Plan SW USA Driving Trip in December

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Lexi_Roo
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Plan SW USA Driving Trip in December

Post by Lexi_Roo »

I am looking at taking a driving trip (in minivan) with my boyfriend and our 3 dogs at the end of December. Would like to see some of the desert Southwest and the Colorado River. We would be interested in doing short kayak trips but need to be able to leave the dogs in a climate controlled environment during that time.

I've done some research and am just overwhelmed. We would be leaving from the Chicago area and are limited to the end of December as that is the only time we can take off of work. Has anyone done something similar? Can dogs generally be taken into national parks as long as they are leashed? Are there places along the Colorado River in Arizona that we could sleep in the car? I can imagine it could get very cold at night.

Thank you! :happy
coalcracker
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Re: Plan SW USA Driving Trip in December

Post by coalcracker »

Lexi_Roo wrote: Tue Aug 16, 2022 1:00 pm I am looking at taking a driving trip (in minivan) with my boyfriend and our 3 dogs at the end of December. Would like to see some of the desert Southwest and the Colorado River. We would be interested in doing short kayak trips but need to be able to leave the dogs in a climate controlled environment during that time.

I've done some research and am just overwhelmed. We would be leaving from the Chicago area and are limited to the end of December as that is the only time we can take off of work. Has anyone done something similar? Can dogs generally be taken into national parks as long as they are leashed? Are there places along the Colorado River in Arizona that we could sleep in the car? I can imagine it could get very cold at night.

Thank you! :happy
Sounds like an adventure! It's certainly a beautiful part of the country. A few thoughts:

1. Dogs were not allowed on trail in every national park I've visited. There may be some exceptions near campgrounds, parking lots, etc.
2. If you want to leave your pets for an excursion, I assume you'd agree the car is not a viable option. A hotel that allows you to leave pets in the room (possibly in crates), or an Airbnb would be your best bets.
3. If you want to sleep in your car, safest would be to car camp in a designated campground. A google led me to this discussion of "dispersed camping,", which sounds like it would work well for you needs https://www.escapecampervans.com/blog/d ... ok%20back!
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celia
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Re: Plan SW USA Driving Trip in December

Post by celia »

There may not be much river left by the end of the year:
https://www.cnn.com/us/live-news/lake-m ... 7bd7938e83
(Top news story at this minute for this news site.)
oxothuk
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Re: Plan SW USA Driving Trip in December

Post by oxothuk »

When you say “end of December”, how long do you mean? A week is barely enough time to drive out and back.

Keep in mind also that the major parks in the Southwest are at higher elevations where it gets COLD in December. And the days are short, which limits how much you can see/do in a day.

Maybe a different option to consider for December would be Big Bend NP, but only if you have more than a week.
Shallowpockets
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Re: Plan SW USA Driving Trip in December

Post by Shallowpockets »

December equals cold and very short days. Usually not the time to do a road trip. Not much fun for the dogs either.
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MJS
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Re: Plan SW USA Driving Trip in December

Post by MJS »

For one or two weeks in December, you might focus on a southern Texas loop - less travel, more touring:
Big Thicket National Preserve
Big Bend National Park
Guadalupe Mountains National Park
and other NP & NM :
https://www.americansouthwest.net/texas ... parks.html

Intersperse with state parks -- you can hike with your dogs in the state parks: https://tpwd.texas.gov/state-parks/parks-map
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heyyou
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Re: Plan SW USA Driving Trip in December

Post by heyyou »

The draw-down of the Colorado River's lakes will leave wide mudflats between any parking lot and the water. Part of those flats will be dry, but then there might be a thin dry layer on top of slime.

In the summer, you can camp in the national forests that often surround the national parks, but those forests may have snow in December, needing 4WD on the muddy roads if their dirt roads are even open. Look for the average December and January daily temperatures at the towns near the parks and the river.

Where the weather is warm in the Southwest in December, there will be spiny plants at ground level, so bring tweezers.

Where the river is the western border of Arizona, there are low elevation towns (maybe not freezing weather) along those back to back, Colorado River reservoirs, so the flow might not be obvious there, but lake kayaking could be available. Look for if water activities are offered by the resort hotels or touted by those towns' Chambers of Commerce.

