HONEYMOON!!

[humpy]

Hi all!

new to the forum here.. Tasha and David from Cincinnati, Ohio..

We are getting married august 8th of this year and since we do the beach thing at Christmas every year we decided that for our honeymoon we wanna go out west for 2 weeks with our camper..

we are towing with a 98 dodge dually cummins and have a 2013 cherokee 23b 5er...

we pretty much have an open agenda and have never really been out west...i have driven to Seattle and back but it was a quick trip and didnt stop along the way...Montana is beautiful!!

we are country folk from the sticks of southern ohio so we like simple things...we are looking for advise for stops along the way...my family says yellowstone is a must and the grand tetons are close too..my fiance has a bucket list wish of seeing snow capped mountains...some people say the grand canyon is awesome others say its a long drive and you walk to the edge and look for bout 10 minutes then its on to the next stop

what do yall suggest are sites or places or things that are a "must see" or "must do" for a young couple that are pretty active...we like a little hiking and small country restaurants...things like that...

enough with the biopgraphy (ha ha) lets see what you guys think?

thanks in advance!!

[humpy]

Thanks for all the replies !! Would love to take more time but it's just not feasible right now ... Kknowlton u have some awesome advice and I think that's what were leanin towards... I figure 2 1/2 days out and same back that leaves 8-10 days of runnin around... That's long enough for our first big trip lol... Keep the suggestions comjng!!!

[kknowlton]

Agreed that Grand Canyon is a must-see, and Monument Valley is on my bucket list. However, Danny's right, August will be hot there. And there is no way, in 2 weeks, you can do justice to both Yellowstone/Tetons and Grand Canyon. Therefore, save GC/Monument Valley for another, later trip, preferably spring or fall, and do the northern parks for your honeymoon.

[DannyA]

August is a hot time unless you stay in the mountains.
I can't imagine going west without seeing Arizona, beautiful state.
The Grand Canyon and Monument Valley are a must see.

[kknowlton]

Congratulations! Campfire Time has some excellent advice. Assuming you have only 2 weeks, then Yellowstone & the Tetons might actually be plenty for your destination; it's going to take you several days to get out here from Cincinnati and several days to get back. Yellowstone is huge and you'll be driving a lot within the park - whether you hike or not. Those 2 parks are contiguous and the same one-time entry fee ($25 for a week, I believe) works for both parks. IMO, you can't beat these parks for a place to honeymoon! There is no way you can see Yellowstone in a day, or even two - allow a minimum of 3 full days for that park, plus a minimum of one day for the Tetons. We're not hikers, but there are some dandy ones we or friends have done: in the Tetons, take the boat across Jenny Lake to Hidden Falls & Inspiration Point; in Yellowstone, Storm Point, Shoshone Lake and Natural Bridge are some possibilities. Other activities you could consider: horseback riding, scenic boat tour on Yellowstone Lake, rafting in the Tetons, the stagecoach/horseback ride with steak dinner at Roosevelt Lodge in Yellowstone. (Advance reservations required for the last one, through the concessioner Xanterra.)

From Yellowstone to Glacier is a long one-day or a two-day trip, one way, should you be interested in seeing that park as well, so be sure to allow for that.

And if you are going to any of them, make reservations ASAP! They are very popular and the chances of finding a campsite available, just showing up last-minute, are not good. This is true even of CGs outside the park. (You can visit the Tetons in a day trip from West Yellowstone; it will be a full day.)

[Campfire_Time]

Congratulations!

We've done a similar trip. Its very ambitious. Plan to spend at least half your time driving. Figure every 100 miles is 2 hours. We did 15 days, from Milwaukee to Vegas, then the Monterey Peninsula, then Yellowstone. Each stop was 2 to 3 days each. It was a blast. But if I did it again, it would have to be a 3 week trip. Two just isn't enough for a trip like that.

You like hiking, do a trip to Yellowstone/Grand Teton, and Glacier National Parks. I think that's easier to do in two weeks and you'll have so much to see and so many places to hike it'll be overwhelming for you. In Yellowstone some of the best stuff is accessible by day hike but off the beaten path from the crowds. We spent 5 days there in 2006 and didn't see but a fraction of what there is to see in the back country. Stay in West Yellowstone, MT. Lots of great little restaurants there. We stayed at Grizzly RV park twice. Excellent RV park and 2 minutes from the park entrance.

Look on Amazon for "Best easy day hike" books. Those hike aren't always easy, but they are good hikes and very scenic.

[naturist]

First off, congratulations!

Beyond that, unless you are planning to do the ten minutes, then on to the next spot thing, two weeks isn't going to cut it. You don't mention which Williamsburg you call home, (NY? VA? PA? what???) but I can tell you that Yellowstone and Grand Tetons along with just getting there and back can suck up the entire two weeks, never mind anyplace else.

If it was me, and I had the long list you are talking about, I think I'd set aside a bit more like 3 months. I've been there and done that. Took almost two weeks to do Y & GT. Took another two weeks to do GC north and south rims, Bryce, and Zion. And yes, GC is awesome, especially when you look at that other side and realize that it's 12 miles away, and that thin green line atop the cliff is made of 150 foot tall trees. Although there are many people who shortchange themselves by spending only 10 minutes there, there is lots to do and see if you take the time.

Take 3 months, you could hit Glacier, Yellowstone, GT, Mt Rushmore, Zion, Bryce, GC N&S, Death Valley, Yosemite, Muir Woods, . . . .

Just sayin' . . . .

[donn0128]

Two weeks is really not much time to get too far west.
As an alternative I would suggest Detroit area. Henry Ford Museum and Greenfield village are worth a week anyway. Then head north toward Pinconning and Macinak island for a few days.