Planning a Holiday

There are times when you say to yourself, I feel like going somewhere for a long weekend, and you stick a pin in the map and head off by plane or car almost on the spur of the moment. There are other holidays that involve some detailed planning (and saving), and Caroline and I have just started the ball rolling on a fly-drive trip to Western USA. We started off with a basic idea of what we wanted to do which was go to San Francisco and drive to Yellowstone National Park seeing some natural wonders along the way. With a little bit of probing, and some imaginative timetabling we've decided we can drive a loop which hopefully will get us to some amazing places, seeing and experiencing some amazing things.



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The trip is to last about 2 weeks and involves serious driving most days, but it's not the first time we've done this sort of thing and our last fly-drive to New England in the Fall was one of the most memorable times of my life.

So here's the plan:

1. Fly to San Francisco - a brief stop in S.F. to catch some sights
2. S.F. to Twin Falls Idaho - 2 days through Nevada into Idaho and the Snake River

Shoshone Falls, Idaho

3. Twin Falls to Yellowstone - including a day in the National Park to see geysers and wildlife

4. Yellowstone to Cody Wyoming - this is a short trip, and includes a planned trip to the Buffalo Bill Museum

5. Cody to Cheyenne Wyoming - probably the most boring bit of the trip

6. Cheyenne to Breckenridge Colorado - a trip through the Rockies taking in Estes Park and Boulder

7. Breckenridge to Moab Utah - High country to the wild west, with Arches National Park a planned stop

Spectacular views in Arches National Park, Utah

8. Moab to Grand Canyon, Arizona - A day and a half through Navajo country including a trading post stop in Tuba City

9. Grand Canyon to Bakersfield, California - A long drive skirting Death Valley en route to S.F. Will stop at Sunset Crater Volcano to walk on lava!

10. Bakersfield to San Franciso - if time permits, a trip to Sequoia National Park to see the big trees!

This is a 'trip of a lifetime' type thing, and will cost a fortune but we both want to do it and will make it happen! Some of the itinerary items may change a bit bu this is the basic blueprint of what we want to do. However, for me, the scariest part is that we're planning this trip for about this time next year! That's a long time to plan, but a long time to wait to see some of the world's natural wonders.