NATIONAL PARKING

[williamlayton]

Well folks, we got back, without leaving anyone on the side of the road dead.
6200 miles, 16 days, 5 parks, LOTS of pictures ( repeat-lots of pictures), good memories, laughs-well, a couple of heated discussions (I lost all arguements  ), great scenery.
1) Tetons- my personal favorite for scenery, wildlife, and location. Easy to get too and jackson hole is a very good place to lay up in. park is very accessable and the mountain are right in your face.
2) Yellowstone- for wildlife, unbeatable. Views are good and, if you hike and camp probable better than others. It is a large Park and too view it completely would take a LOOONG time.
3) Glacier- Tetons views are spectacular but Glaciers are SPECTACULAR, just don't ask me to pull off next to a 1000' drop and no guard rail. Not as national parky as, say, Yellowstone. It is more intimate, much as Tetons. Does have the advantage of being next to Canada, It was much warmer in Glacier than in the Tetons, strange as it may seem.
4) Canyon Lands--Southwest at its most spectacular. I like the Soutwest scenery, A LOT. I can look at it regularly.
5) Arches- these two are next too each other, though they are different. If you are into this type of vacationing, driving, views, hot, dry  and the Southwest, these two and the four corners are for you. If you are not, get in the mood and go anyway-no way you will not be delighted. DRINK WATER.
All the driving was wonderful, the scenery was good on the highways. Get off the freeway for those dotted lines marked on your map, these byways are as much fun as the parks, in my opinion.
The highways are FAST.
Blessings

[doc_kreipke]

There's another reason for driving along the dotted lines that you might agree with, William. ... Often, ya can make better time!

Anymore, the interstates are such a morass of roadblocks and choke points that they nullify their own existence. Last fall, the wife & I made a road trip to the southwest that covered much of the same ground you did. Staying a great deal on secondary roads, I think our travel time wasn't a whole heck of a lot different than if we had traveled the interstates. Prettier and more relaxing, too.

Whenever we road trip, we take along one of those hyperdetailed DeLorme atlases for each state we're passing through. More than once, they've been instrumental in extracting us from an interstate logjam.

[rockbilly]

As a rockhound these are some of my favorite places, next would be traveling through Ga, N.C and S.C looking for gold, emerals and rubies, yes, you heard right, there is still lots of gold to be found in Ga, and N.C. has some of the finest emeral and rubies in the world.  Like visting Crater of Diamonds National Park in Ar., you never know when you will happen upon that piece of rock that will pay the bills for years to come.  It is not often, but it does happen.

Now the secrete is out, I'll meet y'all in N.C. during Sept and Oct.  Maybe we can all leave rich..........hummmmmm!

[williamlayton]

Well now, we traveled low and slow in the parks. The dotted lines provided much scenery and were NOT slow. The interstates were very fast-85/90mph too keep from causing a back-up. Yup 85 on cruise control and still being passed-but not much and not passing many if you don't count truckers. the trucker were ALL running 80. The only malfunction-at-the-junction was from Missoula to Glacier, up US 93. 30 miles of construction that tookk two hours  .
Got 17MPG out of the Expedition doing all of this and the ride was terrific--got to praise ford for this one---even the Hen was pleased and expresed such several times.
Planned two more trips--one to Kissimee (sp??) for spring training and then the keys and another to Southern New Mexico, Arizona and back up to the four corners.
Blessings

[williamlayton]

That is one of the trips we are going to do after Kissimmee. I am not too concerned with the safty issue.
Pick your stops wisely and only use well used vistas and I think you will be safe. the illegals will not bother you, they seem to keep to isolated trails. the drug runners might be a problem but I would think a little due villigance would keep one safe.
Blessings

[jhm]

William I made the same park trip you did several years ago and we still talk about it, we bought a new Motorhome in June for some more casual touring around the country in soon we have sold all the cattle so it has freed up a little more time, BTW you will enjoy Baseball Park in the spring went there for a week a few years ago with a friend who is a baseball NUT, they have the greenest grass you will ever see.    JIM