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August 2001
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Western States of the USA -
August 2001 |
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We
spent just under three weeks in the USA and were
only able to scratch
the
surface of one area! However, we had a marvellous
time and would like
to
say how welcome we were made and how helpful people
can be when you
need
them. We have discovered some very good web sites
both private and
public
for these places and the information in them was
invaluable to us in
planning
our trip. Perhaps some of the observations below,
from a British
perspective,
may also be of help to other travellers.
Our flight over was diverted North to avoid a Jet Stream which meant that we were treated to a spectacular view of Greenland.
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| Use these links to move around this page. |
| Accommodation | Car Hire | Driving | Climate | Food |
| Accommodation | It was essential to pre-book accommodation at the Grand Canyon, in Page for Lake Powell, in Springdale for Zion National Park and in Shoshone for Death Valley. There seemed to be plenty of capacity everywhere else, especially around Torrey for Capitol Reef. Having used the Internet we soon discovered to not trust the "Agency Booking" companies which promised the cheapest deals and found much better prices by visiting the Hotel web sites direct. This was especially true in Las Vegas, and while the agency prices were low by British Standards they were even cheaper when booked direct. Some relevant links are provided on the Las Vegas page. If you do book through an agency (e.g. placestostay.com ) be sure to check that it is confirmed by looking at your Credit Card bill. We forgot to do this and turned up in Shoshone to find they had no details - fortunately there was one room available and as there is no where else for 50 miles this was a bit scary. The standard everywhere was adequate though air-conditioning is universally obtrusive and sometimes horribly loud, so ear plugs were very useful. We stayed mostly in budget rooms, e.g. Econolodge in Page but the Tropicana in Las Vegas at the south end of the Strip is luxurious 4 star by British Standards and recommended. The Imperial Palace is comparable but with a much inferior pool though a great location opposite Caesar's Palace halfway up the Strip. |  A Typical Budget Room at the San Juan Inn at Mexican Hat. This one was $63 per night for a double room, including en-suite. |
| Car Hire | We
had pre-booked our car, a "compact" Chevrolet
Cavalier
2
door with Alamo
through Holiday
Car/Jetstream
Travel and saved £100 over the price quoted
by Thomas Cook. When we arrived at the Alamo Depot in
Bermuda Rd. Las
Vegas
we were persuaded to upgrade to a "Full Size" on the
grounds that the
air-conditioning
would not be adequate for desert travel. As we had made
a good saving
this
wasn't too painful but we now think this was an
unnecessary extra
expense,
having spoken with several "locals" during our travels
who were driving
Cavaliers or similar sized cars. On our return to the UK
we discussed
this
matter with Holiday Car and concluded that because we
had a pre-booked
voucher the Alamo employee would be deprived of any
commission by not
making
a cash sale. So this may be a salutary lesson.
We had mixed feelings about Alamo. Our first vehicle (an Oldsmobile) didn't leave the depot as we complained about a soft tyre and were given a replacement (a Chevrolet Lumina). This slightly knocked our confidence. Also American cars have different controls from European ones so we advise a good look for a hand-book in the glove box. The hand brake may be a "foot operated" parking brake for example and it is not obvious how to work the head lamps. We had a puncture outside Las Vegas on our way from Shoshone to Zion and were able to change the vehicle at Alamo. The spare tyre on a Lumina is a small size temporary spare and inadequate for long distances. Fortunately we were helped by two local big guys with a truck and a mobile phone! The replacement car, a Chevrolet Impala, which is a beautiful cruising car, had no handbook so we were glad we had learned the ropes. Alamo do not quibble about replacement vehicles which is a point in their favour. |
 An example of American generosity near Las Vegas! |
| Driving | We
were informed by a genial Las Vegas Taxi driver on our
way to pick up
our
car that the USA does not have any Roundabouts!
Consequently we
were VERY cautious at intersections and never quite
worked out if there
is a "give way" protocol or not. Having said this we
found that the
traffic
manners of Americans compare very well with Brits, even
in Las Vegas.
Once
out on the open road driving is pure delight due to the
scarcity of
other
vehicles. Cruise control is great fun and easy
to manage
albeit
a bit unnerving at first as the car seems to have a mind
of its
own. We thought that advisory speed signs on corners were very accurate and far more realistic than the very over cautious versions we have in Britain. It wasn't true as is so often rumoured that speed limits on main roads are far lower than at home. They do vary considerably but in the area we travelled it was common to find a 65 mph limit in Utah on a single carriageway Highway and in our opinion the speed limits were appropriate to the road and the conditions. Interstate 40 was by far the busiest road we encountered - it follows much of the route of Historic Route 66. As at home the big trucks on it stopped for nothing, including a violent thunderstorm with hailstones the size of golf balls when everyone else did! We followed some of the original Route 66 on our way from the Grand Canyon to Las Vegas and hardly saw a soul, rather wishing we had done more research as the history of the road is fascinating. Another great route is Scenic Byway 12 (some super pictures here) from near Bryce Canyon up to Torrey at Capitol Reef National Park When you fill up with petrol you may encounter pumps that have an "elephant trunk" section near the nozzle! This is an anti vapour device and one must jam the nozzle well in to create a vacuum or the pump won't work! Roland had to ask about this when in Shoshone and felt a bit incompetent as a result. |
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| Food | It
has to be acknowledged that as we all know the American
approach to
food
is "big". This seemed to be particularly true of picnic
type food -
sandwiches
and rolls (whatever the filling) always came with cheese
whether you
wanted
it or not - and we were able to have a satisfactory
picnic lunch on one
sandwich between two. Here's the example of our
picnic at the
Grand
Canyon! A Macdonalds breakfast was also, in our
view, enough for
two. In Las Vegas we we very impressed with the Buffet at the Imperial Palace Hotel, which also has a very good 24 hour Bistro. Prices were very reasonable and quantities - well !!! One of our more interesting meals was in Mexican Hat at the San Juan Motel where we had a Navajo stew with Fried Bread. This bread is rather like an Indian Nan and the stew is basically root vegetable based and very tasty. Otherwise, we thought that menus seemed rather predictably centred around Steak, Steak and Steak, so we tried to look for alternatives - such as in Page (Lake Powell) which has a couple of popular and good Mexican and Italian eateries, and the excellent Zion Noodle and Pizza Co. in Springdale - which also sold excellent Real Ale. (Yes, in Mormon Utah!) |
 Picnic lunch at the Grand Canyon! |
