Originally Posted by
sinfonia
Thank you so much for your candor and sense. Ha - you are right! 17 out of 18 nights of this trip are trying to use up rewards that expire! We are taking your advice and cutting out Big Sky, getting to the park faster, trying to add a second night in Yellowstone itself, and will tweak Utah. I gather you think it's too much in Utah, and to focus on only a few clustered parks?
Thanks again.
sounds more practical already
wrt utah - arches area is not a day trip from zion/springdale; those are many hours of (very very scenic if following rt 12&24) driving apart and each area needs 2-3 nts min to cover just the basics.. based on your post-ynp timing you need to decide among jackson (tetons), moab and springdale and settle for two..
personally i would head south to moab around day 10 on your sched, do 2-3 nts there and then take rt24 and 12 towards zion for 2-3 nts there.. you have grand canyon thrown in there for good measure - that seems like pushing it to me as well but i am not sure where you need to return car..
some of those choices would also depend on season and expected weather - as much as i like moab area it can be hot as hell there in summer limiting hiking and activities.. in that case maybe jackson and tetons followed by zion area would make more sense (add cedar breaks, kanarraville etc to your plans there).. otoh may or october would be unpredictable in jackson or bryce but perfect in moab..
do map things out to get a sense of driving - remember getting to places is one part but attractions are scattered so you ll put quite a few miles locally..
here is smth to help with utah driving ideas:
https://www.visitutah.com/getmedia/a...17_sbguide.pdf