Have you been ...

[msdarlinjoy]

...

To any of these places?

Old Faithful, Grand Canyon, Mt. Rushmore, or any other monumental place, or historical place?

If so, please share what you saw, what you liked and what you could have done without.

Trying to think of cool things to do for a "summer" vacation with family ... need some ideas!

Thanks for any replies ...

 

[indecisive]

I have been to all three and I would say the Grand Canyon or Yellowstone would be better vacations spots because there isn't all that much to do in South Dakota. We have family there so we went when we visited them but I don't know if it would be worth it to go just for Mt. Rushmore. You could get Black Hills gold though

ETA: I live near D.C. and it might be a great place for a history/monument vacation

 

[Miranda]

We went to the Giant Sequoias and Kings Canyon (CA) a few years ago. It was amazing to see these very old, very gigantic living things. WE went on tours of caves and did a lot of hiking. The kids had a great time. It''s a great thing to do for a few days or passing through to Northern or Southern CA. Yosemite is not too far fom there and it''s fantastic for hiking and relaxation, though crowded in summer. Most of the passes are open through to Mammoth Mountain in the summer. DH and the kids love going on "naturey" vacations. While it''s not my thing, I go along (all the while whining about bears, lizards, bugs, etc.) as long as we can take a few trips a year where I can plant it at the beach, read, shop, and drink cocktails.

I don''t know where you are, but CA has plenty to do. Good luck with your vacation planning!

 

[diamondfan]

grand canyon is great, but I saw it 25 years ago. Not sure what there is to do in the area. Yellowstone is cool, and the grand Tetons. I have always wanted to see Mt. Rushmore...and Niagra Falls, too...our country has some great sites to see...

 

[Rhapsody]

I've been to the Grand Canyon, and thought it was amazingly beautiful. We were only there for 2 days (just stopped there on a drive from California to Colorado) so I don't know if theres enough to keep a family busy for longer than that. We pondered trying to hike to the bottom but I dont think either of us would have been in good enough shape to make it back out again. We were also there early in the spring and the trails were muddy from rain, but I don't think you'd have that problem in the summer.

I really LOVED Mesa Verde and the four corners area. Carlsbad was fun too, make sure you bring old clothes if you go so that you can do some of the more exciting cave explorations. We also drove through roswell on the way home and that was fun.

 

[msdarlinjoy]

We live in Oregon ... I grew up in San Diego ... so I have done alot of CA stuff, and as the kids grew up we have done so much Ca stuff, that I thought it was time to branch out.

Don''t get me wrong, San Diego Zoo and all of the wonderful things to see and do there are absolutely wonderful, and Los Angels too ... Kids have even been to the Hearst Castle for tours, walked across the Golden Gate Bridge, Red Woods ... we have done so much in California, I think it''s time to start considering other wonderful things that our country has to offer.

I would someday love to do DC, the original 13 colonies, monuments in that area ... That is going to require airfare/hotels/and spending $$$$, and this year we don''t have that or it would be on the list. I have always wanted to see DC and east coast in spring or fall ...

I have another thread in the "Family" thread ... but it''s not getting much attn, so, I thought I would condense it down, and just ask questions about certain spots, like Grand Canyon, Old Faithful, and Mt. Rushmore. We have 9 vacation days ... so we could drive somewhere ... just don''t know where yet.

We all think Mt. Rushmore would be awesome to see, but like Indecisive said ... probably not much else to do.

Grand Canyon was next on the list, but the temps in summer are going to be HOT! I don''t know ...??? Kids say if we can go to Las Vegas for 4 days and survive then we can go to Grand Canyon, but I keep telling them that Las Vegas was different, we did most things early in the am, or at night ... and all the buildings had AC, where if we go to Grand Canyon, we will be outside in daylight and no AC.

Old Faithful was next ... but again, what else to do in that neck of the woods?

We haven''t done a whole lot in the state of Washington yet, just the space needle, a couple of football games, and of course there was the amusement park there called Enchanted Waves ... part of the six flags theme park ... sister park ... whatever.

I don''t know ... I don''t have much time to plan ... any ideas appreciated.

 

[Dancing Fire]

mrs Joy

we took a one day trip to the grand canyon from Las Vegas.we only stay for a few hours ,it started to rain when we were leaving. i love Las Vegas

but it was the most expensive vacation ever.

 

[msdarlinjoy]

Date: 4/23/2006 10:13:10 PM
Author: Dancing Fire
mrs Joy

we took a one day trip to the grand canyon from Las Vegas.we only stay for a few hours ,it started to rain when we were leaving. i love Las Vegas

but it was the most expensive vacation ever.

Hi Dancing Fire ~

Yes, the kids love Las Vegas as well as we do! Most people just think that Las Vegas is for adults. Yes, it predominately is for adults ... gambling and adult oriented late night shows and drinking ... there is still so much for families and kids to do and see.

