Jon Kanas wrote: "Is it reasonable to try to get from
the Denver area to Las Vegas in one day?  Any
suggestions for really neat or unusual things to see
or do on the way?"

Jon,
You don't say which vehicle you'll be driving, but
having recently driven our Westy on a two-week tour
from our home in Wisconsin thru Denver and on to Zion
NP, then back, I can tell you that driving thru
canyonlands takes considerably longer than out here on
the plains. Especially in an underpowered Westy.

Mapquest.com offers what I have found to be very
accurate estimations of driving time for that region,
adjusted for topography, etc.. And they claim that
your route will take a little over 12 hours, at an
overall average speed of 62MPH. Most Westy pilots try
and keep their top speeds down around 60-65, and I can
assure you that a loaded Westy will slow down on the
many uphill grades. So if your overall average speed
is actually something like 55, you're looking at more
like 14 hours. Assuming no stops for sight-seeing. And
there is a LOT to see.

We sort of stuck to the southern regions -- Durango &
Mesa Verde, Bryce Canyon, Zion -- whereas you'll
probably take the Interstate route, so I cannot make
any personal recommendations. But you should be going
near Moab and Arches NP, Canyonlands, Capitol Reef and
more. We got as far north as Hanksville, UT, home of
Goblin Valley SP, which isn't too far off your route
and will entertain stir-crazy kids for a couple hours,
running around thru a weird landscape of
wind-sculpted, vaguely humanoid sandstone formations.
I suggest you split your drive into at least two days
to allow time to visit some of these places.

If you or any other listmembers are interested, pmail
me for a slick, photo-enhanced travelogue of our Westy
journey in Adobe Acrobat PDF format.

Jeffrey Earl
1983 diesel Westfalia
jefferrata@yahoo.com

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