Time: Dec 25 to 30, 2012
Place: Arches, Four Corners, Monument Valley, Bryce, Zion, Las Vegas
Company: Wife and daughter
Highlights:
I don’t think we have ever planned any vacation so hard and so long. This may be understandably because it is the longest vacation we (the three of us) have ever undertaken. Starting from different options on how to take leaves to make the best use of Christmas and New Year’s Day holidays to different vacation locations bearing weather conditions and cost-effectiveness (as compared to making the trip on non-holiday season). Added to this, are the variety of websites that showcase the flight rate deals, hotel deals and car rental deals, and the bundle packages. And then there was also an option of renting an RV (which I had explored last year same time too but the idea had flopped then and this year too).
When to take the leaves considering 25th and 1st were holidays, both Tuesdays, was a big question mark. The number of leaves had to go hand-in-hand with the vacation location and the cost-effectiveness of that vacation. It was like an algebraic equation with multiple variables (when to take leaves, cost-effectiveness, vacation location bearing weather condition, road-trip vs flight vs train, RV or not, no drive more than 4 hrs at a stretch to accommodate our 2-year daughter, etc.) and objective of the exercise was to solve the complex problem.
We started off with identifying the top places we want to see in US, and started fitting it in the equation. After much debate, we locked on to the most famous
national parks in Utah (Arches, Monument Valley, Bryce and Zion). Summer, of course, is the right season to see these parks. But we were not sure (during planning phase), if we would be so near as now to Utah. Also, it was mentioned in various websites that although winter is off-season, it has one of the spectacular views since these parks would be covered with snow. And anyways, summer is preferred so that visitors could hike. With a toddler, we weren’t too keen on hiking anyways. So winter for these parks suited us.
Now that we had locked down on the ‘vacation-location’ variable, next toughest thing to decide was on the itinerary. We have spent many weekends and weeknights deciding and deciding on the optimal route. There is a direct flight from LAX to SGU which is an hour away from Zion. So, taking a car at SGU and doing the loop of the 4 parks seemed the optimal route. But there was another variable that had to be solved – no drive to be more than 4 hrs at a stretch to accommodate Paavani else it would be difficult to handle her. Arches seemed farthest of all parks, and yet it had to be seen. For we didn’t want to go to Utah again and again. Yet, this was the best of all plans.
This led to discovering nearby airports like Moab, Grand Junction, Denver, Salt Lake City, Flagstaff other than St George (SGU). Amongst all of this, the best route would have been to fly from home (SNA or LAX) to Moab, rent a car and drive down all the way to SGU and fly back home. However, after completing the itinerary for couple of hours, I was told by many websites that there is no rental car in Moab airport. (True enough, other than a strip of runway, there is nothing in Moab that can be called airport). So, the whole idea flopped.
Googling led to a website who had done similar trip as us but had taken the train from Chicago to Grand Junction and then they had driven down. However, this was not a great option since it was taking days for us to get to Grand Junction in train and multiple stop-overs from LAX.
Further research led to a cost-effective itinerary – SNA to SLC and then driving down all the way to LAS, covering the targeted parks, even though there was a drop-off charge for the rental car. This solved all the variables. Ideal would have been to drive only till SGU and take the direct flight back to LAX since we didn’t want to see LAS nor drive all the way to LAS but the deal was irresistible. So here goes:
Day 1: Had booked the cab for Home to SNA at 0630 hrs and he was right on time. We could sleep only at 0200 hrs and had to get up at 0500 hrs to be ready by 0630 hrs. 10 mins to airport. 0800 Delta flight to SLC. Reached SLC at 1100 hrs local time (4 hr flight). During the flight journey, saw snow-capped mountains and white blanketed desert area. Was mesmerized by it. Not sure where had seen such view last time around or if had seen at all before. Only plan after landing was to reach Moab by nightfall. So took it easy. Upgraded rental car from Corolla to Camry for better traction. Liked it, in the end with all its features – USB port, Aux cable (bought one during trip to utilize feature!), in-built telephone, etc.
Initial plan was to stock up on frozen food, milk and other toddler stuff in SLC and then start journey to Moab but since it was Christmas, no shop was open except fortunately a Starbucks on which we survived the entire journey to Moab. And what a journey it was to Moab. Unbelievably scenic; winding across snow-capped mountains and valleys. It was as if we were in Switzerland (comparing although never been to Swiss!) We must have taken over 200 snaps of just the drive! Truly folks in SLC have a great view.
