Texas to Rte 66, Death Valley NP, Sequoia NP, Yosemite NP, Lake Tahoe, Loneliest Road in America, Glacier NP, Canada, Yellowstone NP, Grand Teton NP

[PetitFrereArmada]

Awesome trip!

what do you use for your photography?

I use my cellphone (Samsung S21 Ultra) and my drone (DJI Mavic 2 Pro). I sometimes use the Pro mode on my cellphone and adjust aperture and ISO to get the best image pleasing to my eyes. As for my drone, I shoot often in HDR mode.

 

[PetitFrereArmada]

I visited Sequoia NP today. I was very impressed. The park is 8,000ft high up in the mountains. That makes it a bit cool up there. The road to the top is very curvy and very scenic. It could make a regular driver dizzy.The road starts at just 500ft above sea level and rises fast all the way to the top where it is about 8,000ft and that is where you meet the giant trees.

I went back to Sequoia today and was happy to drive through the Tunnel Log. This area is closed during the weekend because of too much congestion, but opened during the week.

 

[ITTOG]

Wow, I didn't know it was so high. It is amazing how big general Sherman is. I will have to go if I am ever in CA again.

Sent from my Pixel 5 using Tapatalk

 

[PetitFrereArmada]

King's Canyon NP

 

[PetitFrereArmada]

Yosemite National Park.
Unfortunately, I did not know I needed a reservation to get into Yosemite NP to visit the park. But I found out that you can ask for a pass and drive through the park. Being that I drove all the way from Texas to visit this park, I had to take any option available to be able to still visit the park. The only option I had was driving through. So, I went to the gate and said I wanted to drive to Tioga Pass, which is at the East end of the park. So, I was given a yellow temporal pass and given 3 hours to complete the drive. The Rangers told me to drive straight with no stops except if I needed to use the restroom. Besides, the road through the park really gives you no access to all the fine sites Yosemite has to offer. Except you really get off the road and take a turn to go to one of the attraction sites.
It was 7:30am when I took my pass. Almost everybody was still asleep in the park. Just a few cars here and there and one or two people walking around. I took the nice drive through the park enjoying the views until the exit. It took me 2 hours 15 minutes with no traffic.
Pass through pass needed to drive through the park if you do not have a reservation

I spent some time at Tioga Pass and visited a few things. Then went back to the entrance of the park and told them I want to get back to Fresno. They gave me another yellow temporal pass. This time the park was packed! It was about 2pm. There was a lot of traffic on the road, so it was a slower drive. Then when I got to the area where the road turns to go to the Yosemite village, the traffic there was terrible. Bumper to bumper. It looked like a real rush hour traffic. And this was a Tuesday. I can just imagine how much traffic will be there on the weekend. Well, driving through the park, I was not affected by the traffic. So, I made my turn and continued my drive all the way to the exit of the park.
Tioga Pass entrance into the park

One of the most iconic views in Yosemite

The longest tunnel in the park. It was a nice drive seeing the light at the end of the tunnel

Tufa towers at mono lake

 

[Martinjmpr]

Sounds like a great trip! I like off road "expeditions" as much as anyone else here but a good old fashioned road trip is also fun to see. With gas prices the way they are, you picked the perfect vehicle for this one.

Only thing better would have been a motorcycle but that comes with its own issues.

I know it's pedantic, but I always at US 50 being called the "Loneliest Road in America." If by that they mean the fewest inhabited places, it's not, by a long shot. There is no place along US 50 where the gas stations are more than 100 miles apart.

The longest stretch of 50 between towns is about 77 miles (Eureka to Ely.)

The real "loneliest road in America" (outside of Alaska, that is) would be US 6 in Nevada. The longest stretch between towns on US 6 is more than double that of US 50: A whopping 169 miles between Ely and Tonopah with not a single town or gas station along the way.

As a side note, before it was truncated (shortened) to end at Bishop, CA in 1964, US 6 (AKA the Grand Army of the Republic highway) was the longest numbered road in the US, running from Cape Cod in Massachusetts, diagonally across the country to end at Long Beach, CA, an incredible 3,625 miles from end to end.

 

[PetitFrereArmada]

Sounds like a great trip! I like off road "expeditions" as much as anyone else here but a good old fashioned road trip is also fun to see. With gas prices the way they are, you picked the perfect vehicle for this one.

Only thing better would have been a motorcycle but that comes with its own issues.

I know it's pedantic, but I always at US 50 being called the "Loneliest Road in America." If by that they mean the fewest inhabited places, it's not, by a long shot. There is no place along US 50 where the gas stations are more than 100 miles apart.

The longest stretch of 50 between towns is about 77 miles (Eureka to Ely.)

The real "loneliest road in America" (outside of Alaska, that is) would be US 6 in Nevada. The longest stretch between towns on US 6 is more than double that of US 50: A whopping 169 miles between Ely and Tonopah with not a single town or gas station along the way.

As a side note, before it was truncated (shortened) to end at Bishop, CA in 1964, US 6 (AKA the Grand Army of the Republic highway) was the longest numbered road in the US, running from Cape Cod in Massachusetts, diagonally across the country to end at Long Beach, CA, an incredible 3,625 miles from end to end.

Thanks for the compliment about the trip. You are so correct that with gas prices soaring I have the perfect vehicle for such a very long trip. I am really happy I am doing this trip with my Hybrid. It is really good on gas I cannot emphasize it enough. Ever since I got to Nevada and California, gas prices have been $4 to $6. Any other car would be costing a lot for gas. But with this Hybrid and the fact that I hypermile while in town, I do pretty good. I do bad on the highway when I decide to go fast to keep up with traffic.

You made a good point about US 50 being considered the "Loneliest Road in America". It has become so popular that many people visit it too often that I don't think it is really the Loneliest Road.

