I can’t say enough good things about Bill Phinney, who rents wheelchair-accessible minivans in the Salt Lake City, UT, area.
He is:
Check out his website for more information.
My friend Anne, an intrepid reader and traveller and fellow-gatherer of information, introduced me to the concept of reading books set in or about the area to which you are traveling. I think it’s a brilliant idea. Some of the joy of travel for me is the anticipation, and reading books set in my destination whets my appetite. Solving the puzzle of travel (how to get where you want to go as inexpensively and/or as efficiently as possible, or even just how to see and do all you want to see and do in a constrained time frame) is equally fun and challenging for me; to that end, immersing myself in non-fiction and travel guides is part of the process. Last but not least, I am avid, but amateur and frankly forgetful, history- and geography- lover….reading books “set in place” before, during and after my trip cements some of the information for me.
My recommendations for books to read set in Wyoming and Utah are as follows:
Travel guides I used as a resource for this trip:
Additional online resources:
The five of us flew from Logan to Salt Lake City on a direct flight with Delta late afternoon both on the way to UT and the way home to MA. The flight out was a little longer, at 5.5 hours (note: it’s two hours earlier in UT than MA). Last year we had a horrendous experience on the way home with Delta (see Rants), but this year things went more smoothly. It helped that Peter has Sky Priority miles with Delta, so we were able to use the shorter lines when checking in and when going through security. Still, if you request assistance from the airline in advance, as we did last year (see: www.delta.com and search for “special-travel-needs/disabilities”), the security process is faster than it is for most other travelers.
Both this year and last, and in both airports, I found the security staff to be courteous and respectful when searching Marianne’s wheelchair. They were also thorough (I think, although not being in security, it’s hard to know for sure), which I appreciate.
We boarded early on both flights and were able to get settled before the other passengers boarded. Marianne was transferred to an aisle chair at the plane door, and Delta staff took her wheelchair (now on manual mode) to the tarmac. It was a little unnerving to look from the plane window at the chair sitting on the pavement all by itself, and I had visions of them forgetting to load it (I’ve read somewhere this has actually happened). The airline attendant was great when I relayed this story and had the pilot radio down to make sure it got on the conveyor belt. This YouTube clip shows the chair being unloaded from the plane in Salt Lake City:
Note on airplane seats: we paid extra for economy-plus size seats so that we would have some wiggle room when doing Marianne’s catheter on the plane. Not sure we needed them, but it was nice to have extra leg room.
Wheelchair-accessible rental parked at Ruth’s Diner, Emigration Canyon, UT
It seems to be impossible to rent a wheelchair-accessible minivan in either Jackson, WY or Boise, ID. I’ve done internet searches and made many phone calls, and so did the concierge at our hotel in Teton Village, The Hotel Terra. You can pay Bill Phinney (see Raves) about $1000 to drive a van to your destination in either Boise, ID, or Jackson, WY, or you can pick it up from him at the very-manageable airport in Salt Lake City and drive it where you want to go. Check out the rental site: www.wheelchairgetaways.com/franchise/utah_saltlakecity/. We rented a side-entry (electric in-floor ramp) Dodge Caravan; it was clean and in good shape.
Pat, Marianne and Dee at the (wheelchair-accessible) Idaho Potato Museum, Blackfoot, ID
We opted to stay overnight in Salt Lake City and drive: first to Teton Village in Wyoming (about 5.5 hours) for 9 nights, then from Teton Village to Boise, ID (6 hours if you take the 40-minute detour, as we did, to the Idaho Potato Museum in Blackfoot, ID) for 4 nights, and then from Boise back to Salt Lake City (another 5.5 hours). Bill makes the exchange easy: the Salt Lake City airport is relatively small, and he meets you at baggage claim on your way in and curbside at a handicapped-parking space on the way out.
A very big collection of potato mashers at the Idaho Potato Museum
An equally large collection of Mr. (and Mrs.) Potato Heads
I like going places with my family. One of my three kids is a 15-year-old who uses a wheelchair for mobility. Whether it be far afield or close to home, we want to go beyond these four walls (comforting as they are).
It’s pretty hard sometimes to go new places with a wheelchair.
I’ll post where we’ve been and how it’s worked for us to get there and to get around. I’m sure there’ll be some rants; hopefully you’ll see lots of raves, too. I want to share what we learn as we travel and to open new worlds for wheelchair-users, walker-users, slow walkers…. anyone who needs to know the lay of the land before they venture forth.