As the road tapered towards Moab, the scenery around changed. It was more of a desert filled with snow. The last 30 miles was a single-lane road but I realized later that it would be single-lane road for rest of the trip until we were on our way to LAS! Finally by 5 pm, after 4.5 hours of journey, reached Moab’s Super 8 Hotel, right opposite Denny’s which was open all day even though it was Christmas. After some discussion, changed the next night’s hotel to a hotel which was closer to 4 corners monument, to avoid the long ride. Relaxed and retired for the night.
Day 2: Had no major plans for the day other than visiting Arches which was just 4 miles away. So woke up late, had late breakfast in the hotel, and left at 11. Paavani had a tummy upset and that concerned us since it was just the first day of the trip and she was not having any of the outside food. Only solace was the rice we had got for her to cook in the microwave in each hotel to be served with yogurt.
Entry to Arches was scary since the slopy road was filled with snow. But once we ascended, road leveled out and the 17-mile road offered wonderful scenery. All around we could see the small arches. Parade of elephants resembled Lord Ganesha, there were many Balancing Rocks, views of North and South Windows were good although we could not trek near it since Paavani had dozed off. And since she had slept, I ventured alone to the Landscape Arch which was about a mile’s trek in the desert snow. Then when I came back, Paavani was up and about, eager to walk in the snow. So we hiked again in the snow and visited the Tunnel Arch. It was most gratifying. But it was extremely cold. So headed back. Exited Arches by about 4 pm.
Had lunch at McDonald’s in Moab and drove 2-3 hrs to Cortez, Colorado. Most of the journey was in the dark and I wish we had left early – one to have experienced the obvious scenic views that one could sense lay beyond the road and two to avoid the risky road journey. It was snowing and a single lane road with gusty winds and pitch dark night all around! Thankfully, reached Cortez at about 8 pm and stayed in another Super 8 Hotel. Thankfully, Paavani was back to normal.
Day 3: Since it was a long ride today, left early – at about 9ish after a good breakfast. Reached 4 corners monument at 10. It was surprising to see the snow disappear in that 1 hr journey, although it was terribly cold due to the wind. This spot marked the only place in USA where 4 states converged into one point – Utah, Arizona, Colorado and New Mexico.
Spent about 30 mins and then drove on to Monument Valley. Reached by about 1 pm. This place had the most unusual visitor center – went searching around and around but finally never found it – just saw a store and some map. Anyways, figured out enough that there was a 17 mile unpaved road around few of what are called Buttes that make up the Monument Valley. Ventured into the unpaved road. It was pretty slow mainly due to the unpaved road but the views of the Buttes were magnificent – Camel, 3 sisters and Elephant Buttes were notable. After about 1 hr, we headed back since we had had enough, and we still had a long way to go.
After 2 more hrs, stopped at the city of Page to have lunch at McD (Paavani) and Subway. Entire journey was good since it was in daylight and we could enjoy the beauty all around. Sometimes it was filled with snow and sometimes it petered out. It was as if we were in the desert, more like in Mars, and only civilized thing was the road. Otherwise it seemed lifeless all around. Empty and long stretch of roads with visibility of few miles ahead in a straight line) tempted anybody to drive over 100. I guess for the first time in my life I touched 110 mph at one stretch. However, there were stretches where it was snowing and the slush from the vehicle ahead and vehicles on the side splashed all around and the car was a total mess. In some ways, it was quite a challenging drive, especially to pass another vehicle during snow and on icy roads.
Then, left Page to Kanab where we had booked the Royal Inn hotel. About 45 mins of journey but it was already nightfall. Wished I had left Page earlier since there was a view of the dam (like Hoover dam) which I missed immediately after the city of Page. Reached Royal Inn at about 8, and retired. Rather liked Super 8 more than Royal Inn especially since cost of all of them were in the range of 50-60 USD.
Day 4: Took it easy. After a nice breakfast, left at 11 to Bryce national park. So reached about 12.30 pm. Spent about 30 mins in the visitor center which is very informative, even including a 20 minute video that shows Bryce in all it’s splendor. This too has a 17 odd mile stretch of road with full of view points. Saw all view points. Again, Paavani had slept off and hence had to hurry up on some of the view points. Snow added a lot of oooh to the view and one could imagine how dry and simple-rock-like these natural formations would look like in summer.
