Just a quiet night's sleep please
We were (and remain) a very impractical family. We very much liked the Nature, in theory (we had never tried camping), but when I was 13 we finally decided to give car camping a try. Given free reign to set the itinerary, I planned that we'd hit all the major national parks of the American Southwest in just four days, but I didn't quite grasp that these scenic places were located very, very far apart from one another.

First night was supposed to be at the Grand Canyon, but our lackadaisical pace didn't keep up with my ambitions. The sun set long before we got to Flagstaff, Arizona, the nearest large town to the Canyon (but which is still some distance away). So, the first decision was, do we press on, or camp outside of town? We drove through a crowded campground - the only easily-identifiable one on my roadmap - but there was no space for us. Reluctantly, we pressed on.

At Grand Canyon Village, there was no space either. Tourist season was in full swing and every campsite was full. But at 11 p.m. we finally located an undesirable spot at the distant end of a trailer park and pitched our tent. We ate a hasty meal, and collapsed.

At 6 a.m., a stupendous whine and clatter woke us all up. Panic-stricken, we stumbled outside. We were camped adjacent to the Grand Canyon Heliport! Every tourist in the world wanted to see a Grand Canyon sunrise, but from the air! Our rest was over!
(Perv With A Dog had his eyes pecked out by scrub jays on, Thu 29 Mar 2012, 19:12, 5 replies)

me too, with bells
We weren't camping but planned a tour of the national parks me the south west and pre-booked all me our hotels.

Our trip went;
2 nights in san fran
2 nights in yosemite
1 night in death valley
2 nights in grand canyon (same town with heliport on arizona side)
2 nights in palm springs
1 night near LAX before flying home.

Oh and it was just me and the mrs - who doesn't drive.
(Greencloud Wanted to go fishing on, Thu 29 Mar 2012, 19:32, closed)

A marathon!
Hope you slept on the flight....
(Perv With A Dog had his eyes pecked out by scrub jays on, Thu 29 Mar 2012, 20:05, closed)

like a baby
La to london was delayed a few hours for technical reasons until somebody had a brainwave and realised that a working movie system is nice on a long haul but not an essential component of flight. We apparently had monster turbulence most of the flight and the californian lady on my wifes other side thought she was deranged because she kept laughing when asked if we were going to die. She was actually laughing at the way I managed to stay asleep while being lifted out of my seat by the sporadic g forces. I slept almost 12 hours straight and woke just as we crossed the english coastline. :-)
(Greencloud Wanted to go fishing on, Thu 29 Mar 2012, 21:15, closed)

somehow this reads like a choose your own adventure story.
The last paragraph makes me want to flick back and choose a different option.
(Abercadabra looks more like Gerry Adams every day, Thu 29 Mar 2012, 20:23, closed)

Alternative #1
Different trip (Jasper National Park, Alberta, Canada), but an alternative ending. Leaving the campground in the morning, ranger asked: "Did you see any bears last night? Campsites 1 & 3 had visits from a bear. What campsite were you in?" Aghast and unaware, we replied: "Number two!"
(Perv With A Dog had his eyes pecked out by scrub jays on, Thu 29 Mar 2012, 22:08, closed)