2014 Western Scenic Tour!

[bearphoto]

Its about time to be thinking about the 2014 Western Scenic Tour. The tour for 2013 was so much fun and we had such great people that we just have to do it again! I have been a bit pre-occupied with the divorce and the selling of the house. Escrow closes around Dec. 10 so once that is done things should quiet down some until I find a new house!

While the 2013 group discussed some routes/sites, I will throw this out to the rest of you also in the event you have some great locations/ideas! My tentative thought is again a fall tour but probably a bit earlier in September as we had some snow in Colorado as the tour ended. Thank you and lets have a few ideas! I will post the actual dates this week!

Doug

[street72]

I thought we all liked the idea of running the West Coast.. Lots of neat places to see and do between here and Seattle..

[cstmwgn]

I thought we all liked the idea of running the West Coast.. Lots of neat places to see and do between here and Seattle..

HWY 1 could be hair raising!

[bearphoto]

Ok, 2014 Western Scenic Tour dates are: Sept. 7th-13th.

Tentative schedule looks to be:

Sept. 7th, Williams, Arizona
Sept. 8th, tour Grand Canyon National Park via the Grand Canyon Railway
Sept. 9th, travel to Lone Pine, CA
Sept. 10th, tour Death Valley National Park and the famous Scotty's Castle!
Sept. 11th, travel north on US 395 to Mono Lake and into Yosemite National Park to Clovis, Ca.
Sept. 12th, tour Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks
possible option for Sept. 13th is to head to the CA coast Hwy 1 and tour Hearst Castle in San Simeon!

This trip encompasses 5 National Parks and some very scenic drives such as US 395 and Highway 120! We will take in a gourmet lunch at a gas station! Yes, a gas station. You will not believe the food! While we eat, we will have a beautiful scenic view of Mono Lake and the Tuffa's! (Whats a Tuffa? Come on the tour and find out)!

[cjcyclone]

Looks like you put together another great trip Doug, Terry and I have always wanted to see that part of California so we are definitely in.

[oletrux4evr]

We're in too!

[bearphoto]

These are some incredible locations. The Grand Canyon visit will be by train and is a lot of fun! If you have not been into Death Valley and visited Scotty's Castle its something to see. The Lone Pine stop is a great place and traveling north on US 395 is very scenic and I'm telling you the lunch stop will be big fun at the gas station. Its known almost world wide!

And the trip into Yosemite is beautiful as we drive to Clovis for the night. The next day takes in Sequoia and Kings Canyon and is very impressive too. Hearst Castle is amazing. So the tour will end at the ocean and that takes us to 2015 for a coastal tour and God willing, 2016 will be in the NorthWest consisting of Yellowstone, Tetons and Glacier National Parks!

[bearphoto]

These are some incredible locations. The Grand Canyon visit will be by train and is a lot of fun! If you have not been into Death Valley and visited Scotty's Castle its something to see. The Lone Pine stop is a great place and traveling north on US 395 is very scenic and I'm telling you the lunch stop will be big fun at the gas station. Its known almost world wide!

And the trip into Yosemite is beautiful as we drive to Clovis for the night. The next day takes in Sequoia and Kings Canyon and is very impressive too. Hearst Castle is amazing. So the tour will end at the ocean and that takes us to 2015 for a coastal tour and God willing, 2016 will be in the NorthWest consisting of Yellowstone, Tetons and Glacier National Parks!

[moparjim71]

That all sounds great. Too bad it's so far away. Not sure we can get that many more days off.

[oletrux4evr]

We really enjoy the Power Tour, but I gotta say, it's sure nice to see some different country. I can't recommend this tour strongly enough, we won't miss it. I might add that the lack of a registration fee pays for some food, or a hotel room along the way......another hidden benefit!

[corvettedad]

Well I'm definitely in for another go at it, maybe Murphy won't find me this time

[69SS 350 5 Speed]

We are going!!!

Doug, Are you selecting the hotels again this year?

[bearphoto]

Yes Jim I am selecting the hotels and working on it now!

[street72]

Doug, Thanks for picking the dates that early in Sept. This will be another great trip. Making sure the wife has the time off, cause I do..You did such a great time on the last tour that anyone would have to be a fool to miss this one. I can't wait, HRPT just may take a back seat to this trip..

[bearphoto]

Thanks for the kind words Rett. We had such a good time with everyone and so far it looks like all or most of last years participants are attending for 2014 also. I should have hotel info, at least some of it by this week. Several group rate coordinators are contacting me tomorrow with their info. So far though, hotels near San Simeon are in the $180-215 range so I have expedia sending out bidding requests to 25 hotels in the area. Tentatively I am asking hotels to set aside 15 rooms but will request more if the response is higher. So stay tuned for hotel info so you can book early and get the room of your choice!

Doug