Finally - we are doing some traveling in the US. Almost the same time zone, flights less than 7 hours, no language problems, no pictures of strange famous people on the money and no mind boggling exchange rates to figure out. Have you ever noticed that it is so much easier to spend money from other countries. Is it real? 'Their' money is usually very colorful, sort of like a cartoon or monopoly money.
Itinerary
Day 1 - flights to Bozeman Montana
We planned on having a late lunch at John Bozeman's Bistro which was recommended by Bob G and his brothers who used to fish in this area before then the Yellowstone Park big 1988 fires.
We had no problems with flights or luggage - we flew United Airlines a rarity for us living in the land of the Delta/Atlanta hub. Delta definitely wins when comparing seats, service and bathrooms, but United won with their waffle cookie. Tracy, our Vantage guide, was waiting patiently at the beautiful and very quiet and civilized Bozeman Airport with our room keys and instructions for the day.
Day 2 & 3- Yellowstone- Wyoming
Mammoth Hot Springs, the Brink of the Falls where the river plunges 300 feet into Yellowstone Canyon, and Dragon Mouth Springs. Firehole Canyon, Fountain Paint Pots, and Middle Geyser Basin. The highlight, of course, is Old Faithful.
Wow Again - I said the same thing for the man-made Taj Mahal. Now it is oft repeated for many nature-made wonders. (And thankfully preserved by the NPS) It was a spectacular day with lots of sights and good weather. Left Bozeman at 8 and started the drive across the Wyoming border to Yellowstone. Most of time was spent on the bus but we had many photo-ops and bathroom stops. Mammoth Hot Springs gave us some needed movement and exercise.
At the Old Faithful Lodge, we had a yummy Bison burger and a huckleberry Sunday for desert, then a very wet and chilly walk back to our Snow Lodge room. Marcia is braving the cold and rain to see the 2:45 Old Faithful eruption, the rest of us are drying our pants.
Day 4 - Jackson Hole, Wyoming
Lewis Canyon, Grand Teton National Park, Mt. Moran Lookout and Jenny Lake Loop.
Left early in the morning for our bus ride to Jackson Hole, Wyoming. Of course we made a couple of stops on the way. First one, in the rain, was West Thumb Geyser Basin.
This spot was on the edge of the lake where Indians used to fish and then hang their catch into the hot hole to cook it. First fast food ?
We had a great dinner at a restaurant that Margie's son recommend -Bubbas Bar-B-Q. Delicious but very messy ribs. Bubba's was a hangout for the locals - very interesting for people watching - lots of fringe.
Day 9 and 10 -Grand Canyon, Arizona
We topped off the evening with another beautiful sunset and then a very leisurely dinner in El Tovar.
Day 11 and 12 Bryce Canyon, Utah
Rainbow Point, Fairyland, and Natural Bridge in Bryce Canyon National Park
Early start to the day - breakfast at the Grand Canyon was impossible to get this morning. The line was too long, but which was no big sacrifice because it was a duplicate of yesterday's very lukewarm "school cafeteria-like" fare.
This "salt and pepper shaker" stop gave us a preview of what Bryce national Park would provide us in scenery. The hills and high altitude of almost 9000 ft gave this "sea level / flat lander a huffing hard time but I doubt I have ever slept as well as the two nights in their rustic lodge. The rich colors of the hills changed hourly with the sun and the shapes the wind and rain had produced over the centuries were very unique.
Our group photo of the day and if you haven't figured it out - we sort of color coordinated our days - royal blue, purple, red and pink.
I'm a visual person (hence I favor Apple/Mac OS) and love maps - behold our trip map. Please note we start in Bozeman and don't get to go to Glacier National Park or Great Falls. For you 'list' people (Windows.....) below is our itinerary.
Itinerary
Day 1 - flights to Bozeman Montana
We planned on having a late lunch at John Bozeman's Bistro which was recommended by Bob G and his brothers who used to fish in this area before then the Yellowstone Park big 1988 fires.
