Road Trip- Interesting locations?

[compuwar]

I'm going to do a road trip next week, starting in the DC area, heading west to Yellowstone, then out to Vancouver, WA, then down to Crater Lake, The Grand Canyon, after that it's tentative- thinking about Bryce Canyon, Rocky Mountain National Park, Diamond Crater State Park (Ark.) and up Skyline drive. I'm open to suggestions though- I expect I'll spend a couple of days at Yellowstone, but I'm not sure after that. Interesting landscapes and wildlife are my preferences. Other than at least 7-10 days in the PDX area, I'm not making deep plans.

Thanks for any suggestions.

 

[panoz7]

There's a lot within a few hours of the north rim. Glen canyon is about an hour and a half drive north east, and there's a lot to do right around there. The Wave and Antelope Canyon are both must sees, especially from a photographers point of view. Zion National Park is pretty incredible, and is about the same distance from the grand canyon. Zion, Bryce Canyon, Capital Reef, and Moab all form a nice line, and each would be worth visiting in my opinion. Canyonlands and Arches in Moab are both incredible, as are a lot of the surrounding canyons. Canyonlands is divided into three seperate areas. I've spent most of my time around the Island in the Sky, but needles is pretty spectacular as well. One last place that's on the way back east, and is often over looked, is Great Sanddunes National Park in Colorado. It's about an 8 hour drive from Moab, or you can go a bit of the way and stop by Mesa Verde on the way to photograph the cliff dwellings.

 

[Woodrow72]

I would highly recommend Bryce Canyon but even higher on the list would be Zions National Park which is just a few hours away from Bryce.

Your trip sounds like a blast! Good luck and safe travels.

 

[snberk103]

Get off the main roads, and you'll find all sorts of interesting locations. In the '80s I did several road trips through that area, and trusted to chance and luck rather than guidebooks. Never regretted it.

If you going to hit the 2nd, 3rd, rank roads hide a 2nd set of keys somewhere on the outside of the car, underneath probably. Even if it takes you an hour to get at them, you'll be glad you had a way to get into the car. Trust me on this one.

 

[SLC Flyfishing]

You're a birder right?

If so you can't pass the Great Salt Lake wetlands by.

If you're in Utah, we could maybe shoot there if you came through SLC.

Otherwise, I also reccommend Zion and Bryce, or Zion and Cedar Breaks national monument (which is like a mini Bryce Canyon and very very close to Zion.

 

[Ruahrc]

On the westward leg, if you aren't already, I would highly recommend heading west on I-90 or I-94 if you can spare the time. Not only is it much more pretty there is much less traffic and makes the drive a lot less fatiguing.

I-94 runs through ND and I highly recommend to stop by Theodore Roosevelt National Park. The south unit is right off the highway but the north unit is about an hour's drive north off the highway. I was there this past summer and I pretty much had the entire north unit to myself. There will probably be even fewer people there in the off-season.

While in WA, don't ignore the eastern side of the state. The Palouse is a very pretty area and also if you can make it to Ellensburg there are great views of the valley and the surrounding Cascades to be had. Look for a highway 821 I think it is that runs between Ellensburg and Yakima- beautiful drive and also a lot of great hiking (look for a place called Umtanum ridge).

Ruahrc

 

[iTiki]

Antelope slot canyons!

The upper and lower Antelope slot canyons just outside Page Arizona are a MUST.

 

[jbernie]

Rocky Mountain National Park (assuming the one outside of Denver) could be tricky weather wise.... we went up Trail Ridge to the visitor center in mid July and it was already upper 40s/low 50s that day, weather can be quite variable and roads can be closed for snow.

Bring some warm clothes, hot drinks, gloves & watch as you will get one of those fall days where it will be 80 and you wont need anything you brought. Hey, we had a high of 60 mid summer, and 70 or 80 mid winter isn't impossible either.

Definately suggest you try and stay near the park entry and rest up, the change in altitude could affect you quite a bit as you can potentially be up around 12,000ft. Also make sure you have plenty of water & something for headaches in case the altitude does affect you.

Another option, should you be daring... go up Pikes Peak outside of Colorado Springs. The cog railway train runs year round assuming the snow doesnt get too bad, the climb up from Manitou Springs through the forests, then above tree line up to the top 14,110ft is quite enjoyable and round trip is bout 3.5 hours.

