National Park Opinions

[warriorchick]

Depending on how small your group is, it can be a ball buster.  I was 29 years old and it absolutely kicked my butt (but in a good way).  Our group was chick, me, an army ranger and our guide.  We got to places in the cave that our own guide had discovered and were among the first 50 or so to EVER get there.  But I love stuff like that.  They also do (did?) an 'Intro to Caving' kind of 'lite version' of Wild Cave that I did with my son when I was about 45.  Also extremely cool and demanding with plenty of climbing, crawling, etc.  Both begin with a claustrophobic hole test.  Fail that and you are out for obvious reasons.

Yep, it was pretty cool to see places that only our guide knew about.  But then it got to be a little creepy when he started talking about his obsession with Debbie Gibson and realizing that no one would be able to find us if he really broke bad.

[jsglow]

I just got back last week from a 4,600 mile roadtrip to a bunch of national parks. We hit the Badlands, Mt Rushmore, Grand Tetons, Yellowstone and Glacier. We also went north into Canada to Banff National Park and Lake Louise. My thoughts...

Badlands. Interesting to see, but having seen them, I wouldn't go out of my way to see them again. They're called the Badlands for a reason. Not "pretty". Had dinner in Deadwood. Nice place to hangout for a couple of hours.

Mt Rushmore. Wanting to see this was what prompted the trip. Maybe that raised expectations, but while looking at it, I felt like if you've seen a picture of it you've seen Mt Rushmore. Also didn't like that although it's free to see, parking there (private company) is $11. There may be free options, but when you just pull in you find yourself at a cashier with cars behind you and no escape.

Yellowstone. Beautiful. Huge. Old Faithful. We saw lots of elk, antelope, big horn sheep and hundreds of bison. Also a few bears. Had dinner at the Lake Yellowstone Hotel. Pricey, but good. The air was kind of thin and humidity was super low, which made hiking a little difficult. Going down was ok, but coming back up...ugh.

Tetons. A short drive from Yellowstone and well worth it. Snow covered mountains, beautiful scenery.

Glacier. Spectacular! Take a ride up the Going To the Sun road. My favorite part of the whole trip. One breathtaking view after another. Glaciers, valleys, rugged snow covered peaks. I thought my camera was going to overheat. I'm already making plans to go back here.

Lake Louise. Breathtakingly beautiful area. Fantastic scenery. The ski lift is open during the summer to take you up the mountain for fabulous views. We saw 2 grizzlies on the way up. Tip: they charge $32 for the chairlift. For an extra $3 you can have a buffet breakfast, so go early. Saw several moose here. Had a big one one walk out of the brush and pass less than 10 feet from us. Debated whether to run, but he didn't seem fazed by the group of people with cameras.

En route, we also made made stops at Wall Drug and the Devils Tower (Close Encounters). Diversions to break up the long drive.

A tip for oldsters: if you're 62 or older you can get a National Parks pass for $10. It's good for life. The regular pass is $85/yr. It gets you into the parks for free (most were around $30 to get in) and also cuts your camping fee in half.

Been to 'em all.  Spot on.  Will add that small national parks/monuments aren't all created equal.  I could spend weeks in Yellowstone while a couple hour visit to Mt. Rushmore is plenty.  Consider SW South Dakota (including Devil's Tower in WY) as a group.  Take in 2/3 in a day on the way to Yellowstone perhaps beginning the day in Rapid City and ending the day in Gillette, WY.   Beats the heck out of an overnight at a Days Inn in North Platte, Nebraska.

[jsglow]

Travel was one of the gifts my parents gave me as a kid.  We never maxed the miles but chose to enjoy the trip along the way.  If you choose to do it, try not to burn out the youngsters.

When our kids were grade/middle school age, we did two separate 10 day western loops.  But started with a flight to 'get there'.  Rented a car for the 10 days.  First was Arizona/SW Colorado/Utah flying into Vegas.  Second was Montana/Wyoming/northern Utah flying into Salt Lake. Both were about 2000 mile loops over 10 days.  All good.  Happy to share any thoughts about any NP out there.

