Using Sunnyvale as the home base, my friends and I visited these neighbouring states during various road trips.
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Frommer's Guide: http://www.frommers.com/destinations/
No sales tax and full-service at the pumps.
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Multnomah Falls, Columbia River Gorge National Scenic Area
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Portland http://www.travelportland.com/ http://www.frommers.com/destinations/portlandor/
Surrounding Areas Woodburn Company Stores - Outlet mall just south of Portland. Definitely the best Banana Republic outlet shopping experience I've had.
Another website: http://www.fs.fed.us/r6/columbia/forest/ Quite a pretty drive, with lots of waterfalls along the way.
Oregon Coast along HW 101. Rugged coastline + a fun drive. Not to be missed.
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Visitor's Guide http://www.frommers.com/destinations/lasvegas/
One piece of advice, under no circumstance should you go to Vegas in July... I was there when a heat wave hit and the temperature was 115 F during the day and 98 at night. Quite insane...
Hotels One of the better deals (value for $ spent) was Westward Ho. The standard rooms look pretty cheap. I stayed at the 3-bedroom apartment for less than $50 a night. Westward Ho is an older casino/hotel that is located at the north end of the strip. There are also $1 slushy margaritas... The prime ribs dinner at Westward Ho's restaurant was surprisingly good... Maybe it was because I've been having camping food for the previous two days. Anyhow, it was good nonetheless.
I also stayed at Treasure Island for $65/night. Compared to the usual $45 for motel 6, quite a treat.
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Self-Guided Walking Tour A quick map of the famous strip to put things in perspective. Good walking shoes and a bottle of water are all you need.
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Frommer's Guide: http://www.frommers.com/destinations/arizona/
Originally, Grand Canyon wasn't on the road trip itinerary. We were supposed to cross the border to go to Mexico to attend a friend's daughter's Quinceanera party. The intended destination was Morelia. But car troubles (had to replace the break pads and a blown tire) and other documentation problems changed our agenda.
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Nogales Border town. En route to the Sonora province of Mexico. Not too much is going on here. |
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Tucson, Arizona
Similar style (at least to the untrained eyes) as the Franciscan missions in California.
Somewhere on the highway near Tucson was where one of our tires decided to pop. I know there's a university in town somewhere.
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Official Park Website: http://www.nps.gov/grca/ Trip Planning: http://www.nps.gov/grca/grandcanyon/
Here is a pdf map and some photos.
North Rim - Open from mid-May to mid-October. Cooler, less frequented by tourists. The views were just as majestic. The second time when I went to the north rim, we camped at the prime site. Behind the campground, the canon was only a 2-minute walk away. One thing to remember about Grand Canyon is that daylight saving time is not observed here, ie, in summer, Grand Canon time = California time. We didn't know... and woke up an extra hour early to catch the sunrise.
South Rim - Open year round. Flocks of tourists come every year.
There are only 2 ways to go from the North Rim to the South. Either drive around the canyon (HW 67 -> 89 -> 160 -> 64) or hike down one rim and up the second (at least 21.5 miles). Click here for suggested hikes.
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Salt Lake City
Flew in from Sunnvayle for the 2002 game during the President's Day weekend.
Watched two hockey games: Finland vs Belarus (02/16) and Canada vs Germany (02/17). Of course, Canada went on to win the gold medal.
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Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints |
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Famous arches... This is where the opening scenes of Indiana Jones III were shot.
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This page was last updated on 07/25/05.