Out West (May 2007)

[Grouseman]

Ok guys,

I reside in TN and want to drive out west and do primitive camping, and sight seeing. I will be driving my 1996 Cruiser. Trip will be May 2007. We will only have 10 days for the total trip, because I am self employed. Originally we were planning on flying to Seattle and then renting a car, truck,etc. We were going to see Oregon, Washington and Northern CA. Then I thought what about shipping the Cruiser to Seattle and then driving back. Still may be an option, depending on cost. Heck now I am thinking driving to say Denver, and seeing Wyoming, Montana, and Idaho. Alot of you guys are out west, I need to pick your brains now. The wife and I love the mountains, etc. Which 3 states would you pick to see first and why? We can't see all 6 states in one driving trip, not in 10 days anyway. We will have to make two trips to see all of them. Which trip would you do first?

Gman

 

[Mike S]

THREE states?

Seems like you're going to be driving through a number of states, Steve, on your way to and from your destination. I guess the areas that you would enjoy the most would be NW and SE Idaho, Western Montana, Western Wyoming.

I think that would drive up to central Montana and head west through the state, meandering along - then over Lolo pass to enter Idaho. Head down the Locsha and Clearwater rivers to Lewiston, north into the panhandle a bit, then back south through Whitebird pass, southeasterly to SunValley area, through SE Idaho to western Wyoming. DOen roght this could take weeks. From Wyoming you could drop down to Colorado to RM national park and some of the great areas in northern Colorado.

Just a thot.

 

[Nullifier]

Well you really have 6 days since 4 will be driving out and back. I would pick one state and maximise time. You cant realy go wrong with colorado, new mexico, arizona, utah. May is a bit early for high elevation especially if your travelling alone cause of the snow. Personally that time of year I would head to the south west in search of moderate temps

I'm sure other westerners will throw there ideas in.

 

[paulj]

At least in Washington, timing will determine the kind of primitive camping that you can do, particularly in the mountains.

For example, I just spent a night at the 6000 ft level near Mt Rainier. The rough 6 mile road to the pass just opened this past week. There were still snow patches on the ground, but the bugs weren't out yet. This campground has 20 designated sites with tables and fire rings, but no water (other than the steam), and a mixed quality of parking spaces and tenting sites. There is not fee, other than the regional 'forest pass'.

More pictures from this weekend trip at http://www.elementownersclub.com/forums/showthread.php?t=25203

Lower level forest service campgrounds open sometime in May, some as late as the Memorial Day weekend. Most sites on the west side of the mountains are run by concesionaires, and can be reserved. More of the east side campgrounds are run by forest service itself, and may be open earlier, though without water. Most of the forests also allow 'dispersed camping', where you can use most any clearing out of the way of traffic. But I don't think a visitor should count on finding a desirable dispersed site.

East v west side the Cascades also makes a big difference in temperature and rain. The west side can still be quite rainy in May, though July and August are normally quite dry. Still, I like traveling in May and September, both because the weather is a bit cooler, and the crowds are lighter. But I have had to turn back on a number of backroads in May and early June because of snow.

Lowland and coastal camping tends to be available year around, though mostly at state parks.

Some good resources for Washington camping are:
the respective forest service web sites

Washington Trails Associations (wta.org) with the latest trail reports and links to government sites

http://wsdot.wa.gov/traffic/passes/ has information on opening of highway passes. A couple of the most spectacular drives, Hwy 20 through the North Cascades, and 410, Chinook pass east of Rainier, open some time in April or May, depending on snow pack.

DeLorme map atlas

paulj

 

[4Rescue]

Come out to Oregon, if you want primitave camping and land, we've got it... Washington, Oreogn Idaho and Montana should be on your list... Be warned, in May, Oregon and Washington are going to be REALLY wet... that's why when the sun comes out it's the most amazing place on earth

 

[Grouseman]

Out West

Ok sounds like May is way too early to enjoy most of the sites in the areas we would like to visit. So now we have revised our plans to say July or August. Please keep the ideas coming.

