Arizona/Utah May 2016 Trip Report: Completed 5/26/17

[g8torlaw]

We leave at the end of June. Our brochure says Bearizona Park for lunch after Mather Point instead of the IMAX? Has anyone heard anything about this wildlife park?

 

[lucky1]

We leave at the end of June. Our brochure says Bearizona Park for lunch after Mather Point instead of the IMAX? Has anyone heard anything about this wildlife park?

Bearizona is popular here in Arizona, but in all my trips to the Grand Canyon (15+) I have never been, but you get to see bears up close. Lots of them.

 

[sayhello]

Loving the report, and seeing what's changed & what's still the same! Gorgeous pictures!! Nothing really prepares you for seeing the Grand Canyon for the first time, eh? Although, I'll tell you, even the 3rd time has that effect!

Congrats on beating the cancer! Traveling is hard when you have digestion issues; it's so great that you've persevered!

Sayhello

 

[Chirple]

Day 5 - Monument Valley/Moab

Sad to leave the Grand Canyon, but we loved that we would be seeing more natural wonders in a few hours. We left directly from El Tovar after breakfast and started the 3 hour drive to Monument Valley. Casey kept us entertained with games and movies. I played a lot of solitaire on my iPad, watched the ever-changing scenery roll by, and took sporadic naps. There were charging outlets at each seat; some outlets were less powerful than others so you might need to try different ones to get a full charge on your electronic device. The bus also has wifi so I connected to it and saved on my data plan.

When we got to Monument Valley, we could not stop staring out the windows. The monuments are extraordinary. We arrived at Goulding's and took a restroom break. We boarded an open air vehicle for a dusty road tour through some of the valley. We saw a couple of dirt devils sprout (look like mini dirt tornadoes). Thankfully, we were supplied with bandanas to cover our noses and mouths. There were a few tourist stands selling jewelry. I looked but made no purchases here. We had a lot of time to take and pose for photos as seen here:











After riding around in the valley, we returned to Goulding's restaurant for lunch. There is also a hotel nearby, and we both thought it would be awesome to spend the night here to watch the sunset and sunrise.


Before boarding the bus for the next 3 hour segment of our journey to Moab, my husband posed for Casey as he is a big John Wayne fan.


This was the longest day of the entire trip, and I give Courtney kudos for all of that driving. More fun and games took place during this leg; they helped the time roll by until we reached our final stop--Moab.

Here's a good stopping place for now. I probably won't have an opportunity to post updates until tomorrow evening after the gym/dinner. I don't think I will complete this before the next tour kicks off.

Regarding what to pack, I have posted in other threads in this forum the types of items we brought. We packed fleece jackets, jeans (2 pairs each), shorts, t-shirts that can afford to be ruined, nicer shirts for me, one nice outfit each, 2 pairs of athletic shoes, casual sandals for me, water shoes for me, a cotton jacket for me, two thin cotton sweaters for me, bathing suits for rafting (a tankini top, board shorts, and a UV protection shirt for me; bathing trunks and a UV protection shirt for him), and a hat for him. I also packed my lightweight scale in my suitcase because I weigh myself every morning, even on vacation. Once the trip started, the first opportunity we had to use self-laundry was not until we reached the Red Cliffs Lodge in Moab.

 

[carpenta]

Beautiful pictures! Thanks for sharing your adventure with us. We did this trip a number of years ago and still one of my / our favorites. Great to hear your successful battle with the big "C" and there are a lot of us in the "club" God willing. Looking forward to the rest bring back some wonderful memories for us.

 

[Luv2trav]

We leave at the end of June. Our brochure says Bearizona Park for lunch after Mather Point instead of the IMAX? Has anyone heard anything about this wildlife park?

Someone I work with has been to Bearizona and said it was amazing. If you like Bears of course. He said it was very cool.

 

[Luv2trav]

I am loving your report. Thank you for taking the time to write it.

 

[Chirple]

Beautiful pictures! Thanks for sharing your adventure with us. We did this trip a number of years ago and still one of my / our favorites. Great to hear your successful battle with the big "C" and there are a lot of us in the "club" God willing. Looking forward to the rest bring back some wonderful memories for us.

Thanks!

I am loving your report. Thank you for taking the time to write it.

