You all know that I will be visiting Los Angeles with my niece. Once I put her on a plane back to Australia, I plan to see a bit of that part of the US - things I am interested in and she wouldn't be. I am thinking of doing something like the route:
Los Angeles
Zion National Park
Bryce Canyon National Park
Goblin Valley State Park
Canyonlands National Park
Arches National Park
Mesa Verde National Park
Chaco Culture National Park
Painted Desert National Park
and back to Los Angeles. This is somewhat modified from what a friend gave me.
I know this is a less populated part of the US, but I guess it has a lot more people than similar places I have been in Australia (where towns are at least a couple of hundred kilometres apart and have a petrol station and a hundred people if you're lucky, and petrol is $2 a litre). Am I right? Are the roads mainly paved, or are they dirt like much of the really underpopulated parts of Australia I am talking about? Is mobile phone reception problematic even in the towns?
My friend has never visited California, so couldn't tell me if there was anything interesting in the first few hours (or the last few hours) of the trip. Is there something I should see?
He says the Grand Canyon isn't as good as a lot of the other things - is he right? Should I miss it if I am running out of time (one reason why I plan on doing this part of the loop last)?
What sort of a vehicle should I be hiring? I have camped in my car (a little Mazda 121) going on longer trips than this in Australia, so I don't think I need anything as luxurious as a campervan. However, a campervan company might be OK with me going places that a car place wouldn't. Are there any suggestions for companies to use? Another thread suggested Escape Vans. At least if I get one of these, it would have equipment like a sleeping bag, even if it is much too large.