer..........) We got into Vegas around noon.  Just something else to think about.............. Have a great trip!!  (got any extra-big luggage??  )   BTW ~ Bryce was my favorite too....

Sue


----------



## Laurie (Jun 23, 2009)

Werner said:


> Once in while, when a TS is centrally located, we can work in a timeshare week while on a touring road trip.  This year we will be staying in park lodges at Yellowstone and Teton NP's but we will then go to the Marriott Mountainside in Park City for a week to tour the Wasatch and Uintah region.  We worked out several day-trip driving tours around Park City that cover much of the scenic mountain areas in Northwest Utah.


Werner, we're leaving next week for Park City (and then on to Yellowstone and Grand Teton) - would you mind sharing your driving tour itineraries, if you have them written out? Would appreciate any ideas, especially since I've spent more time researching the NP's than the Park City area - thanks!


----------



## Werner (Jun 23, 2009)

Laurie said:


> Werner, we're leaving next week for Park City (and then on to Yellowstone and Grand Teton) - would you mind sharing your driving tour itineraries, if you have them written out? Would appreciate any ideas, especially since I've spent more time researching the NP's than the Park City area - thanks!



Laurie, check your PM

Dave, We are going to stop at Fossil Butte National Monument on the way down to Park City from Jackson.  That's a new park for us.


----------



## shagnut (Jun 24, 2009)

Did a little research on Escalante. Looks like that's a go. Werner, thanks for the info on the area. We are trying to decide when to do that , we want to spend the night there.  shaggy 

Susie, can you send me a link to your pics again.? We won't be stopping at Hoover dam as we both have already been there but thanks for the idea.


----------



## jamstew (Jun 24, 2009)

Werner said:


> Our recent trip to Utah/Az was a road trip, not a TS stay but while I was researching the trip I read where most TUG people that want to tour the Zion/Bryce area using TS most often stay at St. George.  I see lots of summer availability at a Brian Head ski area TS through II and it appears to be far more centrally located than St. George.
> 
> http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&sou...-112.703247&spn=1.423653,1.917114&z=9&iwloc=A
> 
> Has anyone ever used Brian Head as a base for touring this area?  I realize that a small local ski area will not have much "resort" to it, but it is near Cedar City and if the purpose of the trip is mostly to sight-see, this TS might work.



Our trip wasn't timesharing either, but did use a Brian Head exchange as a stopping off point for a couple of nights when we did Zion, Bryce, Arches & Canyonlands. We did arrival night in Vegas, 2 nights at Zion Lodge, 1 in Brian Head, 3 in Moab, back to Brian Head for a night, Vegas & home. It was an awesome trip, and we all had different favorite parks, so I was really glad we did all four. We also stopped at Cedar Breaks but just ran out of time to do anything else. I could spend a month in southern Utah without getting bored. My daughter's two favorite things were the Narrows and Angel's Landing at Zion.


----------



## jamstew (Jun 24, 2009)

John Cummings said:


> If you reread my post, you will see that I said without doing any hiking. We were there 3 weeks ago. I didn't do any hiking. This is not because I didn't want to. It is because I suffer from AS ( Ankilosing Spondalitus (sp?) ) in my hips that makes it very difficult to walk very much, especially on uneven surfaces. My wife did some of the shorter hikes while I waited for her at the shuttle stop.



I didn't do any hiking either except two or three of the really easy trails, but I could still spend several days there without getting bored. I have lots of fond memories of the area from my childhood when we lived in Utah. The Carmel-Mt. Zion Tunnel was one of my _scariest _childhood memories, and I didn't like it any better in middle age


----------



## jamstew (Jun 24, 2009)

Laurie said:


> Shaggy, haven't you eaten bumbleberry pie near Zion??



I have, I have  There also used to be a terrific Chinese restaurant in the same town -- Springdale, isn't it?


----------



## jamstew (Jun 24, 2009)

talkamotta said:


> The first time I saw Bryce it was a drive through.  3 hours tops.
> 
> The next time it was a family reunion for 4 days.  Did more hiking, camping, visiting, etc.  In order to fully appreciate Bryce you must do at least one hike.  You need to get down into the hoodoos and be surrounded.  I think my favorite was the Navahoo/Peekaboo Combo wasnt very long, took only about 2-3 hours max. There were 30 of us,  my family ranges from my 74 yr old mil to a 7 mo pregnant daughter.  If you arent used to hiking just take your time and take lots of water.
> 
> I think its sad when people drive up to a National Park, such as the Grand Canyon, look at it and get back into the car and they think they saw it.  Our National Parks are amazing, we are so lucky. I think they need to be experienced and taken in my thier unique charm.  IMHO



My ex and my daughter also did the Navaho/Peekaboo trail, and they loved it. You just can't beat southern Utah for natural beauty IMO. I'd love to spend a month there, but I doubt even that would be long enough.


