jimk
Active member
Starting on 22 May 2025 until 5 June 2025 my wife and I drove about 3,575 miles. Our new car, a 2024 Toyota Rav4 Hybrid that we purchased in Oct 2024 ran well. Nothing like a new car for undertaking big roadtrips!
We averaged about $150 per night for our motels. I felt that hotel prices are a little lower in general around the country than they have been since the pandemic. Gas prices were also the lowest on average that I can remember in the last half dozen years. Most states we traveled had gas under $3 per gallon, at least in some areas.
Cited motel costs include all fees and taxes. Our most expensive motel was a night (23 May 2025) in the Canyon Lodge at Yellowstone NP, costing about $375 (in the Moran Building). They originally charged us $485 for a room in an adjacent building (Dunraven) that was unsat, no heat and a broken shower head. They moved us to a much better and bigger room in Moran and gave us a discount for our troubles.
One of our cheapest rooms during the trip was at a huge and very nice suburban Doubletree Hotel on 2 June 2025 at Warren Place in Tulsa, OK, for $113. It had the best bed (a king) of any place we stayed on the entire trip and a nice pool too.
Our next most expensive accommodations were two nights at $430 total at Casas de Suenos in Old Town Albuquerque. This was a neat little resort with 21 tastefully decorated, 100 year old adobe apartments. It was very convenient to Old Town and we took advantage of that proximity.
Our other "splurge" was a one night stay for $214 at a Courtyard by Marriott hotel at Page, AZ near Lake Powell. It was a nice property in a very scenic location..
Let me know if you have any questions. Good Trip.
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This year, before the big drive East, my wife and son joined me for a four day, 1000 mile side-trip to Yellowstone National Park over Memorial Day Weekend. The crowds weren't too bad, especially away from the most popular attractions. The weather was fantastic for hiking and sightseeing, mostly sunny and highs around 55-65 degs.
23 May 2025 we entered Yellowstone NP at 10 AM at West Yellowstone. We circled the park in a clockwise direction over the next four days.
Norris Geyser Basin, welcome to Yellowstone's weird geology, a couple square miles of intense volcanic features, geysers, steam vents, boiling mud pots, etc:
Yellowstone is bigger than the states of RI and DE combined. We traveled about 90 miles inside the park on May 23rd and went through varied topography/geology, mountains, meadows, river basins, you name it.
L-R: Mammoth Hot Springs Hotel and Fort Yellowstone, WY:
The 23rd was one amazing day. The frosting on the cake was visiting the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone around 7PM during "the golden hour".
My wife Kathy took this photo:
There are two beautiful waterfalls in close proximity in the Canyon. The Lower drops 300', the upper 100', both feature the same spectacular volume of waterflow. The Lower Falls close up:
Upper Falls:
The next day we drove just a couple of miles to Artist Point.
My son Vince with the view up river:
Next it was on to beautiful Lake Yellowstone, the largest high elevation (7,000'+) lake in North America at about 40 x 10 miles in size.
This is the kind of wildlife and beautiful scenery you can come upon spontaneously in Yellowstone:
West Thumb is an area of geysers towards the southern part of Lake Yellowstone:
After the West Thumb Geysers we drove to the popular Old Faithful area. There were large, but manageable crowds.
The Old Faithful Inn:
I saw Old Faithful erupt three times, this was 630 PM on May 25th:
I went on a hike early the next morning and saw the nearby Beehive Geyser erupt. It was as large as Old Faithful, but is much less predictable, erupting perhaps once or twice per day. It looks very much like a large "fountain" type of fireworks display.
I had Solitary Geyser all to myself early in the morning.
Eerie early morning scene in the Old Faithful Geyser basin, looks a war zone!
We returned to Salt Lake City for two days and on 29 May 2025 headed East, first stop was Bryce Canyon NP, UT (BCNP).
Navajo Loop trail at BCNP:
Hammer of Thor:
Clinging tree and Inspiration Point:
30 May 2025, Glen Canyon Dam, AZ:
Monument Valley, AZ:
31 May 2025, Canyon de Chelly, AZ:
Antelope House:
31 May and 1 June 2025 Old Town Albuquerque, NM:
San Felipe de Neri Catholic Church, oldest structure in the city of Albuquerque, NM:
In the foreground a 1956 Buick Special.
2 June 2025 nearing Amarillo, TX. It's only free if you eat the whole thing in one sitting:
3 June 2025 Busch Stadium, St Louis, MO. They had a home game that night against KC. Would have loved to seen it, but had to log a few more highway miles:
4 June 2025, Zanesville, OH. This small city in eastern Ohio of 25,000 had an amazingly robust 3-story art museum, free admittance.
Much of the collection consisted of donated art works created by artisans of the local pottery industry from late 19th and early 20th centuries. But they also had pieces by great masters from around the world that had been collected by wealthy pottery families.
