In October of 2017, my mother visited me from Japan. I had exactly 7 days to show her the "United States." I was so excited, but in the mean time, I was bit worried that she may not be able to hang with us physically due to her heart condition. Although she is crazy enough herself to go to Israel, and Turkey on her overseas debut trip "solo"- not even able to speak their languages. She only speaks Japanese! Well, maybe a little English, Russian, and Chinese nowadays... Her exact words were:
"I don't care if I get so sick, and not able to move. I'll just sleep on the airplane on my way back to Japan. I'll be fine! I don't know how long I am gonna live; so before I die, I want to see how great America is. Don't worry about me. Take me to all the places that I've seen on TV!" I said: "Game ON!!"
My husband and I go on a lot of crazy trips! Overnight fishing trips to San Diego, with 24 hour return trips. Round trips to Las Vegas 3 times in one day (each round trip is 150 miles minimum). We don't sleep! As we get older, we become wiser, and try not to do some of these crazy things as often. I warned my mom:
"You have to let me know when you get tired. Otherwise, I am pushing to show you everything I can think of! I am trained for this crazy stuff!"
About 20 years ago, when I first came to the United States, I bought a book called "National Parks in the United States". My dream was to visit every single one of the parks that was in the book. I thought to myself: "...to impress her and really show her what the United States looks like, I must hit the places that are in the book! I started to plan. Calculate driving distance and hours, sunrise & sunset times, hotels, weather conditions...
Below are the places we went. Each photograph may not be from this particular trip, but you can see how magnificent and how beautiful each place is!
I also included our travel plan, so you can follow the route, and imagine how we made it out!
"I don't care if I get so sick, and not able to move. I'll just sleep on the airplane on my way back to Japan. I'll be fine! I don't know how long I am gonna live; so before I die, I want to see how great America is. Don't worry about me. Take me to all the places that I've seen on TV!" I said: "Game ON!!"
My husband and I go on a lot of crazy trips! Overnight fishing trips to San Diego, with 24 hour return trips. Round trips to Las Vegas 3 times in one day (each round trip is 150 miles minimum). We don't sleep! As we get older, we become wiser, and try not to do some of these crazy things as often. I warned my mom:
"You have to let me know when you get tired. Otherwise, I am pushing to show you everything I can think of! I am trained for this crazy stuff!"
About 20 years ago, when I first came to the United States, I bought a book called "National Parks in the United States". My dream was to visit every single one of the parks that was in the book. I thought to myself: "...to impress her and really show her what the United States looks like, I must hit the places that are in the book! I started to plan. Calculate driving distance and hours, sunrise & sunset times, hotels, weather conditions...
Below are the places we went. Each photograph may not be from this particular trip, but you can see how magnificent and how beautiful each place is!
I also included our travel plan, so you can follow the route, and imagine how we made it out!
Day 1 Final Destination: Lake Tahoe (Oct 13, 2017)
6:00AM Leave Home (Pahrump, NV)
7:00AM Through Death Valley (Sunrise 6:46am)
12:00PM Mammoth Lakes (Lunch)
2:00 PM Leave Mommoth Lakes
5:00PM Arrive at South Lake Tahoe (Sunset 6:23pm)
Total Driving distance: 400 miles
6:00AM Leave Home (Pahrump, NV)
7:00AM Through Death Valley (Sunrise 6:46am)
12:00PM Mammoth Lakes (Lunch)
2:00 PM Leave Mommoth Lakes
5:00PM Arrive at South Lake Tahoe (Sunset 6:23pm)
Total Driving distance: 400 miles
Day 2: Free Day at Lake Tahoe (Sunrise 7:08am / Sunset 6:21pm)
5 in the morning, my husband and I got up and went fishing. Well, more like scouting locations to see where we could take my mom. We went to Emerald Bay State Park, the Truckee River, Sand Harbor, Fall Colors Drive, Fallen Leaf Lake, Hope Valley...
Beautiful town! We were lucky enough to stop by at the car show. My mother was so happy about it!
5 in the morning, my husband and I got up and went fishing. Well, more like scouting locations to see where we could take my mom. We went to Emerald Bay State Park, the Truckee River, Sand Harbor, Fall Colors Drive, Fallen Leaf Lake, Hope Valley...
Beautiful town! We were lucky enough to stop by at the car show. My mother was so happy about it!