We were up there the other weekend, other than some altitude sickness is was well worth it as we had some great weather in the morning. The next day it was below freezing, snow & miserable. Manitou Springs are has some great attractions which are photography friendly and quite enjoyable, Seven Falls, Garden of the Gods, Cave of the Winds, Cliff Dwellings. All of it within about 5 miles of the main hotel area. If one person you could probably do hotel & all areas for under $130.

from the top of Pikes Peak:

 

[compuwar]

There's a lot within a few hours of the north rim. Glen canyon is about an hour and a half drive north east, and there's a lot to do right around there. The Wave and Antelope Canyon are both must sees, especially from a photographers point of view. Zion National Park is pretty incredible, and is about the same distance from the grand canyon. Zion, Bryce Canyon, Capital Reef, and Moab all form a nice line, and each would be worth visiting in my opinion. Canyonlands and Arches in Moab are both incredible, as are a lot of the surrounding canyons. Canyonlands is divided into three seperate areas. I've spent most of my time around the Island in the Sky, but needles is pretty spectacular as well. One last place that's on the way back east, and is often over looked, is Great Sanddunes National Park in Colorado. It's about an 8 hour drive from Moab, or you can go a bit of the way and stop by Mesa Verde on the way to photograph the cliff dwellings.

Thanks for the recommendations, fortunately, that part of the trip is on the way back, so I can look at maps and figure out the best route through and see what I'll have time to do- a lot depends on how long I stay in Vancouver.

Paul

 

[compuwar]

I would highly recommend Bryce Canyon but even higher on the list would be Zions National Park which is just a few hours away from Bryce.

Your trip sounds like a blast! Good luck and safe travels.

Bryce and Zion have both been on my list for a while, I'll have to see what the weather's going to bring and how much time I have on the way back- thanks!

Paul

 

[compuwar]

You're a birder right?

If so you can't pass the Great Salt Lake wetlands by.

If you're in Utah, we could maybe shoot there if you came through SLC.

Otherwise, I also reccommend Zion and Bryce, or Zion and Cedar Breaks national monument (which is like a mini Bryce Canyon and very very close to Zion.

Usually I go right through SLC, but with Yellowstone on the way out and the GC on the way back, I'm not sure I'll get routed that way- I'm thinking I may have to do it all again in the spring to get the Tetons and a few other places in- but the route back is still mostly to be determined, though I've wanted to stop at the Grand Canyon every time I've driven that route and never had time, so it's almost definitely on the list.

Paul

 

[compuwar]

Another option, should you be daring... go up Pikes Peak outside of Colorado Springs. The cog railway train runs year round assuming the snow doesnt get too bad, the climb up from Manitou Springs through the forests, then above tree line up to the top 14,110ft is quite enjoyable and round trip is bout 3.5 hours.

We were up there the other weekend, other than some altitude sickness is was well worth it as we had some great weather in the morning. The next day it was below freezing, snow & miserable. Manitou Springs are has some great attractions which are photography friendly and quite enjoyable, Seven Falls, Garden of the Gods, Cave of the Winds, Cliff Dwellings. All of it within about 5 miles of the main hotel area. If one person you could probably do hotel & all areas for under $130.

from the top of Pikes Peak:

Nice image. I'm hoping to do stuff that I haven't done before, and I went up Pikes Peak/Garden of the Gods/Cave of the Winds on my first Presidential trip back in the late 80's- pissed off the trip officer too- I had a nice dark blue rental sedan that they wanted for the motorcade, but after the peak the transmission wasn't all that good, so they went with a maroon one instead. Unfortunately, we couldn't do the railway at that time, since we had to be able to get back into town fairly quickly if something happened- but it's on my list of places to revisit at some point. Is there still a great steak place called "Three Thieves" in Colordo Springs?

A little later on, one of the White House Medical Unit doctors gave me some Diamox and Acetemetaphin for a climb of Mt. Rainier- if your'e susceptible to altitude sickness, those were recommended (he did a lot of high altitude research in Alaska prior to being assigned to the WH.)

Paul

 

[Holgapics]

In your trek from Vancouver to Crater Lake I would suggest you get away from I-5 and take Hwy 101 down the Oregon Coast starting, if possible, in Astoria, Or. It's a stunning coastline and along the way there are various quaint towns and lighthouses, besides spectacular Pacific Ocean beaches.

