RV Wallbanger (USA)

Member Name: AndrewPo

Product:	USA
Date:	14/07/08 (153 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: wonderful scenery, easy to get around

Disadvantages: awful food

4,500 mile road-trip in a 24' long RV round the national parks of Utah, Montana, Wyoming, New Mexico, Nevada, Arizona...

I am a very keen traveler and have been to many obscure places around the world, but I have never been too enthralled by American "culture", after all, you can get that anywhere or just turn on the telly, so I wasn't really planning to go there on holiday at the moment. I have been to the US of A more than ten times, mostly on business, because I worked for a Silicon Valley company for 15 years, and have done a couple of driving holidays there too. The weak dollar did however make a trip to America quite tempting and I do love the national parks in the USA. My plan for our 2008 adventure was to fly into Mexico City, then down to Guatemala, Belize, then up to the US, hire an RV (i.e. a huge camper van) for a couple of weeks to travel north through the national parks ending at Yellowstone and fly home from Denver. Effectively having two very different holidays. Unfortunately, the kind chaps at Trailfinders convinced my other-half that this would cost a fortune, and we'd be far better flying in and out of Las Vegas, to avoid the additional costs of flying into one country and out of another, and for the drop-off fee for the RV. This made a lot of sense and would save us literally thousands each, so I reluctantly agreed.

We flew with Virgin Atlantic into Las Vegas and stayed for one night at the Planet Hollywood Casino/Hotel. I won't give a review of Las Vegas here, because I have discovered that many people have absolutely opposing views to me about the place (i.e. they think it is the best place on the planet. An opinion I could almost understand if they lived in small-town America, but ...) I had been to Vegas once before and didn't intend to spend very long there.

We rented the RV from Cruise America (http://www.cruiseamerica.com) for about £1000 for 3 weeks. Their smallest model, based on a Ford V8 pickup truck with a huge house bolted on top. 24 feet long, 10 feet wide and 12' to the top of the air-conditioning unit. Inside the RV is very spacious, with one permanent double bed over the cabin, a double sofa-bed and the four-seater dining area converts into a third double bed, so 6 very friendly people could theoretically be accommodated. This would save us a fortune, rather than staying in expensive hotels. Cruise America provided bedding and kitchen equipment for a small extra fee of about $100 in total, and because it was our first time, gave us a briefing on how to empty the various fluid tanks. We watched a short film about what to do and what not to do, then set off. We stocked up on food and other camping supplies at Wal Mart, and set off North out of Vegas.

We didn't get very far though. Cruise America, very sensibly, won't let you pick up a vehicle on the same day you arrive on a long-haul flight, so we had to wait until the following day. There is also a very expensive "early-bird" option with the RV rental costing between $200 and $400 depending on the day, to pick it up in the morning. We didn't pay this and left quite late and only got as far as Mesquite, just south of the Nevada border. We stayed in the Oasis Casino Motel (just $70 for the room), rather than camp. It was awful. Huge numbers of addicted gamblers making the journey over the border to Nevada, where the laws allow them to feed their addiction. The motel had no other redeeming features.

Zion National Park

We continued the next day towards Utah's wonderful national parks. Our first night in the RV was at Zion National Park, in the beautiful campsite near Zion Lodge. It was just $18 for the night and for that you get a good sized parking space with a picnic table and an electric hookup to plug the RV into for lights and air-conditioning etc. but most important of all, that view. An absolutely stunning place to sit outside and watch the sun go down behind the hills, and the red soil gradually change colour. I then cooked a nice meal in the ample galley kitchen and we went to bed. We had propane heating and there was still some snow around, so it was cosy. My other half disagreed. The heating was too noisy so we had to turn it off and my cooking was too smelly and she couldn't sleep. Oh well. Only another 3 weeks to go. Zion Park has a 6 mile scenic road running through it which gives an excellent view of the scenery. Various trails are accessible along the way, and at the end of the road, a car park, viewing area and more trails. Soaring rock faces with twisted trees clinging to them and a strange surreal light. What could be more beautiful?

Bryce Canyon

Bryce Canyon was our next one night stop, and really is even more beautiful than Zion. Stunning vertical columns of reddish sandstone are even more impressive than the Grand Canyon. Going in mid-March had the advantage that very few tourists had arrived yet, and seeing Bryce covered in snow is a sight few will have seen, making it perhaps even more special. Bryce has a similar setup to Zion, but the lodges inside the park didn't open for a couple of weeks (mid-March is a bit early in the season) and, rather than spending two nights in a row in the RV we opted for an hotel, Ruby's Inn, just outside the park. Bryce Canyon has another beautiful 10 mile scenic drive with several places to stop, photograph and marvel at the wonderful views.

