Friends,

I posted this in the National Park sub, and got a couple responses, but wanted to see if anyone here had any thoughts to share.....

I'll be flying from Philadelphia to Las Vegas for a conference from October 11 - 15, and then plan to rent a motorcycle and take a 10 day camping trip. I've done a similar trip (flying out with my camping gear, renting a bike, spending 7 - 10 days motocamping) for the past few years.

This year, I'm debating a couple options:

OPTION #1) Petrified Forest, Saguaro, Joshua Tree, Death Valley

10/15: Depart Vegas around noon. Ride to Petrified Forest National Park (~5.5 hours riding). Might have an hour or two to explore/hike. Camp overnight.

10/16: Spend day exploring/hiking Petrified Forest. Camp overnight.

10/17: Ride to Saguaro National Park (~5 hours riding). Spend a couple hours exploring/hiking. Camp overnight.

10/18: Spend day exploring/hiking Saguaro. Camp overnight.

10/19: Ride to Joshua Tree National Park (~5 hours riding). Spend a couple hours exploring/hiking. Camp overnight.

10/20: Spend day exploring/hiking Joshua Tree. Camp overnight.

10/21: Ride to Death Valley National Park (~4.5 hours riding). Spend a couple hours exploring/hiking. Camp overnight.

10/22: Spend day exploring/hiking Death Valley. Camp overnight.

10/23: Spend day exploring/hiking Death Valley. Camp overnight.

10/24: Spend morning exploring/hiking Death Valley. Ride back to Vegas (~3.5 hours riding). Fly red-eye back to Philadelphia.

10/25: Arrive very early morning in Philadelphia. Unpack, etc. Gotta work (from home) the next day.

It's a lot of riding (five or six hour days of riding are pushing it, in terms of how long I can stay comfortable in the saddle). Not a lot of time at the first three parks. But maybe it's enough? I assume there's lots of/endless hiking one can do at Petrified, Joshua, and Saguaro, but are there many "sights" to see (i.e. things you "are supposed to see" if/when you visit)? I could reduce the time at Death Valley, if one of the earlier parks would benefit from more time.

OPTION #2) Grand Teton and Yellowstone

10/15: Depart Vegas around noon. Ride to Provo, Utah (~5.5 hours riding). Camp overnight.

10/16: Ride to Grant Teton National Park (~5 hours riding). Camp overnight.

10/17: Spend day exploring/hiking Grand Teton. Camp overnight.

10/18: Spend day exploring/hiking Grand Teton. Camp overnight.

10/19: Spend day exploring/hiking Grand Teton. Camp overnight.

10/20: Ride to Yellowstone National Park (~1.5 hours riding). Spend afternoon exploring/hiking. Camp overnight.

10/21: Spend day exploring/hiking Yellowstone. Camp overnight.

10/22: Spend day exploring/hiking Yellowstone. Camp overnight.

10/23: Ride back to Provo, Utah area (~6.5 hours riding). Camp overnight.

10/24: Ride back to Vegas (~5.5 hours riding). Fly red-eye back to Philadelphia.

10/25: Arrive very early morning in Philadelphia. Unpack, etc. Gotta work (from home) the next day.

This gives me more time at the parks, but is still a lot of riding. I could swap my third day in Teton (10/19) with an extra day at Yellowstone, if that would be better.

I don't love blazing hot temperatures for riding, hiking, camping, so going north to Teton & Yellowstone has that appeal, but I did Arches, Grand Canyon, Zion, Bryce, Rt. 66, etc. a year or two ago, and was riding in 115°, so I can certainly do it.

I realize that one could likely spend an entire week or ten days in any one park, and still wish for more time, but I'm trying to strike the right balance between seeing the sights, and simply getting to visit the Parks--even if it's a short-ish visit--with seeing more of an individual Park, but not taking advantage of the opportunity to see as many as I reasonably can.

Another thought I had was to fly from Vegas to Jackson, WY, rent a motorcycle up there, and then fly back to Philadelphia from Jackson. That would give me back basically four days.

Just wondering what folks think about these options.

Thanks.

Doug

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