Help choose route between Vegas and Spokane, WA

[jenntravel]

Hi,

Four of us in our early 20's are cruising from Vancouver to San Diego and then visiting Las Vegas for 2 days. We need help deciding which route would be best for our return trip back to WA state after Las Vegas. We have been to California before and also, to Arizona but we still have a lot of things we haven't seen and want to. We really appreciate national parks, too.

Option 1: Visit San Francisco-Alcatraz, follow the scenic coastal route, visit the redwoods, visit Crater Lake in Oregon, and maybe some other attractions along the way.

Option 2: After Las Vegas head east (already visited Grand Canyon before) to Antelope Canyon, Monument Valley, and the caves in New Mexico, see some stuff in southern Utah and maybe southern Colorado, visit some caves south of Boise before heading home.

After Vegas we have approximately 7 days at our disposal for doing this road trip although this is not set in stone. If you have suggestions for must see places to add to either route please don't keep quiet. Which option would be best for us based on things to see?

I'm also looking up stuff on other peoples threads for ideas. Thanks!

This will be in the second week of October 2009.

[Southwest Dave]

Hello and welcome to the RTA forums !

I'm also looking up stuff on other peoples threads for ideas. Thanks!

It's good to look around the forums for ideas and find things that appeal to you, but untill you have decided on your route it's impossible to give any useful suggestions. As you look around you will find one common reply "there is no best" as everyones tastes are different and each journey offers fantastic places to visit so the 4 of you are going to have to sit down and make that decision before we can be of much use.
At this stage I will point out that I think you might be underestimating how long going to New Mexico will add to your trip. If Carlsbad caverns were in your thoughts the trip would be over 2800 miles and the majority of your waking hours will be spent driving. Of course there are still many great parks to see in Utah and Colorado without the need to go to NM.

[Midwest Michael]

If you are interested in following the coast, why don't you do that as part of your trip south from BC to San Diego? It would seem to make much more sense to do it then, when you'd be traveling on the coast side of the road and you wouldn't be traveling a couple hundred miles out of your way to get there.

I also agree that I think you're underestimating just how far out of the way NM and Colorado are.

With the time you've got, I think I would focus mostly on the National Parks of Utah, and maybe even go as far north as Yellowstone before cutting back.

[jenntravel]

We will be taking a cruise ship down to CA... because two people haven't cruised before and that is kind of the point of the trip. We decided to do a roadtrip back up... so we could get some stuff in. The national parks I've been to are Saguaro, Yellowstone, Grand Canyon, Rushmore, Olympic. I think that's it.

I'm also, thinking NM would take too long so looks like that option is out. Do you have not to miss NP's in California, Arizona, Utah, Colorado that you think we should focus on?

Thanks for answering... it must get tiring getting the same questions over and over again, but the answers are very helpful and I appreciate all the insight I can get. There are so many cool places to visit and so little time).

[Midwest Michael]

Well, the cruise ship aspect does change things quite a lot, at least compared to cruising down the highway.

With that in mind, I might look at going across Death Valley and use Tioga Pass through Yosemite (which should still be open, although its not a 100% sure thing at that point of the year), then up the Coast from north of SF. I suspect getting a view of the coast from two perspectives could make for an interesting trip.

That said if you went up through Utah and saw some of those amazing parks, I don't think you'd be disappointed either. Lots of good choices here.

[jenntravel]

Thanks Michael. Ha, I apologize for such a confusing question)... sometimes I forget that just because I know what's going on in my head doesn't necessarily mean everyone else does.

We have lots of choices to think about. After we come up with a solid plan, if I still have questions I'll run it by you here for some fine tuning.

Thanks for your advice, everyone!