Our third bus tour

[Ysabel Kid]

Back in 2023 Mrs. YK and I took a bus tour centered around Yellowstone National Park. We started in Rapid City (SD), visiting the badlands, then headed west stopping at Mount Rushmore, the Crazy Hose Memorial, Devil's Tower, Yellowstone, Grand Tetons, and ending in Salt Lake City. It was spectacular!

Then last year we did one visiting the New England states, starting and stopping in Boston.

We just got back from a trip in the southwest. Flew into Phoenix. From there the bus went to Montezuma's Castle, Sedona, the Grand Canyon, Monument Valley, Lake Powell, Bryce Canyon, Antelope Slot Canyon, Zion National Park, and ended in Las Vegas. The weather held out for us all week long, and as before, you not only see fantastic sights, but you get to meet great people.

This country is so beautiful. We were not going to go anywhere else but the good ol' U S of A on its 250th birthday. I've now become addicted to seeing our National Parks too. I can't recommend this enough. You have to see God's handiwork in person; pictures just don't do these sights justice.

[samsi]

Sounds like a great time.

We did the Grand Canyon for Christmas about 10 years ago. Had beautiful weather and wandered the south rim in light jackets all day. It was so enjoyable we thought that a re-do was in order a couple years ago...Rotten cold weather, fog, wind, blowing snow. Couldn't see a thing from the overlooks, but you could literally feel the massive void out there in the fog. A bit unsettling really.

[AJMD429]

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When going out West about 8 years ago to pick my daughter up from college in Idaho, I talked to my son into splitting the driving because I knew he was interested in checking some places out (And he eventually moved to Montana). He is kind of antisocial like me, and he said "We will stay away from the parks because there's too many people there..." So I let HIM plan our route and itenerary. We going to " Wilderness areas" Instead. We were about 60 miles from where he wanted to pitch a tent, and it was probably 2 PM, when he said "I hope we get there before dark so we can pick a place and pitch our tent". I thought that was kind of weird since we were on a four lane highway, but after about A mile we turned off to a side road and then almost immediately turned onto a gravel road which we took for the next 50 miles or so. We had to stop a couple times to move branches off the road. We stayed in that wilderness area for two nights and the entire time never saw another vehicle or another person. It was almost like we had landed on some habitable planet and we're exploring it for the first time.

He's getting married so My wife and I plan to drive out there and meander around a little bit. I doubt that she's going to want to hike up a mountainside and pitch a tent like I did with my son and daughter, but there certainly are a lot of places to see in our great nation.

It is such a shame that there are people who really want to destroy it, and many of them LIVE here...

[gamekeeper]

My tour of Arizona was an incredible experience I'd love to do it again

[Ysabel Kid]

We've planned all three of these around weather and school schedules. We don't have to worry about the latter, as we are empty nesters. But we want to avoid the crowds associated with schools being out during the summer. So two of the trips have been in late September/early October, and this one in late May - all when the weather should still be nice, and kids should be in school. Greatly reduces the crowds. Doesn't eliminate them - as these are popular destinations - but makes it largely tolerable. There are "tourons" (morons on tour) everywhere you go. That is the human condition!

[jeepnik]

There are "tourons" (morons on tour) everywhere you go. That is the human condition!

Mode of transportation matter not, morons do tend to abound. I've found it's best to just keep to myself and avoid tour groups as much as possible.

[Gobblerforge]

The wife and I have learned to take vacations after Labor Day. School is back in and the parks are near empty.

[BenT]

I live in Wisconsin and I only head west for vacation. Going east is just too much traffic and people. The national parks are worth seeing. I love Glacier. I have a collapsible fishing pole and enjoy hiking to the alpine lakes and do a little casting. In Glacier you do not need a fishing license. The BLM campgrounds are great, they are cheap and are always remote and awesome. The scenic vistas out west are just amazing.

The only friends I have still riding motorcycles are the dirt bike scum. We run Adventure bikes now and the BDR routes through the western states are remote and beautiful. Next year I am buying a transit van and kitting it out for van life. Getting ready for retirement. I will be spending a lot of time in the western states. The van, my bride and a Honda CRF 250 on the bumper.

[Bill in Oregon]

These are some nice tours you chose, Jay. Closest I ever came to a bus tour was the haul of Mount Rainier Council Boy Scouts from Seattle-Tacoma to Philmont Ranch near Cimarron, NM, in the summer of 1968. Going south, our first night was spent at Mountain Home AFB. Next night was at Cedar City, UT, after seeing the Tabernacle and Temple in Salt Lake. Next night was in Flagstaff IIRC, after passing through Zion and stopping at the Grand Canyon. As we crossed the border at Page, Ford was filming the iconic Mercury Cougar commercials at Glen Canyon Dam. Next night was at Kirtland AFB in ABQ after a stop at the Petrified Forest, before our final leg up to Philmont and a 10-day 54-mile hike. The trip back was hurried: a night at Warren AFB in Cheyenne, then Mountain Home again, then home. By that time, sleeping on Air Force and college gymnasium floors in mummy bags had gotten a bit stale, even for "resilient" teenagers.

Ben, no fishing license required in any of the national parks as they are federal reserves. If you ever get to Crater Lake in my old stomping grounds, take the boat tour and get off at Wizard Island -- the small volcanic cone down in the crater. While the footing on the lava is treacherous, the fly fishing is excellent and the water is incredibly clear.