retiring soon and taking 1st long trip..help! please

Janss wrote:
Southern Utah is great with all the parks. But if you don't like the heat, maybe head to higher elevation places in Colorado, like Rocky Mountain Nat'l Park or Durango.

That's what I was thinking!

Four weeks is not very long so I suggest you head to Colorado in June. We spent 10 weeks exploring CO last summer and felt that that was just an overview. We plan to go back some year and see even more of the state. In June & July the weather was great. It is a beautiful state and there are a ton of opportunities to travel off road to ghost towns and old mining camps.

One of the things we discovered is that moving every week is tedious and we decided that we should change our MO to moving every two to four weeks, and preferably the latter. Take your time and enjoy your retirement.

doxsin wrote:
Retiring in june and planning our 1st long trip (4 weeks) in our new 2015 28F class C Thor..heading from Houston, TX to OK to visit family and then off to explore...thinking of heading to Utah. It will be DH and I with our 5 year old dachshund. Any and all must does and don'ts will be greatly appreciated! We prefer camping in a park, rather than on rv slabs. :B

Retiring in june and planning our 1st long trip (4 weeks) -- Couple of things come to mind – June could be warm – actually HOT in Utah – Possible to add a couple more weeks? Or months?

TX to OK to visit family and then off to explore...thinking of heading to Utah -- Like I said HOT in Utah, but as luck would have it we have a great, GREAT option that is just a little closer, and so much cooler COLORADO. The only issue you might have, being from Texas is that you may run into a neighbor or two who is already found Colorado.

with our 5 year old dachshund -- an animal will need to be a part of any plans you make – need to keep him safe, which usually means you will not be able to leave him in the vehicle during hikes or activities, which usually means it needs to be cool or plugged in so as to not be an issue.

Any and all must does and don'ts -- Just too much.

We prefer camping in a park, rather than on rv slabs. -- Just keep Wal*Mart in mind when traveling distances – safe and easy, JMHO.


Not to over use an earlier post -- but this will provide you with just a few of many things to see an do in Colorado;


Let me start off by saying that IMHO Colorado offers as much Adventure and Beauty as any part of the country – add to that that is very close to the center of the US and it’s exceptional weather make it a great destination vacation.

In my first dozen plus trips to Colorado I usually traveled to RMNP and Colorado Springs. Having spent most of my life either on the left coast or the right coast I actually only did the touristy drive through when going from one coast to the other. I never really was able to spend much time just being immersed in the culture or the people and land of the state. Having seen the Coors commercials I was under the impression that Golden was a town located deep in the Rockies – not just 15 minutes from downtown Denver. You can imagine my surprise when I discovered this and so much more about the state when my son moved there in 2002.

With my truth in a very limited -knowledge, on the state of Colorado I will move forward with my personal suggestions for a week or two in Colorado – a sort of 7-17 days to see the state.

Most people will start in Rocky Mountain NP – I am sure most are aware of the Pine Beetle Kill – it has decimated the beautiful green forest of RMNP – making it a very different trip from what it was just 5-6 years ago. Still it is RMNP and it does have some very impressive natural features and hikes to offer. IMHO Estes is (the east side of the park – where most visit) just not that attractive in the tourist season. The Camp Grounds leave much to be desired and the town is much to crowded for my personal taste. With that said I love to visit and spend time on the other side of the park – WEST- at Grand Lake a smaller town with still a sort of quaint feel about it, much more family oriented and not nearly as crowded. The drive from one side of the park to the other over Trail Ridge is not to be missed – the many hiking areas away from the crowds are many and varied – from Longs Peaks- 14,000’+ to many of the hikes to lesser known peaks and lakes, more than enough to spend the entire trip on and only scratch the surface.

Peak to Peak drive is the next thing I would insist that you experience – for me I would base camp in Golden and make this drive a couple of times, or make the loop across Trail Ridge and Berthoud Pass – not a drive for the faint of heart as both offer switch backs and areas free from guard rails on some very impressive grades to get over and down from these Passes.

With Golden Clear Creek CG as my base you could option to go into the town of Denver or Boulder both are full of adventures on there own. Leaving Golden I would head out Rt 6 to I-70 getting off at Rt 91 and heading to Leadville, Highest incorporated Town in the US 10,000’and home of Quincy’s Steak House for a Leadville dinner. Turquoise Lake, 4X4 trails, historic town, and base for a day trip over Independence Pass and a dash to Maroon Bells in Aspen. This trip is good anytime the pass is open but is truly spectacular in the last week of September when the Aspen turn GOLD.

