Vacation Advice Thread

[Blackadar]

I thought I'd start a general thread for people taking vacations who could use advice.

In my case, I'm taking a vacation in Utah next July with my wife and my 15 year old son. Yes, it will be hot. Here's the itinerary:

Day 1 - Fly to Vegas, drive to St. George Utah
Day 2 - Zion National Park, return to St. George
Day 3 - North Rim of the Grand Canyon. Drive to Kenab, Utah to stay there for the night.
Day 4 - Bryce National Park. Drive to Torrey, Utah to stay there for the night.
Day 5 - Capitol Reef National Park. Drive to Moab, Utah to stay there for the next couple of days.
Day 6 - Arches National Park. Still in Moab.
Day 7 - Canyonlands National Park/Dead Horse Point State Park. Still in Moab.
Day 8 - From Moab to Vegas.
Day 9 - Fly home

It should be awesome but I could use a little advice:

1. Is there any damn thing to do coming back from the North Rim of the Grand Canyon to Kenab? The North Rim has a few hiking trails, but it looks like it's a stop-and-look and then getting back in the car. I'd like to find something else on the way back to look at/explore/shop at. It looks like everything is east on 89A whereas Kenab is west on 89A and I'm already driving 2 1/2 hours to the North Rim and then a couple hours to Kenab, so I don't have time for a detour. But if there's something interesting on the way or something cool in Kenab, I'd love to know about it.

2. Day 8 could be made more fun. We're driving from Moab to Vegas. Is there anything to do along that route (I-70 to I-15). Or, as I suspect, am I better off going directly to Vegas?

3. Assuming I'm better off going to Vegas, any suggestions on what to do for half a day with a 15 year old in tow? I thought about seeing a show, but something like Cirque is now $165/ticket and I'm not paying that. I already know we're staying at the Marriott, so don't worry about the hotel. I'm just trying to figure out the best way to fill half a day in Vegas without aimlessly wandering around looking at the hotels in 110 degree heat.

4. I pretty well think I have my itinerary for each of the parks, but suggestions on sites to see or hikes (we'll be doing a lot of that) are welcome. Note that I don't have time to drive to another park entrance or stay overnight in a park or anything like that. This is the schedule - whatever is suggested needs to fit within it.

5. Suggestions on places to eat or sights to see in St. George, Kenab, Torrey or Moab? Note we're not getting dressed up - if I can't go in shorts, I'm not going.

[MrBug708]

Why not a day whitewater rafting in Moab?

[cartman]

On #3, I've heard great things about the Mob museum in Vegas.

[miked]

I did mine in March/April and thought Zion was very close to Bryce and did those 2 a day apart. I was a little different, I flew in to Vegas and went to the Grand Canyon through Williams (not sure if that's the north or south rim) hiked there for a few days, then went to Navajo National Monument, followed by Glen Canyon Dam and a few days at Lake Powell and Escalante Park before heading to Bryce and then Zion. Now that I think about it, it was in March and likely the South rim, but anyway, all those places I mentioned were amazing.

[sterlingice]

I have never been to Utah before but this trip sounds like fun

SI

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

On #3, you can get tickets for tons of shows on the day of your visit for MUCH cheaper than what you mentioned. As long as you're a bit flexible with what you want to see, you should have no problem getting into a quality show for $75 or less. Most tickets at the strip brokers cut price by at least half on the day of the show.

[Blackadar]

Originally Posted by MrBug708

Why not a day whitewater rafting in Moab?

1. The schedule is already set.
2. Looks like the whitewater that time of year would be mostly class II, which is essentially a float trip with ripples.


Thanks for the suggestions on the mob museum - that sounds kind of neat - and getting tickets on the last day. What's the best way to get tickets on the day of the show from a broker?

[Blackadar]

Originally Posted by sterlingice

I have never been to Utah before but this trip sounds like fun

SI

It should be, so long as you accept the way I run these vacations.

On my vacations, we don't sit around - we move constantly. We will stay on East Coast time for virtually all of the trip, meaning we'll wake up at 4:00 AM many mornings (6AM EST) and be out of the door before 5AM. That will beat the worst of the heat and the worst of the summer crowds. We'll eat breakfast on the go (breakfast bars and bagels) and grab lunch as we can, packing lots of jerky, trail mix and water. Dinner will often be at 4 or 4:30 PM and we'll be in bed often at dusk. I only need about 6 hours of sleep a night and everyone else can sleep in the car as we go from spot to spot.

Some people go on vacation to relax, I go on vacation to experience things. We'll also be hiking from 3 to 10 miles virtually every day - I'm not seeing Bryce or Zion from just the scenic overlooks!

[sterlingice]

Originally Posted by Blackadar

It should be, so long as you accept the way I run these vacations.

On my vacations, we don't sit around - we move constantly. We will stay on East Coast time for virtually all of the trip, meaning we'll wake up at 4:00 AM many mornings (6AM EST) and be out of the door before 5AM. That will beat the worst of the heat and the worst of the summer crowds. We'll eat breakfast on the go (breakfast bars and bagels) and grab lunch as we can, packing lots of jerky, trail mix and water. Dinner will often be at 4 or 4:30 PM and we'll be in bed often at dusk. I only need about 6 hours of sleep a night and everyone else can sleep in the car as we go from spot to spot.