In my area of Arizona, the winter weather at 5000' elevation is often a near weekly cycle of the threat of cold and precipitation, followed by clear days. You will likely encounter winter weather during your trip on roads where tire chains might be required. There are great places to visit in Arizona in the winter, but Colorado River activities are mostly in distant western Arizona. There have been recent threads here on Sedona, Petrified Wood Nat. Monument, Tucson, and Grand Canyon.
mkc
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Re: Plan SW USA Driving Trip in December

Post by mkc »

Shallowpockets wrote: Tue Aug 16, 2022 4:31 pm December equals cold and very short days. Usually not the time to do a road trip. Not much fun for the dogs either.
And chance of snow/white-out conditions/high winds/road closure in Oklahoma, the Texas panhandle, and New Mexico, particularly end of December through February. They are somewhat freak storms, but they can close the interstate (I40) for days.
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Watty
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Re: Plan SW USA Driving Trip in December

Post by Watty »

Lexi_Roo wrote: Tue Aug 16, 2022 1:00 pm and our 3 dogs
You will also have a very hard time finding any hotel that will allow 3 dogs.

There may also be weight limits on the dogs, like 40 pounds.

Even if the hotel allows you to leave pets in the room unattended, which is unlikely, it is a bad idea since the dogs may freak out being in a strange place with people walking by outside the room. In addition to them being a nuisance with barking they may chew things, damage furniture, and have "accidents" since they are stressed out.

Even campgrounds may have limits on the number of dogs so you may have difficulty in finding a campground to stay in too.

With the pandemic camping has been very popular and lots of people have bought RVs which has packed the national parks in the summertime. I would expect any campground in any relatively warm spot will fill up fast in December so book your campsite reservations early.

In cold locations many campsites will be closed in December because there is little demand and water pipes would freeze.
coalcracker wrote: Tue Aug 16, 2022 1:18 pm 1. Dogs were not allowed on trail in every national park I've visited. There may be some exceptions near campgrounds, parking lots, etc.
+1

I did the SW national park loop a few years ago and it was not uncommon to see people hanging out in the parking lot with a dog while their travelling companion was checking out the trail. This includes very short trails where something like a viewpoint was 100 feet from the parking lot.

If you swing by the gulf coast then you will find that many beaches do not allow dogs so be sure to check on that.
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Lexi_Roo
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Re: Plan SW USA Driving Trip in December

Post by Lexi_Roo »

OP here. Thank you to all who replied!
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White Coat Investor
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Re: Plan SW USA Driving Trip in December

Post by White Coat Investor »

Lexi_Roo wrote: Tue Aug 16, 2022 1:00 pm I am looking at taking a driving trip (in minivan) with my boyfriend and our 3 dogs at the end of December. Would like to see some of the desert Southwest and the Colorado River. We would be interested in doing short kayak trips but need to be able to leave the dogs in a climate controlled environment during that time.

I've done some research and am just overwhelmed. We would be leaving from the Chicago area and are limited to the end of December as that is the only time we can take off of work. Has anyone done something similar? Can dogs generally be taken into national parks as long as they are leashed? Are there places along the Colorado River in Arizona that we could sleep in the car? I can imagine it could get very cold at night.

Thank you! :happy
Sounds cold. I have no idea where you would leave the dogs either. Maybe find a dog hotel in Flagstaff, leave them there for a few days while you do your paddling.

Keep in mind paddling in December is no joke. Kayakers wear a dry suit on the Colorado in May; you can imagine what December looks like. You would have Lake Powell to yourself though. The Colorado is a very long river. Yes, there are places you could sleep along it in your car. But not along much of it. Certainly nowhere between Moab and Lake Mead except Lee's Ferry, Bullfrog/Hall's Crossing, and Hite. But upstream of Moab? Just about anywhere the road comes into contact with the river would have somewhere close by where nobody would bug you overnight. It would be cold in a car though. I'd rather be in a tent in those temperatures.

I get a sense from your post that you haven't been down here before and may be in for some surprises. Let me know if there is anything else I can do to help. You can start by mentioning what kind of paddling you are hoping to do.
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Doom&Gloom
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Re: Plan SW USA Driving Trip in December

Post by Doom&Gloom »

White Coat Investor wrote: Wed Aug 17, 2022 4:09 pm
Lexi_Roo wrote: Tue Aug 16, 2022 1:00 pm I am looking at taking a driving trip (in minivan) with my boyfriend and our 3 dogs at the end of December. Would like to see some of the desert Southwest and the Colorado River. We would be interested in doing short kayak trips but need to be able to leave the dogs in a climate controlled environment during that time.

I've done some research and am just overwhelmed. We would be leaving from the Chicago area and are limited to the end of December as that is the only time we can take off of work. Has anyone done something similar? Can dogs generally be taken into national parks as long as they are leashed? Are there places along the Colorado River in Arizona that we could sleep in the car? I can imagine it could get very cold at night.

