Utah/Arizona Trip Plan Help Please.....

[deagle]

That's all the time we'll have. We have a 4 year old at home and he'll be in Grandmas care. We feel fortunate to be able to get away at all.

So far the plan:

Friday: Fly in to Las Vegas at 6 pm. Partake in free drinking and not free video poker to earn enough club points to get a free buffet and line jump pass. Friday night is seafood buffet. Huge lines. Go right to the front of the line. Eat myself sick on crab legs and butter, enough that I curse myself at every bathroom stop the following day. I love Vegas. I tend to regret the day after Vegas.

Saturday: Get up and be at bike rental when they open at 9 am. Finally take a Goldwing for a test ride. Head to Zion, then Bryce. Rudys has no rooms available. Their webpage has another hotel on it that we booked. Bryce Canyon Grand Hotel. Sounds fancy but it is a Best Western, and gets very good reviews. 4 1/2 hours, 241 miles ride time.

Sunday: Head to Grand Canyon North Rim if open, then Page AZ for Horseshoe Bend, cool bridge, and dam. Stay in Lake Powell. 6 hrs, 285 miles ride time.

Monday: Ride back to Vegas and repeat Friday night of excess drinking and eating. 4 1/2 hours, 270 miles ride time. Also allows us to explore the city of Kanab if we want on the way back.

Unfortunately this means I miss highway 12. It just adds SO MUCH time and kicks out no where near the other places my wife has wanted to visit.

So that's the plan....at this point. I have no idea if 4 1/2 hours ride time is considered too much or too little when riding through places like this. No hiking for us, but I'm sure plenty of pull over and look stops.

 

[HotRodZilla]

Do what you can and have fun!

 

[Bugnatr]

Enjoy the Wing, it's just like the FJR only different.

With all the adult beverages remember to stay hydrated, that dry heat sucks body moisture faster than you think. Have fun, I had a great time with the locals one night in the bowling alley in Page but that's another story..

 

[Spud]

Sounds like a great trip. Make sure you take the dead-end 20 mile trip up to Rainbow Point when you're at Bryce. With your hotel there, it's an out-n-back so you could either go in the eve. after checking in or in the AM. Then you don't have to have all your gear packed to run up there. It's one of the more spectacular sights along your whole route.

 

[deagle]

Rainbow Point. Added to the list. Thanks!

 

[FTL900]

My two cents... Don't go to Arizona.

I'd suggest instead doing a Utah parks day trip (a lot of miles and an all day ride), then return and having an easier day in Vegas, then riding through Death Valley and return. You'll enjoy it a lot more if you don't cram too much in, plus it allows you to leave everything at a hotel in Las Vegas rather than carrying it all with you. And even on a down day in Vegas, there are things to do and places to ride to locally, such as scenic Red Rock Canyon or the Hoover Dam. If my girlfriend doesn't have other plans for us, I'd ride one or both days with you.

It's probably an unpopular opinion, but I would leave the entire Grand Canyon/Arizona part out of it, it's quite a stretch from the Utah part.

These states are really big.

Save Arizona for the next trip. You can fly directly into into Phoenix and rent a number of bike models (GS, FJR, Africa Twin, Gold Wing, and many more) from GO AZ on the eastern side of Phoenix in Scottsdale. I bought my FJR from them in August and rode it home to Vegas, great people.

From the Phoenix area, ride through the mountains (little mountains) into Prescott and then over other mountains (a little bigger, scenic and curvy) through Jerome and on to Sedona, then turn north to Flagstaff and up into the Grand Canyon area. On the return trip from Flagstaff south into Sedona, you're descending from a higher elevation down into the valley and it's just gorgeous even in a car.

Just southwest of Sedona In Cottonwood, you can take a break and ride the train that leaves from there on an 20 mile out-and-back trip through the countryside. My girlfriend loved it! Get tickets in advance, they sell out the 400 seat train quite frequently. We did the first class, and it was worth the extra money for the experience.

If I can help with info or anything while you're in Las Vegas, let me know!! My email address is

 

[GunMD]

Valley Of Fire state park, just a quick flick north of Vegas.

 

[deagle]

Well, I see somebody brought this thread back to life. And I realize I never responded back with my trip result.

First, Thanks EVERYBODY for their advice. It made planning much easier, and I had NO idea where to start. We crammed as much as we could in a short amount of time.

We tried to rent a Goldwing for the 3 days. It was $800+ without insurance. Temps were all over the place, and we wussed out and rented a Mustang Convertible instead for $250 total with insurance. Much easier through the airport without helmets and cycle jackets. We flew into Vegas at night, temps 90+, picked up the car, and headed to our casino for the night. Eat, drink, and be merry. Got up the next morning and visited Zion (my second favorite), and Bryce. Thought Zion was beautiful, but crowded. We did get out and walk around a bit. The convertible allowed us a great view of our surroundings the whole trip. Bryce was cool in a different way, although I preferred Zion. The next day we drove to the North Rim of the Grand Canyon. Easy walk to different lookout points, hard to wrap my head around how huge that hole really is. Was incredible to see. Amazed by the people climbing out on ledges. We then drove to Page and spent the night. Woke up the next day to frost on the cars. 18 degrees. Kissed the Mustang, cranked the heat, and drove to Horseshoe bend to see the sun rise. Horseshoe Bend was my favorite. Wow, what water can do over time. Was beautiful, and the bold hipsters were walking up and sitting down with legs dangling over the edge for pictures. Come on. I know as I've gotten older the heights seem higher. Maybe I've just gotten smarter? I couldn't get within 5 feet of the edge. But loved Horseshoe Bend. From there drove back through Zion to Vegas where the temps were above 90 degrees still....72 degree change in a few hours. Saw a ton, ate well, drank well. All in all a fabulous trip. Jealous of those that can ride through that area whenever they want. Thanks again for the help in planning this.

Don.