We had no problems with flights or luggage - we flew United Airlines a rarity for us living in the land of the Delta/Atlanta hub. Delta definitely wins when comparing seats, service and bathrooms, but United won with their waffle cookie. Tracy, our Vantage guide, was waiting patiently at the beautiful and very quiet and civilized Bozeman Airport with our room keys and instructions for the day.
The Hilton room is wonderful and so much better than last nights tiled floor Red Roof Inn. We caught the local free Streamline bus into the town and had a wonderful lunch at John Bozeman's Bistro followed with a lot of needed walking and unnecessary (but we still did it) shopping.
Day 2 & 3- Yellowstone- Wyoming
Mammoth Hot Springs, the Brink of the Falls where the river plunges 300 feet into Yellowstone Canyon, and Dragon Mouth Springs. Firehole Canyon, Fountain Paint Pots, and Middle Geyser Basin. The highlight, of course, is Old Faithful.
Wow Again - I said the same thing for the man-made Taj Mahal. Now it is oft repeated for many nature-made wonders. (And thankfully preserved by the NPS) It was a spectacular day with lots of sights and good weather. Left Bozeman at 8 and started the drive across the Wyoming border to Yellowstone. Most of time was spent on the bus but we had many photo-ops and bathroom stops. Mammoth Hot Springs gave us some needed movement and exercise.
Day 3
We supposedly we're going on a short bus ride to see the rest of the sites in the area around old faithful. We got caught in Yellowstone's version of a hurricane evacuation-like traffic jam caused by a bison herd in the road - not weather.
After a hour or more delay we finally got to the Fountain Paint Pot area. Lots of colors and contrast with the stormy weather that was in our future.
At the Old Faithful Lodge, we had a yummy Bison burger and a huckleberry Sunday for desert, then a very wet and chilly walk back to our Snow Lodge room. Marcia is braving the cold and rain to see the 2:45 Old Faithful eruption, the rest of us are drying our pants.
We finished our afternoon with a guided tour of Old Faithful Lodge. The speaker was so informative and had a great 'teaching' voice. One of the neat antidotes was about the bent wood that was harvested for the lodge. The tree lived thru some a stress that caused the bent deformity.
We topped off the afternoon with another Old Faithful eruption! Cocktail time!
Lewis Canyon, Grand Teton National Park, Mt. Moran Lookout and Jenny Lake Loop.
Left early in the morning for our bus ride to Jackson Hole, Wyoming. Of course we made a couple of stops on the way. First one, in the rain, was West Thumb Geyser Basin.
Showing our colors !
Lunch at the famous Jackson Lodge with one of our first rain free views of the Grand Tetons.
After a few more stops we arrived into Jackson Hole around 4. We threw our bags into the room and jumped onto their free bus into town. We took the obligatory photo in front of the arches made out of elk horns. ( The Boy Scouts were having their annual sale of horns that weekend in which they made $20,000 last year - wish we could have caught that event.)
Day 5 and; 6- Salt Lake City, Utah
Mormon Tabernacle Choir, and Temple Square
Salt Lake City is not really a national park, but we learned a lot about the Morman faith, heard the choir and made the use of their Family Search Center. My favorite part was seeing Ally's (my current convention center boss) Salt Palace CC where she worked as their manager and eating a meal with Steve, her very handsome and interesting son. He provided us with lots of answers to our Mormon questions that we were too embarrassed to ask the missionary Mormon girls. It was interesting to hear about Steve, being non - Mormon, living in a Mormon community. Salt Lake has some strange alcohol regulations - like you can't have another drink brought to your table until you finish your current drink.
Mormon Tabernacle Choir, and Temple Square
Salt Lake City is not really a national park, but we learned a lot about the Morman faith, heard the choir and made the use of their Family Search Center. My favorite part was seeing Ally's (my current convention center boss) Salt Palace CC where she worked as their manager and eating a meal with Steve, her very handsome and interesting son. He provided us with lots of answers to our Mormon questions that we were too embarrassed to ask the missionary Mormon girls. It was interesting to hear about Steve, being non - Mormon, living in a Mormon community. Salt Lake has some strange alcohol regulations - like you can't have another drink brought to your table until you finish your current drink.
