Where should we go? South from Zion...

[Stella]

It's 10 days until we leave on vacation from the snowy Jackson Hole area and I'm starting to daydream about where we'll go.

Scott will tow Stella (who's getting a new converter and battery this week, yay!) with his 2006 Dodge Ram quad cab 2500, plenty of room for two humans, two dogs and the copious amounts of lawn furniture. Our plan is to leave pretty early on Friday, March 28 and drive south. I hope we can make it all the way to Zion National Park's western gate, Springdale, UT, in one 600-mile push. We can spend two nights there and figure out which way to head. Mojo (feisty 60-pound 7-year-old mutt) and Java (80-pound 10-year-old mix) may go to daycare for one day while we hike in Zion, but I'd prefer not to ditch them very much. We want to hike and play with them a couple hours per day, at least.

Southeast would take us to the Grand Canyon, then along Rt. 66 to New Mexico to explore Santa Fe and Taos. We could loop back north through Colorado on the way home.

Straight south lies the red rocks of Sedona, a Diamondbacks ballgame in Phoenix, saguaro cacti near Tucson, lots of sunshine and maybe even a trip past Bisbee over the border to Mexico.

Southwest? It's Death Valley, Joshua Tree, our pick of baseball games at four or five stadiums around LA, the beach, seafood, circling north along the coast and back up through Nevada.

We plan to be back home in Wyoming after about 12 nights. We'll be seeking out dog-friendly RV parks, hikes, beaches, outdoor restaurants, sunshine and funky sights. Does anyone have a "don't miss" place to picnic, spectacular sunset-watching venue, comedy club, aquarium, bike ride? Now taking suggestions...

Jo in Wyo