European on a US roadtrip - fill in my itinerary

[travelover]

General advice re national parks, get out of the car and get away from the parking areas ASAP. It is a whole different world 100 meters from the parking lots.

[DrRoy]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cap_Scarlet Thanks - Yes, we'd like to visit those places but did not know about needing a Navajo guide!

I used Adventurous Antelope Canyon Tours. I took the Photographer's tour, which required a tripod.

[explanade]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lsbcal Probably considered the usual tourist haunts: from Munich to Salzburg (3 nights), then to Hallstatt (2), and then Vienna (6). This will be our first visit to Austria which is the final country in our trip. Looking forward to it!

I'm going at the end of August, beginning of September, in and out of Munich, going to Zugspitze Arena, Innsbruck, Salzburg, Hallstatt, St. Wolfgang.

Actually I've lived in Northern CA and have not been to Grand Canyon or the places in Utah. Only been to LA twice. Traveled way more out of the US than within it.

Not sure why. Oh I hate driving so much.

[explanade]

Quote:

Originally Posted by DrRoy I used Adventurous Antelope Canyon Tours. I took the Photographer's tour, which required a tripod.

Why, is it dark inside the canyons?

How about the dust?

[JoeWras]

Quote:

Originally Posted by LauAnn Do not skip Bryce. It is like no place else on earth. (IMO).

Agree. Just don't spend 3 days there!

[DrRoy]

Quote:

Originally Posted by explanade Why, is it dark inside the canyons? How about the dust?

Yes, it was dark, but I think the tripod requirement is to sort out serious photographers. Dust was not a problem. It is hard for wind to get into a slot canyon and stir things up.

[explanade]

Quote:

Originally Posted by DrRoy Yes, it was dark, but I think the tripod requirement is to sort out serious photographers. Dust was not a problem. It is hard for wind to get into a slot canyon and stir things up.

So long exposures if you want base ISO?

Guess it may be like a cathedral with sunlight coming in through limited openings.

[NW-Bound]

Quote:

Originally Posted by LauAnn Do not skip Bryce. It is like no place else on earth. (IMO).

Quote:

Originally Posted by JoeWras Agree. Just don't spend 3 days there!

We did. But then, we had 2 months to wander around with an RV, while the OP has 3 weeks. He also plans to hit more spots than we did.

The point is that there's no way one can see everything. But then, one does not have to either. It is going to be a nice trip no matter what.

Thinking back, I have enjoyed any trip we have made. If we do not see something, we see something else by serendipity more than planning. It's all OK.

[JoeWras]

Quote:

Originally Posted by NW-Bound It's all OK.

There you go. You can't go wrong for scenery in this part of the world. Good luck to the OP for this good choice of vacation.

Now I want to turn the tables and go to Switzerland and/or Austria! Almost did this year, but decided to put it off a bit. I was kind of overwhelmed by planning, and DW and I decided when we go, less is more.

[FIREd_2015]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cap_Scarlet Thanks everyone for your replies - they are all very helpful. So here is a little more detail on a day by day basis: Fly to Las Vegas Las Vegas Grand Canyon (South rim) Grand Canyon Page Bryce Canyon Zion NP Death Valley Mammoth Lakes Mariposa (YNP) [Spare night] San Francisco San Francisco San Francisco San Francisco Carmel / Monterrey Cambria Santa Barbera Los Angeles Los Angeles Los Angeles Fly home

1) Just outside of Page is the Horseshoe Bend - a couple of hundred meters walk from the road

2) On the way to Bryce Canyon is a place called "The Wave". You'll need a permit and they only hand out around 10 a day to walk-ins.

3) Bit of a detour but a nice scenic drive through Monument Valley if you're into old western movies

4) Mammoth area - Devil's Postpile National Monument, Reds Meadow Hotsprings

5) Yosemite - one of the best views is from Glacier Point

6) San Francisco area - Best panoramic view of San Francisco is from top of Mt Tamalpias - you can drive to the top. The other nice view is from Treasure Island. No toll if you drive there from the San Francisco side. Alamere Falls - water fall on the beach in Point Reyes National Seashore north of San Francisco.

7) Monterey - McWay Falls in Big Sur, Elephant Seals in Ano Nuevo State Park just north of Santa Cruz. 17 mile drive is also nice.

8) Grand Canyon South Rim - great views during sunrise at OOH AAH Point. Short walk down on South Kaibab Trail.

[gerntz]

Another thing: Since you're going to GC-south from Vegas, I'd stop & do a tour of Hoover Dam. Couple hours. Great new arch bride over canyon also.

[NW-Bound]

Quote:

Originally Posted by urn2bfree Heading South fro SF to LA include San Simeon near San Luis Obispo on your stops...

Quote:

Originally Posted by gerntz ... I presume with Cambria you're going to San Simeon...

For many years, I always wanted to go see the Hearst Castle, but it was too far for a day trip from the LA area, which I visited often. And I drove up/down US-1 a couple of times but not passing Hearst Castle at a good time for a visit.

Cambria now has plenty of motels for passing the night, but we had our RV in our visit a few years ago, and stayed at a state campground in the area.

The Hearst Castle visit is broken into several tours. We just took the main one, with the intention of saving the others for future trips. Just did not want to overwhelm ourselves with so much opulence in one day.

[Cap_Scarlet]

thanks all for your responses - watch out for my blog of the trip!

[euro]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bryan Barnfellow Sounds like a really nice trip. I personally love the Mojave Desert and would suggest that you consider a trip to Joshua Tree National Park. Perhaps while your son is enjoying the theme parks in LA you could drive out for the day? I wish I had gone there more often when I lived in the US. -BB

I will second Joshua Tree NP - I have visited it several times and always enjoy it

[DrRoy]

Quote:

Originally Posted by explanade So long exposures if you want base ISO? Guess it may be like a cathedral with sunlight coming in through limited openings.

Yes, exactly. I took multiple exposures up to 30 sec and ran HDR.

[Lsbcal]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cap_Scarlet thanks all for your responses - watch out for my blog of the trip!

Have a great trip! I've lived in Northern California all my life and still finding new places to explore in the west.

[NW-Bound]

In an RV trip, we happened to drive by Santa Rosa, NM, so stopped by and spent the afternoon there to see the "Blue Hole", which is a geological oddity.

Saw a couple of Dutchmen there. They said they drove from Atlanta. I did not ask further to see where they were going next, but didn't think the Blue Hole was the reason they drove all the way across the US to see. But how did they know about the Blue Hole anyway? I did not know about it until I stumbled across some info.

[meierlde]

Quote:

Originally Posted by NW-Bound In an RV trip, we happened to drive by Santa Rosa, NM, so stopped by and spent the afternoon there to see the "Blue Hole", which is a geological oddity. Saw a couple of Dutchmen there. They said they drove from Atlanta. I did not ask further to see where they were going next, but didn't think the Blue Hole was the reason they drove all the way across the US to see. But how did they know about the Blue Hole anyway? I did not know about it until I stumbled across some info.

Perhaps they were scuba divers, the Blue Hole is well known in that community.

[COcheesehead]

Quote:

Originally Posted by LauAnn Do not skip Bryce. It is like no place else on earth. (IMO).

The most unique feature of Bryce, the hoodoos, are common in many places around the world, not all of them have a National Park wrapped around them to promote them though. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hoodoo_(geology)

One of the more unique examples of them is about 90 minutes southeast of Denver in of all places, a county park called The Paint Mines. There is talk of making it a National Monument. The colors are even more vibrant and varied than Bryce and few people, even locals know it exists.

[Fedup]

Nice pictures. Is that the color you see with booze or without?