It would be interesting to drive on that US 6 that you mentioned here in Nevada. Nice history too you shared about it. One definitely learns something new everyday.

 

[PetitFrereArmada]

Yesterday on my drive from Fresno to Carson City, I used US 50 and was surprised at the smoke that was in the forest. I guess they still have an active fire going on. It was smelling bad. Then I came across a helicopter carrying water from a river nearby to help extinguish some of the fire.

 

[PetitFrereArmada]

I finally made it to Lake Tahoe and went today to drive the full length around Lake Tahoe. I just came back and what a drive it was. A very long but interesting one. South of Lake Tahoe is definitely the most touristic area to visit for anyone who wanted to stay in a particular area. But if someone was more interested in the nude beach, then stay on East Lake Tahoe.

North Lake Taboe and South Lake Tahoe are close when it comes to which is more touristic and fun to stay at. But I personally think South Lake Tahoe is better. Well, no matter where you choose to stay, the nude beach is a great attraction and just halfway between North and South Lake Tahoe.

Let me share some of my pictures from my round trip around Lake Tahoe today.

First stop, Inspiration Point with Emerald Lake in the back

Emerald Bay State Park

Close up of the island on Emerald Lake

Tarlac Historic site. Very good history

Squaw Olympic Valley. Home of the 1960 Winter Olympics.

 

[PetitFrereArmada]

Bonsai Rock. Very nice and secluded beach. Easy to get to but what a hike to get back up to your car.

Last but not the least, Secret Cove Nude Beach. Yes, it is a nude beach. I had to go see for myself. I hiked down the very steep pathway to the beach. Yup. I saw with my own eyes. Half of the people were completely nude. Yes, I saw it all. Mostly the women were naked and then some guys too. while some of the people had their bathing suit on. The notice warns you there is nudity. The beach is really hidden and secluded. All the Naked people there acted very normal. Nothing strange there. So, there you go. For anybody who wanted to visit an open free nude beach. You can visit this. It is free and all are welcome. Just get naked when you get to the beach and enjoy yourself. But the hike back to your car is very steep and very strenuous for someone who is not very fit.

 

[PetitFrereArmada]

Last Day in Carson City. First thing I did was go do my COVID test at CVS and Walgreens. I have made some changes to my road trip as I decided I wanted to drive to Canada and I need a negative COVID test to get across the border. CVS told me it would take 1 to 3 days to get my results. So, I decided to do it also with Walgreens who said I will get the results within 24 hours. So, I need these results before I drive into Canada on Monday.

For my last day, I just went driving around and taking pictures of some cool things I wanted to remember. I visited Reno, Virginia City and Dayton.

There is a air quality alert going on now in Carson City. The air quality is very poor now due to the wildfire smoke in the region. The city is planning to even close some parks and recreation facilities for the safety of the public and employees. The smoke level in the air is so high that they say even healthy people may experience symptoms, such as coughing, shortness of breath, chest pain, headaches and stinging eyes. So, check on this if you are planning to visit the area right now.
Look at the smoke in the background in these pictures I took today.
Cave Rock.

Highway 89 near Emerald Bay and Cascade Lake. Look at all that smoke in the air polluting the air and this is all people are breathing.

 

[PetitFrereArmada]

Other places I visited today...

If you are ever in the area, Virginia City is a very cool small town to visit. Do not miss it.

Take a walk on Main Street, Virginia City.

The Way It Was Museum

Historic Catholic Church

Reno was a really nice place to visit, though I did not do a lot there. Maybe I will be back someday in the future. Lake Tahoe is definitely a place I would love to visit again.

 

[riveroaks]

It's neat to follow along your road trips! I ran across your posts at a tribology forum then followed your links to your car model specific forum, then to here. Not that I'm stalking you but since I was also evaluating the Accord Hybrid and looking at road trips, you've provided great roadmaps, thanks!

 

[PetitFrereArmada]

I made some changes to my road trip because I decided I wanted to go to Canada. So, I did my covid test yesterday and got the results today; negative.

I drove today from Carson City to Idaho Falls, ID. From here I will go to Montana and then to Canada. I will take this opportunity to visit Glacier NP, Yellowstone NP and Grand Teton NP on my way back to Houston.

I hope to go into Canada on Monday.

But today was a long drive on the loneliest Road in America. The road does not really feel lonely, and some cars go very fast on that road. Same too for I-80 and I-84 where the posted speed limit is 80, but if you are doing below 90, it feels like you are slow. I stopped along the way to visit some attractions.

If you drive on this road, make time to stop here and grab something to eat to support these people. The burger I got was really good. I asked them if I could bring my own juice to drink and they said that was fine. I had the burger with pineapple juice. The burger was very good.

Next stop was Stokes Castle. This Castle is on the national register of historic places, but sad to see it has been abandoned and it does not seem like it will be completed any time soon. So, it is not a spectacular attraction. The inside is just hollow. Nothing inside. The castle itself has never been finished for a very long time.

 

[PetitFrereArmada]

I got to Montana with enough time to go visit Glacier NP. Driving on Going To The Sun road took my breath away. I have driven on numerous scenic and gorgeous roads around the country. This is definitely among the top 5. And trust me, I have been on all types of amazing roads all over the country.

You need a reservation to drive on Going To The Sun road. But if you do not have a reservation, you can get into the park before 6am or after 5pm. I got to the park after 5pm and the line was long. Rangers checked us in but did not ask for the reservation since it was after 5pm. But the park was really packed.

I drove up to Logan Pass and made a uturn to get back to the hotel before nightfall since I need to get some rest and be ready for my drive to Canada tomorrow.
St. Mary's Entrance

St. Mary's Village and East Entrance into Glacier NP

Logan Pass visitor center