Utah National Parks

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Originally Posted by gommy

aha! now with vegas added i agree with judy,it would save you a lot of time and miles going to the grand canyon first then bryce,zion and down the 15 to vegas if thats possible?

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Do you have any idea how long it would take if I did what you suggested above:

Farmington to Grand Canyon?
Grand Canyon to Zion NP?
Zion NP to Vegas?

Thanks

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Originally Posted by mrhind

Thanks for the advice. I like your ideas. Like you say, we need to sacrifice something and I think Lake Powell will be the one. We are booked in at Tusayan near GC Village. What is the best route from Farmington to Springdale? Is it via Monument Valley, Page and Kanab?

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yes that'll be the quickest way,springdales a lovely town with plenty of accomodations and restaurants to choose from. sorry i can't recommend a place to stay as we were in an r.v. but we had a nice meal in the pioneer lodge that also had rooms. it's also a lovely drive from zion to bryce which will take you through red rock canyon thats worth a stop for a 20min break.

A couple of months ago, I stayed overnight at the Majestic View in Springdale. Although it is right on the highway, each room have awesome views of the approach to Zion. Food in the steakhouse was OK -- not extraordinary -- but OK. If you like "stuffed" animals -- there is a very impressive collection of taxidermy that belongs to owner. Nice spa too. Very comfy beds. I recommend it.

Mark

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Originally Posted by mrhind

Do you have any idea how long it would take if I did what you suggested above:

Farmington to Grand Canyon?
Grand Canyon to Zion NP?
Zion NP to Vegas?

Thanks

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straight driving,not incl stops i'd estimate @
farmington-g/c aprox 5 1/2 hours
g/c-zion aprox 5 1/2 hours [another 2 1/2-3 hours for bryce]
zion to vegas aprox 3 hours

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Originally Posted by Judy

Where are you planning on going after the Grand Canyon. I don't understand the scope of your entire trip. If, for example, after your trip you're planning on going to Las Vegas, it really makes far more sense to go to the Grand Canyon first and then go up through Page and the Lake Powell area to Bryce and Zion. Then onto Vegas.

So, really, you could do Farmington to Grand Canyon. Then go to Page/Lake Powell. Then Bryce, Zion, Vegas. Does that make sense?

But it's hard to give you the best advice for this without knowing what's next on your itinerary and how much time you have for this.

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Thanks for your advice Judy. We are going to go from Farm'ton to Grand Canyon then on to Zion and Bryce. Thanks for the advice. On a different subject, I have seen on USA Today that there are alot of tornadoes at present across Arkansas. We are driving from Memphis to Oklahoma. Are there alot of small towns/places to stop should we come across a tornado?

The southern Plains tend to be the section of the US that sees the most tornadoes, but Tornados can and have formed in every state in the country.

If you "should come across a tornado," you need to get out of your car immediately and into the first available shelter you can find. If there is no shelter nearby, get out of your car and lay in the lowest lying area you can find - be it a ditch or someplace else. The National Weather Service has a whole bunch of information on Tornadoes and Tornado Safety.

Now having said that, the odds of you actually encountering a tornado during your roadtrip are pretty small. But its always important to know what to do if you find yourself in a severe weather situation, know matter what kind of storm or what time of year your are talking about.

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Originally Posted by mrhind

We are driving from Memphis to Oklahoma. Are there alot of small towns/places to stop should we come across a tornado?

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Just about all of the roadtripper enthusiasts active on this Forum carry a weather-alert radio that provides alerts about severe weather situations. A huge piece of advice -- if you manage to be lucky enough to be near a severe weather cell capable of producing a tornado, you will, no doubt, see folks stopping under bridge crossings in the mistaken belief that this is a good idea. DO NOT DO THIS. Like Michael says, you want to get into the lowest place you can find (usually a ditch is the safest place to be ) -- here is an excellent book with all sorts of tips about how to avoid injury when faced with extreme weather situations.

Mark

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Originally Posted by mrhind

Thanks for your advice Judy. We are going to go from Farm'ton to Grand Canyon then on to Zion and Bryce.

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Where are you going after Zion & Bryce?

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Originally Posted by Judy

Where are you going after Zion & Bryce?

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We are going to Las Vegas after Zion.

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Originally Posted by Editor

Just about all of the roadtripper enthusiasts active on this Forum carry a weather-alert radio that provides alerts about severe weather situations. A huge piece of advice -- if you manage to be lucky enough to be near a severe weather cell capable of producing a tornado, you will, no doubt, see folks stopping under bridge crossings in the mistaken belief that this is a good idea. DO NOT DO THIS. Like Michael says, you want to get into the lowest place you can find (usually a ditch is the safest place to be ) -- here is an excellent book with all sorts of tips about how to avoid injury when faced with extreme weather situations.

Mark

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Thanks for your advice. Can you recommend a weather alert radio, also, any idea where I can get one, Ebay maybe?

Cheers