I had been entertaining vague thoughts of a trip out to the Rocky Mountains, in particular Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Parks, for some time. This would involve flying to Denver and then driving the five hundred miles or so to the parks as a journey of at least two days each way, possibly taking in other attractions en route -- I estimated that around two weeks' car hire was necessary to do this at a reasonably relaxed pace.
The curtailment of my September 2001 holiday, which would have been in New York and New England, left me looking to do something moderately ambitious the next year. I had originally considered a trip of over three weeks including a stopover of a few days in New York. Cheap flight prices with United Airlines, especially on simple itineraries, however tempted me to break the trip in two. I ended up booking a five-night stay in New York at the start of March, and an eighteen-night trip out from Denver leaving in late May.
For car hire I returned to Trailfinders, who had been very helpful when sorting out minor problems with car hire in 2000, and co-operative over the previous year's cancellation. A special offer even gave me a free upgrade from a ``midsize'' to a ``fullsize'' vehicle.
Meanwhile I booked some accommodation over the internet for the first two nights in Denver, for the last night near the airport, and in and around Yellowstone and Grand Teton in case accommodation proved hard to find. I left the remainder unbooked to allow for a flexible itinerary and for finding local bargains.