Day 7 Moab Utah
Red Rock country
Kate Galland, Paula's sister-in-law, joined our group in her RV Cat Carrier. She messed up most of our group photos because she didn't follow Paula's color coordinating mandate but it was great having her with us for a few days.
Day 8 -Monument Valley, Arizona
Arches National Park - Balanced Rock and Parade of Elephants Arch. Monument Valley
It was a purple day today in front of Balanced rock.
Surprising bits of color in such a desert environment.
Day 8 -Monument Valley, Arizona
Arches National Park - Balanced Rock and Parade of Elephants Arch. Monument Valley
Started out the day with a visit to an Indian Hogan. It was beautiful as well as very functional in this climate of extremes. Only wasteful thing was that when someone died they used the whole structure as the coffin.
Day 9 and 10 -Grand Canyon, Arizona
A flight over the Grand Canyon was one of the highlights today. The rest of our highlights included walking the rim and listening to a NPS ranger geology lecture overlooking the rim. I took way too many photos - it was because my brain kept telling me I could capture it in a photo but Mother Nature proved again and again that it was impossible.
Day 11 and 12 Bryce Canyon, Utah
Rainbow Point, Fairyland, and Natural Bridge in Bryce Canyon National Park
Early start to the day - breakfast at the Grand Canyon was impossible to get this morning. The line was too long, but which was no big sacrifice because it was a duplicate of yesterday's very lukewarm "school cafeteria-like" fare.
First stop was Glen Canyon Dam and then a very bland no-frill lunch at a beautiful park restaurant whose appearance gave the impression that the food would have a lot of frills. I have to confess the desert made up for the lack of flavor of the meal.
My favorite photo of the canyon
Breakfast was good in the lodge but dinner was impossible to get in without a long wait so both times we went to the local pizza joint. The last night we had extras with us - Kate and her friend Cindy, Bart our group daredevil and "photo stager" as well as our great bus driver Ryan. We were later told that our teacher voices carried quite a distance in the quiet park. Oops - It might have been the beer and wine.
One last cold and very early sunrise photo before our bus pulled out for our last national park.
Day 13-15 Zion Canyon and Las Vegas, Nevada
Left Bryce Canyon and headed towards Las Vegas by way of Zion National Park. They are noted for their "checkerboard mountains" and mountain goats. We saw both.
Thankfully, it was finally getting warm.We took a one last high altitude/hilly walk to a sets of falls and "emerald pools" which some of us made and a few others quit a short distance from the destination. We had lunch in the park's lodge and arrived in hot ( as in temperature) Las Vegas by 4 ish. We had a group farewell dinner then off to our first show.
Our last day in Las Vegas, we had a leisurely start - breakfast buffet, then lots of walking up and down the strip. Our iWatches clocked us doing anywhere between 7 to 9 miles depending on whose you looked at. (I preferred mine - it said 9 miles)
We showered, dressed and took taxis to our last show - Terry Fator, the guy that won Americas got Talent in 2007. Hilarious!! Next day we left early for the airport and had a nice brunch in the airport.
TSA got us thru quickly. After a couple of bumpy but on time flights, we arrived home at 1:30 am.
This Vantage trip was physically challenging because of the high altitude and hills - hard to pack for because of the extreme weather differences - a pain in the butt because of the packing and repacking due to the different locations - frustrating because of lack of cell service or reliable internet - BUT so worth it because of the NPS scenery. Many kudos to Tracy, our Vantage guide, with her bus seat rotation chart, leftside/rightside debarking, and her commentary which made the trip efficient, informative and pleasant.
This Vantage trip was physically challenging because of the high altitude and hills - hard to pack for because of the extreme weather differences - a pain in the butt because of the packing and repacking due to the different locations - frustrating because of lack of cell service or reliable internet - BUT so worth it because of the NPS scenery. Many kudos to Tracy, our Vantage guide, with her bus seat rotation chart, leftside/rightside debarking, and her commentary which made the trip efficient, informative and pleasant.
