Milwaukee to San Francisco in 2 weeks

[Midwest Michael]

On the schedule you've got listed, I don't think you've really got time for both Death Valley and Yosemite, if you want to make it from Pahrump to San Francisco the same day. Your plan to get up at dawn, when the day before you want to be in Vegas after dark, and then drive another hour and a half to Pahrump for the night, also seems to be an issue.

If it's me, I'm spending one less night at Grand Canyon - you'd still have nearly 2 full days there - to spend at least one night in Yosemite, both to see some of the park, but even more to break up the drive.

[cdubya]

That's not a bad idea, Michael.
That way we break up that long drive, and we can at least get in a morning hike in Yosemite before continuing on to SF. Thanks for the suggestion.

Side note: Should I expect problems booking campsites in the national parks during this gov't shutdown? I'm trying to set up an account to book sites but I'm having some issues. I got the email with the link to set a password but I keep getting an error message. I've sent an email to get some help but who knows if they'll answer. I plan on calling to book Arches today...will anyone pick up the phone? There are literally 4 sites left in Arches and I'm freaking out a bit...


CW

[Midwest Michael]

I think it will depend upon if it's actually the Park Service that handles the reservations, or if that's contracted out to a private concessionaire.

If it's the Park Service, there probably won't be anyone to respond until after the shutdown ends.

The good news, if it is the Park Service, everyone is having the same issue as you are and nothing will get booked. Also, there are lots of great campgrounds around the Moab area if Arches does fill up. The Campground at Canyonlands/Island in the Sky is one of my all time favorites, and it doesn't take reservations.

[glc]

At Arches, it looks like recreation.gov handles campground reservations. The NPS site says the visitor's center is open, here is the park phone number:

1-435-719-2299

Recreation.gov phone number for reservations:

1-877-444-6777

Moab area campgrounds:

https://www.discovermoab.com/

[cdubya]

Yes! Went ahead and called the reservation number and was able to book both
Arches and GC North Rim! So glad to have that done.