Hi, kids!
Just gonna add my 2 cents.
Boots, binoculars, tripod, reading up on camping in bear habitat, bird book & souvenir space will be required.
I will assume you will leave Shamus at home. There are snakes & other venomous reptiles, bears, numerous coyotes, big cats, etc. on your route. Some places will be utterly without shade. 'Nuff said.
Painted Desert: Stark, primordial beauty. Boots. Be sure to start drinking more water in this higher, arid place. Be sure you understand your camera settings and take photos when the sun is NOT high in the sky.
Grand Canyon: Again, early morning and late in the day are best. Check out the ranger programs and hikes. Boots. Buy a shower here.
Sequoia: Once you are in the mountains it could get chilly and very wet. That will feel much more pronounced after being in arid conditions. A good short stay. Spend a quiet hour or more just being in the presence of one or two of those trees. They will re-set your 'awe meters' like the Grand Canyon did.
Yosemite: Prepare to be changed. Do not plan relaxation time unless it is dark. How you see it depends on how you camp in it. Be sure to reserve your sites ASAP. (I just looked at this- we may be going through there west to east on the 18th & 19th of Sept if present plans pan out!) I think you will be able to do reserve sites in March. To save driving time, I would enter from the east (since you will exit on the west) and stay a night in Tuolumne (too-AH-loh-mee) Meadows for a night. Rise early and hike the meadow, drive to Yosemite Village and camp (one of the "pines" campgrounds) there the next 2 nites. On the way stop at Tenaya Lake and stick your feet in the lake. Just past Tenaya Lake there are pullouts where you can take shots of Half Dome from the east- Awesome! Stop to take the quinetessential Yosemite Valley photo after that. Once you are camped, bike the valley and get some shots in the afternoon sun. Zip down to Wawona for a park history/big tree walk and check out the hotel on your way back in the evening (reserve for dinner??) and see if you can view an Ansel Adams/John Muir exhibits or find out when guided talks are given the next day or before you leave on departure day. Rise early and walk to Vernal Falls for lunch then drive to Glacier Point in the afternoon. Hetch-Hetchy is beautiful if you have the time but (amazingly) is still a repeat of the Yosemite Valley. You will be exhaused, you will be exhilarated! Honestly- if you can add a day here, do it!
San Francisco: Plan a city walk!!! Note that trailers are NOT permitted to go down Lombard Street! If you decide to go over the Golden Gate bridge (a much longer and more laborious trip than going over the Mackinac Bridge) a great destination is Muir Woods. It is an inspiring forest of Redwoods on a nice loop walking path. Remember: the water you will drink in SF comes from Hetch Hetchy!
The trip home: You might research stops by Lake Tahoe but be advised that this is well developed, very private and off the route home. Contrary to a recent post, between Reno & Winnemucca there IS gas at Fernley (my final jumping off point before heading north to the Black Rock Desert & Burning Man!) Lovelock & Mill City. Just east of Fernley you will see steam rising from pipes and an odd system of pipes on the south side of the highway. That will be a geothermal elecricity generation project using the heat from hot springs that run for many miles with the road. Winnemucca has everything you will need: restaurants, Wall-Mart, gas, propane, casinos, motels, car wash, and (my favorite) Winnemucca RV park which is on the east side of town (take the East Winnemucca Blvd exit). There are others but they have wildly different reviews from other campers and I can vouch for this one. It is ALL gravel, but clean with good facilities, there is a good laundry across the street in a tiny stip of stores which includes a passable mexican restaurant. The park also has a pool!! You can find them on the web and reservations are by phone only.
The drive from Winnemucca to West Wendover is a mostly empty, often pretty, mountanous route. Elko is a good gas stop and West Wendover is a MUST stop to cool down the truck, do all necessary activities, buy cool drinks, gas up and generally prepare for the long, boring, SUNNY trip across the salt flats to Salt Lake City. If you plan to zip right through Salt Lake City be sure you have studied the map or have set your GPS. There are a lot of interstates that intersect there and the ramps come fast and furious. The Salt Lake City KOA is just on the east side of the city (between the airport and the city proper) and, though I remember it as being slightly pricey, has everything and is actually on the road that will take you to Temple Square (home of the Mormons) and the city center if you want to take a quick sightseeing trip. Be advised that anyone on foot with a white shirt/blouse and dress slacks/skirt carrying a Bible may be required to engage you in their persistent brand of evangelizing if they have been charged to do so. You will see stores that specialize in "evangelist attire" and other things specifically Mormon. If you go on a tour to Temple Square (Mormon Tabernacle, etc) you'll have to listen to the spiel, you'll come home with at least one Mormon Bible and you will NOT be allowed into the Temple. (Many Mormons are prohibited from entering- go figure) You will be encouraged to visit "This Is The Place" monument where Brigham Young decided it was time to stop. Be SURE you have time for this if you elect to check it out.
Going east from SLC you have 3 choices:
South: The Mountainous route. Drop down thru Provo and take US6 till it hooks up with I70 at Green River, UT then on through Colorado, etc.
East: The 'wanderers route'. US40 through Vernal near Dinosaur Nat Mon and then north through Flaming Gorge Nat Rec Area before hooking up with I80 near Green River, WY and continuing through Wyoming & Nebraska.
NorthEast: The easy "Oregon Trail' Route. I80 through Wyoming and Nebraska. There are some Nat Forest campgrounds in eastern Wyoming (if you need another night in alpine mountains you can cut south through Ryan Park and Centennial where there are isolated NF campgrounds- there is also a an 11,000ft pass to drive over if you take this route- WEATHER could be a big issue by the end of Sept here) and Curt Gowdy St. Pk. near Cheyenne is very nice and I would think you'd get a site there easily during the week.
Nebraska: Prepare for the return of humidity!!! There are places to camp all along the I80 across Nebraska. Cabella's world headquarters is in Sidney and the Pioneer Museum (lots of old cars, farming equipment, dolls toys and more) is in Minden where the 2nd Intl. T@B rally was. Go visit that campground! (Extreme lower case woot.)
Whew!
We will hopfully be west and north of you throughout your trip as we are planning to head towards Oregon to see family and then circle back though Palo Alto to see friends, Yosemite and home. I'll be at Burning Man in Nevada for a week before Labor Day and plan to pick Beth from the airport in Reno for the Oregon leg, etc.
Hope this helps. Hope to see you somewhere this summer!
Looks like it was 25 cents worth....
Jay
Jay & Beth #1896
0 comments:
Post a Comment