Thanks! I double check with my husband what we did each day. There are other photo stops along the way, but it's easier for me to focus on the "big" items. One of the women kept a journal on the trip, and I wish I had done that as I did with our Mediterranean and Baltics cruises.

 

[sayhello]

I love that photo of your hubby in the doorway! Too cool!

Sayhello

 

[Chirple]

Just popping in to apologize for not having time to update this trip report today. After the gym/dinner, I had a lot of laundry to fold. I will say that our stay in Moab at the Red Cliffs Lodge was heavenly. Moab is on my list of places of where I need to return.

 

[sayhello]

Just popping in to apologize for not having time to update this trip report today. After the gym/dinner, I had a lot of laundry to fold. I will say that our stay in Moab at the Red Cliffs Lodge was heavenly. Moab is on my list of places of where I need to return.

Me, too! Some day! Our Guide Chris called it "A little piece of Heaven".

Sayhello

 

[DizMagic]

Booked for 2018 departure. Very interested in 2 things. Weather and your experience as an adult on a non-adults only trip. We are currently booked on the adults only departure, but I was actually considering the earlier departures due to heat sensitivity.

 

[pam95]

This may be dumb, but I'm wondering about the rafting portion of the trip. Would someone who doesn't know how to swim be comfortable with the rafting? What about someone who gets motion sick? I know there are different levels of rafting, but not sure what is offered...

 

[carpenta]

We took this trip in June and the river was like a float than a raft ride. Very pleasant and most took the opportunity to swim jumping out of the raft and holding on to the side ropes. Great time. The Red Rocks has a nice pool that you can relax by if you choose to skip.

 

[pam95]

We took this trip in June and the river was like a float than a raft ride. Very pleasant and most took the opportunity to swim jumping out of the raft and holding on to the side ropes. Great time. The Red Rocks has a nice pool that you can relax by if you choose to skip.

Thanks!

 

[Chirple]

Booked for 2018 departure. Very interested in 2 things. Weather and your experience as an adult on a non-adults only trip. We are currently booked on the adults only departure, but I was actually considering the earlier departures due to heat sensitivity.

We could not have asked for nicer weather during our week last year. If there is a heat sensitivity concern, I would recommend going early in the season. This does not guarantee there won't be a weird heatwave as we had temps in the 90s here for two days last week preceded and followed by temps in the 60s and 70s.

This may be dumb, but I'm wondering about the rafting portion of the trip. Would someone who doesn't know how to swim be comfortable with the rafting? What about someone who gets motion sick? I know there are different levels of rafting, but not sure what is offered...

Rafting took place on our last full day of the trip. My husband does not know how to swim and was pretty nervous about it. Our guide made him comfortable and allowed him to sit in the middle rather than on the edge of the raft. The rapids are quite mild (I have been thrown into stronger). I don't think they would cause motion sickness.

 

[*WDW*Groupie*]

Loving your TR so far. Your pictures are breath-taking; I can't even imagine what the real thing must look like.

 

[pam95]

We could not have asked for nicer weather during our week last year. If there is a heat sensitivity concern, I would recommend going early in the season. This does not guarantee there won't be a weird heatwave as we had temps in the 90s here for two days last week preceded and followed by temps in the 60s and 70s.

.

Rafting took place on our last full day of the trip. My husband does not know how to swim and was pretty nervous about it. Our guide made him comfortable and allowed him to sit in the middle rather than on the edge of the raft. The rapids are quite mild (I have been thrown into stronger). I don't think they would cause motion sickness.

Thank you! I'm loving your trip report and photos. I'm trying to decide if we can swing this for our first ABD next summe. We're a family of four, and vacations are so expensive. But this one (and the other ABDs) looks so amazing!

 

[Chirple]

Loving your TR so far. Your pictures are breath-taking; I can't even imagine what the real thing must look like.

Thank you! We were really happy in choosing this adventure as our first with ABD.

Thank you! I'm loving your trip report and photos. I'm trying to decide if we can swing this for our first ABD next summe. We're a family of four, and vacations are so expensive. But this one (and the other ABDs) looks so amazing!

Just having someone else taking care of all of the normal vacation planning and transporting made this a priceless experience for me. My ABD bucket list keeps growing!

 

[DizMagic]

I forgot to ask about the level of activity for the hikes. How long were the hikes typically?