I live on the east coast and 2 years ago we took a 5 week trip across country and back. When we went out, we covered the lower half of the country and came back through the upper half, eventually through Canada and Niagara Falls, New York and home. The painted desert in AZ is gorgeous, and you just have to "experience" the Grand Canyon. You can see a million pictures of it, but it takes your breath away when you see it. (The same of Niagara Falls.) My favorites were Yosemite in CA, and Jackson Hole WY. When we were in Yosemite, my husband, who is not a very emotional person, just kept repeating "WOW, WOW, WOW!!" The Grand Tetons in WY were awesome as well. We stayed in hotels, but my dream is to stay in a cabin or camp at some of these places and just hike around. (Yellowstone was pretty, but it wasn't a take your breath away kind of place.) We didn't get to CO, but from what we heard, it's gorgeous. We took our 4 kids on the trip and had such a wonderful experience. We decided on the days and using a map, I sat down with a girl from AAA and we decided which route to take and how many days we wanted to stay in each place. Then she would check for hotels that had suites, with free breakfasts, and make the reservations. We only stayed in one hotel that didn't really work out very good. And that was for only one night! So it was a trip of a lifetime. When the kids become grown, my husband and I are doing it again, just the two of us. Most of my friends like to go to the Caribbean, but it's amazing what we have right in our own backyard!!
