Vacation time in late OCT, leaving Pensacola area, looking for "where to" advice....

[Bushmaster6]

Vacation time in late OCT, leaving Pensacola area, looking for "where to" advice....

as the title says, I have leave planned for late OCT (figure approximately 16-31, give or take a few days) and looking for ideas on "where to go".. basic idea is a road trip somewhere(s) (could be multiple stops) with a mix of hotels, cabin, and tent camping, hopefully a bit of backcountry driving and scenery, testing out my skills on new DSLR, hiking, camp cooking, maybe some leaf-peeping, etc...

contributing factors:

• vehicle available: 93 FZJ80 and an M416 trailer that I could register in time to go
• kids: one 2.5 year old boy, one 3 month old girl
• I have family in TX (Austin and Dallas) and parents are in Colorado Springs (potential stop over or destination points)

I've lived/travelled in CO before and would LOVE to get there, but wondering if the travel time to get there is an eliminator (24+ hours on the road, each way)... which I could break up with stays in TX. Unfortunately, by late OCT all the things to see (at elevation) will likely be snowed in.
Years ago I did some car camping in the Pisgah Nat'l Forest and enjoyed it, but not sure about weather there that time of year...

I'm really a blank slate right now and would like to start some more serious prepping...

ideas are welcome!:elkgrin:

 

[Martinjmpr]

New Mexico should be very nice that time of year, also Southern AZ.

If you feel like going all the way to SoCal, how about this:

http://www.explorerforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=314412

Truckhaven, near the Salton Sea. I'm thinking of going from CO.

Oct 22-23.

 

[Bushmaster6]

thanks

thanks MJ..

for sure, the true southwest would be enticing, and I sort of expected some answers pointing me in that direction.. I was telling my wife last night that I hoped to get some ideas out of this and pointed out that there's such a thing as a "wander the west" forum, and no such thing as a "wander the east" forum, for good reason.. the bulk of the threads on this forum are westerly-biased.. I know why, and agree why, but it's just a LOOONG drive to plan with two young kinder in the back seat..

that said, i wouldn't rule it out, perhaps the Grand Canyon, Big Bend, Palo Duro..

anyone/anywhere else? :sombrero:

 

[AxeAngel]

Come up to Pisgah, lots of things to do in october and the weather shouldnt be oppressive. good timing to do a drive on the blue ridge parkway with fall foliage...

-Sam

 

[Martinjmpr]

pointed out that there's such a thing as a "wander the west" forum, and no such thing as a "wander the east" forum, for good reason.. the bulk of the threads on this forum are westerly-biased.. I know why, and agree why, but it's just a LOOONG drive to plan with two young kinder in the back seat..

I don't think it's about a "westerly bias", I think it's more practical than that: There just isn't that much public land East of the Mississippi that's explorable by off-road vehicle. You are either traveling on paved or well graded dirt roads that any vehicle can traverse, or you're on foot - there's very little "in between" area that is accessible by a 4x4 but not by an ordinary car.

There's also the issue of crowds and cities - we have less of both out West. Since many of us go "overlanding" to get away from cities and crowds, we're naturally drawn to the West.

 

[fishEH]

Moab

 

[LACamper]

The kids are still a little young for New Orleans (Children's museum is nice though). Give them a few years to be able to appreciate the sights. They are old enough to do Global Wildlife (I12 near Hammond, LA) if you're passing through. Very nice. My daughter loved hand feeding the giraffe. They just delivered some baby Nalgai a few days ago. Spend the extra bucks and do the pinzgauer tour.

We went up to Arkansas a few years ago just to see what was there. We stayed in Petit Jean State Park. Incredible. Great trails, 200' waterfall, decent fishing, incredible views. Its about an hour NW of Little Rock near Morrilton. Oh, and if you time it right Conway has the Toad Suck Festival.

 

[Bushmaster6]

I don't think it's about a "westerly bias", .

agreed, and my comment wasn't intended as accusatory.. perhaps better phrased as "Western Centric", for all the same reasons you posted.. heck, I'M western biased (I miss living in Colorado!)

 

[Bushmaster6]

We went up to Arkansas a few years ago just to see what was there. We stayed in Petit Jean State Park. Incredible. Great trails, 200' waterfall, decent fishing, incredible views. Its about an hour NW of Little Rock near Morrilton. Oh, and if you time it right Conway has the Toad Suck Festival.

thanks for the input..

I'm leaning toward a more road-trip, car camping trip, occassional hotel/cabin trip route that would take us up to Pisgah/Nantahala/Great Smokies and perhaps include camping along the Blue Ridge Pkway.. my concern at this point is that late OCT may be too late and we'd miss the beste weather/leaves