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Vacation Plans?


Razors Edge
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I like that @BuffJim has vacations/travel in his pipeline pretty much all the time.  We've had a pretty busy travel year - mostly unplanned far in advance - and it has really been a great balm coming off a low travel year in 2020.

Anyway, I'm trying to work on some new travel for the second half of 2021, and while COVID is still messing with some of that planning, I'm thinking we can figure out a few more trips (and FINALLY get in some camping this year :angry:).

How about you all?

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Big one's already done but have two more on the books:

We had a timeshare 5 days booked with a resort company since 2019 and finally will make use of it although not where we originally wanted. Mid September just across the bay in St. Petersburg.

Sketched out but not booked yet is a Boston or Washington DC fall trip. Wife's company is in a large state of flux and the time is approved but the dates not solidified yet. Probably late Oct.

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1 minute ago, Zephyr said:

Yup.  We figured things would be calmed down by then so we gambled when the prices were low.  You need vaccinations to be allowed into T&C so hopefully their numbers will stay down

We're always looking at the Caribbean for easy options.

Sadly, this was all over the news recently (at least the French news), so I wonder if all the various Caribbean islands are in a similar boat to the French ones. 

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has issued a Level 4 Travel Health Notice for Guadeloupe, Martinique, French Saint Martin, and Saint Barthélemy due to COVID-19, indicating a very high level of COVID-19 there.  

But, yeah, Mar 2022 is a nice hope.  Sadly, this spike now may be echoed abroad in the winter months, and by March, either things look way better or those smaller countries/territories are being super conservative and keeping folks out (or shut down).

I worry as much about how to mitigate around that risk.  For our big trip to Spain in April 2020, EVERYTHING was refunded with zero challenges or issues. Now, though, seems like a ton of "conditions" have creeped back into the travel agreements - few in the travelers favor :(

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2 minutes ago, Razors Edge said:

But, yeah, Mar 2022 is a nice hope.  Sadly, this spike now may be echoed abroad in the winter months, and by March, either things look way better or those smaller countries/territories are being super conservative and keeping folks out (or shut down

Fingers are crossed.  We have full refund up to I think 30 days before arrival so we will monitor the numbers this fall/ year end and make a decision in likely January

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WOChrisL and I have been talking about trips we want to take starting in 2022.  We want to see parts of the US we haven’t/she hasn’t seen yet. 1st up is Utah, Zion, Bryce Canyon and whatever else is cool.  We also want to see the North East/New England.  

We also have to factor in a trip or two to visit the In Laws each year but that’s not really vacation although it burns vacation time…

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4 minutes ago, ChrisL said:

1st up is Utah, Zion, Bryce Canyon and whatever else is cool.

Advice for the Utah trip is plan early and go EARLY.  That set of Utah NPs and state parks are best enjoyed BEFORE crowds and BEFORE the heat.  We passed through Zion when heading back from CA to CO to VA, and it was near hell on earth already in June.  WAY different from out visit during cooler and less crowded times. 

Utah is great, but once summer rolls in, it is bonkers and not in a good way.

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2 minutes ago, Razors Edge said:

Advice for the Utah trip is plan early and go EARLY.  That set of Utah NPs and state parks are best enjoyed BEFORE crowds and BEFORE the heat.  We passed through Zion when heading back from CA to CO to VA, and it was near hell on earth already in June.  WAY different from out visit during cooler and less crowded times. 

Utah is great, but once summer rolls in, it is bonkers and not in a good way.

Any ideas on weather & crowds in the fall?  

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Sadly, my next "vacation plan" may be medical recovery. Don't know if will impact tentative October visit back to CT before gets cold, or friends visiting us in Oct.

Today, wife has first eye cataract surgery which with procrastination has developed to a complex surgery.

While my hematoma had been shrinking, has flared back up. Will set appointment with ortho and dread the surgical procedure id required. Not micro surgery, but full incesion and extended recovery time. Also, in my reading on complications, they were described as "not uncommon" with a a facsiotomy...so hoping that is not the recommended treatment.

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We did the GAPCO ride in June and Smokey Mountains in July. I'm doing the Katy Trail in October.

In February we are doing a 7-night cruise out of New Orleans - hopefully. Later in 2022 we plan to go to the Grand Canyon and maybe see my old stomping grounds around Clovis, New Mexico. If it works out, the Cardinals will be playing the Royals, Rockies, and/or the Diamondbacks so we can visit those stadiums.

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4 minutes ago, ChrisL said:

Any ideas on weather & crowds in the fall?  

We were there in Late Sept 3 years ago. Cool morning and comfortably warm by afternoon. We went to Arches before sunrise. No lines. No waiting. We went back to Moab for a late lunch. Very long line to get in. 
I want to get up to the Black Hills to see my mom and brother in September. Wedding in Arkansas in late October, Covid permitting. 
Hopefully in new job by then. We’ll see how things play out after that. 

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5 minutes ago, ChrisL said:

Any ideas on weather & crowds in the fall?  

We did our "big" camping trip in late September (if I remember).  It was a great time.  Kids were back in school and temps were still warm.  In Zion, you'll want to hike the Narrows (the river through a narrow chasm), and the water was still pleasant (and flowing), so that's huge.  It still was hot in direct sunlight, but nowhere near the June/July/Aug temps. 

We hit Arches, Zion, Bryce, Capitol Reef (the Utah parks but not Canyonlands) and the Grand Canyon.  Fantastic weather and tons to see and do.

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5 minutes ago, JerrySTL said:

In February we are doing a 7-night cruise out of New Orleans - hopefully.