Some of the fav''s for the kids were: Bellagio fountains, and inside the glass artwork ... incredible! Treasure Island, the famous pirate fight/show ... awesome! Ceasars Palace, The Mirage, The Excalibur, Circus Circus ... of my gosh, the list foes on & on ... and don''t forget that roller coaster ontop of New York ... New York!

Anyway, Maybe a day or two @ Grand Canyon would work, we would just have to make sure we are up at the crack of dawn and do our looking and doing in the early morning. I''ll have to see what else is around the Grand Canyon to do ... or on the way there ... on the way back to take up about 9 days.

Keep ideas coming if you have any.

 

[Dancing Fire]

Mrs Joy

you got to stop by Hover dam.what an amazing site but, after 911 i don''t know what kind of security restriction they have now.

 

[mingagreen]

OOOHHH fun family vaca time!!! DH and I went on a cross country trip (got engaged on that trip ) we saw alot, and there are so many neat and amazing sites in the U.S. We did see the Grand Canyon, we stayed in one of thier little "houses" for 4 days, it was awesome, if you do make it out thre, try to wake up and go see the sun rise over the canyon. It is so dark you can''t see the canyon and as the sun rises it becomes apparent, we did alot of hiking, saw som beautiful deer!
I have seen Hoover Dam,went on a trip from Vegas, wasn''t really in the right state of mind to appreciate it for what it is! I was excited to be in two different time zones!!!
I have to say one of the most amazing places I have been is Fort Jefferson in the Dry Tortugas, 70 miles West of Key West. It was a Civil War Fort (I don''t think it was ever used ) it was also a prison for Samual Mudd, convicted in the Lincoln assasination. I would have to say it was one of the most amazing sites I have ever seen, it is a long ride out, if you get sea sick take the helicopter! Check out www.fortjefferson.com It is really a site to see and also you are in the keys and there is always something fun going on down there!!! Have fun figuring out a family vacation, I miss those days!

 

[eks6426]

I''ve done all of them on my family''s "great out west camping excursion" when I was 14. Here''s what I thought as a kid:

Mt. Rushmore--took about an hour to look at it but not much else around. The countryside is rather ugly--not really big mountains and kind of scrubby.

Yellowstone--what a let down. This really surprised me. We saw Old Faithful blow then drove around to look at the hot springs and animals. You couldn''t get close to the interesting things so it seemed to me to be an endless drive in the woods.

Grand Canyon...Finally something impressive. It was huge. Better yet, we took donkey''s down. Went rafting etc. I think the reason I liked GC better was that there were activities. Mt. Rushmore and Yellowstone were basically just riding around and looking at stuff. I''m not sure how old your kids are, but most kids can only look at scenery for so long. I remember my parents were really annoyed because I used to fall asleep in the car. They were always waking me up to look at something. I''d look for about 5 minutes, then go right back to sleep.

Also, if you do GC you could drive down to Sedona.

Another area out west that I liked was Jackson Hole Wyoming. Way more interesting than Yellowstone and stuff to do.

 

[Caribou]

Since my dad has lived in Virginia forever, I''ve been to Williamsburg and Yorktown (where he currently lives) several times. When I was younger I didn''t appreciate it much but Williamsburg is beautiful and has a lot of history as well as a cute little ''downtown''. Yorktown has the battlefields and a little museum that you can tour. There''s also Norfolk (about 45 minutes away) where I believe you can tour some battleships and of course, DC is only about 4 hours away, oodles to do there.

 

[monarch64]

I''ve been to the Grand Canyon from Vegas via helicopter. I think it''s something everyone should see at some point in their life--it really is beautiful even if it''s "just a big hole in the ground!" We flew over the Hoover dam, Lake Mead, and landed down in the Canyon overlooking the river below where we had a little picnic and drank champagne. Our pilot was a fantastic tour guide--the whole flight was set to music and we bought the DVD recording of the flight afterwards.

 

[Odilia]

I've been to the Grand Canyon with my Mom for just a few days in November. It was beautiful, but it was obviously a low-key vacation for us so I couldn't tell you much. Glacier National Park in Montana is also gorgeous.

But if you want my vote, Yosemite National Park is absolutely fabulous! It is incredible, and I think there would be tons to do there. My brother and I climbed Half-Dome and then the next day just sat in a rented raft and floated down the Merced River. It seems like the scenery there is extra beautiful, and there is more to do than in some of the other national parks (which are also wonderful). Plus if you ever got bored (I can't see how) in Yosemite, California has so much else to see and do it is amazing. I think Yosemite is one place Americans should not go through life without seeing.


ETA: oops! As usual, I read more of the thread after writing my post! When will I learn?
Since you've done a lot in California and wanted to branch out, Glacier National Park in Montana is really beautiful. Also - have you gone to Mt. Ranier? We went to a place called "Paradise" near Mt. Ranier, and that was exquisitely beautiful - meadows full of flowers (it was August) and that impressive snow-capped mountain right there. Lots of good hiking etc. Just heavenly. And it's not far from Seattle; on that same trip we also went to the Olympic Peninsula (hope I'm remembering all this correctly!). And also, Lake Louise in the Canadian Rockies is a beautiful place.