[Benny B]

Depending on how small your group is, it can be a ball buster.  I was 29 years old and it absolutely kicked my butt (but in a good way).  Our group was chick, me, an army ranger and our guide.  We got to places in the cave that our own guide had discovered and were among the first 50 or so to EVER get there.  But I love stuff like that.  They also do (did?) an 'Intro to Caving' kind of 'lite version' of Wild Cave that I did with my son when I was about 45.  Also extremely cool and demanding with plenty of climbing, crawling, etc.  Both begin with a claustrophobic hole test.  Fail that and you are out for obvious reasons.

"Caving?!?" 

What a sad world we live in where literally literally means figuratively and people can no longer use the term spelunking.

[MU82]

"Caving?!?" 

What a sad world we live in where literally literally means figuratively and people can no longer use the term spelunking.

I guess that's just people spelunking in to the politically correct.

[MU82]

But then it got to be a little creepy when he started talking about his obsession with Debbie Gibson and realizing that no one would be able to find us if he really broke bad.

Indeed, that would have been a real Foolish Beat.

[MU Fan in Connecticut]

Yep, it was pretty cool to see places that only our guide knew about.  But then it got to be a little creepy when he started talking about his obsession with Debbie Gibson and realizing that no one would be able to find us if he really broke bad.

Debbie Gibson is playing a free show on the New Haven Green on Saturday July 30.
BYOB

[warriorchick]

Debbie Gibson is playing a free show on the New Haven Green on Saturday July 30.
BYOB

I am sure Chester will be in the front row.

Yes, that was his real name.  He was also slightly cross-eyed.  I am not making that up.

[Benny B]

I guess that's just people spelunking in to the politically correct.

After that miserable fail of yours trying to be funnier earlier, I didn't think you could possibly be any dumber, but then you go and do something like this...

[Spotcheck Billy]

I just got back last week from a 4,600 mile roadtrip to a bunch of national parks. We hit the Badlands, Mt Rushmore, Grand Tetons, Yellowstone and Glacier. We also went north into Canada to Banff National Park and Lake Louise.

It is on my bucket list to visit the bolded on a trip to Alaska on a Harley, unfortunately my employer does not offer more than 2 weeks vacation so that will wait until retirement for a 6+ week trip.

[Coleman]

It is on my bucket list to visit the bolded on a trip to Alaska on a Harley, unfortunately my employer does not offer more than 2 weeks vacation so that will wait until retirement for a 6+ week trip.

2 weeks? yuck. I'd be looking for something new ASAP.

I get 5 weeks plus 9 company holidays.

[warriorchick]

2 weeks? yuck. I'd be looking for something new ASAP.

I get 5 weeks plus 9 company holidays.

Let me guess:  Either a government job, a bank job, or an NFP.

[Benny B]

Let me guess:  Either a government job, a bank job, or an NFP.

Or retail.

[Spotcheck Billy]

nm

[warriorchick]

2 cheap-ass brothers, started here in 1981, max time off is 12 vacation and 6 sick days.
Freight consulting/auditing service.

You haven't been able to convince them to change the vacation policy, and you have continued to work for them for 35 years.

At this point it is your own fault that your vacation time sucks.

[Coleman]

Let me guess:  Either a government job, a bank job, or an NFP.

Nope, nope, nope

[Coleman]

Or retail.

Nope

[Spotcheck Billy]

You haven't been able to convince them to change the vacation policy, and you have continued to work for them for 35 years.

At this point it is your own fault that your vacation time sucks.

It sucks but thankfully vacation isn't the sole consideration for working there. It is what it is hence the bucket list. 

[MU82]

Let me guess:  Either a government job, a bank job, or an NFP.

My wife is an RN -- no union; this is N.C. after all! She gets 30 days of PTO (personal time off) per year (that includes sick time, but she's never sick). Most of her other benefits are substandard -- including her health plan, ironically -- but the time off is very good.

I was a newspaper journalist and had 4-5 weeks vacation time ever since my fourth year in the business.

My daughter was a Starbucks manager until last year; she had 4 weeks of vacation.

My father was an electronic engineer at Olin in CT. He had 4 weeks for as far back as I knew, and had 6 by the time he finished there. And that was 30 years ago! My brother was at IBM; 6 weeks vacation by the time he was finished.

In other words, it's not that crazy to have 4, 5 or even 6 weeks of vacation. Certainly don't have to be a government employee.

