Honeymoon from TN to West Coast

[NaturesChild]

My fiance and I are getting married May 2014 and were planning on heading on a road trip west right after. We will be traveling in a small car and starting the 18th....

MAJOR sights we wanna see are

1. Grand Canyon
2. Blue John's Canyon
3. Las Vegas? (possibly)
4. We can't decide on if we wanna just head to Yellowstone or Yosemite.

where to stay?
should we camp?

After one of the two we will have to head back to Bristol.
We have almost 2 weeks on this trip therefore we have to prioritize what we want to see, that's why I am asking for advice.

We both LOVE hiking and seeing unique cool places. If anyone has any suggestions at all please feel free to comment.
I ask that nobody leave any smart ass comments, yes I am a bit clueless on how to plan a trip like this but I do not need any negativity please....

:)

[glc]

Welcome to RTA!

Yellowstone may or may not be that good an idea - it isn't fully out of winter mode till Memorial Day. Not all roads and facilities may be open yet, and it can still get COLD at night if you plan on camping there. Yosemite would be a better bet, the valley is open year round and most of the high country should be (but not guaranteed) accessible. However, it takes longer to get there. The south rim of the Grand Canyon is open year round, the north rim may or may not be open yet.

Blue John Canyon is very remote, and a small car is not a very good way to get there. You have to travel on many miles of unpaved roads.

Now, with the negativity taken care of, you need to allow 3 to 4 days of just driving each way to get out into the Utah/Arizona/Nevada/California area. You are definitely going to have to plan this fairly carefully.

With the time you have and your expressed desires, I might consider just doing the Grand Canyon and several southern Utah parks. They are all spectacular and are pretty close to each other. If the roads are in decent shape, Blue John is right in the same area.

From Bristol, it would take you 3.5 days to deadhead to the Grand Canyon - I-40 all the way. From there, it's 5 hours to Las Vegas. From there, 2.5 hours to Zion, then 2 hours to Bryce Canyon. It';s about 2.5 hours from there to Capitol Reef via UT-12 (Highly Recommended) then about 1.5 hours for the turnoff to Blue John. 70 miles of unpaved road - 3 hours each way?

Back on the paved road, 1.5 hours to Moab (Arches, Canyonlands). 3.5 days back to Bristol from that general area, I would probably take I-70/I-64/I-57/I-24/I-40/I-81.

[Mark Sedenquist]

Welcome to the Great American RoadTrip Forum and congratulations on your pending marriage.

How experienced are you in canyoneering? Only the fittest and saaviest of hikers/climbers should try and reach Blue John's canyon in the slickrock country. It is more than 10 miles from the closest road. I've hiked a good deal in the slickrock area, but I would put Blue John out of my skill set....

Two weeks is a good time for such a trip, but it sort of depends upon how much time you want to spend in Las Vegas. Where are you getting married? What airports are you flying in and out of?

How much money are you budgeting for this epic holiday?

Mark

[EDIT] OK, I missed the Bristol, Tennessee reference before. As GLC referenced above, you will need ~ 8 days transit time to drive from Bristol to Utah and back again, leaving six days for hiking and exploring the parks. That's a pretty brisk pace for a honeymoon. Are both of you keen on that hectic a schedule?

[glc]

It is more than 10 miles from the closest road.

Wow - I knew it was remote, but not THAT remote!

If you wanted to get off the beaten path in that general area, you could rent a Jeep in Moab to take into the Canyonlands back country.

you will need ~ 8 days transit time to drive from Bristol to Utah and back again, leaving six days for hiking and exploring the parks.

Have you considered flying into a western city (Las Vegas, Salt Lake City, etc.) and renting a vehicle?