----------



## DaveNV (Jun 24, 2009)

jamstew said:


> I could spend a month in southern Utah without getting bored. My daughter's two favorite things were the Narrows and Angel's Landing at Zion.



Sounds great!  Now, add Lake Powell, Antelope Canyon, Monument Valley, and Canyon de Chelly.  There goes another month.  

Dave


----------



## jamstew (Jun 24, 2009)

BMWguynw said:


> Sounds great!  Now, add Lake Powell, Antelope Canyon, Monument Valley, and Canyon de Chelly.  There goes another month.
> 
> Dave



I definitely need to do Canyon de Chelly one of these days before I get too old...hmmm, I think I already am, but it's nice to dream about


----------



## falmouth3 (Jun 24, 2009)

Is Brian Head a TS?  I don't see it in our TUG list.  However, I added it to my request list on SFX so maybe I'll get there on an exchange.

Thanks,
Sue


----------



## Werner (Jun 24, 2009)

shagnut said:


> Did a little research on Escalante. Looks like that's a go. Werner, thanks for the info on the area. We are trying to decide when to do that , we want to spend the night there.  shaggy



Shaggy,  I put my Google Earth file for Southern Utah (and Northern Arizona) on-line.  Right click and "Save target as" to your computer.  If you don't do GE you can view the files in Google Maps by typing or copying *(Not Clicking-on)* the following into the "Search Maps" window at the top of the Google Maps page.  

http://users.gmavt.net/wwgansz/Utah.kmz

It's a little unwieldy in GM but it works.  The file contains placemarks of locations of Points of Interest, most of which contain links to websites with more information on each POI.  It also contains scenic road routes, some of which are gravel 2WD and some are 4WD as well as map overlays for many of the parks and national monuments.  

Some POI's of interest in Grand Staircase - Escalante NM

If you have never walked in a slot canyon, Willis Creek Canyon is pretty cool
Grosvenor Arch
Cottonwood Canyon Road /Narrows
South out of the town of Escalante is one of the more interesting roads in southern Utah, Hole-in-the-Rock Road, 70 miles of washboardy gravel to the spot where the Mormon Pioneers had to widen a natural hole the canyon wall and lower their wagons down to the Colorado River by ropes.  In flower season (May/June) the canyon floor glows with purple sage, prickly pear cactus flowers and many other high desert blooms.  Along the way are rock formations, slot canyons, and a big colorful desert with almost no people.  At the end of the road is a stunning view of Lake Powell from the top of the cliffs.

All this stuff takes time, of course, so if you don't have time to get off the highway, Route 12 is beautiful as far as you want to go.  There is one loop you might research.  You can get a flavor of the outback and still get back to civilization in time for dinner.  I started the loop arbitrarily at the junction of 89 and 9, west of Zion NP.  The route is 180 miles and about 1/4 of it is 2WD gravel (in dry weather).  It takes you past Kodachrome State Park, then takes Cottonwood Canyon Road past Grosvenor Arch and Cottonwood Wash slot canyon.


----------



## Laurie (Jun 24, 2009)

falmouth3 said:


> Is Brian Head a TS?  I don't see it in our TUG list.  However, I added it to my request list on SFX so maybe I'll get there on an exchange.


Sue, Brian Head is a little town, ski-resortish, and the resorts there looked pretty modest - might all be beneath SFX's quality requirements. 

The area is much higher altitude, more alpine than desert - IMO a good choice for the warmer months. They have a scenic lift that goes up to 11,000 feet, if you like that sort of thing.
www.brianhead.com/


----------



## John Cummings (Jun 24, 2009)

shagnut said:


> Did a little research on Escalante. Looks like that's a go. Werner, thanks for the info on the area. We are trying to decide when to do that , we want to spend the night there.  shaggy
> 
> Susie, can you send me a link to your pics again.? We won't be stopping at Hoover dam as we both have already been there but thanks for the idea.



We didn't think there was anything special about Escalante. The spectacular part of Hwy 12 is east of Escalante up to Torrey.


----------



## John Cummings (Jun 24, 2009)

jamstew said:


> I didn't do any hiking either except two or three of the really easy trails, but I could still spend several days there without getting bored. I have lots of fond memories of the area from my childhood when we lived in Utah. The Carmel-Mt. Zion Tunnel was one of my _scariest _childhood memories, and I didn't like it any better in middle age



We liked the tunnel except for the delay waiting for the cars coming the opposite direction to pass. Our schedule worked perfectly for us. I can't imagine spending any longer. It took us 6 days to make the loop from Las Vegas - Cedar City - Torrey - Bryce - Zion - Las Vegas. We spent the night in each place except for Zion where we spent 2 nights. We had leisurely short drives with plenty of time to take it all in and also time to relax everyday.

