Our Plan Is to Drive a Big Loop of the Western States. There Are Several National Parks

Participant #6

Dear Mary,

Guess what? Since I have passed my comps and will graduate with my Masters in August, Roger and I are planning the vacation of a lifetime for next summer! We have figured out where we want to go and what we will do there. We’ll send postcards!

Our plan is to drive a big loop of the western states. There are several National Parks in this loop, and we plan to visit each of them. We will begin, of course, by driving west to see Toni and A.J. and the kids. From there we will drive southwest, cross-country, to Steamboat Springs, CO, then on south toward Gunnison, then Silverton and Telluride. There is a narrow gauge train at Silverton that you can ride up and down the mountain, and since we both like train rides, we will take time for that. We’ll spend a night in each town so that we have time to peruse all the shops in Silverton. From here we will drive on south toward the Grand Canyon.

At the Grand Canyon we will stay in one of their cabins, which are more like motels. We will take the bus tour out to the point and spend plenty of time walking and looking at the canyon. There are several Indian ruins to see, too. While we are in the southwest, I hope to be able to take some pictures of hogans. I would really like to be able to step into several of them, but not sure how to accomplish this.

As we leave the Grand Canyon, we will drive through some of the parks in southern Utah, such as Zion and Bryce Canyon. Zion National Park is one of my favorite places. There is so much red rock here. The road curves and twists around and through the rocks. The longest tunnel I have ever driven through is here at Zion. Flash floods are a real threat, because when it rains, the water has nowhere to go, so it runs and pools. From here we will head north several days, driving to Glacier National Park. The only thing I don’t like about this park is that the summer nights are only about 4 hours long! On the way I want to be sure and stop in Missoula, MT. There is a wonderful carousel there that is just a riot to ride on, even for adults. You have to wear a seatbelt on your horse! Also, there is a museum dedicated to forest fire fighters here.

A couple of drives across Glacier will be sufficient! What a scary, narrow road! From here we will drive through Great Falls, then on down to stay in Red Lodge, one of our favorite spots to visit. I hope we have a little extra time to shop here. Then, of course, we will drive over Bear Tooth Pass into Yellowstone National Park. It was washed out last summer and we had to use the North Entrance above Mammoth. I am a little leery of driving over it, but haven’t heard of any washes or accidents in the past year. At Yellowstone, I hope we can get a room at Old Faithful Inn. An evening of dining in their dining room followed by sitting and listening to the piano player will be very satisfying. This time I want to spend some time walking around the geyser basins near Old Faithful as well as checking out the wildlife. Maybe we will see bear or grizzlies this time.

I imagine we’ll get tired from riding and driving, so we will take our time and plenty of breaks along the way. The interstate system is wonderful, but you miss a lot of beautiful scenery. So we will drive a lot of the two-lane highways and side roads. We will plan to stay in cabins and motels along the way. Restaurant eating can get kind of old, so we will pick up picnic food at grocery stores or delis along the way. We did that last fall on our Black Hills trip to Spearfish, and had a wonderful picnic at the foot of Devil’s Tower.

Love,

Grace