Suggest a Marriott for us ( seems our holiday is in ruins )

[Ireland's Call Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Ireland's Call]

As some of you know...next Tuesday we start a tour ...Arrive Los Ang ...San Mon .San Die..Moj Desert ..Yuma....Phoenix...Sedona ..Grand Cay..Mon Valley. Zion ..Las Vegas (ooch).Glen Dam...Bryce..Yosemite ...San Fran.
But of course many of these locations will be closed .
If we extend for a further week ( assuming settlement) and try for a Marriott what might be our best location ?
Thanks
G

[ArtsieAng Super Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close ArtsieAng]

Are you referring to a timeshare? The Marriott in Phoenix would work if you'd like to stay and try for the Grand Canyon. Newport Coast in CA is in a really nice location with lots to see & do nearby, so that would be a good choice if it works into your itinerary.....The only other timeshare that I can think of would be in Las Vegas, but I wouldn't want an extended stay in that area. I think Newport Coast would be my first choice, if possible.

[Ireland's Call Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Ireland's Call]

Thanks ..will try for Phoenix..or maybe a hotel
G

[Pstreet1 Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Pstreet1]

If you decide to spend time in Arizona, consider some time in southern Arizona. Tucson has interesting things: the Desert Museum and Kartchner Caverns. Kartchner Caverns are really fascinating and quite different from most caves because they are warm and still living. The efforts to preserve the cave are extraordinary. http://azstateparks.com/parks/kaca/ The Desert Museum is wonderful: http://www.desertmuseum.org/ When we went, I thought we'd stay a couple of hours, just because we were in the area. We stayed about 5 hours and wouldn't have left then had it not been necessary for our schedule.

In northern Arizona, Sedona offers many, many things to do: there are state parks with Native American ruins, fantastic drives through the red rocks, good restaurants, sunsets to rival just about any you've seen.

This map http://azstateparks.com/find/index.html has areas to click on state parks within 120 miles of Phoenix and 120 miles of Tucson.

If you are interested in another southwestern state with lots of state parks and a lot to see (canyons, desert, Native American ruins, early Spanish ruins, Pueblos, an active jewelry and craft scene, one of American's best art venues--and truly outstanding food), consider New Mexico. I can recommend a lot to do in New Mexico--and Arizona.

[Pstreet1 Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Pstreet1]

I forgot to say that California has a lot of state parks; many are spectacular: http://www.latimes.com/travel/deals/...,7556279.story Huffington Post story on State Parks Will Save Your Vacation: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/1...html?ir=Travel
This site lists a lot of California State Parks http://www.parks.ca.gov/?page_id=24723 One of my favorites (I like it even better than Muir Woods is Big Trees State Park). Around Fort Bragg, just north of San Francisco, you can still take the Skunk Train right through the redwoods.

South of San Francisco, you can still drive Big Sur and there are state park seashore parks.

Hearst Castle is a state park, too.

I know it's not the same, but there really are a lot of magnificent parks still open:

Winner: Non-National Parks


Nothing will erase the shame of Yosemite shuttering on its 123rd birthday, but lesser-visited state parks along with nearby attractions and lodging could reap a small boost from the thousands being evicted from their hiking-filled nature-cations.


In Arizona, the Hualapai Indian Tribe-operated Grand Canyon West has seen a record-high increase in calls to the reservation line as the 18,000 tourists who visit the natural wonder this time of year are turned away. “We are trying to relay to visitors that while the National Park has closed and unfortunately displaced them as travelers, we do have equally beautiful views of the Grand Canyon and are open and operating as normal,” spokeswoman Dawnielle Tehama wrote in an email. To cope with the jump in interest, they have added buses and an extra tour along with staff and food and beverage deliveries. The privately owned area does not have trails in the canyon, but does offer similar white-water rafting trips.


On Tuesday the California State Parks took to Facebook to promote all the local alternatives close to the national parks. (The account manager enthusiastically liked every comment below the post.) At the Anza Borrego Desert State Park, a visitor-center employee said they’ve gotten a handful of inquiries specifically from people rerouting their national park holidays in the past two days. One visitor showed up Wednesday after canceling a trip to the northern Death Valley and brought his backpacking to the southern desert instead. But the interest doesn’t outweigh disappointment in the shutdown. “I’m not glad about any of this stuff,” he said. “I think it’s all crazy.”


Three thousand miles from Congress, in the other Washington, more than 100 developed state parks are open for business. Virginia Painter, the state parks communications director, said they’ve been fielding calls from people unsure whether state parks have been affected. “We are hoping people needing outdoor activity will remember the state has many great places to visit, and some not too far from national ones,” she says.


As guests lodging within the National Park Service were given until Thursday to leave, some accommodations slightly outside the affected area took in the departing visitors. In Washington’s Olympic Peninsula, nearby to the Olympic National Park, the Lake Quinault Lodge is governed by the state forest service and was seeing an uptick in guests, both coming in on foot and calling to reserve. “We’re finding some individuals planning to come to the peninsula realizing they’re unable to visit and [hoping to] experience all its majesty by rebooking the reservation at the Lodge,” said spokesman Dave Freireich. He says they’re working to let people know the Lake Quinault Lodge is still open for business.


Other lodging options that remain open outside the closed parks foresee a harder hit. Right off the turn for Mount Saint Helens in Washington, Mount Saint Helens Motel owner Ellen Rose said she’d already had cancellations. “I really feel like I should bill the government for that.”