Just checking out protocols on some of the options

image.png.6c93413b0b1d19d04af2ee0051e74c0d.png

A little worried about the flexibility to move a cruise, though.  Again, still pretty good, but hoping the window moves beyond "April 2022".

image.thumb.png.e8c42ac021dec5633aff713ab89dae13.png

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1 hour ago, Gump said:

Hoping for a few days backpacking in NH this fall.

Me too. Going the week of Sep 20-26. Will be staying in motels and planning to walk a couple hours each day. Johnstown NY 1 night, Gorham NH 2 nights, Stowe VT 2 nights and Broadalbin, NY 1 night.  Leaves should be changing but probably not peak yet. 

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54 minutes ago, ChrisL said:

Any ideas on weather & crowds in the fall?  

I'd echo what @Razors Edge said about UT. Spring and fall to beat the heat and crowds. The mountain biking in UT is fantastic if you can squeeze it in.  Thunder Mountain is just outside of Bryce. It might be the most scenic mtb trail I've ever ridden.

Brian Head has amazing mtb biking as well. I think it's considered one of the top ten descents in the U.S. 

This dude is on an e-mtb. I'm not sure if that is legal there, but you can see a good portion of the trail.

 

 

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6 minutes ago, denniS said:

I'm trying to convince someone to ride this route with me. The snow window is closing on this season.

Looks SWEET!

Now that CAnada is open, this looks fun.  A shame not out there to make a long weekend of it:

https://bikepacking.com/routes/bc-grasslands-circuit/

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1 minute ago, Razors Edge said:

Looks SWEET!

Now that CAnada is open, this looks fun.  A shame not out there to make a long weekend of it:

https://bikepacking.com/routes/bc-grasslands-circuit/

There are so many routes in BC I'd like to ride. I've been all over that province. I bought a stove in Kamloops many years ago. It just takes so long to get to some spots, that you need at least a week.

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1 hour ago, BuffJim said:

Me too. Going the week of Sep 20-26. Will be staying in motels and planning to walk a couple hours each day. Johnstown NY 1 night, Gorham NH 2 nights, Stowe VT 2 nights and Broadalbin, NY 1 night.  Leaves should be changing but probably not peak yet. 

We are looking at the Caribou-Spekled Wilderness Area. Off the beaten path and away from crowds. Probably a late October early November trip

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10 hours ago, denniS said:

There are so many routes in BC I'd like to ride. I've been all over that province. I bought a stove in Kamloops many years ago. It just takes so long to get to some spots, that you need at least a week.

Just wait until the wildfires all over B.C. are snuffed out in a major way. It's been burning for nearly 2 months. :(

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Since dearie's death, right now I have found it difficult to think about any overseas vacation trip. Instead for me, it's baby step trips to various parts of Canada probably 2021-2022.  I haven't had closure on certain things yet.

Still I'm glad I dropped by part of VAncovuer Island purely for vacation in early this past July.  It was wonderful and lucky before smoky skies.

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We were planning on doing New Years in Las Vegas, but the anti-vaxxers have pretty much created a situation where that's not going to happen.

I have a cousin's birthday in Wilkes-Barre, PA, in September and may go up there for a week - I have lots of cousins in the area.

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On 8/16/2021 at 8:19 AM, ChrisL said:

WOChrisL and I have been talking about trips we want to take starting in 2022.  We want to see parts of the US we haven’t/she hasn’t seen yet. 1st up is Utah, Zion, Bryce Canyon and whatever else is cool.  We also want to see the North East/New England.  

We also have to factor in a trip or two to visit the In Laws each year but that’s not really vacation although it burns vacation time…

Capitol Reef is worth a visit in southern UT.

https://www.cntraveler.com/gallery/7-national-parks-alternatives-to-yellowstone-zion-and-more

We were there in April. The weather was nice. If you take the dirt road, there is almost nobody out there. We did not see anyone else on bikes and only a handful of cars.

 

IMG_20210405_104928644-PANO.jpg

IMG_20210405_124814802.jpg

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2 minutes ago, denniS said:

Capitol Reef is worth a visit in southern UT.

If I remember Capitol Reef, it was a bit of an odd park, but with some really cool landscape.  I think we picked some apples in the orchard :D and drove a pretty long road to various trail heads.  A hike to some old timey writings on the rock (not Native American).   Must have been an arch there too as I labeled this photo "Capitol Reef 1".  Gotta check my photos.  :scratchhead:  Definitely a "lower key" park vs Zion or Bryce or Arches/Moab.  We skipped Canyonlands, but did a bunch of fun rock climbing near Zion and in Grand Staircase-Escalante (slot canyons!).

807018933_CapitolReef1.thumb.JPG.1ad53ddcd6425e49c360dc7c1645a637.JPG

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Just now, Razors Edge said:

If I remember Capitol Reef, it was a bit of an odd park, but with some really cool landscape.  I think we picked some apples in the orchard :D and drove a pretty long road to various trail heads.  A hike to some old timey writings on the rock (not Native American).   Must have been an arch there too as I labeled this photo "Capitol Reef 1".  Gotta check my photos.  :scratchhead:  Definitely a "lower key" park vs Zion or Bryce or Arches/Moab.  We skipped Canyonlands, but did a bunch of fun rock climbing near Zion and in Grand Staircase-Escalante (slot canyons!).

807018933_CapitolReef1.thumb.JPG.1ad53ddcd6425e49c360dc7c1645a637.JPG

Canyonlands is a wild place you raft into -- much like backpacking into North Cascades NP.  Otherwise, it's cool but nothing really memorable from the car.  Arches, however, was really great.  And the day hikes you could do from the parking lot were excellent.

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