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Summer Vacation Banter


Mr Torchey

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6 days down 8 to go, absolute southern perfection, cool breezes off the atlantic, warm sun and sensational seafood, we are buying property....the rat race of yankee land has no place in my southern blood

I escaped yankee land (well, the cesspool that is the general NYC area) also, though I went north. Don't believe my trek north is finished either. Good luck on your voyage.

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life is good today

I'm sure it's fun, but looks like another nondescript beach with excessively hot/humid weather, miles of flat, scorching sand that burns your toes, and an overabundance of cheap beer. I like the more unusual beaches like the rugged Maine coast or the volcanic black-sand beaches in Guatemala. And I could never see myself living in the south...I'm a northerner at heart and worship the winter. The idea of seeing two flurries per year on a 37F night in mid-January, and then enduring 6 months of searingly torrid weather, doesn't sound appealing.

8/12 to 8/18: Estes Park, CO

8/18 to 8/20 Denver,CO

8/20 to 8/22 Las Vegas, NV

8/22 to 8/25 Grand Canyon, AZ

8/25 to 8/27 Phoenix, AZ

thumbsupsmileyanim.gif

Now this sounds like a vacation I'd be into. I got a glimpse of Rocky Mountain National Park and the Front Range driving back east on I-80 last summer, but never made it. I loved Nevada and Utah, however, so I'm sure those Colorado destinations with similarly massive peaks and aspen/Ponderosa pine forest would be enjoyable. Phoenix in the summer does sound a bit brutal, though, not sure I could take the 115F temperatures there and in Vegas despite the low humidity. There is a really cool mountain range less than an hour from Las Vegas, however, you might want to check that out or try the White Mountains in northern Arizona if you guys are looking for a break from the heat. Towns line Pinetop, AZ are apparently really nice with an ideal summer climate of warm, dry days and crisp nights. See what you can do...

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Now this sounds like a vacation I'd be into. I got a glimpse of Rocky Mountain National Park and the Front Range driving back east on I-80 last summer, but never made it. I loved Nevada and Utah, however, so I'm sure those Colorado destinations with similarly massive peaks and aspen/Ponderosa pine forest would be enjoyable. Phoenix in the summer does sound a bit brutal, though, not sure I could take the 115F temperatures there and in Vegas despite the low humidity. There is a really cool mountain range less than an hour from Las Vegas, however, you might want to check that out or try the White Mountains in northern Arizona if you guys are looking for a break from the heat. Towns line Pinetop, AZ are apparently really nice with an ideal summer climate of warm, dry days and crisp nights. See what you can do...

Thanks for the suggestions. The only reason we are headed to the 115F heat of Phoenix is because my mom has cousins out there and she felt we "had" to see them, since we were going to be in AZ anyway. Of course.

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8/12 to 8/18: Estes Park, CO

8/18 to 8/20 Denver,CO

8/20 to 8/22 Las Vegas, NV

8/22 to 8/25 Grand Canyon, AZ

8/25 to 8/27 Phoenix, AZ

thumbsupsmileyanim.gif

Dude,

Aren't you going bike riding?? Do yourself a favor and wear plenty of sun-block. I know it aint cool for a young guy to wear sun block, but the sun is brutal out there and if you don't you'll be seeing the damage in years to come. The cheap stuff is fine to wear on your body, but neutrogena is some of the best for your face which is most susceptible.

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made it. I loved Nevada and Utah, however, so I'm sure those Colorado destinations with similarly massive peaks and aspen/Ponderosa pine forest would be enjoyable. Phoenix in the summer does sound a bit brutal, though, not sure I could take the 115F temperatures there and in Vegas despite the low humidity. There is a really cool mountain range less than an hour from Las Vegas, however, you might want to check that out or try the White Mountains in northern Arizona if you guys are looking for a break from the heat. Towns line Pinetop, AZ are apparently really nice with an ideal summer climate of warm, dry days and crisp nights. See what you can do...

I went to Rocky Mountain National Park and I wasn't impressed. I went to Moab, Utah however and was absolutely blown away. It's a thousand percent better, and so much bigger than Sedona yet no one knows about cuz it's in the middle of the nowhere. And CanyonLands is very similar to the Grand Canyon. It's 4 plus hours from Vail driving at a good clip, but it's well worth it. Moab was the highlight of my Colorado trip. I was there in June of 2004 and it was in the lower 90s in Moab and mid 70s in Vail.

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Dude,

Aren't you going bike riding?? Do yourself a favor and wear plenty of sun-block. I know it aint cool for a young guy to wear sun block, but the sun is brutal out there and if you don't you'll be seeing the damage in years to come. The cheap stuff is fine to wear on your body, but neutrogena is some of the best for your face which is most susceptible.

Most of my friends wear sun block, and I just turned 23...I don't think it's really part of the cool/non-cool thing. At least not that I've heard of....I guess some people who are into tanning might consider it a little weak, but I think these days publicity about skin cancer has increased awareness. I use the most sunscreen earlier in the summer when I'm not accustomed to the strength of the sun, but I still put it on for tennis/hiking during August. I used a ton of sunscreen in Nevada and Utah last summer after I left my job at Glacier National Park in western Montana, and I'd agree with your recommendation that anyone out there should wear a ton of sunblock. It's a necessity, even if you're hiking in the mountains and it doesn't feel hot. You will get burned to a crisp in August in Nevada even if temperatures are only in the 60s because you're hiking at 10k.