Day 3: Back to Pahrump
5:00AM Hotel check out / leave Lake Tahoe
7:00AM Mono Lake (Sunrise 7:04)
9:00AM Yosemite National Park
12:00PM Leave Yosemite
6:00PM Arrive Home
I wanted to go to Mono Lake because of a picture that I saw. Reality? Well... I need to revisit that! I have been to the west side of Yosemite before, and it's beautiful. This time because we only had little bit of time, we visited only the east side of it. Yosemite is always one of my favorite places to go.
Total Driving Distance: 470 miles
5:00AM Hotel check out / leave Lake Tahoe
7:00AM Mono Lake (Sunrise 7:04)
9:00AM Yosemite National Park
12:00PM Leave Yosemite
6:00PM Arrive Home
I wanted to go to Mono Lake because of a picture that I saw. Reality? Well... I need to revisit that! I have been to the west side of Yosemite before, and it's beautiful. This time because we only had little bit of time, we visited only the east side of it. Yosemite is always one of my favorite places to go.
Total Driving Distance: 470 miles
Day 4 Final Destination: Bryce Canyon National Park
5:00AM Leave home
6:30AM Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area (Sunrise 7:10AM)
7:30AM Lake Mead National Recreation Area
8:30AM Valley of Fire State Park
12:00PM St. George, UT (Lunch)
4:00PM Hotel Check IN ( Near Bryce Canyon, UT)
4:30PM Bryce Canyon National Park (Sunset 6:49pm)
Total Driving Distance: 380 miles
Because my husband had to go back to work, from this day to the end of this trip, I was the only driver. My mom, my son and I went to all of these places. Our focus was to get to Bryce Canyon by sunset, so we drove through and stopped by quickly to most places. Of course, after Yosemite, it's hard to impress! Until we got to Bryce Canyon! We scouted the area to check for the best sunrise spot for the next day. We went to Inspiration point, Sunrise point, Sunset point, Navajo Loop trail, and Bryce Point. My opinion... go to Inspiration Point!
5:00AM Leave home
6:30AM Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area (Sunrise 7:10AM)
7:30AM Lake Mead National Recreation Area
8:30AM Valley of Fire State Park
12:00PM St. George, UT (Lunch)
4:00PM Hotel Check IN ( Near Bryce Canyon, UT)
4:30PM Bryce Canyon National Park (Sunset 6:49pm)
Total Driving Distance: 380 miles
Because my husband had to go back to work, from this day to the end of this trip, I was the only driver. My mom, my son and I went to all of these places. Our focus was to get to Bryce Canyon by sunset, so we drove through and stopped by quickly to most places. Of course, after Yosemite, it's hard to impress! Until we got to Bryce Canyon! We scouted the area to check for the best sunrise spot for the next day. We went to Inspiration point, Sunrise point, Sunset point, Navajo Loop trail, and Bryce Point. My opinion... go to Inspiration Point!
Day 5: Bryce Canyon Horse Back Riding / Destination Grand Canyon
6:30AM Hotel check out
7:30AM Bryce Canyon Inspiration Point (Sunrise 7:38AM)
9:15 AM Bryce Canyon Lodge check in for Horse Back Riding
12:00PM Leave Bryce Canyon
2:45 PM Glen Canyon National Recreational Area (Lake Powell / Glen Canyon Dam / Carl Hayden Visitor Center / Scenic View Rd (Colorado River/ Horse Shoe Bend)
5:30 PM Grand Canyon National Park South Rim Entrance Mother Point (Sunset View 5:50pm)
7:00PM Hotel check in
Total Driving Distance: 312 miles
Bryce Canyon Experience
This day was probably the highlight of this entire trip. Looking at the beautiful rocks from the top of the canyon is one thing, but from the bottom up? That's a must! When you go to Bryce Canyon, I highly recommend horseback riding. I have NEVER ever in my life ridden a horse. Never even touched a horse! But I wanted to go for it this time. My mom's dream was to ride on a horse in the wild wild west! She had actually practiced riding a horse in Japan prior to the visit, so she could do it. My son had ridden a pony one time at the petting zoo when he was little. I reserved 1 1/2 - 2 hour Canyon Trail Rides for all 3 of us. Brave, right? My mom was having a low grade fever that morning. She almost backed out because she was not feeling well. But I dragged her along to do it with us!