For any hikers booted from the Great Smoky Mountains, why not trade in for a theme park? A spokesman for Dolly Parton’s Dollywood says it would welcome the opportunity to show around any unfamiliar and stranded visitors from the now-closed national park and have them take in the “National Southern Gospel and Harvest Celebration.”
http://www.thedailybeast.com/article...dollywood.html

Hoping you find other things to do that, while not what you were planning for, will make the trip a good one, not a bust.

[Ireland's Call Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Ireland's Call]

many many thanks for taking the time to write such detailed reply . You are so kind ..let's see what transpires over the weekend (it seems nothing will !) .Our agent is working on alternatives and I will forward your posts to them
Thanks again
Garry

[Pstreet1 Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Pstreet1]

I found the following state park sites and thought they might help.

Utah state park site: http://www.stateparks.utah.gov/

Salt Lake City news article about the Utah State Parks: http://www.sltrib.com/sltrib/news/56...ional.html.csp

Another local article on which state parks to visit: http://www.kcsg.com/view/full_story/...re_local_news1

New Mexico State Parks site: http://www.newmexico.org/state-parks...FUSCQgodTVcAgA

Another New Mexico State Park Site that is a good one: http://www.emnrd.state.nm.us/SPD/FindaPark.html

[taffy19 Gold Contributor Find all posts View Profile Close taffy19]

As some of you know...next Tuesday we start a tour ...Arrive Los Ang ...San Mon .San Die..Moj Desert ..Yuma....Phoenix...Sedona ..Grand Cay..Mon Valley. Zion ..Las Vegas (ooch).Glen Dam...Bryce..Yosemite ...San Fran.
But of course many of these locations will be closed .
If we extend for a further week ( assuming settlement) and try for a Marriott what might be our best location ?
Thanks
G

I am not sure what is most important for you to see in the USA? If they are the National Parks, then here is a list of State Parks in California but the State parks in Nevada, Arizona, Utah or New Mexico may be more interesting to you except for our Redwoods. You have a beautiful coast yourself where you live. Lake Tahoe is a beautiful area too. Most of the parks we have seen are the National Parks.

The only Marriott timeshare I know of in our area is the Newport Coast Villas in Newport Beach, Orange County. We like the area because we live here. It is less than 100 miles away from San Diego where you will visit too. I really wished that the parks would be open again before you arrive but I don't see that happen. Just awful so I hope that they will grant you that extra week.

[barndweller Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close barndweller]

I am so sorry this political boondoggle is hitting during your visit, G. I really hope you are able to see all the wonderful sights that aren't under Federal stewardship & therefore financially controlled. A lot of Americans have suddenly realized that our Federal government actually provides a lot of stuff that ordinary people have just taken for granted. As a California native I highly recommend visiting our coast anywhere along it's long expanse. There is a vast difference depending on where you are in our beautiful state. San Francisco is so unique as is Monterey with lots of historical sights and commercial gems like the Aquarium. The only problem I see is that the Newport Coast Marriott limits you to southern California. The distances are just to far to travel very far north & then return in one day. You could visit Solvang, Santa Barbara, perhaps San Luis Obispo with it's lovely mission. To see much in Northern California you would have to base in the north in Tahoe where there is a Marriott. That would give you access to the Sacramento region & the gold rush corridor of Highway 49 as well as the mining heritage in Nevada's Carson City and Reno. Monterey & San Francisco are a bit farther and not as do-able. I certainly hope your tour company can come up with alternate plans. There is plenty to see along your route that is not Federally funded.

[Ireland's Call Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Ireland's Call]

Thanks all ...seems like we have plenty of options ..have forwarded to our agent. We are feeling a bit gloomy though the highlights as above will be missed . Grand Canyon for me is one of the greatest natural wonders of the world .
G

[Pstreet1 Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Pstreet1]

The tribal "glass walk over the canyon" is open, so maybe that is a possibility.

[Ireland's Call Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Ireland's Call]

Thanks all ...seems like we have plenty of options ..have forwarded to our agent. We are feeling a bit gloomy though the highlights as above will be missed . Grand Canyon for me is one of the greatest natural wonders of the world .
G

[Pstreet1 Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Pstreet1]

It is, indeed, but the tribal glass walk is over the Grand Canyon--just not the national park part of it.

[barndweller Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close barndweller]

The Grand Canyon is indeed a one of a kind. The Tribal glass walk would at least give you a sense of the grandeur. Sedona will wow you almost as much and is open for all to see.

[taffy19 Gold Contributor Find all posts View Profile Close taffy19]

Coming back to "G's" dilemna, I started looking at my favorite website again for photographs to give you some more idea of what to see. My husband's family is from wales and they visited us many times. We have asked them, as well as my family too, what the highlight was of their vacation and we were surprised to hear that it was the desert scene. It is something that Europe doesn't have. I love the desert in the spring because so much is in bloom. Some of our family visited The Grand Canyon and Bryce and Zion too and that has to be even more spectacular. You can see almost every State in his website under the USA.

We took a little plane ride once from Las Vegas over the Canyon and were still able to fly low at that time but that doesn't give you any idea of how wide and deep the canyon is so I wouldn't recommend it. You have to stand on the rim to see it from there.

I am curious what your agent will decide to do and let us know.