Thank you! :happy
Sounds cold. I have no idea where you would leave the dogs either. Maybe find a dog hotel in Flagstaff, leave them there for a few days while you do your paddling.

Keep in mind paddling in December is no joke. Kayakers wear a dry suit on the Colorado in May; you can imagine what December looks like. You would have Lake Powell to yourself though. The Colorado is a very long river. Yes, there are places you could sleep along it in your car. But not along much of it. Certainly nowhere between Moab and Lake Mead except Lee's Ferry, Bullfrog/Hall's Crossing, and Hite. But upstream of Moab? Just about anywhere the road comes into contact with the river would have somewhere close by where nobody would bug you overnight. It would be cold in a car though. I'd rather be in a tent in those temperatures.

I get a sense from your post that you haven't been down here before and may be in for some surprises. Let me know if there is anything else I can do to help. You can start by mentioning what kind of paddling you are hoping to do.
I'll take this opportunity to put in a plug for Camp Bow Wow. It's a national chain--maybe not the cheapest option but one I would consider strongly. Our local Camp Bow Wow has been outstanding. The dogs have to be screened/approved with a short visit to mingle with other dogs, spayed/neutered, and up to date with shots. Once approved, you can board them at any other location without further ado. Our dogs love staying overnight and even just for day trips. Seems ideal for traveling with dogs but boarding them for part(s) of a trip.
white_water
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Re: Plan SW USA Driving Trip in December

Post by white_water »

If you're in the bottom of a canyon in late December be aware you'll have few hours of strong sunlight before the sun goes behind canyon walls.
Be prepared for any weather, heavy snow to tee shirt ( bet on cold, though)
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Re: Plan SW USA Driving Trip in December

Post by white_water »

Look at the " Moab Daily" a shorter trip upstream from the town.
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Re: Plan SW USA Driving Trip in December

Post by White Coat Investor »

white_water wrote: Wed Aug 17, 2022 6:38 pm Look at the " Moab Daily" a shorter trip upstream from the town.
I'm not even sure if they do whitewater kayaking or sea kayaking. Both are common in Utah. Nobody wants to paddle a whitewater kayak for 50 miles on Lake Powell.
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letahl
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Re: Plan SW USA Driving Trip in December

Post by letahl »

We did a route 66 roadtrip in January a couple years back. Almost everything was closed and it was as discussed cold. We did the grand circle this last April including Bruce canyon etc and even then it was cold! But if that's fine with you, it was for us because we love in the southwest, and it's a beautiful and quiet time to see this party of the country. If you don't want cold cold you have to get pretty far south like Tucson. You could do big bend that time of year if you can work out the dog situation.
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Re: Plan SW USA Driving Trip in December

Post by jlawrence01 »

Lexi_Roo wrote: Tue Aug 16, 2022 1:00 pm We would be leaving from the Chicago area and are limited to the end of December as that is the only time we can take off of work. Has anyone done something similar? Can dogs generally be taken into national parks as long as they are leashed? Are there places along the Colorado River in Arizona that we could sleep in the car? I can imagine it could get very cold at night.

Thank you! :happy

1) I have made the Chicago-Tucson trip several times throughout the year. Some trips were phenomenal in terms of weather with no delays. One of those was right after Christmas. There have been trips where we decided that it was far smarter to take a day or two off rather than driving through an ice storm. Make sure that you have an emergency kit with you as when things get bad, they get bad.

2) Most of our recent trips have been Cincinnati - Tucson. During the summer months, we take the shortest route possible. During the dead of winter, we head to Nashville and do the 40-30-20-10 route. The highest elevation along that route is 60 miles east of Tucson at 5000 feet.

3) I would NOT bring dogs along. In the state of Arizona, you will be ticketed and fined for leaving a dog in the car EVEN IN COLD WEATHER. I was at a rodeo on one of the reservations in January and they stopped the rodeo action until someone got the dogs out of the car. You will find that some hotels will accept the dogs but expect to pay $30-50 per dog per night.

4) If you are anticipating warm weather even in places like Las Vegas, Phoenix or Tucson, good luck. I have had winters where I have worn nothing heavier than a sweatshirt. Others have required me to pull out my parka. Last December 15th in Las Vegas was 45F/25F.

I would not be all that excited to be outdoors at higher elevations during the winter months. Personally, I would recommend that you do what most of the snowbirds from Chicago do. Fly down, rent a car, explore the area, and fly home. I am not interested in driving the long stretches through Texas and Oklahoma in the winter.
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