The itinerary was very well-balanced, including a combination of various sightseeing and walks. For us, first-time visitors to these parts of the USA, every day brought something new and amazing, and we enjoyed it thoroughly. Mike, our guide, is a consummate professional – he ensured everything went like clockwork and without doubts or worries, he gave us all the information we needed, told us in an attractive storytelling manner short historical, geographical, and social narratives, enabling us to understand better the places we saw. His permanent optimism and sense of humor made everything look easy and every minute pleasant and worth remembering. The whole atmosphere was relaxing and as magical as the sites we visited. Thanks! Suggestions for improving the experience: 1. It should be noted that the seats in the van are quite narrow, especially in the last row. There were 11 of us and we fit in the van relatively comfortably. A party of 13 would feel very tight, especially on the longer drives. 2. The best accommodations were in Tonopah and Zion. I understand that there are few other options in most of the locations, but at the price we paid, better motels would have been welcomed. Sorry if I seem a bit picky - all in all, it was a trip to remember, an experience of a lifetime.
This was an amazing trip. The scenery was outstanding and became unbelievably more so on each successive day. The unexpected snow both in Yosemite and at Grand Canyon added to our excitement rather than dampen our spirits and although we were disappointed not to fly over the Canyon due to weather conditions, it was still a wonderful holiday.
The entire trip was full of surprises (always good ones) - too many to recount all here. The following is a piece I wrote on my return (for a group for whom I write regularly; my pieces form part of a local weekly 'talking news' for visually impaired listeners). This one recounts just one of the several revealing walks we took on this trip. For us participants it was an experience of real discovery, but at all times we were most carefully monitored by our leaders, and we always had every confidence in them.
