Things To See Out West (VANITY)

me

[JRochelle]

What/where is a must thing to do/see in AZ, UT, NV, and CA?

[xlib]

If you're at the GC south rim, don't miss Hermit's Rest at the west end of the tour. Also, be sure to eat at the restaurant in the El Tovar Lodge, and if you can book a room there, it's quite a place. Jerome is a cool town, if a little too touristy. Zion is also worth a few days. Lots of short hikes, and gorgeous scenery.

[martin_fierro]

'Cuz you ain't got these in Indiana.

[ZGuy]

We have visitors coming from out of state all the time.

We have many places we take them, but first on the list is always taking them to Yosemite, then over Tioga Pass to June Lake, and from there doing a day trip to Bodie.

I live in Simi Valley, so as you start to get your trip finalized, feel free to freepmail me and I'll look at your CA plan and hopefully give you some shortcuts/faster routes through the LA area. (Plus recommendations on where to stay in Simi Valley)

[JRochelle]

Do they have Krystals out west? I have heard they have the best burgers.

[Chickensoup]

Bryce Canyon

Moab Ut

Tubing down the Virgin River

Monument state park

Arches National Park

The Painted Desert

[JRochelle]

Thanks!

Dumb question, but is Simi Valley close to LA?

[SuzyQue]

Canyon de Chelly and Chaco Canyon. Two of my absolute favorite places in the world.

[Brad’s Gramma]

http://maps.yahoo.com/py/maps.py?Pyt=Tmap&&csz=Simi+Valley+CA+&Get%A0Map=Get+Map


Hit number 6 on the map.

[colorcountry]

Oh, you absolutely must see Color Country, Utah.

It contains both Zion National Park, as well as Bryce Canyon National Park. You will see mountain vistas at Cedar Breaks National Monument, elevation over 10,000 and enjoy the desert beauty of Kodachrome Basin State Park. Don't miss it!

If you didn't notice....that's where I get my screen name.

Zions

Bryce Canyon

Cedar Breaks

Kodachrome - Grand Staircase

[Mark]

Take the 118 Freeway(Ronald Reagan Freeway)- should be fine. Ventura County is a Republican County.

[JRochelle]

Oh my gosh.

Stunning. Is a definite yes!

Thank you!

[ZGuy]

35 Minutes NW of downtown LA and Dodger Stadium, but in Ventura County. It's a different planet than LA. Here people drive politely and hold the doors for you.

Here's a good example: after we moved to Simi, I was in the San Fernando Valley (where "Valley girls" came from) and I mentioned that we bought a house and in passing I mentioned the names of my new neighbors. They stopped cold and said "YOU know the names of some of your NEIGHBORS!??!!?????"

Same planet -- different worlds.

[Bernard Marx]

How much time do you have? You could spend months in those states and not see it all.

Utah: Zion, Arches, Canyonlands, Flaming Gorge, the Wasatch and Uinta mountains, etc., etc.

Arizona: Grand Canyon, Meteor Crater, Sunset Crater and a huge number of fascinating early Indian habitations like Walnut Canyon, etc. in the Flagstaff and Sedona areas. Sedona's beautiful but full of touristy crapola and New Age crystal gazers.

California: If you can handle cities there's much to do in the San Francisco, San Diego and Los Angeles areas. I agree on the Reagan Library. If you like art don't miss the new Getty Museum in L.A. The state abounds in natural beauty starting with Yosemite, Sequoia N.P.'s, Shasta Lake, the Channel Islands, the Mendocino and Big Sur coastal areas, Carmel, Monterey, Catalina Island, and much, much more. And don't forget the great restaurants and the many winery tours, north and south.

The West is huge! Plan your trip carefully.

[Rte66]

Montezuma Castle, not far from Sedona, AZ, if you're in that area. Awesome cliff dwelling.

[carolinalivin]

I suggest you go Grand Canyon to Vegas, through Death Valley and up Hwy 395 and take the back entrance into Yosemite at Lee Vining CA.You can skip LA unless you want the beach or Disneyland.

[Rte66]

Hee hee - ya beat me to it!

If you plan to motor west, travel my way, take the highway that's the best! Get your kicks on Interstate-40!

".. It winds from Chicago to L.A.
More than two thousand miles all the way.
Get your kicks on Rte66!

Now you go through St. Looey; Joplin, Missouri;
And Oklahoma City looks mighty pretty.
You'll see Amarillo; Gallup, New Mexico;
Flagstaff, Arizona; don't forget Winona,
Kingman, Barstow, San Bernardino.

Won't you get hip to this timely tip?
When you make that California trip,
Get your kicks on Rte66."

[ZGuy]

I agree with post 35. If you weren't going to the Reagan Library I'd suggest skipping southern California altogether unless there's something you REALLY are dreaming of seeing such as Disneyland, etc.

BTW, I'm taking it for granted that you know the temperatures you'll be facing will be in the 110's during the day and 90s at night in most of the areas you've mentioned. . .

[JRochelle]

Thank you.
We have 16 days. No big cities on this trip. More of a outdoors/nature trip.

And I plan to stop at every winery.:)

[JRochelle]

110? Only in Arizona, right?

[TheresaKett]

Must go to In-N-Out Burger