Dreads Big USA Holiday

[D70FAN]

I'd say go for a helicopter ride over the Grand Canyon. It's one of the best things I've ever done. Far better than a theme park ride. We didn't land on the floor of the Canyon as it was more expensive but if I was doing it again I would book a flight that did.

Certainly food for thought, since a 4-7day rafting tour is a little impractical, and the hike to the river, and back, is pretty demanding. Shooting from the helo presents some interesting challenges. Be prepared to drop some serious coinage ($).

I just liked to hike the Rim Trail (about 26 miles total) all the way to Desert View. If you get tired and want to hitch a ride to the next point then there are also shuttle bus points as well. Bring plenty of water. If possible stay at The Canyon and catch the evening and morning light. Also I recommend entering the park from Williams, when you arrive, and exiting at the South entrance heading to Flagstaff. Several interesting Native American souvenir stands to peruse.

It's one of the places I truly miss having easy access to since moving back to CA.

[D70FAN]

So, about 11 days until departure. Hopefully you have an outline itinerary of the DPR Family Adventure.

Weather here in CA should be seasonal in the mid 60's (F) along the coast and mid 70's to low 80's inland. The Grand Canyon should be around 72-78 F with the lower desert in the mid 90's. Our (California) rainy season (what there was of it) seems to be on the wain.

Expect wind and fog along the CA coast (mainly afternoons).

[Dread Pirate Roberts]

Thanks D70, yes I had to plan out the whole itinerary to be increase my confidence I could cover the required miles to make the flight out of New York. As K1W1 suggested I had to be pretty ruthless and many must see items have been pruned from my itinerary. I've also set a punishing pace and it will be interesting to see in hindisight if I can follow through on it.

We start by landing after an 18 hr flight and going straight to La Brae Tar Pits and the battleship. Lets see if that really happens

[D70FAN]

Considering traffic that is pretty agressive as one venue is downtown LA and the other is in the opposite direction in Long Beach (USS Iowa). If you clear customs by 11am it might be doable. Good way to thwart jet-lag.

[Phill D]

Are you going to be able to post as you go so we can follow your progress?
You must be getting quite excited now. Have a great time.

[Dread Pirate Roberts]

Yep Phil, I bought a new lappy and lightroom so I can process photos every night and try and keep on top of the chore side of photography.

I will post the best half dozen to DCResource with a paragraph of impressions of the day each night.

I plan to burn back-up jpg's onto flash drives that I carry everywhere with me in case the lappy goes walkabout.

[D70FAN]

Can we get a preview of the planned itinerary?

Remember it's a vacation, not a documentary. If you hit the highlights then consider it a success. Hopefully the midddle of the country will be over the current flooding problems (the Mississippi River and it's tributaries) by that time.

[Phill D]

I'll look forward to your travelogue DPR. But I agree don't worry about missing some days as these sort of holidays can be pretty exhausting.

[Dread Pirate Roberts]

I'm embarrassed to post my itinerary as it's too full and the stays too brief even at this stage however here it is. The travel times are idealistic taken from Googlemaps but they served the necessity of proving to myself I could cover the distance even with the huge investment of time at theme parks at the start.

[K1W1]

That is one busy schedule.
The first thing I would do is take one day out of Disneyland I have no idea how people manage to spend multiple days there and then say they haven't seen the place. It isn't actually that big and unless you want to go on every single ride and shop in every themed shop even with kids a full day, go back for the fireworks at night (if they are on) and another half day or so should be enough.