My husband and I are still hammering out details about where we want to go on our Western trip. Please tell me what you'd do in each of these situations -- and why! Thanks for your input!
Choice #1: Which would you choose and why?
A. Fly into Vegas, drive to the Grand Canyon, North Rim. Stay in the Grand Canyon park cabins. Do a half-day mule ride down into the canyon.
Positives: The mule trip seems like such a "must do" for the Grand Canyon. Though I've never been to the GC, I have the impression that the North side has views superior to the western portion. Plenty of time to relax at the cabins.
Negatives: None that I can see
B. Fly into Vegas. Take the full-day Pink Jeep tour out to the Grand Canyon. This involves a drive through Joshua Tree NP to the western side of the canyon, then a helicoptor ride into the canyon, and finally a pontoon boat ride on the Colorado River.
Positives: Two people (my pastor and a co-worker) have told me recently that the Pink Jeep tours are fabulous. This is going to be a two-week driving vacation for us, and it'd be a break from just us four driving together.
Negatives: Expensive! The tours'd be just over $300 each, and we're a family of four! We do tend to enjoy doing our own thing, stopping where we please, etc. We plan to head to Mesa Verde after the GC, and since the tour would take us back to Vegas, we'd be covering the same road the very next day; thus, more hours on the road total. And less time at the canyon. I read one review that said the driving time on the Pink Jeep tour wasn't worth the short time at the canyon, but you never know whether to believe ONE online review.
Choice #2: Which would you choose and why?
Regardless of which Grand Canyon option we choose, we're unsure of what to do AFTER our next stop. After Mesa Verde, we're going to Denver, but we have two choices that will get us there in about the same amount of time:
A. Drive towards Moab, Utah and see Arches National Park. We could take an ATV tour in Arches National Park, or we could just hike.
Positives: Arches National Park looks really cool.
Negatives: We'll just have left the Grand Canyon and Mesa Verde. Will we be "burned out" on deserts by this point?
B. Drive towards Durango, CO, where we'd see more of the moutains. We could do an ATV trip here too, but we really wouldn't have time to ride the Durango-Silverton Railway, which seems to be the biggest attraction in town because it's a full-day activity.
Positives: Looks like beautiful scenery. 30 minutes shorter than the other route, though that's a very small amount to be saved in an almost full-day's drive.
Negatives: None I can see
Choice #1: Which would you choose and why?
A. Fly into Vegas, drive to the Grand Canyon, North Rim. Stay in the Grand Canyon park cabins. Do a half-day mule ride down into the canyon.
Positives: The mule trip seems like such a "must do" for the Grand Canyon. Though I've never been to the GC, I have the impression that the North side has views superior to the western portion. Plenty of time to relax at the cabins.
Negatives: None that I can see
B. Fly into Vegas. Take the full-day Pink Jeep tour out to the Grand Canyon. This involves a drive through Joshua Tree NP to the western side of the canyon, then a helicoptor ride into the canyon, and finally a pontoon boat ride on the Colorado River.
Positives: Two people (my pastor and a co-worker) have told me recently that the Pink Jeep tours are fabulous. This is going to be a two-week driving vacation for us, and it'd be a break from just us four driving together.
Negatives: Expensive! The tours'd be just over $300 each, and we're a family of four! We do tend to enjoy doing our own thing, stopping where we please, etc. We plan to head to Mesa Verde after the GC, and since the tour would take us back to Vegas, we'd be covering the same road the very next day; thus, more hours on the road total. And less time at the canyon. I read one review that said the driving time on the Pink Jeep tour wasn't worth the short time at the canyon, but you never know whether to believe ONE online review.
Choice #2: Which would you choose and why?
Regardless of which Grand Canyon option we choose, we're unsure of what to do AFTER our next stop. After Mesa Verde, we're going to Denver, but we have two choices that will get us there in about the same amount of time:
A. Drive towards Moab, Utah and see Arches National Park. We could take an ATV tour in Arches National Park, or we could just hike.
Positives: Arches National Park looks really cool.
Negatives: We'll just have left the Grand Canyon and Mesa Verde. Will we be "burned out" on deserts by this point?
B. Drive towards Durango, CO, where we'd see more of the moutains. We could do an ATV trip here too, but we really wouldn't have time to ride the Durango-Silverton Railway, which seems to be the biggest attraction in town because it's a full-day activity.
Positives: Looks like beautiful scenery. 30 minutes shorter than the other route, though that's a very small amount to be saved in an almost full-day's drive.
Negatives: None I can see