Thanks for all the input everyone. Some good suggestions that I will review over the weekend. I called both Canyonlands and Arches today and it sounds like we may have to plan this more in advance and, with advance planning, I can time it for spring or after Labor day once it cools down a bit and also avoid holiday weekends. Canyonlands advised that I have another 5 days or so to try and book White Rim camping mid week prior to the holiday weekend. They are just about booked up for the holiday weekend. Some spots remain mid week. The ranger also said that roads near Hardscrabble and the switchbacks are underwater. Road will have to be repaired. He said they got dumped on last week. As for Arches, unlike the old brochure I have, the campsites are reserved spring through fall and are pretty much booked. That's one of the disadvantages of visiting the beautiful National Parks, to stay inside, you have to plan. The latter is sometimes an anathema to cruising a region and dropping in on one's own schedule. Guess that's the price one sometime pays for experiencing some of the natural wonders of the west. We may still head into the area but I'm also going to consider the Capital Reef and Cedar Breaks area as Barko1 suggest. Heading to higher elevations when it's cooking down below can be a great idea. We've been to Great Basin NP and really enjoyed it. We stopped there on the way back from a multiple week trip to the Grand Canyon and surrounding area a number of years back. If you haven't been into Toroweap on the north rim of the Grand Canyon, I highly recommend it. While it's in the National Park, camping is free. Most likely due to the 60 miles of dirt you have to traverse to get there. It's one of the narrowest spots of the Canyon one can access via wheels in the Park and the location for one of the quintessential photos that are often published of the Canyon. Absolutely spectacular. You can sit on the edge and watch the rafts run Lava Falls, just down stream from your vantage point, 2,800' below. The acoustics allow you to hear the voices of the rafters. Bring a good spotting scope and you can watch them run Lava. As with most of the SW, if the roads get wet, it gets ugly. When we went in, it was dry. It was a wide dusty road. The only precautions are to watch out for the dust pits. You'll be cruising along at a respectable speed and there will be a slight dip in the road with deep loose dirt. If you hit it fast, it could cause problems. We pulled in midweek and got the campsite closest to the rim. Not more than 100 - 150' from the drop off.
Generubin, the suggestion about the 1 day float trip on the San Juan is intriguing. I met my wife on the Owhyee in '84 and we ran a fair amount of rivers over the years but never in the SW. We have friends that have canoed that stretch many times and have highly recommend it. Thanks for the tip.
As noted in my original post, I haven't been to Canyonlands since 1976. I've been wanting to return for a long time and bring my wife. Your input has been helpful.
TK
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