What we didn't know was... nobody told us that we were going down the canyon all the way from the top to the bottom with the horse with absolutely no experience! Looking at the canyon from Inspiration Point against the safety bar was one thing. That was scary enough, but I had to go down and completely trust this horse?? Too late now! I paid for it! My mom said "Only in America! In Japan, nobody will do that kind of crazy thing!"
First, we received a quick tutorial from cowboys on how to ride a horse. They pick the horse for us, hopefully best match for your personality. Then they showed us a few commands and how to guide the horse, in case of emergency type thing. These horses are well trained by the way!
Funniest thing was that the entire time we were going down the trail, the trail is like not even 2 feet wide, and cliff on one side! So from my view, I was wondering why this stupid horse wants to keep stepping on the cliff side of the trail!! I was so scared! After the ride my son said the same thing. I was so worried about my mom, but she told me the her horse was so smart and her new best buddy! I couldn't even believe it!
At the deadly turn and the most steep slope, there was a photographer from the company waiting for us to come down and taking pictures of everybody on horseback. It was so much fun. $65 per person for this experience was well worth it for me. A few years later, my mother still talks about how great the horseback riding was at Bryce Canyon. The cowboy guide was so funny and the trail they took us on was full of surprises!
After 2 hours of riding a horse for the first time, my back and legs were in so much pain. We walked so funny for a while!
6:30AM Hotel check out
7:30AM Bryce Canyon Inspiration Point (Sunrise 7:38AM)
9:15 AM Bryce Canyon Lodge check in for Horse Back Riding
12:00PM Leave Bryce Canyon
2:45 PM Glen Canyon National Recreational Area (Lake Powell / Glen Canyon Dam / Carl Hayden Visitor Center / Scenic View Rd (Colorado River/ Horse Shoe Bend)
5:30 PM Grand Canyon National Park South Rim Entrance Mother Point (Sunset View 5:50pm)
7:00PM Hotel check in
Total Driving Distance: 312 miles
Bryce Canyon Experience
This day was probably the highlight of this entire trip. Looking at the beautiful rocks from the top of the canyon is one thing, but from the bottom up? That's a must! When you go to Bryce Canyon, I highly recommend horseback riding. I have NEVER ever in my life ridden a horse. Never even touched a horse! But I wanted to go for it this time. My mom's dream was to ride on a horse in the wild wild west! She had actually practiced riding a horse in Japan prior to the visit, so she could do it. My son had ridden a pony one time at the petting zoo when he was little. I reserved 1 1/2 - 2 hour Canyon Trail Rides for all 3 of us. Brave, right? My mom was having a low grade fever that morning. She almost backed out because she was not feeling well. But I dragged her along to do it with us!
What we didn't know was... nobody told us that we were going down the canyon all the way from the top to the bottom with the horse with absolutely no experience! Looking at the canyon from Inspiration Point against the safety bar was one thing. That was scary enough, but I had to go down and completely trust this horse?? Too late now! I paid for it! My mom said "Only in America! In Japan, nobody will do that kind of crazy thing!"
First, we received a quick tutorial from cowboys on how to ride a horse. They pick the horse for us, hopefully best match for your personality. Then they showed us a few commands and how to guide the horse, in case of emergency type thing. These horses are well trained by the way!
Funniest thing was that the entire time we were going down the trail, the trail is like not even 2 feet wide, and cliff on one side! So from my view, I was wondering why this stupid horse wants to keep stepping on the cliff side of the trail!! I was so scared! After the ride my son said the same thing. I was so worried about my mom, but she told me the her horse was so smart and her new best buddy! I couldn't even believe it!
At the deadly turn and the most steep slope, there was a photographer from the company waiting for us to come down and taking pictures of everybody on horseback. It was so much fun. $65 per person for this experience was well worth it for me. A few years later, my mother still talks about how great the horseback riding was at Bryce Canyon. The cowboy guide was so funny and the trail they took us on was full of surprises!
After 2 hours of riding a horse for the first time, my back and legs were in so much pain. We walked so funny for a while!
