My last visit to USA covered the western states which
include Colorado, Utah, Wyoming & Montana.
Through my search in the internet, some of the most spectacular scenic
routes in the USA pass through these states. The backdrop of Rocky Mountains
and the Grand Teton dominates the landscapes as well as the captivating canyons
and rock formations will definitely make this trip a memorable one.
Since the vast distance between each and every destinations,
meticulous planning and routing will give us the most out of this 9 day trip. Our
plan includes attractions such as Rocky Mountain National Park and Garden of
the Gods in Colorado, Mount Rushmore National Memorial in South Dakota, Grand
Teton National Park in Wyoming, Yellowstone National Park in Wyoming and
Montana as well as Salt Flats and Arches National Park in Utah.
We started the trip in LA and took domestic flight with Southwest
Airlines www.southwest.com from LA Tom
Bradley International Airport to Denver, Colorado which took almost 2 hrs 15
minutes . Denver International Airport, being
one of the biggest in the world in term of land area has a very distinctive
Canopy-type roofing which is similar to the one in Jeddah for the Hajj
terminal. While passing through the terminal into the arrival hall, I noticed
that there is underground tornado shelters inside the terminal which is a rare
sight compared to other airports that I’ve been to.
After collecting our rented minivan, we drove to our booked accommodation
at Extended Stay Hotel in Denver. www.extendedstayhotels.com
. This is my favorite hotel chain in the USA since every room has a small
kitchenette that allows you to cook decent meals. Available at almost all big
cities in the States, you won’t miss nice home-cooked meals anymore while away
on holidays!!
Day 2
Our first itinerary was Estes Park, the headquarters of the Rocky
Mountain National Park, located quite close to Fort Collins. At 7,522 ft above
sea level, we headed straight to the Visitor Centre to seek info on the opening
time and routing inside the park. Since our visit was in April, some of the
roads on higher elevations were still covered in snow and closed from any traffic.
It was sunny and clear when we reached the visitor centre.
However, as we climbed towards higher ground, the weather changed within
minutes and it started to snow heavily as we reached the viewing platform. At the
platform, you will be able to see as far as beyond the boundaries of the park during
good weather condition. Unfortunately
the visibility that day was poor due to heavy snowing and cloudy condition.
We drove back downhill carefully as the condition of the
road was quite slippery. Along the way, we were hoping to be lucky enough to
encounter with elks on our way back. Unable
to spot any of them, we headed back to Denver and called it a day.
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