I always see wild horse herds in TR NP when I go there as well as bison, prairie dogs without getting out of the car. Usually the south unit is best but the north unit has a variety of birds, songbirds, woodpeckers and turkeys. Hwy 7 east of RM NP is very scenic and often there are elk and mule deer along side the road but the meadow by the campground has herds of both in the evening. I got my first photo of a Stellers Jay near the meadow. Lots of places in between, wild horse range is good to see wild horses and bighorn sheep. Devil's Tower is very scenic but not so much wildlife. Mount Rushmore is a tourist trap. Yellowstone is always crowded but so spectacular that everyone should do it once. A good plan that late i n the year is to start in the north and swing south as it gets colder and swing by Pike's peak and Great Sand Dunes NP in southern Colorado.

There is a herd of bighorns that can usually be seen around the Two Medicine campground in Glacier NP as well as an occasional moose. I Haven't personaly seen one there but I've been told by hikers there that they have seen grizzlies there too.

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Thanks Nick, The last time through I stopped in Valley of fire. Beautiful place! If I get that far west, I'll check out 170.

Any place to camp in the shade is a favorite with me! Thank you for the info Bob, I'll definitely be in touch!

Nov 17 2011 Grand Staircase Escalante

Thank You Nick. I will! Do You know anything about the stretch of 15 in AZ? I've been through there several times and wanted to shoot some pix of the beautiful mountains there but no place to get off 15

Thank you Very much, I hope your trip is everything you're hoping for! I'm hoping to catch some great skies along with the fantastic landscapes in this area of the country and doing this in the spring give me a better chance of not having to deal with a lot of smoke from forest fires. Whatever I get I'll still love this area of the country

J D

I can and have navigated at night over water and I try to not do anything stupid but it's always the unexpected that gets people into trouble so I appreciate the advice. This place looks like a winner.

Thank You Very much Wayne! If I can keep the wife from getting bored I may stay until it starts to get hot then move north or to higher elevation!

I did a search on Bisti Badlands, and you're absolutely right this is definitely worth taking a southerly route to include this in our plans. There's even a topographical map available to download. Jim I appreciate your help! It's amazing what info you can get here on the Hog if you ask a few questions!

Thank you Jim! I wasn't aware of the Place but I'll google it. I've done Mesa Verde, Durango Silverton and Great Sand Dunes a couple of times so this is likely to be a nice detour!

Yep, Been there done that, all of it but thank you for taking the time to respond. FYI Canyons De Chelly is more impressive IMHO. Places to hike is part of the beauty of traveling for me and my wife now both for the enjoyment of seeing the beauty you can see any other way and maintain our health. we've been to all the places where people drive up, roll down the window and shoot a couple of pix and drive off, because someone else is waiting in line to do the same thing. These days I'm looking for the places that don't attract bus loads of tourists who have a picture of themselves in front of this or that waterfall or "Old Faithfull" I'm have been guilty driving up and shooting a few pix and moving but I try to avoid that more and more as I want my pix to be more than a different version of image that a lot of other have. For a lot of tourists snapshots are good enough especially with themselves in front of whatever and I respect their right to do that, Honestly! Thank You again for responding to my post I respect everyone's point of view and the right to have one!

I'm coming from Virginia Mike, I'm going to stop in Kansas, 100 +/- miles south of Kansas City to do some Genealogical research on my grand parents and great grand parents then through to southern Colorado perhaps to Red Rock Amphitheater if the timing is right. I would like to find an alternative to stopping at Great sand dunes NP ( been there too many times) I love it but my wife is tired of it. she's not a Photographer although she loves it when I bring back some great pix.

From there into southern Utah so Needles Might be in the realm of possibility although I find it hard to believe I might go as far north as Moab. Everything else is open. Canyonlands is a high likelihood as we only spent a night there and moved on.
I've been to most of the attractions in Arizona so it's not likely that I'll stray south. Part of the reason for traveling during May, June and maybe July, is that I'm trying to avoid all the smoke from the forest fires that will likely be a major influence one the skies this year.
You're lucky to be able to get your kids and now your grand kids in hiking with you. Mine were mostly involved with my camping trips to N C barrier Islands but they all have their lives and carriers and camping isn't high on they're priorities although at 78 it's not my main focus anymore and we've gravitated to more comfort.
We've seen some big cat tracks (once right next to my RV) in a lot of places but so far haven't been lucky enough to get pix or even see one. A kid was attacked one night in the campground while we were in Big Bend Texas but we didn't get a sighting. Take care with small children in big cat country Mike, They're especially susceptible as I'm sure you know. Have fun and stay safe. If you see a small maroon converted school bus, It's me. Don't hesitated to say Hi! We have a tendency to attract a small crowd.

Excellent information in the NPS link, Mike. I will definitely consider my options. Some of these hikes are well beyond my capabilities and interests but there seems to be something for everyone in the brochure, I'm sure I'll find something I'll like. I always take lots of pix, on a trip like this, so I'll post a link similar to your Picasa/google site when I get back. I have several from my travels. Yours is quite interesting mike, You have certainly gotten around!

I appreciate your help! It's hard to be too informed or prepared when going into the wild! I've been through this area several times over the years but usually just followed the main roads but I now have the capability to stay for days at a time

My rig from a previous trip to Island in the Sky, it's been to all 48 continental states.

La Sal Mtns in background

We have no fix time frame to return home. We have a small RV 19'+/- but on this trip we've got a toad with a OHV and 2 kayaks so our options are quite open. We usually try to hike 5 to ten miles each day when we're on the road. we're totally self contained for limited periods (1 week +/-) so our limits are more how far from the nearest diesel fuel is the resource to be conscious of (approx. 200 mi one way)
Calf Creek falls upper and lower are on our to do list as well as some slot canyon photography. My wife loves to fly fish so including that is pretty much a necessity. The OHV adds another 100 miles we can extend our range or a day trip in Kayaks would be a nice addition. Our first priorities are going to be in Valley of the gods and Grand staircase Escalante with some opportunities to do same slot canyon photography.
I appreciate your taking the time to point out some points of interest Mike, I'm sure that will be a great deal of help.
We're usually out about six weeks before my wife has had enough togetherness and wants to head home so we may have time to go to Kolob Canyons as well.

J D