About halfway down you come across the Oregon National Dunes recreation area which offers miles and miles of rolling sand dunes, a photographers paradise. At Coos Bay or Bandon, you can head inland to I-5 and Roseburg, which will lead you to Crater Lake.

 

[compuwar]

In your trek from Vancouver to Crater Lake I would suggest you get away from I-5 and take Hwy 101 down the Oregon Coast starting, if possible, in Astoria, Or. It's a stunning coastline and along the way there are various quaint towns and lighthouses, besides spectacular Pacific Ocean beaches.

About halfway down you come across the Oregon National Dunes recreation area which offers miles and miles of rolling sand dunes, a photographers paradise. At Coos Bay or Bandon, you can head inland to I-5 and Roseburg, which will lead you to Crater Lake.

Excellent idea- I can probably even stop by the Rogue brewery in Newport! I'm hoping it's not the usual RV trap this time of year.

Paul

 

[emorydunn]

Be sure to stop in the Columbia River Gorge. It's just a short drive from Portland.

 

[John.B]

I just got back from Yosemite, mostly to get some reverse angle shots of Half Dome as well as panos from the top of Half Dome and Cloud's Rest. Highly recommended if you are into that sort of thing.

However it probably won't work with your schedule. Not to mention that I backpacked in (wilderness permits) which isn't everyone's cup of tea when carrying camera/lenses/tripod/ballhead. I actually think its a symptom of some form of insanity...

 

[ihadmeavision]

My favorite top ten:
1. Canyonlands
2. Capitol reef
3. Arches national park
4. Glen Canyon national recreation area
5. West coast (yes the entire thing)
6. yellowstone
7. Monument Valley area
8. Bryce Canyon
9. Zion
10. Grand Canyon area

So southern Utah and northern Arizona are so very awesome. I'd skip Bryce or Zion to get in Canyonlands.

 

[miles01110]

I also highly recommend Bryce Canyon. I liked it a lot better than the Grand Canyon in terms of "personality" - the Grand Canyon is just big and getting up close and personal takes time and effort. At Bryce you can walk amongst the rock spires for as long or as little as you like.

 

[cr2sh]

Be sure to stop in the Columbia River Gorge. It's just a short drive from Portland.

This is an excellent idea... head east out of Portland on I-84 towards Mount Hood, it's a beautiful drive with lot's of waterfalls. Here's me in front of Latourell Falls in June '06:

I can't tell you how jealous I am of your trip.. it sounds like an amazing time.

 

[compuwar]

This is an excellent idea... head east out of Portland on I-84 towards Mount Hood, it's a beautiful drive with lot's of waterfalls. Here's me in front of Latourell Falls in June '06:

I can't tell you how jealous I am of your trip.. it sounds like an amazing time.

Unfortunately, the weather has mostly sucked- the few good days, I've been chasing Sandhill Cranes and Snow Geese, but have only got a couple of flight shots to show for it. The Gorge is really nice in the summer, and I may try to repeat the trip in the late spring- if so I'll be able to do Adams, Hood and St. Helens hopefully with some clear days to get shots.

Mother Nature canceled Yellowstone on the way out, 3 roads closed for weather and one for construction the night before I got close, and 2-4" more snow the day I would have turned off the Interstate, but the Interstate sucked, spun out once (no real damage thankfully!) and I spent a lot of time at 30MPH in 4x4 dodging trucks that couldn't make it up hills. I figured the road to the park would suck more than the Interstate and more storms were forecast, so I played through.

I'm hoping Crater Lake is still an option, as well as the GC for the way back- not sure about much else- I'll be playing it by ear a lot on the way back. I drive through storms in the NorthEast a lot, so I'm not easily turned back by weather, but I'm not going to push things too much either.

Paul

 

[iTiki]

If you make it to the GC, don't forget the slot canyons by Page, AZ. It will be one of the highlights of your trip. A must see!

 

[Angelo95210]

I would recommend Antelope, Yosemite Park and Zion Park as well.

 

[Angelo95210]

And yeah I loved Salt Lake and take your time to walk at the far end of the lake there is a hidden indian area, pretty amazing ! Here is a picture of Antelope Canyon :

 

[cr2sh]

I drive through storms in the NorthEast a lot, so I'm not easily turned back by weather, but I'm not going to push things too much either.

Just remember the story of James Kim and be safe.. things can get serious quickly out there.