Over the last two weeks, Joel and I have been doing a LOT of traveling. We have been talking about going out West for several years now, and we decided to go for it while we have a schedule that allows for a two week trip.
So, on May 11th, we boarded an airplane in Atlanta and flew to Denver. From there, we rented a car and drove to all of our (many) destinations. We made a big loop, landing back in Denver on the 24th of May to fly out on the 25th.
So here is the itinerary:
Day 1 – May 11th
· Fly Atlanta to Denver
· Travel Denver to Great Sand Dunes (CO)
· Camp at Pinyon Flats Campground
Day 2 – May 12th
· Great Sand Dunes
· Travel to Mesa Verde (CO)
· Mesa Verde
· Camp in Morefield Campground
Day 3 – May 13th
· Mesa Verde
· Travel to Grand Canyon (AZ)
· Camp at Mather Campground
Day 4 – May 14th
· Grand Canyon
· Camp at Mather Campground
Day 5 – May 15th
· Travel to Hoover Dam
· Hoover Dam
· Travel to Las Vegas
· Night in Las Vegas, NV (MGM Grand)
Day 6 – May 16th
· Travel to Sequoia (6:20)
· Camp at Lodgepole Campground - This didn't happen because it was around 20 degrees outside. We stayed in a hotel instead!
Day 7 – May 17th
· Sequoia (Also didn't happen because the state of California requires snow chains for tires after a snow)
· Travel to Yosemite
· Camp at North Pines Campground
Day 8 – May 18th
· Yosemite
· Camp at North Pines Campground
Day 9 – May 19th
· Yosemite
· Travel to Carson City, NV
· Camp at Washoe Lake State Park
Day 10 – May 20th
· Travel to Salt Lake City
Day 11 – May 21st
· Travel to Yellowstone
· Grand Teton National Park
· Night in Jackson Hole, WY
Day 12 – May 22nd
· Yellowstone
· Night in Jackson Hole, WY
Day 13 – May 23rd
· Travel to Laramie, WY
· Night in Laramie
Day 14 – May 24th
· Travel to Denver
· Night in Denver, CO
Day 15 – May 25th
· Travel Denver to Atlanta
All in all, we drove (once we landed in Denver) 3,851 miles total. We traveled into these states: Colorado, New Mexico, Arizona, Nevada, California, Utah, Idaho, and Wyoming. We saw all but one of the national parks we had planned to hit, and we had a great time.
I'll be posting pictures in the next few posts of each of the places we visited.