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Yellowstone before TAM?

Luciana

Skeptical Carioca
Luciana
Joined
Aug 5, 2001
Messages
10,984
Location
Rio de Janeiro - RJ
The ticket to the US in July, the cheapest, costs US$1,700. :re:

To spend all that money for 4-5 in Vegas... but I really really really want to go to TAM X - I was at the 1st TAM!! - so I thought... why not make it a longer trip?

I've been to many places in the US, and I've done everything available close to Vegas (Grand Canyon, the whole of California, a lot of Arizona and Utah, which I love). I'd like to stay longer in the US, and Yellowstone seems to be beyond awesome. And I love road trips in the US!

The Central Scrutinizer might be up to it, but we're yet to arrange anything definitive.

Tips? Advice? Anyone wants to come along? :)
 
The Central Scrutinizer said:
NO!!!! Do NOT invite anyone else! I want you all to myself! :)
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The guy never changes. :D The world might end in 2012 - but Scrut's... let's say, scrutiness - will live on. :D

Hutch said:
See here:

http://www.internationalskeptics.com/forums/showthread.php?t=232915

Scrut lives in the St. Louis area, IIRC, and Denver has a large International airport if you want to miss 800 miles of Plains.

Or let me think about Yellowstone--it has been 45 years since I've been there and that's too damn long, now that I think about it...
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While I'm sure that your planned itinerary is great, think about it -Yelllowstone is awesome. I'm thinking geisers, man! And lakes with many colors!

If your pre-TAM itinerary included 3-4 days in the general area of Yellowstone... that would be great. From there we could either drive or fly to Vegas.

OTOH, Arches and Canyonlands are in my "definitely-some-day" list, and Colorado is also a thing of beauty.

So many of my friends have visited New York, Miami and California, and so they think they know the US. Oh, no. Those cities are great, but it's the nature that keeps me coming back (that and my JREF friends...).

Let me think this through, Hutch!

Scrut, ideas???
 
Luciana,

Of the places you mention, Arches and Canyonlands are in close proximity. Yellowstone, is 560 miles (900 km) north of them. However, just 60 miles (95 km) south of Yellowstone is Grand Teton National Park -- which is absolutely spectacular.

I was in Arches in 2008, I think it was, and to get a campsite, I was forced to take a motel room in Moab the night before and then go to the National Park very early and wait for someone to leave a campsite. Also, be aware that the campsite is at the very end of the road, so that stopping at all the arches near the road will very likely delay your arrival at the campsite so much that there will not be a campsite left.

In any case, the Great Basin and the Rocky Mountain range have something for everyone.
 
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Luciana said:
The guy never changes. :D The world might end in 2012 - but Scrut's... let's say, scrutiness - will live on. :D



While I'm sure that your planned itinerary is great, think about it -Yelllowstone is awesome. I'm thinking geisers, man! And lakes with many colors!

If your pre-TAM itinerary included 3-4 days in the general area of Yellowstone... that would be great. From there we could either drive or fly to Vegas.

OTOH, Arches and Canyonlands are in my "definitely-some-day" list, and Colorado is also a thing of beauty.

So many of my friends have visited New York, Miami and California, and so they think they know the US. Oh, no. Those cities are great, but it's the nature that keeps me coming back (that and my JREF friends...).

Let me think this through, Hutch!

Scrut, ideas???
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Mmmm, like Scrut, let me think this through. Yellowstone is 740 miles from Denver and 910 miles from Las Vegas, so it isn't all that easy to get to....but nothing that great should be.

If you're going to do it, Luciana, need to start now, hotels in that area tend to book up fast for the summer.

I'll do some research myself. Encourage others to do the same.
 
Just FYI: Yellowstone accommodations book WAAAAAAAY early. My boyfriend and I went last summer and he was unable to get our first choice because it was booked solid. We got the *very last cabin* in our second pick and, even then, only got it for 2 nights. We had to stay in the very expensive Lake Yellowstone Hotel for one night (which was not even as fun as the cabins at Roosevelt!). He booked in early March; we went in mid-June.

My Dad is staying 4 or 5 nights at the LYH in early June. He booked the rooms at the end of last year. He wanted to stay at the Old Faithful Inn, but that books up approximately a year in advance.

Bottom line: if you want to go, book NOW! Though you might find that there isn't anything left - it's a very popular place. You might have some luck if you opt for camping, but study up on the weather. If you do get to go, it's beautiful! An absolute treasure trove of natural beauty. :)
 
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Avoid Old Faithful it is crowded and doesn't convey the sense of wilderness. There are geysers that are easy to get to in other areas of the park where you may be the only one watching it erupt. The roads are crowded in the south (3 million people go through each year) so head up north. Get our of the car! Take short hikes and see the real park. Bear attacks are like shark attacks, big news but very rare, lightning striking you is more likely. Go to the Lamar Valley and listen to the wolves (they weren't there when I was working in the park).
 
Well, I did some numbers and this does look possible (I presumed post-TAM, but pre-TAM would also be doable, I think).

The way it looks is that Salt Lake City is the nearest city with frequent and relatively cheap airfare to/from Vegas, there are hotels available outside the Park (everything I could find inside the park is booked solid), and if everyone can have a roommate the costs for hotels are reasonable.

A rental Minivan would run $600/wk, but if we found a total of 6 travellers, it would be only $100 each.

I'll drop Luciana and Scrut a PM with more details, but if anyone else is interested, send me a PM.

Thank you Luciana, I would never have looked into this without you, and now I think it is doable!
 
Sounds like fun. Which casino is Yellowstone at? :P

Seriously, I have a bit of vacation built up, so I could probably swing it. I'll check back in once I've seen if I can swing an extra four days. I don't think July should be busy, so it shouldn't be too difficult.
 
If you adventurous travelers spend a night in Salt Lake City, let me know if you would enjoy a tour of a brewery!
 
CORed said:
Besides, if the Yellowstone supervolcano blows up, Yellowstone is the place to be. You'll die quick, which is much better than starving to death.
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An excellent plan. The more educated people we can clear off right at the front, the easier it will be for me to retain hold on my secret lair and recruit/press-gang my army of minions to roam o'er the land to gather food.
 
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