Map happy

I made Denise smile today!

Well really, it's my purchase that made her smile. I knew I did the right thing when I ordered that topographic map of Zion National Park for her. It popped into the mailbox today, fast delivery considering that it needed to fly all of the way across the country to get here.

Oh, you want to know where I found the map? It was available at many sites, but most had what I would consider unreasonable shipping charges for a map that would easily fit in an envelope. I kept looking, and found it for a reasonable price (including shipping) at Northwest Interpretive Association.

Stringing the pieces together

Denise's work is a bit wacky right now, so it's not really the best time to disappear. She decided that a long weekend in early June would give her something to dream about, something to help keep her looking forward. It took a while to decide on the "where" though.

At first she was thinking about heading east, to Iceland. That's been on her list of places to visit for a long, long time. A non-stop flight to Reykjavik takes 5 hours, which is just a little bit longer than flying to one of Denise's usual "out west" destinations. I want to go there too, but I think that trip needs more planning time. Probably more wandering there time too. And I think that planning way ahead of time (or wandering there a month earlier - in May, not June) will give much better air fares. Iceland? Not this year, but maybe next. The reason I say that is that wacky Denise has already purchased one book about Iceland. That will remain the stuff of dreams for now; maybe it will pop to the top in the not too distant future.

Back to the plans for now...

A wander for a long weekend needs to conform to Denise's flying rules. A long weekend and a destination far from home means it is an absolute requirement to grab a non-stop flight. Oh, and we need to be able to fly for a (relatively) reasonable cost. Once Denise stopped looking across the water to the east, she started looking to the southwest. There were three airports on her list of possibilities, Los Angeles, Phoenix, and Las Vegas. And our spot for wandering needed to be within a few hours drive from one of those airports.

It's really funny how Denise's decision process works. She started by exploring some different parks in the circles she drew around our possible landing spots, and snap! Faster than I could imagine, a decision was made. We're going back to Zion National Park. Can you have an addiction to a place? Because I think Denise is addicted to visiting Zion. I like it too, so I'm very happy with the decision to bounce there once again. (Oh yes, you're absolutely right that I was planting a suggestion in Denise's mind that we should go back there.)

I've watched Denise plan trips before, but this one seemed to jump together all on its own. Decision, Zion. Plane tickets? Non-stop to Las Vegas, free! Yup, she had an award ticket waiting to be used on Southwest Airlines. There's one non-stop flight each day from Manchester to Las Vegas. The scheduled "off the ground" time is a little earlier than the flight we took the last time we flew there. That means we can easily fly, then drive to Springdale and arrive within the B&B's preferred check in time. The B&B? Last year we stayed at the Red Rock Inn, and Denise liked it enough to stay there again. When she called for a reservation the owner asked if this was a return visit. And hey - she gave us a discount because we've stayed there before! (What do you mean you think it's odd when I say "we"? OK, OK, I'm a litle red dog. But I count too!)

One more arrangement to go, a rental car. Denise gave up shopping the different rental car companies a long time ago. She has two different corporate discounts she can use at Hertz, and she has been happy with their level of service too. (Oh, don't you know that about Denise? Service is very important. She doesn't like to be aggravated, especially when she's out to enjoy an escape). The two discounts were pretty close in price, but then she wandered over to the specials page. Guess what? She got a very special weekend deal (for AAA/CAA members), 50% off. No complaints there!

Now all that's left to do is to dream, and to count the days between now and June 6th, our flying day. I just sniffed through Denise's map collection to see if she has a map of the park. There must be some places to wander in Zion where I haven't set paws yet, and if I find them I can plant ideas in Denise's mind. Hmmm, that's odd, all I found was the map in the park brochure. She really likes maps, so she usually has topo maps of places like Zion. Maybe I'll order one for her.

I'm so happy that the plans are set that I've been bouncing all over. Bouncing. Happy!

--- yes, this really is Rover writing!

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Update on April 28th: Psst! Don't tell Denise... I found the map I wanted online and I ordered a copy to help our dreams of trails for wandering. I can't wait to see her face when it shows up in the mail!