We’ve been wanting to go to Namibia since watching Aerial Africa’s show about the country. It seems to offer so much geographically, historically, and more.
Botswana has been on our list since reading Peter Allison’s books as a safari guide there.
Victoria Falls is where we were planning on going in 2020 with the entire family (trip from my mom). It’s having to get reshuffled back into our list. Due to the reshuffling the kids have been discussing where they’d like their ideal trip to be. The Trans-Siberian, so far, is the winner - but I just sent them the Rovos Rail link today so it hasn’t been able to come up in discussion.
When we’re all together on the banks of the St Lawrence in May I’m sure it all will come up again. We’ll need different options because “Residency Lad” will have assigned time off vs “when we want to travel” time off. At least he gets two weeks at once - not as good as three - but do-able since he’s young and can handle jet lag!
What we don’t end up doing as a family, H and I still consider for “our” travel.
Definitely good for folks to know about if they haven’t seen or heard about it already. What’s been going on there (and many places around the world, including in the US) is often sad.
It doesn’t mean folks need to stop traveling. It does mean one has to be aware of their footprint.
We trained from Boston to Denver. It was a lovely ride. The observation cars were all glassed and provided wonderful views. We had about a five hour layover in Chicago so walked around a bit and went up the Willis Tower. We rented a car in Denver and visited Garden of the Gods (a few hours/half day), then Great Sand Dunes NP (same), then Mesa Verde NP (2 full days). Alternatively, you could go north to Rocky Mountain NP for the entire time.
That sounds fun! We love Mesa Verde and if you ever get a chance to go to Chaco in NM, that’s great too. It’s not “up” like Mesa Verde is, but the big cultural center in a valley. Our campsite was feet from an old structure. It’s way off the beaten path, but the bathhouse had flush toilets! (I remember being surprised by it way out there.) Star gazing from there is second to none, or at least, very few. On some nights they have guided astronomy sessions(?) at night.
It’s the sights from the observation cars that are a huge draw for us. We’d probably be camped out in them if we could.
When my (adult) kids had a layover in Chicago they went out and found a site Early Edition had on its opening scene and took pictures of themselves there. Does anyone else remember that series? (Guy gets the newspaper a day early and tries to “fix” anything he can.) It’s from the '90s, but youngest had more recently introduced his wife to it, so it was on their mind.
Summer of 2020 we were in RMNP with the reservations and it was actually better than before. Less crowds and we were able to park very easily at the different stops. Be sure to get the earliest time possible because you can stay as long as you want. Even go in and out as long as you went in at your posted time interval. We were staying at a friends condo in Winter Park and one day drove thru to Estes Park had lunch then leisurely made our way back through the park.
Acadia NP experimented with requiring vehicle passes on the one-way section of the Loop Road and the Cadillac Mtn summit road last fall. The loop road portion of the experiment did not go well and has not been renewed at least for this year. To drive to the summit of Cadillac Mtn, though, a vehicle pass will be required from late May until late October.
My issue with this is that the vehicle passes cost $6. Those of us with the Golden NP pass are supposed to have free admission to all national parks. Potentially, at some point, it could cost another $6 to enter the loop road and $6 to visit Cadillac Mtn summit EACH DAY. Seems like trying to alleviate traffic by pricing some people out of coming to the park??
You do have admission to the park. Extra things cost extra, like if you were to camp in a park, you have to pay the camping fee, or the back country hiking fee.
So “driving in the park to access its features” is an extra?
Should they put coin-operated locks on the porta-potty doors?
Maybe a curtain to block scenic vistas, to be opened by inserting a credit card?
How about an oxygen fee to breathe the air?
I’m sorry, but I cannot put extras like camping in a campground in the same category as basic access to the park!!
I looove trains and have taken many. But from your initial post, @Creekland, it seems your focus is more on the 2-3 day stay somewhere rather than the travel itself. If that is the case, I would actually think about Chicago A nice hotel), but then again, I also love cities. The train trip to Chicago would be manageable and you could fly back. Or, you could fly to Chicago and take the train to CO.
If the park only has 100 campsite, yes they are going to charge you to use that feature. If only 100 cars can go on the loop road, yes they are going to charge extra to get to do that. They have a lot of things to do for the basic entry fee (including breathing the free air) but some things cost more, like tours.
Sometimes the fees are used for the extra upkeep for those special areas. Campgrounds take extra upkeep and more personnel to service those areas. The loop road probably needs more repairs because of the heavy traffic. Back country hiking permit cost more because those hikers tend to get lost and need to be rescued.
Living in New England, and having visited Acadia NP for more than 30 years, I am VERY familiar with Acadia issues. In this case, the loop road is a well maintained 2 lane asphalt road. It can handle many many cars per day, and YES, in July/August it gets overcrowded. My issue is with the fees. Next year there may be a $6 fee just to drive on park roads. The permit is technically FREE, with the $6 going to the website company issuing the driving permits. Sounds like a money grab. Paying for campsites has been a thing since John Muir was a wee lad—I get that there are costs with running a campground.
With all due respect, I know very little about many national parks, but I know a great deal about Acadia–it’s in my back yard.
It’s more that the train I can get online and plan fairly easily. Knowing what’s easily available at some of the stops is more difficult. The train is “the trip.” The stop (if we opt to make one) is to give us more “space” on our actual anniversary.
I’ve seen Amtrak’s vacations and they look nice, but not really “us” since we prefer to wander on our own pace. Even the Namibia trip listed above, once we look at that specific one, isn’t as appealing as researching the local trains and going to some of the same places on our own mingling a little more - that and we don’t really care to pack “dress up” clothes just to eat in the dining car! We tend to backpack or just bring a carry on each.
My understanding is that the part between Chicago and Denver is the most boring part of the train trip - it’s the part through the Rockies (and across Utah and the sierras) that’s the main attraction. The Rockies in particular being a view you (apparently) cannot get any way other than by taking the train.
@MADad, when we camped at Grand Canyon NP, we DID have to pay for showers! In 2002, it was 50 cents for three minutes of cold water.
@Creekland I’m so glad we went to Mesa Verde. We were camped near a ridge and got to see lightning storms that came rather close to us! We heard from others about Canyon de Chelly while we were there. Still need to do that.
H and I were looking at the timing and the route a little bit last night.
Salt Lake City came up as a possibility as we’ve never been there (been to Utah to see the parks, etc, but not Salt Lake City). We’re not LDS and have no interest in related things, but seeing the Great Salt Lake piques our interest. We assume it’s like the Dead Sea and not necessarily a great “beach” experience, but it’s appealing to us in its relative uniqueness. Anyone have experience with it or other Salt Lake City things that might be close to the train station? Places to consider staying?
Has anyone stayed in a “roomette” on Amtrak? Was it worth it over regular ole coach or business class? AKA How “easy” is it to sleep on the train for a night or two? (We’re not luxury needing travelers.)
The train is supposed to arrive at 11:59pm (why not just say midnight?). My mom told me on her train trips the trains were always late, but that was years ago. Is it still true? Would you book a hotel room for that night or just wait until the next day?