Southwest USA & The West Coast (California, Arizona etc) - General Thread

colinw

PurplePow wrote: »

Hi,

Very early stages of planning but wanting to do out first road trip in America next year. So far I'm thinking San Fran (3 nights) - Yosemite - Vegas (2 nights max) - Grand Canyon - San Diego over 14 nights in total.

I know the Tioga pass may not be open so need suggestions of where to drive if we go in May... or might chance going late June/early July and hope its open. I'd like to book hotels before we go.

Any good car hire company suggestions? Any good website recommendations for reading up on how to drive in the USA?

We did a similar journey a few years back but that was

Vegas

Do a loop around all of the parks.....which covered

Grand Canyon

Bryce

Zion

Monument Valley

There are other around that area that we missed...

Back to Vegas

Across Death Valley and staying in Bishop one night

Yosemite 2 or 3 nights....

Across to San Fran via Sequoia NP

As for driving in the states, I love the roads outside of the cities. The roads around the parks are great. One thing I would say though is make sure you get a Sat Nav! invaluable in the cities. I think we used Hertz last time and they where fine.

Off for another driving holiday in August. Starting in San Fran and driving up the coast North. Passing the Red Woods, up the Oregon Coast, seeing Mt Rainier, Mt St Helens and then back down inland. Doing Crater Lake, Lake Tahoe, Yosemite, San Fran.

Oh and don't miss the Pandas at San Diego Zoo!!!!!

John259

colinw wrote: »

Monument Valley

There are other around that area that we missed...

Yes, there so many wonderful places in that area, and never enough time to visit them all, for example:
Arches NP, Canyonlands NP, Dead Horse Point (state park), Colorado Riverway (scenic road alongside the river), Natural Bridges National Monument, Colorado National Monument, Black Canyon of the Gunnison NP, San Juan Skyway (scenic road) which includes the Million Dollar Highway, Durango-Silverton Narrow Gauge Railway (old time steam train through the mountains) and Mesa Verde NP (Anasazi cliff dwelling ruins).

There are details and photos of all those places on Wikipedia and where relevant the US National Parks web site http://www.nps.gov , and videos of most of them on YouTube if you're prepared to do a bit of searching.

colinw

John259 wrote: »

Yes, there so many wonderful places in that area, and never enough time to visit them all, for example:
Arches NP, Canyonlands NP, Dead Horse Point (state park), Colorado Riverway (scenic road alongside the river), Natural Bridges National Monument, Colorado National Monument, Black Canyon of the Gunnison NP, San Juan Skyway (scenic road) which includes the Million Dollar Highway, Durango-Silverton Narrow Gauge Railway (old time steam train through the mountains) and Mesa Verde NP (Anasazi cliff dwelling ruins).

There are details and photos of all those places on Wikipedia and where relevant the US National Parks web site http://www.nps.gov , and videos of most of them on YouTube if you're prepared to do a bit of searching.

Actually we did Arches as well. I forgot about that one. That whole area is just amazing. So much to see and do and the roads are great. Plenty of reasonably priced Motels.....When at Monument Valley we stayed at a new hotel that looked right over the valley. Amazing Sunrise in the morning.

jackieblack

colinw wrote: »

Off for another driving holiday in August. Starting in San Fran and driving up the coast North. Passing the Red Woods, up the Oregon Coast, seeing Mt Rainier, Mt St Helens and then back down inland. Doing Crater Lake, Lake Tahoe, Yosemite, San Fran.

Mt St Helens is fascinating, we could see the steam still coming out of the crater when we went and the before/after eruption photos are:eek:
The Columbia River Gorge is worth some time and, if you can schedule a stop in Astoria around lunch time, the fish & chips sold from a boat in the car park opposite the maritime museum are the best we've ever tasted - we were tipped off by some people who told us they drive an hour there to get them

John259

jackieblack wrote: »

if you can schedule a stop in Astoria around lunch time...

It's well worth driving up to the column in Astoria, and for those fit and brave enough to ascend the spiral staircase the view from the top is superb.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Astoria_Column

A few miles south of Astoria is Fort Clatsop National Memorial, at the spot where the Lewis and Clark expedition overwintered before making their return journey to St Louis.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lewis_and_Clark_National_and_State_Historical_Parks
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Corps_of_Discovery

There's a most impressive bridge and lengthy causeway across the mouth of the Columbia between Astoria and Washington State.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Astoria%E2%80%93Megler_Bridge

John259

BTW along the Oregon coast we particularly liked Gold Beach, at the mouth of the Rogue River.

colinw

John259 wrote: »

BTW along the Oregon coast we particularly liked Gold Beach, at the mouth of the Rogue River.

Thanks for that John. I will check it out.

colinw

jackieblack wrote: »

Mt St Helens is fascinating, we could see the steam still coming out of the crater when we went and the before/after eruption photos are:eek:
The Columbia River Gorge is worth some time and, if you can schedule a stop in Astoria around lunch time, the fish & chips sold from a boat in the car park opposite the maritime museum are the best we've ever tasted - we were tipped off by some people who told us they drive an hour there to get them

Cheers for that I will be checking out Mt St Helens from both sides. Also planning on driving along the river Gorge. Now that Fish and Chips recommendation I will certainly note down!
I have seen the footage of Mt St Helens going off and it certainly is scary stuff :eek:

John259

One factor to bear in mind: if the weather west of the Cascades is wet, cold and windy, as it often is, then you might want to head eastwards over the mountains where it's usually warm and dry. The difference is quite astonishing.

The run alongside the majestic Columbia River east of the Gorge is excellent, all the way to the McNary Dam. We preferred the north (Washington State) bank because that's a state highway, whereas on the south bank (Oregon) it's an interstate. At one point along the way there's a replica of Stonehenge, built as a war memorial, on a hill with a great view over the river. At the bottom of the hill near the bridge we purchased some excellent cherries from an orchard but I don't know if it's still there.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maryhill_Stonehenge

It's probably too far inland for your route, but Glacier National Park in northwestern Montana is spectacular, IMHO as superb as Yosemite but in a very different way:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LNquUapZ_Sg

jackieblack

colinw wrote: »

Cheers for that I will be checking out Mt St Helens from both sides. Also planning on driving along the river Gorge. Now that Fish and Chips recommendation I will certainly note down!
I have seen the footage of Mt St Helens going off and it certainly is scary stuff :eek:

If driving along the Oregon bank, Multnomah Falls is worth a look

The fish & chip boat opens at about 11am, IIRC, after they have landed the fish (albacore tuna - a white fish, not like the tuna that comes in cans) from that morning's catch.
There is always a queue before they open and they close once they have sold out.

Ooh, have just found this http://www.bowpicker.com/
(I'm drooling now just remembering )

Also found reviews
http://www.yelp.co.uk/biz/bowpicker-fish-and-chips-astoria-2
http://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/Restaurant_Review-g60806-d1506949-Reviews-Bowpicker_Fish_Chips-Astoria_Oregon.html