Ruby's Inn, Bryce Canyon was the only hotel open, near-by, but also appeared to be the best option for miles around. It was ancient, by American standards, established in 1916 and still retained it's character. It is now run by Best Western, which in no way diminishes the experience. The roaring fire in the Foyer (I mean lobby) is surrounded by leather chairs and makes a wonderful place to thaw-out and read. A large, useful camping shop on one side of the lobby and a restaurant on the other provided our entertainment. There is no bar, as such, perhaps due to rather strict licensing laws in Utah, but if you ask permission from the staff, drinks purchased in the camping shop can be consumed next to the fire (I did feel rather naughty though, so we went to the licensed restaurant for a meal) The restaurant was O.K. rather than good, and provided the usual American options in ridiculously huge portions. I hate wasting food, and quantity is no substitute for quality, but outside cosmopolitan cities in the US that's the only option.

Our journey continued through Capital Reef, another national park with similar, but still striking scenery, to Moab, Utah. The intention was to get to Moab in one day, but ended up staying in a Day's Inn in Tooley, for just $100 for the night, which was very good value for money for a good simple comfortable room and access to a child infested swimming pool, but no restaurant. There is a coffee shop next door, and a diner/restaurant a short walk up the hill nearby, where more enormous quantities of steak or chicken could be consumed. Not too bad, in fact, but extremely fast service and certainly not a relaxed experience.

Next stop was Moab, Utah, an ideal base for Canyonlands and the Arches National Parks. Two more stunningly beautiful national parks, with similar scenery, perhaps with the exception of the arches themselves (huge arches of sandstone carved out by the winds) We had perhaps seen enough of this kind of scenery, by this stage, but were certainly not bored. The town of Moab is a popular tourist destination, particularly with sporty types, with plenty of climbing, "horse-back riding" (as they say in America) and off-road driving opportunities. There are a good selection of standard American hotels and restaurants and bars. If you want a drink in a bar, you must buy some chips (i.e. fries) to get round the strict licensing laws. We stayed at a fairly standard Best Western and ate at mediocre establishments, but were getting used to that by now.

Driving out of Moab, at high altitude and up hill, we managed just 4 miles per gallon and after 30 miles without seeing a petrol station we ran out of petrol. The steering became impossibly heavy as the engine cut out and I struggled to keep the monstrous truck on the road. We started walking, and we immediately picked up by a very kind man, who took us 25 miles to the first petrol station, bought 5 gallons in a plastic container and some more extremely helpful people took us all the way back to the RV. 24 miles later we ran out of petrol again within sight of the petrol station. Driving an RV is an expensive business.

We drove north to Salt Lake City via Lima, a one horse town, with just a snow-covered, empty RV park to stay in, for the exorbitant price of $8 and an empty bar where frozen pizza was lovingly thawed out by the chef.

Salt Lake City, Utah

We stayed at the Red Lion Hotel in Salt Lake City, the following day. A good modern hotel with a useful shuttle-bus service to downtown and Temple Square, and the Sky-Bar, a trendy night-spot, with great view overlooking the city, that insisted on seeing our passports before we went in. The Temple and Church of the Latter-Day Saints is interesting and the free tour by Mormon sisters from the church, well worth doing, although there isn't that much else to do here. Bars require you to become a member of the club before you can have a drink, but this only cost a few dollars.

Yellowstone National Park

We eventually reached Yellowstone, North Entrance, just over the border in Wyoming. The highlight of our trip. I have wanted to go there ever since seeing Yogi Bear cartoons as a child. The west & south entrances were still closed for winter and many of the roads through the park impassable due to snow. This is an important consideration if planning to go to Yellowstone during the winter. Some of the lodges are open most of the year, but most are closed in the winter. There is a two-week period in late March each year when all lodges are closed, and access to much of the park is not possible, because the roads that are usually closed all winter are being cleared and even the snowmobiles, the usual means of getting around in the winter can't be used on them. By a slight miscalculation we chose this time to arrive, so the whole place was deserted. This however turned out be a bonus. Few other tourists were there, with virtually no traffic on the north road, which remains open all year. Driving between the Gardiner, Montana, near the north entrance and Cooke City at the north-east entrance takes a couple of hours in snowy conditions and provides wonderful snowy views of the park. We saw three coyotes eating a deer, very close to the road, then a pack of 12 wolves, lots of bison, big-horn sheep and mule deer. Fantastic experience. Lunch at Cooke City, however was not. More of the usual rubbish. Driving back to the north entrance took up the rest of the day and apparently we missed seeing a grizzly beer by just a few minutes.

