and on we go.....

09.06.16

Left Brigham City and drove to Jackson, Wyoming through Idaho.
Drove through 3 National Forests Cache, Caribou and Bridger - they all looked spectacular

and yes the middle photo is of toilets - surely the most scenic toilets in the world?

Arrived for the night in Jackson - a town which very much plays on it's wild west/ cowboy connections but I liked it..

Next stop will be Yellowstone National Park.

I thought I'd share some of my road trip tips with you in case you decide to follow our footsteps (tread marks)

• Have a couple of re-fillable water bottles - the wide necked ones. Fill them up with ice each morning (all hotels have ice machines) and you'll have cool water all morning. You can also fill them up throughout the day at various places (Subways, McD and most cafes have free water/ice).
• Pack a sarong. Uses for the sarong on this trip have included - acting as a window blind to keep the sun off me, carrying the washing from the laundry (yes we had to do laundry!), acting as a sheet when the room was too hot, scrunched up as a cushion under the seat belt where it was rubbing on my shoulder, drying my feet after paddling, covering the cases in the boot of the car for security etc etc etc...ironically the only thing I haven't done is wear it!
• Also pack a bandanna then if you've got a fridge in your room (and I'd recommend booking hotels with this facility) then wet the bandanna and put it in the fridge overnight in a seal-able plastic bag; in the morning add some ice (make sure that bag is well sealed!!) and keep in the back of the car. After walking through the heat with the sun on your neck there is nothing better than an ice cold cloth to wipe your face/head/neck/ anything else you fancy with.
• If you've got a car and are stopping in lots of hotels for 1 night only it's useful to have a hold-all with a few days clothes in it. then you only have to take that out of the car each night, and not all the other baggage. You just have to do a clothes swap every few days.

useful hey!

Arches, shopping and sights along the way....

07.06.16

We left Bluff and drove to Price via Arches National Park

08.06.16 

We weren't expecting to see any National Parks today on our drive from Price to Brigham City (just outside Salt Lake City). We decided to bimble along and see what the fates brought - and they brought us .........the US equivilant of B&Q!

Although I haven't seen a B&Q in such a fabulous setting back home.

At a stop at a road side Rest Area (which put our service stations to shame!)

we found local information for attractions in the Utah Valley area. From this we followed directions to Bridal Veil Falls - spectacular - and the perfect opportunity to cool off as it's 90 -100 degrees at the moment!

So road trip tips for the heat:-

In Iceland it was minus 14 degrees - here it's been 114 degrees. Same things apply though....

• It's perfectly acceptable to sight see from a car (either to stay warm or cool)
• Always use the facilities at petrol/ gas stations when you come across them. Fill up your car and empty yourself! We always agree to give the hire car back with a full tank of fuel anyway so that's not a problem. It saves the worry about running out of fuel. As to personal comfort - surely you don't need me to explain that!
• Be flexible - take advice from the locals and you may just come across something spectacular or save yourself from wasting time.

Next update will include some big scenery shots as we leave Utah and head into Wyoming via Idiho

Photo journal of National Parks - Part 2

06-06-16

Started the day with a visit to the Glen Canyon Dam (not quite a National Park but we thought it was interesting)

Then - in total contrast- we drove through Monument Valley which was as amazing as I thought (and hoped) it was going to be.

We ended the day in Bluff, Utah the third state so far, the others being Nevada and Arizona. 

The biggest problem is following the different time zones

Top Tip - I've kept my watch on one time zone and the car clock on another. Whenever we arrive somewhere we ask what time it is and then decide to use watch time or clock time. In case you are thinking we might be being a little bit dense about time here's the Lonely Planet guide to Time Zones in the West

"MST and PST cover the 11 states in this guide. Daylight savings time pushes the clock ahead an hour. Arizona does not observe daylight saving time, so during that period it's one hour behind other SW states. The Navajo Reservation, which lies in Arizona and Utah, does use daylight saving time. The Hopi reservation, which is surrounded by the Navajo reservation in Arizona, follows the rest of Arizona"

The watch and clock idea makes sense now doesn't it??

Photo guide to our National parks road trip Part 1

Since the whole point of the first 2 weeks of this month long trip to the USA was to see as many National Parks as possible - that's what we've done.

Here's the photo evidence to prove it!

05-06-16

Zion National Park

Bryce Canyon

Dixie National Forest

We ended the day at Lake Powell

and that was all in just one day!

Zion National Park 4.6.2016

Today we left Las Vegas and drove the 180 miles to Zion. 

We took a taxi from the hotel to the car rental centre and were on our way in less than 30 minutes. (TIP - Don't bother with hotel shuttles in Vegas, a taxi from the airport was $20 and to the car rental base $15 - the group shuttle buses are about $11 each, each way ,and call in at any number of hotels before they may get to yours.)

We have an annual Vehicle Hire Insurance policy so don't have to worry about any of the "extras" the car rental firms try to sell you and we'd brought our own sat nav too (so organised). Little bonus was that there is a sat nav in the car already (so now we've got 2!) We always agree to return the car full of fuel ( a Martin Lewis tip) - as we're driving across remote parts of the country we'd make sure we keep it topped up anyway. We've got a Jeep Compass btw - nice and roomy, feels very safe. 

Straight forward drive on the I -15 through some spectacular scenery. Check out the view from our bedroom window for a taste of what's to come.

Day 1 - Las Vegas (or is it ancient Egypt?)

Arrived safe and sound after a long, but comfortable, flight with Virgin Atlantic. Sat upstairs in "the bubble" of a jumbo jet in Premium Economy - naturally. Excellent entertainment although I nearly had a tantrum because, despite it being advertised in the in flight magazine, they were NOT showing Kung Fu Panda 3G. I wasn't angry - just disappointed!

We're here now and all checked in at The Luxor. Super fabulous. We've been up for hours so that's all for now. Here's some photo's from our room. 

Trains, Planes, Automobiles and Pandas 🚂✈️🚙🐼

Actually the real order is planes, automobiles, trains and pandas. It should also include National Parks, awesome scenery, city breaks etc etc etc........

We are off for just over a month to a mega holiday in USA. We fly into Las Vegas, pick up a jeep and drive for 2 weeks around some of the National Parks ( Zion, Marble, Monument Valley, Yellowstone and Mount Rushmore included). We then fly from Denver to Toronto, walk from Canada to USA Niagara Falls then ride Amtrak trains down the East coast to Boston, New York, Washington and Atlanta. Phew right??

Watch this space for regular updates and some awesome photo's.

Here's a map of our route for the first 2 weeks. Enjoy