Gman

 

[kcowyo]

Which 3 states would you pick to see first and why? ..... Which trip would you do first?

Gman

Utah - America's Premier Playground - mountains, red rock, white water, snow

Colorado - If you want to "sight see" out west, Colorado is a must. You actually haven't seen the sights of the west until you've driven through Colorado

Montana - The western half of the state is as good as it gets

Oregon - The coast with the most and the mountains ain't too shabby either

Wyoming - The Wonderland of America - Yellowstone, Tetons, big game, snow

California - the northern coast from Crescent City to Mendocino or east to Chico and Redding is quite scenic

Washington - Scenic like New England on the coast and the Cascade Mountains are very impressive.


If I were to take a trip out west, for the first time, never having been here but knowing what I know now, Colorado would be my first choice. I would also try to include a visit to Yellowstone NP for the opportunities to see a Wolf or Grizzly in the wild.

Are you by chance in East TN? I lived in Knoxville in '93 & '94 and dated a Vanderbilt U. girl for awhile. Love Tennessee, especially east TN near the Smokies and Ober Gatlinburg -


....and yes, you should wait till after May to make a trip out west. Many of the above states see snow into June, even at lower elevations.

 

[Grouseman]

Utah - America's Premier Playground - mountains, red rock, white water, snow


Are you by chance in East TN? I lived in Knoxville in '93 & '94 and dated a Vanderbilt U. girl for awhile. Love Tennessee, especially east TN near the Smokies and Ober Gatlinburg -

Nope, I am from Nashville. East TN is a beautiful place but the crowds in the Smokies are just too much for me.

SS

KC,

What about about IDAHO?

SS

 

[kcowyo]

KC,

What about about IDAHO?

SS

Idaho is really nice and has some really raw and rugged country in the central area and the SE corner. With the distance it takes to see some of Idaho's more spectacular spots, from Denver or Seattle, and with your time schedule, I would probably pass on it on this trip. It is well worth the drive from Denver or Seattle with a little more time, but I would want to focus on whichever area you fly into to maximize your sight seeing time instead of pounding out the highway miles getting to a special place or two.

If you were to fly or drive into Seattle for instance, I would try to see areas around the Olympic Penninsula like Whidbey Island, Port Townsend, Port Angeles, the Olympic Nat'l Rain Forest, the Macah Indian Reservation and maybe a drive down the coast into Oregon.

If you were to fly into Denver, I would focus on seeing the Front Range, the Sawatch Mountain range, the San Juan Mountains and maybe sneak into Moab, Utah from Grand Junction, CO for an afternoon of sight seeing.

This is how I would do it but I realize everyone is different. It is tempting to try to squeeze in as much as possible but I think in the long run some great stuff might slip through your fingers. If you can homebase out of one town, I think you'll get more bang for your buck and less miles on your truck. The distances out here can be deceptively long when you're first getting used to them. Kind of like how people think a trip from Memphis to Johnson City is a quick trip.

There are many great places to see out here but it would be a shame to miss some by putting too many miles on the highway to get to them. And for the record I've driven from Colorado Springs to Knoxville, straight through and it took 33 hours, non stop.

However you decide to do it and where you decide to land, let us know. I'm sure we'll all have great suggestions of places to see and things to do once you have a particular destination in mind. :beer:

 

[crawler#976]

How about touring four states for the price of three?

#1 Southwestern Colorado

#2 Southeastern Utah

#3 Northwestern/central New Mexico

#4 Northeastern Arizona

The San Juans of Colorado are awesome, offer great sightseeing and wheelin' opportunities.

The Southern Canyonlands/Hovenweep Nat Monument/Manti-La Sals National Forest in Utah is increadibly varied country.

Chama/Taos/Ship Rock and time permitting Chaco Canyon...

The Big Res... gotta see part of teh Navajo Nation - Canyon DeChelly, Monument Valley.

 

[bh4rnnr]

How about touring four states for the price of three?

#1 Southwestern Colorado

#2 Southeastern Utah

#3 Northwestern/central New Mexico

#4 Northeastern Arizona

The San Juans of Colorado are awesome, offer great sightseeing and wheelin' opportunities.