Some people go on vacation to relax, I go on vacation to experience things. We'll also be hiking from 3 to 10 miles virtually every day - I'm not seeing Bryce or Zion from just the scenic overlooks!

I appreciate that- I really do. Well, except for the waking up early part - we tend to run a later ship when we're on vacation. A little bit later to rise and quite a bit later to sleep.

Spoiler

Hi, I'm Troy McClure you may remember me from such vacation threads as "You're crazy! You can't do that all in a week:" OT: Boston trip - last minute tips? - Page 3 - Front Office Football Central

That reminds me- time to go back and update that thread

SI

[lighthousekeeper]

Originally Posted by Blackadar

It should be, so long as you accept the way I run these vacations.

On my vacations, we don't sit around - we move constantly. We will stay on East Coast time for virtually all of the trip, meaning we'll wake up at 4:00 AM many mornings (6AM EST) and be out of the door before 5AM. That will beat the worst of the heat and the worst of the summer crowds. We'll eat breakfast on the go (breakfast bars and bagels) and grab lunch as we can, packing lots of jerky, trail mix and water. Dinner will often be at 4 or 4:30 PM and we'll be in bed often at dusk. I only need about 6 hours of sleep a night and everyone else can sleep in the car as we go from spot to spot.

Some people go on vacation to relax, I go on vacation to experience things. We'll also be hiking from 3 to 10 miles virtually every day - I'm not seeing Bryce or Zion from just the scenic overlooks!

Blackader, on an early morning hike, Utah desert (children and wife not in picture - they passed out miles back).

[Blackadar]

Originally Posted by lighthousekeeper

Blackader, on an early morning hike, Utah desert (children and wife not in picture - they passed out miles back).

More like this:

[cartman]

I've had decent luck with these guys for tickets. They have booths all along The Strip.

http://www.tix4tonight.com/

If you are there during the week, you'll have a much better shot at the headliner shows than on the weekend.

[Lathum]

Originally Posted by Blackadar

It should be, so long as you accept the way I run these vacations.

On my vacations, we don't sit around - we move constantly. We will stay on East Coast time for virtually all of the trip, meaning we'll wake up at 4:00 AM many mornings (6AM EST) and be out of the door before 5AM. That will beat the worst of the heat and the worst of the summer crowds. We'll eat breakfast on the go (breakfast bars and bagels) and grab lunch as we can, packing lots of jerky, trail mix and water. Dinner will often be at 4 or 4:30 PM and we'll be in bed often at dusk. I only need about 6 hours of sleep a night and everyone else can sleep in the car as we go from spot to spot.

Some people go on vacation to relax, I go on vacation to experience things. We'll also be hiking from 3 to 10 miles virtually every day - I'm not seeing Bryce or Zion from just the scenic overlooks!

Mental note, never vacation with Blackie...

[Blackadar]

Originally Posted by Lathum

Mental note, never vacation with Blackie...

If you can't keep up, don't step up.

[Umbrella]

In Vegas, if your son is a sports fan, in the Luxor they have an interactive sports exhibit called Score! I haven't been, but I've heard from some friends that their boys had a blast there.

I would look around and find cheaper tickets and not pay full price though. You can find deals all over the place.

ETA: I don't know how much experience you have driving all over the desert, but make sure you bring lots of water. Get a couple of gallon jugs to take with you. Heaven forbid, if your car breaks down, you will be thanking me for this advice. As far as the sight seeing goes, it is pretty cool if you've never been to this part of the country. But there's not a ton to do along the way.

[Blackadar]

Originally Posted by Umbrella

In Vegas, if your son is a sports fan, in the Luxor they have an interactive sports exhibit called Score! I haven't been, but I've heard from some friends that their boys had a blast there.

I would look around and find cheaper tickets and not pay full price though. You can find deals all over the place.

ETA: I don't know how much experience you have driving all over the desert, but make sure you bring lots of water. Get a couple of gallon jugs to take with you. Heaven forbid, if your car breaks down, you will be thanking me for this advice. As far as the sight seeing goes, it is pretty cool if you've never been to this part of the country. But there's not a ton to do along the way.

Score! is a good idea.

We'll have a couple of CASES of water in the car and probably a cheap Styrofoam cooler. There's nothing like a cold drink after hiking in the heat.

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

Originally Posted by cartman

I've had decent luck with these guys for tickets. They have booths all along The Strip.

http://www.tix4tonight.com/

If you are there during the week, you'll have a much better shot at the headliner shows than on the weekend.

+1

[DanGarion]

Originally Posted by Blackadar

we'll be in bed often at dusk. I only need about 6 hours of sleep a night and everyone else can sleep in the car as we go from spot to spot.

Just don't miss the sky at night. Those are great areas for star gazing.

[CU Tiger]

Lion's back is a can't miss in Moab. Rent a Jeep if you have to just to drive up it.