Bryce Canyon National Park, UT
Horseshoe Bend (Glen Canyon National Recreational Area AZ,UT)
Soon as I got out of the car, I started to walk towards where everybody was going. I thought that it would be right there! At least that's what the map suggested. I was wrong! I was so unprepared! No water, no sunscreen, no hat... Just me and a camera! I started walking wondering and doubting that maybe I parked at the wrong spot. I kept following people. All of a sudden, I saw a huge open flat land with a bunch of tourists. Some were laying down looking at something. When I got there, I quickly thought to myself this must be it!
When I got to the edge of the cliff, this is what I saw! Magnificent art! Beautiful Colorado River running through the canyon. I had to lay down to take these pictures, because it was bit scary being overcrowded people at the edge looking at the same thing. One push and I will be gone forever!
Hiking back to the car, so excited to tell my mom what I saw. I was so happy that I visited this place and I got something to show, It didn't feel like a long hike at all... It's always like that. Going somewhere I've never been to seems like takes forever to get to, but on the way back, it seems much quicker... Of course- that's if you had a great time... don't you agree?
Day 6: Grand Canyon National Park ~ Home sweet Home!
5:30AM Hotel check out
6:00AM Grand Canyon Sunrise 6:37am (Mather Point)
10:00AM Depart from South Rim Grand Canyon
5:00PM Home!
Total Driving Distance: 334 miles
Originally when I was planning for the trip, I thought I was saving the best for last. Well, because of the smoke from a wildfire, the Grand Canyon was a bit smoky, and not so clear. It wasn't the best. I took my sister to visit the Grand Canyon before, so I knew what it was supposed to look like. My mom's exact words were "Well, I think I had seen enough "rocks." Nothing surprises me after Bryce Canyon!" I guess she loved Bryce Canyon that much! Over the Grand Canyon? I had to agree. I felt the same way, and did my son. '
Nonetheless, the last 334 miles of flat land from Arizona to Nevada felt endless, and forever straight! The road from the Hoover Dam area to Pahrump should've been a piece of cake for me because me and my husband drive the route all the time when we go fishing. But that day... I felt every bit of the 334 miles!
I reserved Day 7 as a resting day on the plan, and that's exactly what we did. Instead of going places, I enjoyed staying home with my mom and spend the last day with her talking and just enjoying "home." She deserved much needed rest before the flight going back to Japan.
It was an extremely fast paced trip, and I don't recommend that if you are not physically fit and don't have several drivers with you to take turns. BUT, if you are champion, or you have a guest who wants to see everything and the timing is right, I recommend every single place that I've been to on this trip! I have pictures to prove it! My mother said "This was the best travel I had in my life! Once in a lifetime experience for sure."
Next time my mother visits me, we are going to visit Yellowstone route! She should be ready for war after surviving this trip!
-Kozue Maye
5:30AM Hotel check out
6:00AM Grand Canyon Sunrise 6:37am (Mather Point)
10:00AM Depart from South Rim Grand Canyon
5:00PM Home!
Total Driving Distance: 334 miles
Originally when I was planning for the trip, I thought I was saving the best for last. Well, because of the smoke from a wildfire, the Grand Canyon was a bit smoky, and not so clear. It wasn't the best. I took my sister to visit the Grand Canyon before, so I knew what it was supposed to look like. My mom's exact words were "Well, I think I had seen enough "rocks." Nothing surprises me after Bryce Canyon!" I guess she loved Bryce Canyon that much! Over the Grand Canyon? I had to agree. I felt the same way, and did my son. '
Nonetheless, the last 334 miles of flat land from Arizona to Nevada felt endless, and forever straight! The road from the Hoover Dam area to Pahrump should've been a piece of cake for me because me and my husband drive the route all the time when we go fishing. But that day... I felt every bit of the 334 miles!
I reserved Day 7 as a resting day on the plan, and that's exactly what we did. Instead of going places, I enjoyed staying home with my mom and spend the last day with her talking and just enjoying "home." She deserved much needed rest before the flight going back to Japan.
It was an extremely fast paced trip, and I don't recommend that if you are not physically fit and don't have several drivers with you to take turns. BUT, if you are champion, or you have a guest who wants to see everything and the timing is right, I recommend every single place that I've been to on this trip! I have pictures to prove it! My mother said "This was the best travel I had in my life! Once in a lifetime experience for sure."
Next time my mother visits me, we are going to visit Yellowstone route! She should be ready for war after surviving this trip!
-Kozue Maye