The Southern Canyonlands/Hovenweep Nat Monument/Manti-La Sals National Forest in Utah is increadibly varied country.

Chama/Taos/Ship Rock and time permitting Chaco Canyon...

The Big Res... gotta see part of teh Navajo Nation - Canyon DeChelly, Monument Valley.

I like this.

Southwestern Colorado- As stated, just doesnt get much better. Not to many "Hardcore Trails" but that's not why i'm down there..

Desert Country-Read Edward Abby before you go(my coppy is with Daniel Markofsky right now).. Gives you a good discription of what things where like. Robbers Roost is way cool(have yet to go though....), San Rafael Swell also has a lot of cool places to check out.

Chama- Ghost Rock is an intreasting thing to check out if you have time(was there in December). Taos is cool, also stop by Sante Fe and see my Dad's work in the Gerald Peters Gallery. He will be having a show this weekend.
Ship Rock is really cool. We(my dad and I) got close to it when down in Farmington. Check out Tom Tills pics of Ship Rock.

 

[Grouseman]

Guys,

Thanks for all the ideas. Now I am even more confused on what to do.:Wow1: I need to digest all the advice, and figure out a logical plan. It seems there is really to much to see, to spend 4 days driving to and from, like someone mentioned. But I really wanted to take the Cruiser and M101 trailer. This may not be the trip for those.

Thanks Again

Steve

 

[paulj]

When we lived in Chicago we took a number of vacations on the West coast.

For my brother's wedding, we (self, wife and 3 yr old) flew to Portland, rented a small car (Tercel) and spent a week camping in Oregon. The gear was mostly backpacking type. The largest piece was an inflatable kayak.

Later we flew to Seattle, and I attended a conference. After the conference we spent several days sightseeing around the Puget Sound. This trip was all motels.

On one 3 week trip, we spent a week crossing Canada from Lake Superior to Vancouver, with some sight seeing in Banff. Then we spent a week camping around the coast there, including a couple of nights at marine parks (kayak beaches). Then a week back, with a brief passage through Glacier Nat Park.

Later I drove the distance nonstop (except for 6hr rest stops) with a trailer sailboat in tow. After a conference my wife and son flew into Seattle, and we spent a week sailing and camping on the west side of Vancouver Island. On the return we spent 2 nights camped on Yellowstone Lake. The rest of the family flew home from Billings, while I finished up the trip with the Trooper and boat.

The big trip from this era was a 3 mth drive to Alaska. That covered about 17,000 miles.

When we moved from Chicago to Seattle, we took 8 days. That included freeway across Minnesota and S Dakota, backroads through the Black Hills and into Wyoming, further backroads through the Nat Forest gap between Grand Tetons and Yellowstone, and more backroads across the Snake River into Oregon.

Three years ago we drove from Seattle back east to visit relatives. Again it was about 3 weeks, one each way, and one at the other end. Detours from the direct path included the Beartooth Pass in Montana/Wyoming, and Glacier Nat Park on the way back.

I try to put in a lot of miles across the flat middle of the country, and use motels for this portion, since we can get going earlier, and drive later. I figure on 400, or even 600 miles on these days. Then when we get to the interesting mountains, I gravitate toward the lesser highways, and some backroads. And generally there are better camping options in the mountain states. On these sightseeing days, 100-200 miles is best, since we like to spend at least half the day hiking.

paulj

 

[cruiseroutfit]

As a few have mentioned, make sure to include Southern Utah in some aspect of your trip. Epic wheeling trips! Elephant hill in Canyonlands, Moab area trails, head West and catch the San Rafael Swell, you can wheel North from there all the way to Price, or Vernal. Catch the interstate and head either to Idaho, or back into CO.

The terrain down south is unbeleivable :bowdown:

Wild Ponies

More Here:
http://www.cruiseroutfitters.com/PG_Goblin_Swell.html
http://www.cruiseroutfitters.com/PG_San_Moab.html
http://www.cruiseroutfitters.com/PG_WC_2006_PreRun.html