The things we've learned....

What an amazing journey this has been.  From the Grand Canyon to Page the terrain is incredible and changing every few miles.  We went by Lake Powell and the Glen Canyon Dam, but really didn't spend nearly enough time there.  There's so much to see and do and so many side roads "not taken" by us because we weren't sure how far off the beaten path you had to go to get there.  OR, we didn't know what it was.  We've learned a lot so far on this trip and I'm going to take a moment to share some of the things we've learned.  Before I do, let me just say that today we went through Zion National Park and are currently in Hatch, Utah.  Not too far from Bryce, which will be our next tour.
I just want to say that the Lord was really looking out for us in Santa Fe, because if we'd been on some of the roads we were on today with old brakes.....I most likely would not be writing to you tonight!  No kidding, that was an incredible trip today and the mountainous roads were often extremely steep and treacherous.  Not only in Zion, but we decided to exit on the far side and come around to Bryce by Route 14....OMG....talk about a white knuckle trip on some of the roads!  Poor Fred was definitely ready to call it a day when we got to Hatch.  We went up about 11,000 ft. to where there was still snow on the ground and then back down to get to Hwy 89.  It was GORGEOUS and extremely beautiful in areas, but if we had not had new  brakes I honestly think we would  have been in some serious trouble.  Oh well...we are in fact safe and sound and saying to ourselves that the $1,300. was the BEST money we ever spent!
So, for future travelers who follow along...
1.  Keep your National Park book in your purse so you can get it stamped when you go to National Parks....which is the whole idea of buying the darned thing!  I've missed out 3 times already, but from now on it's with me wherever I go.
2.  Pay attention to the fact you are "out of area" for phone service.  I went over 10 times my limit and they shut me off of when I'm not where I have wireless service!   What a shocker that was.  I use AT&T and they are NOT everywhere!  Be aware.
3.  You need to plan on more time and more $$$$
4.  Vicksburg National Cemetery was the most fascinating place you can imagine.   If you go you really need to plan on an ENTIRE day there.  There is so much history (it is the best documented war in history and remember it was all hand written in journals!) and throughout this HUGE park everything is laid out in absolute detail.  Cannons are right where they were during the war and there are plaques detailing EXACTLY what went on at that very spot, who was in command, how many died, how many were injured and how many were taken captive.  The Union side recovered so much faster that their monuments far outnumber the Confederates.  They didn't even start laying out monuments until much later because they lost so much during the war.  We were amazed about how many soldiers were there from Illinois and Ohio.  Anyhow....it's a definite MUST and allow all day from early morning until it closes or you will miss the Confederate part of the tour.  AND...go off season so you can take your time and park everywhere.  There was very little traffic in May which made it totally enjoyable.
5.  IMAX at the Grand Canyon.  I didn't explain that.  It's in a theater and it's the entire history of the Grand Canyon in a "nutshell" done by National Geographic.  It is totally awesome and well worth the price of a ticket.  So good to see it before you go through the Canyon so you have a feel for the history.
6.  We should have allowed 2 full days of touring the Grand Canyon and beyond.  We were there 2 days, but the first we just hung out and did the Imax.  After you leave the Canyon there are dozens of incredible pull outs with fabulous views of the Canyon from different angles.
7.  The trip from the Grand Canyon to Lake Powell alone should have maybe 2 days to see all the detours along the way.
8.  Should have allowed several days in Lake Powell, maybe rent a boat.  Definitely missed a lot there as we didn't even have it on our itinerary.
9.  The dam could take a half day if you did the tour and then figure a couple of hours to get to Kanab, UT.
10.  Kanab was not even on our radar, but what a cool town.  It is within 80 miles of Bryce, Grand Canyon N. Rim, Lake Powell and Zion.  It's also called Little Hollywood because so many great films were done there.  We did not begin to do it justice.  AND, we would have been much smarter to rent a car and go to Zion.  Next day Bryce and several other interesting places around there and and made that our "home base".  That would be my big recommendation!
11.  Stop at Visitor Centers and not only pick up the literature (which we do), but study it BEFORE you take off so you don't miss the worthwhile things to see along the way.  We drove by some we wish we'd known about and stopped at.
12.  Although we've said all along this is definitely the time to be on the road because things are not crowded and the weather is great, we were off base on Zion.  We were there today, Sunday, and it was so packed there was NO place to park the RV so we could take the trams.  We ended up just doing the drive through and therefore missing many of the things we'd planned on seeing.  Live and learn!  Definitely know that summer means 100 degree temps (hard on you and your radiator, not to mention brakes) and parking would definitely be a nightmare in an RV.  Another reason to tour by car.  At least there are lots of pull outs and areas you can stop and look and enjoy.
So....those are our helpful hints so far.  This has been an amazing journey and we've had a really grand time, but we've been learning along the way.  It will definitely impact the remainder of the trip for us.  Unfortunately we do have reservations for Memorial Day weekend so we have to hustle to keep to our schedule.  We may yet cancel/postpone the reservations depending on how tomorrow goes.  We have to decide then in order to not lose our deposits.  If we delay the Tetons, we have to change Yellowstone/Grizzly AND Fishing Bridge in the park so it's a domino effect.
I took hundreds of pictures today.  Hopefully I'll get some culled out to put on the blog.  I still have the Grand Canyon to upload.  Have much better wifi tonight so it might not be such a grueling task.
Forgot to mention we saw Buffalo today AND volcanic rock landslides...who knew?!
What an AMAZING country this is.  The different terrains have us straining to look left and right so's not to miss anything.