We took over 1500 pictures between us. We each have our own cameras.


----------



## falmouth3 (Jun 24, 2009)

Laurie said:


> Sue, Brian Head is a little town, ski-resortish, and the resorts there looked pretty modest - might all be beneath SFX's quality requirements.
> 
> The area is much higher altitude, more alpine than desert - IMO a good choice for the warmer months. They have a scenic lift that goes up to 11,000 feet, if you like that sort of thing.
> www.brianhead.com/



Thanks.  I looked up the area on RCI.  The reviews don't sound that great, but we're pretty easy when it comes to accomodations.  We're hardly ever at the hotel/resort when we're on vacation anyway.  We'll see if SFX is able to get it for us.  I also have a request in for St. George.

Sue


----------



## talkamotta (Jun 24, 2009)

John Cummings said:


> Not everybody is physically able to do any hiking such as myself. I would have loved to gone hiking, especially at Zion, but am not able to do so. However, Capital Reef, Hwy 12, Bryce, and Zion were still spectacular sites without doing any hiking.



Sorry John

I didnt mean anything against anyone that is physically unable to hike.  I fell off a roof a couple of years back and I have 12" rods in my back.  I cant do the things I was able to do before but I do as much as I can.  Im very lucky I can walk......

Im thinking about the time I went to the south rim of the Grand Canyon.  Some people will drive up and look out.  But there is wheel chair access and a trail for 2 miles (if I remember correctly). I took that walk where as my grown kids got bored and wanted to go eat.  So they went out of the park and got pizza and I continued to do the walk by myself.   

I was very irritated with my kids that day but they arent the only people that dont take advantage of our wonderful parks. 

My accident made me realize how lucky I had been and to not waste time and my life thinking that I will do "that"  whatever it may be "someday".  The arthritis will probably set in my back in 10 years and I will be lucky to walk.  

When it comes to Bryce...  Many wont get more than 10 feet away from thier car, like I did on my first visit.  Those who are able are missing an experience  of a lifetime.  

Utah is a beautiful state.  Ive lived there my entire life and Im always finding new places.


----------



## DaveNV (Jun 24, 2009)

talkamotta said:


> Im thinking about the time I went to the south rim of the Grand Canyon.  Some people will drive up and look out.




Reminds me of one of the times I was at Canyonlands National Park.  We were at a scenic lookout, standing there admiring all the amazing points of interest in the distance, when a small car loaded with about six people came screeching into the parking area.  Nobody got out.  Someone held a disposable camera up through the sunroof and snapped a picture of the view, more or less.  I heard someone in the car yell, "Hurry up!  We'll be late!" and they roared off down the road.  About fifteen minutes later I saw them roaring back the other way, back toward the park entrance.  I figured they must have stopped at each lookout and snapped a picture.

I've always wondered what their pictures looked like, whether they would mean anything, and how they'd describe their visit to the park.  Just to be able to say they'd been there isn't quite the same as appreciating what it is they were looking at.  

Dave


----------



## Rose Pink (Jun 24, 2009)

Dave, I wonder if that wasn't some sort of scavenger hunt/race.  Your group has to follow the clues to get to an area, prove you were there, and be the first to get back.  Or, it could be like my vacations in our early years of marriage--you ARE going to see and do everything, no matter how tired you are, because you may never get back to that area again.  So, you better have fun, kids, or else! 

I'm older and wiser and tireder now.  I know better.


----------



## susieq (Jun 24, 2009)

shagnut said:


> Susie, can you send me a link to your pics again.? We won't be stopping at Hoover dam as we both have already been there but thanks for the idea.



Shaggy, just sent you a PM.  Tried to cut & paste the links - didn't work to well.  But copy the first link & paste onto your status line - (after the www.) - will direct you to where you want to go! - Sue


----------



## DaveNV (Jun 24, 2009)

Rose Pink said:


> Dave, I wonder if that wasn't some sort of scavenger hunt/race.  Your group has to follow the clues to get to an area, prove you were there, and be the first to get back.  Or, it could be like my vacations in our early years of marriage--you ARE going to see and do everything, no matter how tired you are, because you may never get back to that area again.  So, you better have fun, kids, or else!
> 
> I'm older and wiser and tireder now.  I know better.




I hadn't considered the scavenger hunt idea.  Might have been.  But I didn't see any other cars doing the same kind of thing, so I think it was more likely the "See everything and have fun - or else!" thing.

Either way, it was weird.  

Dave


----------

