magnusfide wrote:
I recommend you pick out 5 of your most desired spots and spend more time in each or you will be run ragged IMO.
The 4 main spots we wanted to hit on this trip were :
1) Las Vegas
2) Grand Canyon
3) Mesa Verde National Park
4) Durango-Silverton Railway
Monument Valley and Moab (and to a lesser degree Great Wolf Lodge in Grand Mound) were added in when our general routing presented the opportunity to take in a short visit to these places by just making a small detour off what would be a slightly more direct route. Given how early in the season we'll be travelling, of the 4 stops listed above, the Grand Canyon is probably the only place where I might have liked to add another day (we'll have 1 full and 2 half days there as it is) but I thought getting a short look at Monument Valley and Goosenecks SP might be a better use of an extra day.
If we do find anywhere along the route that we feel we want or need to spend an extra day we do have that opportunity. We can add a day or two if needed (we don't absolutely have to be home till day 21 . . .).
mgirardo wrote:
Is there enough to do in Vegas with a 10 and 12 year old for three days?
I initially would have thought no (having been there many times but only with adults) as well but actually when you look into it there is quite a lot. There is obviously a lot of junk in there but there are a few gems as well (we hope).
Here's a few : http://www.buzzfeed.com/mikespohr/awesome-things-to-do-with-your-kids-in-las-vegas#.hjK5XkPj6
Another : http://www.tripadvisor.ca/ShowTopic-g45963-i10-k1796700-Top_125_things_to_do_with_your_Family_in_Las_Vegas-Las_Vegas_Nevada.html
For us, Vegas on this particular trip is about finding somewhere warm that we can lay around and play in a pool for a couple of days. Mandalay Bay has a huge pool with an actual "beach" as part of it. They also have a lazy river. It's a little early in the year (although the highs last week were in the high 70's/low 80's) but hopefully those afternoons will be filled up with pool time. Evenings will be taken up with a 'fun" dinner and or a "show" somewhere.
mgirardo wrote:
If it were us, Day 2 and 3 would be 1 day. Doesn't appear like you are doing anything on those days other than driving, so why not combine it?
Day 3 (Boise ID to Ely, NV) isn't a section that is very suitable to be driven after dark from what I've been reading. It's pretty remote. In one post someone said, "dark sky, dark road, dark cows" over much of the route. Not the best for night driving. We could have probably pushed through to Vegas by combining Day 3 and 4 but I've never been over that route and really wanted to give us the opportunity to stop and see a few things of interest along the route (Ely area and The Valley of Fire State Park especially).
The other days that we could potentially combine would be Day 16 and 17 but the section from Boise ID to Pendleton OR is another one that is probably best done during the day as that is one of the only sections of the route where the weather can change fairly quickly as it has some higher mountain passes.
4runnerguy wrote:
I'd give up the days in Vegas for a couple more days in Moab. Your boys will surely enjoy Moab far more than Vegas.
I'm right there with you but on this particular trip I would lose that argument with my wife. Moab is somewhere we will absolutely go back to in the next couple of years as a destination all it's own (or more likely combined with a longer trip to include Bryce/Zion/Canyonlands etc) when we can really do it justice.
The most direct route home from Durango takes us right through Moab so we figured we had to make sure we set aside a few hours (I'm pretty sure we will end up having 6 or 7 hours there) for Moab and figured that Arches offered the best opportunity to get a taste of the area in a short amount of time.
Very much appreciate the input so far (and thanks in advance for any additional thoughts that many come).