We stayed in Gardiner, which is by far the best option at this time of year, with a reasonable selection of hotels, bars and restaurants, albeit with dubious culinary offerings.

We drove from Yellowstone to Buffalo, WY (250 miles) then Custer (another 250 miles) staying in a Super 8 Motel at each location, for just $62 and $68 per night, including a free continental breakfast which was very good value. Buffalo and Custer had an awful selection of restaurants and very little that was open at this time of year. Custer seems to be there purely for traffic to Mount Rushmore, which is worth seeing as an iconic American landmark, but probably not worth driving too far out of your way for, and on to Cheyenne, the Capital of Wyoming. Cheyenne has a good old downtown with a selection of more interesting restaurants and bars, but for us nothing more than a useful break in our journey, and the howling gale through the downtown meant staying inside as much as possible was essential.

Denver, Colorado

Denver was a pleasant surprise. Finally a selection of good food. The Ramada was a good comfortable place, a short taxi ride from downtown Denver (didn't risk trying to park the RV) Larimer square is the place to go to for the best restaurants, cafes and bars. The Rioja restaurant served particularly good food of a more European nature than we'd been experiencing. 16th Street runs from Larimer Square and provides shopping opportunities and more cafes, leading up to the State Capitol and the Colorado history Museum. The Museum is definitely worth a visit, giving a splendidly honest account of the plight of the native American tribes in the area with plenty of films and artifacts to keep you entertained for hours. Best of all though was the Cru Wine Bar, 1442 Larimer St., a great little bar with a nice atmosphere, which offers over 50 wines by the glass or flight (a small rack of three 1/3 glasses with selections of similar wines and tasting notes. Great fun)

Santa Fe, New Mexico

Santa Fe was another 400 miles into our journey. A difficult place to drive a 24 foot truck, but we managed to find a car park in the old town, and stayed at the luxury El Dorado Hotel, which really did make a pleasant change from the motels, but obviously at a cost. The room was just $140 a night, but dinner was as much again and breakfast was a extortionate $30 each. The old town is very pretty, but not very exciting if you don't enjoy shopping for over-priced pointless trinkets. The Café de Paris, however makes a good refuge from the shops, and the old style Ore House Restaurant and bar makes a relaxing place for a beer overlooking the Plaza from it balcony. Restaurants in Santa Fe were overpriced and not particularly inspiring.

Albuquerque, New Mexico

Next stop was Albuquerque and via Bandelier National Monument Ancenstral Puebloan Site. This site is a must for any jounrney in this area. It is one of the few chances to see what life was like before the Europeans arrived. Small stone houses and cave dwellings cut into the mountainside. Albuquerque Old Town Hotel is an excellent place from which to explore the old town. A big modern hotel, easy to access from the main roads through the city, with huge parking facilities, but a short walk from the old town and it's tourist shops and cafes, bars and restaurants. Worth popping in if you are in the area or following Route 66.

Flagstaff, Arizona

Our final stop before returning to Las Vegas was Flagstaff. A good place from which to visit the Grand Cayon and the Hoover Dam. The route into Las Vegas took us over Hoover Dam which took a while because all large vehicles e.g. RVs need to be checked for explosives, then there was a long traffic jam slowly snaking over the dam, but what an incredible construction. Built in the 1930s it is a stunning piece of art deco architecture.

Conclusion

Should you rent an RV and drive 4,500 miles through the national parks of USA? I would say yes, but unless you are very hardy don't do it until the snow has melted. Having your own kitchen means there is at least a chance of decent food in even some of the more remote parts of America, it is very inexpensive and ought to be fun for all of the family. These enormous vehicles are easy to drive forwards, especially in the national parks but difficult to park or reverse, without assistance.

This review is also posted on ciao.co.uk, squidoo.co.uk

http://www.squidoo.com/usanationalparksinanrv

For some photos see my website:

http://andrewporterconsulting.co.uk/usa.htm

Summary: Some of the best national parks in the world