I went to Rocky Mountain National Park and I wasn't impressed. I went to Moab, Utah however and was absolutely blown away. It's a thousand percent better, and so much bigger than Sedona yet no one knows about cuz it's in the middle of the nowhere. And CanyonLands is very similar to the Grand Canyon. It's 4 plus hours from Vail driving at a good clip, but it's well worth it. Moab was the highlight of my Colorado trip. I was there in June of 2004 and it was in the lower 90s in Moab and mid 70s in Vail.

I never went to the Great Basin part of Utah with all the rock formations and desert landscapes...I was only in the cool alpine forests of Mirror Lake National Recreation Area, which is mostly in the Uinta Mountains. I did drive through the Salt Flats on I-80, however, coming from just east of Elko NV, and that was a pretty intense desert scene filled with mirages and steep, rugged mountains, devoid of almost any vegetation except the obligatory sagebrush littering the sides of the highway.

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I went to Rocky Mountain National Park and I wasn't impressed. I went to Moab, Utah however and was absolutely blown away. It's a thousand percent better, and so much bigger than Sedona yet no one knows about cuz it's in the middle of the nowhere. And CanyonLands is very similar to the Grand Canyon. It's 4 plus hours from Vail driving at a good clip, but it's well worth it. Moab was the highlight of my Colorado trip. I was there in June of 2004 and it was in the lower 90s in Moab and mid 70s in Vail.

You weren't blown away by sedona or are you just saying there's someplace better? I went there and thought it was pretty amazing.

Another cool place to get a break from the heat down in the phoenix/tucson area is mount lemmon just outside of tucson. It even has a ski area that's able to run for short periods of time.

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Dude,

Aren't you going bike riding?? Do yourself a favor and wear plenty of sun-block. I know it aint cool for a young guy to wear sun block, but the sun is brutal out there and if you don't you'll be seeing the damage in years to come. The cheap stuff is fine to wear on your body, but neutrogena is some of the best for your face which is most susceptible.

I'll be running. I went last year as well; and while the temperature wasn't bad- 50 in the morning to 78-80 in the afternoon- the sun certainly was strong. It's very different than running here. Instead of it being 80/62 on the average summer day, its general 78/48 up at the 8K elevation of Estes Park, which makes a huge difference. It's different because its so dry that you can go on a 6-8 mile run and hardly sweat because its so dry, compared to here where it would be much different.

Less then two days thumbsupsmileyanim.gif

11K (Not 2K Pete guitar.gif)

100_0044.jpg

About 7K near the center of Estes Park

100_0033.jpg

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I have been to many of the national parks/forests in the west, and I would rank them in this order..

1. Yosemite

2. Bryce Canyon

3. Zion

4. Rocky Mountain

5. Ashley Nat'l Forest (Hiked Kings Peak, Highest point in Utah)

6. Arches

I'm shocked you rate Arches so low?? Are you talking about Arches in Moab? I thought it was far, far spectacular to Zion....the best thing about Zion is that it's within 3 hours from Vegas, and the drive once you get out of Nevada is phenomenal, although I'm more impressed with Utah's SE corner closer to Colorado. The color there, and the fact that it goes on for so many miles is amazing. Canyonlands is close by, and that's great too...Not Grand Canyon great, but spectacular nonetheless.

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I'm shocked you rate Arches so low?? Are you talking about Arches in Moab? I thought it was far, far spectacular to Zion....the best thing about Zion is that it's within 3 hours from Vegas, and the drive once you get out of Nevada is phenomenal, although I'm more impressed with Utah's SE corner closer to Colorado. The color there, and the fact that it goes on for so many miles is amazing. Canyonlands is close by, and that's great too...Not Grand Canyon great, but spectacular nonetheless.

Yes, Arches in Moab...I enjoyed Zion much more than arches for a few reasons...

1. The tall canyon walls, river, and the relatively greater number of trees keep it cooler.

2. The hikes at Zion are much more thrilling, at Zion I was hugging the walls of cliffs versus just walking with gentle up's and down's at Arches.

3. Zion has a much more effective park transportation system, with buses running every 7 or 8 minutes around the main part of the park.

4. Yes, delicate arch is spectacular and is probably Utah's most well known "Photo", but I felt the rest of the park was rather lackluster besides the endless red rock that stretches for miles, but you get that throughout southern Utah. At Zion, you have a deeeeeepp canyon with rapids, waterfalls, and other varied attractions you just don't get at Arches.

Oh, and I have also been to the grand canyon, but I was like 4 or something. The part I remember most about that was the train ride with the "Outlaws" shooting blanks at us. LOL

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I'll be running. I went last year as well; and while the temperature wasn't bad- 50 in the morning to 78-80 in the afternoon- the sun certainly was strong. It's very different than running here. Instead of it being 80/62 on the average summer day, its general 78/48 up at the 8K elevation of Estes Park, which makes a huge difference. It's different because its so dry that you can go on a 6-8 mile run and hardly sweat because its so dry, compared to here where it would be much different.

Less then two days thumbsupsmileyanim.gif

11K (Not 2K Pete guitar.gif)

100_0044.jpg

About 7K near the center of Estes Park

100_0033.jpg

Have fun Ryan. I don't see the point in going to elevation without the snow though.

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