Bryce was different. Main scenic points are the sunset and sunrise points which showcases the true splendor of the natural amphitheater. A short hike is needed, especially for the sunrise point. But its worth it. After sunset and sunrise points, most other view points are mediocre, except Natural Bridge which looks like another Arch from Arches. Finally, we left in the evening and headed to Springdale.
Now, I had read about the fact that it is good to drive to Zion from Bryce instead of the other way round, just because views are great. It was one of the reasons we had planned the itinerary - so that we come to Zion from Bryce. Now what we did not know was that city of Springdale is within the Zion park itself. So when we drove from Bryce to Springdale, we actually had to pass through the park’s entry and since it was already nightfall, we missed the views. We could feel that we were amidst great mountains but we just couldn’t see it. The road is very very narrow and winding with mandated speeds as low as 20 mph but it was so dark that we couldn’t see anything. It was a thing which I repented a lot. Especially after having it read and planned accordingly.
Anyways, finally reached Quality Inn at about 8 pm. For the price of 80, it had good spacious room. Retired for the night.
Day 5: Woke up amidst mountains! Realized that Springdale is set amidst tall and towering mountains. They were really massive. If all these days we were in the middle of a desert, this was as if we were in the middle of mountains. 360 degrees we were covered with tall mountains. Visited Visitor center to ask what we could do, considering the cold and toddler. We were given few options but here in Zion, most of the viewpoints need quite a bit of a hike.
I had a lot of hope on visiting the Narrows – to see the view of the river in the gorge-like scenario, very much like those Enid Blyton novels which I had read and envisioned as a kid – especially the
River of Adventure. Alas, due to weather, they had closed the last part of the trek. So after 45 mins of trek, we had to venture back. I was disheartened. But the trek and the views were great nevertheless.
Other treks which I had a lot of desire could not be achieved because of a number of factors – treks such as Angel’s Landing, Wailing Rock, etc. Anyways, had enough of Zion. For satisfaction, went back on the road to Bryce to experience the Zion views from the top. Midway through, there was a traffic jam near the tunnel. So turned back and that was pretty much about Zion. Lunched in a Thai restaurant in Springdale and headed down South to Las Vegas.
Quite unexpected, the road to Vegas was breath-taking, especially one stretch. This stretch of road winds through multiple mountains – but unlike the other similar drives we had done in the last week, this stretch was on an interstate road, with 65 mph speed. So it was different and a very good drive. As we neared Vegas, traffic thickened but finally we reached Riviera at about 6 pm. We had gained an hour since we were now in Pacific Time Zone.
To enjoy the lights, took Paavani on a car drive around the Strip – maybe it was a mistake, maybe not. Especially since she was too sleepy to see all the lights. Could not show her the Bellagio fountain either. Had a nice Indian restaurant within Riviera where we had good Indian dinner (and next day’s breakfast too) – after a long gap. Relaxed for the night.
Day 6: Checked out in the morning at 11. Was not quite happy with Riviera’s ‘Resourt-fee’. This turned out to be the costliest hotel in the entire trip and it was the least clean of them all. Anyways, whatever.
Showed couple of shows to Paavani at Circus-Circus casino and played few games. Shopped around the strip some more, and it was time to leave Vegas. Returned the rental car, realized that we had lost a cell phone, and finally took the shuttle to airport. With car-seat and a check-in baggage, it was pretty overbearing but somehow managed it. Took the flight to LAX which was a short 1 hr duration. Reached LAX by 8 pm. Had booked a shared van to back home and it was pretty tiring. Realized that I could have driven home faster from LAS than the flight to LAX and this shared cab to the Irvine home. Finally reached home by 11 pm.
Overview: It was a memorable trip. We might have planned for over 6 days for this 6 day trip! But planning was very crucial, especially with the toddler – to pack all her toys, her phone, her laptop, her potty, her favorite food items, her car seat – to make it as close to her homely env as possible. Planning was also crucial for our chosen itinerary and the cost-effectiveness. All those plans finally paid off and thankfully we were back home safe and sound. Those snow-capped natural formations and deserts are unforgettable and perhaps never-again experience. Utah is definitely a unique and beautiful state in this country! In all, over 1200 miles were driven. Planned route map is attached.
Tip: Some of the most useful websites during planning were Google's
Flights and
Hotel Finder. Without these, it would have been very difficult indeed!
Kinda chilly but gradually became warmer. Enjoyed some of the freebies, but otherwise relaxed on the sand dunes, and let Paavani enjoy herself. Return journey was better but still traumatic. 