5 June 2025 back in the lush greenery of the Mid-Atlantic, Lick Hollow State Forest, PA.
After this we finished the drive to our primary residence near Wash DC.
We averaged about $150 per night for our motels. I felt that hotel prices are a little lower in general around the country than they have been since the pandemic. Gas prices were also the lowest on average that I can remember in the last half dozen years. Most states we traveled had gas under $3 per gallon, at least in some areas.
Cited motel costs include all fees and taxes. Our most expensive motel was a night (23 May 2025) in the Canyon Lodge at Yellowstone NP, costing about $375 (in the Moran Building). They originally charged us $485 for a room in an adjacent building (Dunraven) that was unsat, no heat and a broken shower head. They moved us to a much better and bigger room in Moran and gave us a discount for our troubles.
One of our cheapest rooms during the trip was at a huge and very nice suburban Doubletree Hotel on 2 June 2025 at Warren Place in Tulsa, OK, for $113. It had the best bed (a king) of any place we stayed on the entire trip and a nice pool too.
Our next most expensive accommodations were two nights at $430 total at Casas de Suenos in Old Town Albuquerque. This was a neat little resort with 21 tastefully decorated, 100 year old adobe apartments. It was very convenient to Old Town and we took advantage of that proximity.
Our other "splurge" was a one night stay for $214 at a Courtyard by Marriott hotel at Page, AZ near Lake Powell. It was a nice property in a very scenic location..
Let me know if you have any questions. Good Trip.
------------------------------------------------------
This year, before the big drive East, my wife and son joined me for a four day, 1000 mile side-trip to Yellowstone National Park over Memorial Day Weekend. The crowds weren't too bad, especially away from the most popular attractions. The weather was fantastic for hiking and sightseeing, mostly sunny and highs around 55-65 degs.
23 May 2025 we entered Yellowstone NP at 10 AM at West Yellowstone. We circled the park in a clockwise direction over the next four days.
Norris Geyser Basin, welcome to Yellowstone's weird geology, a couple square miles of intense volcanic features, geysers, steam vents, boiling mud pots, etc:
Yellowstone is bigger than the states of RI and DE combined. We traveled about 90 miles inside the park on May 23rd and went through varied topography/geology, mountains, meadows, river basins, you name it.
L-R: Mammoth Hot Springs Hotel and Fort Yellowstone, WY:
The 23rd was one amazing day. The frosting on the cake was visiting the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone around 7PM during "the golden hour".
My wife Kathy took this photo:
There are two beautiful waterfalls in close proximity in the Canyon. The Lower drops 300', the upper 100', both feature the same spectacular volume of waterflow. The Lower Falls close up:
Upper Falls:
The next day we drove just a couple of miles to Artist Point.
My son Vince with the view up river:
Next it was on to beautiful Lake Yellowstone, the largest high elevation (7,000'+) lake in North America at about 40 x 10 miles in size.
This is the kind of wildlife and beautiful scenery you can come upon spontaneously in Yellowstone:
West Thumb is an area of geysers towards the southern part of Lake Yellowstone:
After the West Thumb Geysers we drove to the popular Old Faithful area. There were large, but manageable crowds.
The Old Faithful Inn:
I saw Old Faithful erupt three times, this was 630 PM on May 25th:
I went on a hike early the next morning and saw the nearby Beehive Geyser erupt. It was as large as Old Faithful, but is much less predictable, erupting perhaps once or twice per day. It looks very much like a large "fountain" type of fireworks display.
I had Solitary Geyser all to myself early in the morning.
Eerie early morning scene in the Old Faithful Geyser basin, looks a war zone!
We returned to Salt Lake City for two days and on 29 May 2025 headed East, first stop was Bryce Canyon NP, UT (BCNP).
Navajo Loop trail at BCNP:
Hammer of Thor:
Clinging tree and Inspiration Point:
30 May 2025, Glen Canyon Dam, AZ:
Monument Valley, AZ:
31 May 2025, Canyon de Chelly, AZ:
Antelope House:
31 May and 1 June 2025 Old Town Albuquerque, NM:
San Felipe de Neri Catholic Church, oldest structure in the city of Albuquerque, NM:
In the foreground a 1956 Buick Special.
2 June 2025 nearing Amarillo, TX. It's only free if you eat the whole thing in one sitting:
3 June 2025 Busch Stadium, St Louis, MO. They had a home game that night against KC. Would have loved to seen it, but had to log a few more highway miles:
4 June 2025, Zanesville, OH. This small city in eastern Ohio of 25,000 had an amazingly robust 3-story art museum, free admittance.
Much of the collection consisted of donated art works created by artisans of the local pottery industry from late 19th and early 20th centuries. But they also had pieces by great masters from around the world that had been collected by wealthy pottery families.
5 June 2025 back in the lush greenery of the Mid-Atlantic, Lick Hollow State Forest, PA.
After this we finished the drive to our primary residence near Wash DC.
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