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The 2013 Pre/Post TAM trip

Hutch

A broken man on a Halifax pier, the last of Barret
Hutch
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Probably to early, but then again, it is never to early to start planning....

This year, five friendly, fulsome and fun-loving Forumites (2 Canadians, 1 Brazilian, and 2 old codgers) spent five days in the Grand Tetons and Yellowstone National Park before TAM, and managed...quite well, thank you.

And being that (1) I like traveling and (2) since joining the Forum, I've seldom had to travel alone, I'd thought it might be worth doing again.

The goal is 5-6 days together, a largish airport to meet-up in, and in general I look to Western sites, since that means an easier flight to/from Las Vegas.

There are three possibilities that I see, and if others would like to suggest something, I am all ears (or mostly eyes, my hearing right now is shot).

Option 1: Meetup in Denver, see the Rocky Mountains, Colorado Springs region. Lots to see/do in the area and a substantial number of Forumites live out that way, so maybe we'll cop a free drink or meal...and THIS TIME I will go white-water rafting!

Option 2: Seattle/Vancouver--Meetup in Seattle, and we have two options. The first is the Seattle/Vancouver areas only, about 6 days. Expand it to add Glacier National Park/Banff National Park and it gets out to about 10 days and 1,200+ miles of driving. Again, a fairly decent number of skeptics in the Seattle area to meet.

Option 3: New Mexico--Meetup in Albuqueque. Not as much here as in other places, but the Very Large Array, Carlsbad Caverns, Roswell and Allamagordo are all in reach (and maybe cross the border to Mexico).

Would welcome other thoughts, ideas, or places you think I should go...;):p

Will bump occasionally.
 
I would lean toward #2, probably skip the Banff extension.

There's also a rumor going around that CSICon III might be in Seattle.
 
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Option 3 sounds cool, but it's way to early to commit for sure. I'll almost certainly be at TAM this time, but I don't know if I'll be able to commit more time.
 
Interesting! If my budget allows for it I'll certainly consider one of those. But the Galapagos will devour my finances, I'm afraid, especially if I decide to go to the post-tour.
 
I'm good for any of course, but New Mexico is one of the few states I've not yet seen. Lots of really great things to see there. Los Alamos comes to mind as well, since I worked in radiation protection. (Alas, the Trinity site has no tours mid summer, there there is always WSMR to consider.)
 
I don't think I'd be in, but if the extended version of option 2 is chosen, I'd head out to Banff, as it's a short drive for me. I know the area, so could show some interesting things. There's even a mummified mer-man in Banff!
 
The restraining order was taken out by the Space Needle. Something about an odor.
 
Hutch said:
[...]

Option 3: New Mexico--Meetup in Albuqueque. Not as much here as in other places, but the Very Large Array, Carlsbad Caverns, Roswell and Allamagordo are all in reach (and maybe cross the border to Mexico).

Would welcome other thoughts, ideas, or places you think I should go...;):p

Will bump occasionally.
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Hutch, you are seriously underestimating the number of places to go and things to see in New Mexico. In addition, don't underestimate the driving times and distances. This past spring, I spent about a month investigating places within a 250-mile radius of the Four Corners area, didn't see all of what is there -- and drove close to 2,000 miles doing it.

Incidentally, by mid-July, southern New Mexico will be pretty warm (90s) during the day.

xterra, who will watch this thread with interest
 
I'm not sure what my plans are for next year in terms of vacation and such. It is likely I won't be doing TAM. I will mostly likely opt out. Hope you have a good time.
 
Carlsbad Caverns are great, especially if you can arrange to go to one of the other caves. They are limited to groups of around 20 (unless they have changed), so you need to make reservations for a particular time, and allow an hour to hike to the entrance.

http://www.nps.gov/cave/planyourvisit/slaughter_canyon_cave_tour.htm

Hmm, I've been here several times, but it's been 10-15 years. They used to call this 'New Cave' but I see they have renamed it after the Slaughter family that once owned a great deal of this eastern New Mexico and western Texas.
 
Geek Goddess said:
[...]

They used to call this 'New Cave' but I see they have renamed it after the Slaughter family that once owned a great deal of this eastern New Mexico and western Texas.
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That, plus the fact that it's in Slaughter Canyon -- as are several other caves, only some of which are open to tours.

xterra, who spent four months at Carlsbad Caverns as a volunteer some years ago.
 
If Albuquerque is the choice, I'll even go. If Four Corners is a part of the plan, I'ld really be interested. That's where they supposedly see centaurs, giant basilisks, and dogmen. Who could pass that opportunity up?
 
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Jodie said:
If Albuquerque is the choice, I'll even go. If Four Corners is a part of the plan, I'ld really be interested. That's where they supposedly see centaurs, giant basilisks, and dogmen. Who could pass that opportunity up?
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Better yet, there are Chaco Canyon National HIstorical Park, Canyonlands National Monument, Arches National Park, Canyon de Chelly National Monument, Mesa Verde National Park, and too many others to mention right now....
 
xterra said:
Better yet, there are Chaco Canyon National HIstorical Park, Canyonlands National Monument, Arches National Park, Canyon de Chelly National Monument, Mesa Verde National Park, and too many others to mention right now....
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Jodie said:
Would love to see all of them!
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Folks, folks, we only have 5 or 6 days. If we see the Very Large Array, Carlsbad Caverns, Roswell, Alamagordo, and maybe one more site, we'll be doing good.

That said, I am leaning towards this trip, there seems to be no love for Colorado and I've been to Seattle several times so Glacier Park is the only thing I really want to see, and that is a fair piece of driving.
 
Hutch said:
Folks, folks, we only have 5 or 6 days. If we see the Very Large Array, Carlsbad Caverns, Roswell, Alamagordo, and maybe one more site, we'll be doing good.
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Hutch et. al.,

Here is a round- trip route from Las Vegas Nevada to the places mentioned above, and back, with no other side trips, and by the fastest routes -- or sometimes the only routes.

http://tinyurl.com/clnm6jm

If you want to make this a one-way trip, the best destination airport to consider is El Paso. Here is that route:

http://tinyurl.com/EP-to-LV

I have driven all of the roads shown (although not all in one trip). The map does not show the nature of the country, which must be taken into account. If you have not lived in the Southwest, you will be shocked by the aridity and the emptiness. It's easy to die in this country in the summer.

I will be happy to expound on the exigencies of summer travel in New Mexico and Arizona if you desire.


xterra
 
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Xterra;

My plan, such as it is, is to fly into Albuqueque (some folks who went on the trip last year to Yellowstone did not go to TAM) and base out of there, so that will cut the mileage down. I know there are a lot of sites on the Flagstaff-Albuqueque route, but those may have to wait for another day.


I say 5-6 days because that is long enough for people to get along with each other and not long enough for people to get on each other's nerves (IMHO).

My rough (very rough) draft now is:

Day 1--Everyone arrive in Albuqueque, get settled, maybe see some sites there (IIRC, there is an aerial tram that gives a pretty good view)

Day 2--Drive to Las Cruces, stopping to see the Very Large Array and any other interesting sites.

Day 3-Drive to Carlsbad via Alamagordo/White Sands, perhaps with a quick morning visit to Mexico if the group wants to.

Day 4-Do Carlsbad Caverns, to include the evening Bat patrol.

Day 5--Return to Albuqueque via Roswell, and either depart on evening flights or bunk for next morning.

Day 6--Either to TAM or Home, depending on when the trip happens.

That's about 800 or so miles over 5 days, which is not too bad.

I know that there is a lot to see West and North of Albuqueque, but we cna only do one direction given the parameters.

Any and all advice you may have would be appreciated.
 
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