My wife and I have made a few trips out west. We have decided that it is best for her to drive and me to navigate. This is a practical decision for two reasons: I am always looking for places to take pictures even when I am driving and, as cowboy poet Baxter Black wrote in one of his books, my wife "thinks West is something that Elmer Fudd does when he is tired". Now that both of us are not working full time we intend to go many other places in the United States.
Our recent trips out west were long driving affairs. We like to go in September and October because the hot summers are over and kids are in school. On the first trip, we flew into Phoenix, Arizona and headed for Sedona and the South Rim of the Grand Canyon. We stayed on the South Rim for a few days and saw California Condors, gorgeous vistas and beautiful sunsets. I got up every morning for the sunrise while Diane slept in. I think Yaki Point was my favorite place to view sunrises and sunsets. Leaving the South Rim, we drove through northern Arizona to Monument Valley and then to Durango, Colorado where our hotel room door opened up to the sound of the Animas River rushing by, which was a really good sleep aid. We toured the downtown area and did the Silverton/Durango rail trip. My wife had wanted to do this and I was ambivalent. Once we got started, I had no more ambivalence. Make sure you get the open car (be careful of coal cinders flying in the air) on the right side of the train to get pictures of the train engine going up the mountains. The scenery is fabulous all along the track. You can choose to take the train back down, but we took the bus to Durango and it saved some time. Our bus driver was full of information and kept us entertained the entire drive.
We left Durango and went to the Black Canyon of the Gunnison. I liked this place, more than my wife, because you can walk up to a rail fence and peer over to a 2,000 foot drop off. Beautiful rugged area. I wish that we had more time but we were on our way to Aspen. We were not there during the "season" but it was still pricey to us. We found a pizza place that charged us about $15 total for both of us to get one slice of large pizza and a coke. We ate there 3 times. The views were really great at Maroon Bells, about 20 minutes out of town, and Independence Pass. Google Maroon Bells and you will recognize it from print advertisements and TV shows. Ansel Adams has a well known image taken there.
From Aspen we drove to Colorado Springs and caught a flight home. We should have planned on more time in Colorado Springs because the Garden of the Gods was worth a day or two by itself. The drive by the Air Force Academy was exceptional.
The next trip was a drive though various climate zones with mountains, snow, extreme wind and desert. We flew into Salt Lake City and then headed to Yellowstone. Yellowstone did not impress me as much as some other parks that I have been to. I think that it is so vast that it is hard to grasp all the parts. One area was so windy that it almost took my door off when I opened it. We did enjoy the drive by the Firehole River and Old Faithful should not be missed. The Lamar Valley was closed due to wildfire in the area. Other highlights were the Old Faithful Inn and the animals. Really pay attention to the distance to the large animals as their size does not mean they are not extremely fast.
From Yellowstone, we made our way south into the Grand Teton National Park. The Grand Teton is second to Yosemite National Park on the awesomeness scale. There are stunning mountain views with the Snake River in the foreground. Sunrise is totally beyond words to describe the beauty. There is a well written blog with great photography at http://www.bestofthetetons.com which fully explores this area if you are planning a trip there.
Sadly we had to leave the Tetons, 5 days is not enough time there for a photographer, and headed south winding through backroads of Wyoming, Idaho and Utah, on our way to Provo, Utah where we stayed one night. Provo is a another place where one day is not enough. We then drove to Moab, UT where we stayed for 5 nights and explored Arches and Canyonlands National Park, Dead Horse State Park and the Highway 128 scenic byway. We returned to Salt Lake City with a side trip to the American Fork Canyon and then home.