You have small children, so don't simply compare with others.

I still think your plan is too ambitious. If you must go to Arches, I suggest you leave out southern Utah (Zion, Bryce, Page, Monument Valley) to another time. The roads are very windy and steep; often you can only drive ~30 mph. Even in the summer the days are longer, you still don't want to drive the whole day and arrive at your destination when the parks are closed.

I had made the mistakes of ambition over and over again in this part of the country. When I went to Yellowstone first time, we could stick to our plan for only a couple of days in the beginning. Later we had to constantly driving late in the evening in order to make up the time when we were taking pictures, taking sidetrips, looking for directions, buying postcards, or simply enjoying a view. Then the next morning we wanted to sleep a little longer. By the time we went on our way, we were even later than the previous day.... I remember when we came to Monument Valley it was already after 10 pm and we had no light to see anything and no time to stop because we had to get to our motel a few hours away; My partner was sound asleep the whole time so he could take over the driving later. The last 3 days of our trips, we had to skip all our planned sites just to get back home in time.

That was only the first time when I planned to do to much.

Southern Utah can be combined in a later trip with Grand Canyon. Just go directly north to Yellowstone and Grand Teton. You can also take one day in Salt Lake City. Even in the summer the day is longer, the parks are still closed before 6 pm. Also, don't forget to count the half hour each day you need to check in and out of a motel/hotel.

We all wish you best of luck on your trip and planning.

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• Thank you so much! -jd78- ♀ (515 bytes) () 03/10/2006 postreply 18:39:00