Detailed itinerary

Day 0 (7/3/09, fri): July 3, arrival in Denver in the evening. Night at friends'.
Day 1 (7/4/09, sat): With friends in Denver. Acclimating. Night at friends'.
Day 2 (7/5/09, sun): Gather equipment for the trip. Rent a car. Night at friends'.
Day 3 (7/6/09, mon): Drive thru Rocky Mountains NP, hike. 102 mi drive (2h:19m). Camping.
Day 4 (7/7/09, tue): Short stop by Scotts Bluff NM. Arrive in Wind Cave NP in the evening. 367 mi (7:15). Camping.
Day 5 (7/8/09, wed): Cave tour in Wind Cave NP. Short stops near Crazy Horse NM and Mt. Rushmore NM. Badlands NP in the evening. 142 mi (4:19). Camping.
Day 6 (7/9/09, thu): Hiking in Badlands NP, departure in the afternoon. 104 mi (1:53). Camping near Sturgis.
Day 7 (7/10/09, fri): Leaving early. Short stop by Devil's Tower NM. 396 mi (7:12). Camping in Cody.
Day 8 (7/11/09, sat): Hiking & Route 8 in Yellowstone NP. 163 mi (3:14). Camping.
Day 9 (7/12/09, sun): Hiking & Route 8 in Yellowstone NP. 57 mi (1:14). Camping.
Day 10 (7/13/09, mon): Stop in Grand Teton NP. 188 mi (4:00). Camping near Montpelier.
Day 11 (7/14/09, tue): Stop in Salt Lake City, see the lake, desert. 278 mi (5:14). Camping near Mt. Pleasant.
Day 12 (7/15/09, wed): Stop in Bryce Canyon NP. Cedar Breaks NM in the evening. 221 mi (5:25). Camping.
Day 13 (7/16/09, thu): Zion NP around noon, hiking. 74 mi (1:47). Camping.
Day 14 (7/17/09, fri): Hiking in Zion NP. Departure in the afternoon. Stop by Hoover Dam. Las Vegas in the evening, sightseeing at night. 227 mi (4:29). Stay at a hotel.
Day 15 (7/18/09, sat): Passing Death Valley. 297 mi (6:52). Camping near Lake Isabella.
Day 16 (7/19/09, sun): Sequoia NP in the afternoon. 150 mi (3:52). Camping.
Day 17 (7/20/09, mon): Departure around noon, Yosemite NP in the evening. 178 mi (3:52). Camping.
Day 18 (7/21/09, tue): Hiking in Yosemite NP. Camping.
Day 19 (7/22/09, wed): Hiking in Yosemite NP. 57 mi (1:18). Camping.
Day 20 (7/23/09, thu): Grass Valley in the evening. 226 mi (5:09). Night at friends'.
Day 21 (7/24/09, fri): Lassen Volcanic NP in the afternoon. 176 mi (4:16). Camping.
Day 22 (7/25/09, sat): Stop near Lava Beds NM. Crater Lake NP in the evening. 245 mi (6:26). Camping.
Day 23 (7/26/09, sun): Hiking in Crater Lake NP. Camping.
Day 24 (7/27/09, mon): Stop in Redwood NP. Eureka in the evening. 255 mi (5:47). Night at friends'.
Day 25 (7/28/09, tue): Near Eureka with friends. Night at friends'.
Day 26 (7/29/09, wed): Near Eureka with friends. Night at friends'.
Day 27 (7/30/09, thu): San Francisco in the evening. 318 mi (7:24). Night at friends'.
Day 28 (7/31/09, fri): Stay in SF (Golden Gate, Alcatraz). Night at friends'.
Day 29 (8/1/09, sat): Stay in SF (Downtown, Ripley's museum). Night at friends'.
Day 30 (8/2/09, sun): LA in the evening. 411 mi (7:59). Camping near Thousand Oaks.
Day 31 (8/3/09, mon): Hollywood. 158 mi (2:47). Night at friends'.
Day 32 (8/4/09, tue): Walk in Mexico near Mexicali. 247 mi (5:21). Joshua Tree NP in the evening. Camping.
Day 33 (8/5/09, wed): Leaving early. Passing Joshua Tree NP and Sonoran Desert NM. Phoenix in the evening. 400 mi (7:11). Night at friends'.
Day 34 (8/6/09, thu): Exploring Phoenix. Night at friends'.
Day 35 (8/7/09, fri): Leaving early. Petrified Forest NP in the afternoon. 291 mi (6:43). Camping near Winslow.
Day 36 (8/8/09, sat): Short stops by Meteor Crater, Walnut Canyon NM, Sunset Crater NM, Wupatki NM. Grand Canyon NP in the evening. 178 mi (4:03). Camping.
Day 37 (8/9/09, sun): Hiking in Grand Canyon NP. Camping.
Day 38 (8/10/09, mon): Leaving soon. Stop by Navajo NM. Drive thru Monument Valley. Stop by Four Corners. Mesa Verde NP in the evening. 343 mi (6:52). Camping.
Day 39 (8/11/09, tue): Departure around noon. Great Sand Dunes NP in the evening . 232 mi (5:15). Camping.
Day 40 (8/12/09, wed): Hiking in Great Sand Dunes NP. Backcountry camping.
Day 41 (8/13/09, thu): Hiking in Great Sand Dunes NP. Camping.
Day 42 (8/14/09, fri): Back to Denver. 229 mi (4:08). Fly to Prague at 8 PM.

Costs estimate

Because of the dollar strenghtening in the last months and oil cheapening, it was necessary to reevaluate the anticipated costs of the trip. Here is the new estimate:

Two-way ticket Prague-Denver: 21 400 CZK (already bought).
Car loan in Denver: cca 1300 $ (6 000 CZK per person).
By consumption of 8l/100km and 15 000 km (9 500 mi) jurney, the gas may reach 860 $ (4 000 CZK/person).

Accomodation (camps, motel): cca 1200 $ (5 500 CZK/person)
Food daily (with propan grill): cca 2000 $ (9 250 CZK/person).
Other costs (NP card, fees, reserve): cca 1600 $ (7 400 CZK/person).

In total per person: cca 53 600 CZK (increasing with oil price and particularly with dollar exchange rate, counted with 70 $/barrel Brent and 18,5 CZK/$) = 21 400 Kč + 1 740 $

Yeah, we gonna fly!

We have finally bought the air tickets, so the trip will definitely be put into life! What is it all about? A road trip through most of the western U.S. states, for an half of our four-member squad the last vacation of their student lives. We want to travel through most of the national parks, one of the most beautiful places on the planet,  see the country and big cities of the West, and visit our friends and relatives; all in 42 days. We will arrive in Denver on July 3rd and go north towards Mt. Rushmore and Badlands; on August 14th, we will come back to Denver from the south leaving Great Sand Dunes. Technicalities about our trip can be found on this thread of the RoadTripAmerica forum.

The purpose of this blog is to serve as an information source for us, our family and friends both in the Czech and Slovak republics and in the U.S.; with some luck, we will be also posting our feelings & some photos during the trip.