[warriorchick]

My wife is an RN -- no union; this is N.C. after all! She gets 30 days of PTO (personal time off) per year (that includes sick time, but she's never sick). Most of her other benefits are substandard -- including her health plan, ironically -- but the time off is very good.

I was a newspaper journalist and had 4-5 weeks vacation time ever since my fourth year in the business.

My daughter was a Starbucks manager until last year; she had 4 weeks of vacation.

My father was an electronic engineer at Olin in CT. He had 4 weeks for as far back as I knew, and had 6 by the time he finished there. And that was 30 years ago! My brother was at IBM; 6 weeks vacation by the time he was finished.

In other words, it's not that crazy to have 4, 5 or even 6 weeks of vacation. Certainly don't have to be a government employee.

I was speaking more about the 9 holidays.  Most company don't give you off for more than the basic 6. 

I worked at a place once where if a holiday fell on a weekend, you didn't get any time off at all.  If Christmas was on Saturday, you worked until 5:00 on Friday and were back at 8:00 on Monday.  And yes, for that and many other reasons, I started looking for another job within six months of starting there.

[Coleman]

I was speaking more about the 9 holidays.  Most company don't give you off for more than the basic 6. 

I worked at a place once where if a holiday fell on a weekend, you didn't get any time off at all.  If Christmas was on Saturday, you worked until 5:00 on Friday and were back at 8:00 on Monday.  And yes, for that and many other reasons, I started looking for another job within six months of starting there.

I should clarify, it is 5 weeks of PTO, not "vacation," (Like MU82's wife's situation). It includes sick days and vacation together. No need to lie about being sick to take a day off.  But I just work from home when I am sick, so I never take sick days.

9 company holidays are New Years Day, MLK, Memorial Day, 4th of July, Labor Day, Thanksgiving, day after Thanksgiving, Christmas Eve, Christmas Day,

If it falls on a Saturday we get Friday off. If it falls on a Sunday we get Monday off.

Publicly-traded, Fortune 500 technology company.

[ChitownSpaceForRent]

It's kinda what Marquette does with students. They don't differenciate between sick days and just not going to class. Every student gets the equivalent of 2 weeks to miss for free. So for example, if your class meets 3 times a week you get to miss 6 classes. If it meets 2 times a week you get to miss 4 without punishment.

So essentially, no difference between a sick day or a "personal" day.

[warriorchick]

It's kinda what Marquette does with students. They don't differenciate between sick days and just not going to class. Every student gets the equivalent of 2 weeks to miss for free. So for example, if your class meets 3 times a week you get to miss 6 classes. If it meets 2 times a week you get to miss 4 without punishment.

So essentially, no difference between a sick day or a "personal" day.

I would prefer personal days as well, as I never get sick, either.  We have sick and vacation where I am now, but I guess the upside is that the max balance we can carry before it stops accruing is pretty generous, and we can cash out unused vacation at 100% and sick at 50% when we leave.  I recently cut a $50K check to someone who was retiring.

[Coleman]

I would prefer personal days as well, as I never get sick, either.  We have sick and vacation where I am now, but I guess the upside is that the max balance we can carry before it stops accruing is pretty generous, and we can cash out unused vacation at 100% and sick at 50% when we leave.  I recently cut a $50K check to someone who was retiring.

That is the one nice thing about separating vacation from sick days, usually the sick days will continue accruing throughout the years, and can be used for a nice long parental leave or a huge check when separating from the company.

I can only carry over a max of 1 week of PTO per year.

[naginiF]

On topic:  Seems like most folks do their national park visits via personal vehicle.  We're planning a 2 week RV convoy with 2 other families next year through Yellowstone and various other stops tbd.  I'm in the 'afraid i'm going to drive my family off the cliff, only go 30 mi per hour, or have the toilet explode' mental state and am trying to get the families to do more of a car and hotel experience vs RV.  Anyone have any experience with RV's?  and suggestions on how to approach this?

Off topic:  i assume the vacation approach for anyone in 'business management' in the connected world is the same i've experienced from self employed to Fortune 50......really not concerned with how much time you take out of the office because a) nobody over middle management abuses vacation time and b) whenever you are out of the office - vaca, travel, sick, etc. - you're connected and keeping up with what's transpiring regardless.