From Leadville down to Buena Vista – home of the Arkansas River Rafting adventures – great in the early summer with the snow melt. If you have missed the rafting at it’s peak not to worry as the trails and drives in the Collegiate Peaks are again very special, you can get all the way over to Crested Butte – a very neat little ski town – by 4X4 or gravel road.

Just a note here – the beetle kill is starting to leave its mark in this part of the state – so my advice is to see it NOW, before it changes forever.

Now for some difficult decisions – Gunnison area – Lake City – Ouray – Silverton – if you have the time all of the afore mentioned areas are special.

Gunnison – Crested Butte – Gunnison lake – Black Canyon of the Gunnison NP – Fly fishing – hikes -- 4X4ing.

Lake City – Just a special little town that still has a western charm that is hard to match – 4X4 trails to die for – hikes – lakes – 14ers – fish – Creede and on and on – its is just located in something close to an unspoiled paradise. JMHO.

Ouray – would be the logical base camp choice – central location – hot springs – CG – Near Silverton – more trails – Telluride just over the mountain – Hikes -- 4X4 trails just a great location and neat little town.

Silverton – in the middle of it all – if you are really into the back country this might just be for you – they have CG’s in town but you can easily Boondock in the NF – train – 4X4 trails – quaint – beautiful – but isolated.

Now if the weather is really cool you can always bounce over to Utah and warm up if its great and you need more Colorado head up to Delta and Rt 133, catch Marble and Redstone before getting back on I-70 two interesting areas with neat little history’s. If you did not get over to Maroon Bells catch it now – this is a great treat that I will never visit too often.

Now if you are headed west just follow the route into Moab – if you are headed back to Denver just take I-70 back – the over and under highway along the Colorado River just East of Glenwood Springs is considered one of the most beautiful parts on the Interstate Highway system and it will head through Vail and right back into Denver – If you can remember to get off at the exit just east of Idaho Springs you can take Rt 6 back to Rt 58 into the City.

Hope this is of some help of some of the many options in Colorado. If you want to see even more -- you will need a lot more TIME.

BOL,


Just an added note -- Colorado has some great State Parks -- Problem is you need to make reservation 6 or more months in advance -- good thing is that it Appears to me that there are usually spots that are left open -- not sure what the policy is but might be worth a look.

If you are interested in an area do an advanced search using 4runnerguy as the poster -- he usually has the most concise and currant info on all of Colorado. Whenever we travel, with a planned route I will always check his post for great info.

BOL,

Of course, if the OP is from Houston, he's used to heat. :) The dry heat in southern Utah might feel real good by comparison!

I would also head north to cooler places. Our favorite places in order: Glacier National Park, The Tetons, Yellowstone, Oregon Coast, Redwood Trees. We missed Utah on both our last trips. It's on our list! Enjoy!!

Just a couple of stops.
Spend a night at the campground at the bottom of the second largest canyon in the USA Palo Duro Canyon State Park just south of Amarillo.
On your way back to Houston spend a night in Tombstone AZ.

Someone else who is retiring about the same time wanted to go to UT from CA in the summer and most of the responses were the same -- head to CO. Now that you're retired, you can do UT at the best times, namely spring and fall. CO in the summer is the place to be.

Check out some of my suggestions here.

dont forget Colorado and new mexico

Work your way up through Oklahoma into southern Kansas somewhere west of Wichita and follow US-50 west across southern Colorado to Grand Junction. You will go up to the source of the Arkansas River, then down the Gunnison valley to where it joins the Colorado.

Depending on where you start following the Arkansas River, stops might include Great Salt Plains, Dodge City (sort of a theme park), Bent's Fort, Royal Gorge, Curecanti NRA, Black Canyon NP, and the Colorado Monument. Then south from Green River into the Moab area parks and recreation areas. Pikes Peak and Colorado Springs can be worked in as a side trip from Pueblo. We used up more than a week from Guthrie to Moab, trip planner had it as a two day drive, and we could have spent a lot more time along the way if places in southern Colorado weren't starting to close for the season.

Another route across southern Colorado is US-160, which goes across the southern edge of Colorada and into Arizona at the Four Corners, so you have to go north into the Moab area parks, but you are closer to the Grand Canyon and the SW Utah parks. I haven't made that trip yet.

Thank you all so much for your feedback, it has us rethinking our route, your input is greatly appreciated and valued!!