Carry on my way westward son. Never been west of the Mississippi and my buddy keeps bothering me to go on a trip sometime soon. Wanted to see unique places and things that are not just San Fran or LA but also things you got to see in your life as well at least once. I don't have any parameters really so any recommendation of things along the path or the road plan is stupid?
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Also yes, forgot the Alamo is included, just forgot to move the marker there.
Wait. You're going to the Alamo? You should post your new route then, because San Antonio is like 500 miles out of the way of your current route.
Of course, if you're in texas, you have to go to the Alamo.
Be ready for the Alamo being quite small. Houston is a cool huge city. Lots of big museums. Very rich. Hot. Lots of Chinese food.
I'm not too hyped for Houston tbh, probably visit Galveston instead honestly. I'm open to anything you guys know might be interesting though.
I don't know what you like, but if you have time I consider the Sonoran Desert in southern Arizona to be very beautiful. You'll get good sunsets and sunrises if that's of interest. Also, Saguaro.
Look for Bisbee or Tucson or something if that's of interest.
The problem is it takes me too much out of the way if I want to go to Colorado and check out the Rockies. Would be cool if it was reasonable though. Maybe just an I-10/I-8 run one day.
I've driven all over the country.
Good recommendation, southern AZ is very nice in the winter. Tucson is a shithole but the Saguaro National Park is cool and there's a lot of good hiking around Phoenix honestly. Only a couple hours south of the Grand Canyon. And Sedona is also very nice.
If you've been to any beaches in the south you've been Galveston but Galveston is shittier. Texas sucks. There's not a lot of attractions, it takes forever to get around, it's flat as frick, the drivers suck, yet people there think its the promised land.
This will be difficult in the winter in the same way that the sierras in CA will and so will Yellowstone. Completely wrong season. Some passes close, a lot of the good hiking will be snowbound, unless you're going to ski/snowboard, Colorado in the winter is expensive and a pain. The rockies are worth it but there's a time for winter sports there and a time to do everything else.
I definitely suggest spending more time in the southwest and less time in the colder parts of the country. Winter is actually a very nice time to visit these parks in UT/AZ because they're less crowded, they are very pretty with light snow, but usually the snow isn't so heavy you can't hike around. I'd maybe suggest Mesa Verde and Durango, the snowdown festival is coming up.
That side of NV is great if you like ghost towns... It's a good alternative to 395 if there's snow on 395. I'd make that determination when you get closer though. A LOT of the roads through the sierra will be closed from November to June except 88, 50 and I-80. Mono Lake is kind of cool.
>I don't understand the aversion to Los Angeles and San Francisco.
It's also not really more libhomosexual than Seattle or Oregon is. OP seems to want to avoid cities in general which might work if he focuses on the southwest.
I find the rockies more impressive, they're more expansive, the sierra is steep and narrow.
This is probably a year out or so, timing could be worked out to make road closures not pain but also not have the SW just be heat death.
Also OP here, Yeah, I was mainly interested in the historical parts of Texas honestly knowing Texas is bland as shit. Doesn't even have that mid-western "We have the largest X in the world" thing going on.
here
Go in October, like this time of year, latter part of the month. Best time of the year to travel. South/Southwest cools off without being full on winter, annoying families with kids are absent since they're in school which also makes things like hotels cheaper. About the latest you can really enjoy Yellowstone too before it gets too snowy/freezing.
The biggest problem for yall anyway is that Google Maps only has so many possible trip adjustments and destinations. So for example, I probably would just take the 101 all the way down to SF but I can't show that on Google Maps because I've run out of adjustment nodes. But going to Colorado would also include southern Utah. The main thing with Colorado is seeing the Rockies as well as meeting up with a cousin of mine who lives in Denver.
This. I would also take the northern route first as once you hit the Rockies up through Washington there is a chance of snow and difficult conditions. Make sure you have good tires or chains and experience driving in that. I heard it is less bad down south and through East from LA.
If you're going after November 1st, Tioga Pass in Yosemite will likely be closed. You won't be able to take that back road. You'll have to reconfigure your route.
Also, Fall and Winter aren't good times to do the Pacific Northwest. Seattle and Portland are rainy, dark and cold all winter. I'd probably skip that part of the trip. I love Montana in the summer, but unless you have a 4 wheel drive and chains, I might skip a winter trip through there too.
As an alternative, Utah is awesome in the winter. Zion and especially Arches are both amazing in the winter. Park city is rad. Snow Canyon State Park is great in the winter too. I'd also add some California destinations if this is a fall/winter trip. That's a really good time to do the coast. It would be a lot nicer in Socal than in Washington or Oregon.
As a caligay
>you decided to drive up the west side of nevada, which is a complete desert and there's absolutely nothing to see
>missing death valley, the lowest point in the USA, and not seeing the oasis in the middle of the desert
>missing sequoia national park, with the biggest trees in the world. And some of the tallest
>missing yosemite which is the top 3 national parks in the US
>missing Los Angeles, the largest city in the USA
>San Francisco, and not seeing the iconic golden gate
>missing Hearst Castle, practically the only castle in the united states. I would cut this personally (too out of the way)
>missing the iconic 101 coastal drive
Idk if you're stopping at Lassen Volcanic National Park, which is very cool. They have volcanic caves where you can walk underground.
I don't understand the aversion to Los Angeles and San Francisco. You have never been there, and they are places you need to see in your life at least once.
What I would change:
Drive through death valley
Stop 2-3 days in Los Angeles, there's a lot to see there. Beverly hills / Rodeo drive, Pasadena, Getty museum, universal studios
Drive up I-5 and stop at Sequoia and Yosemite.
Detour to SF. You can cut through, or stay for 1-2 days. Cut out Tahoe
Drive across the golden gate and visit Sausalito. Then go to Napa valley and see wine country.
Drive up I-5 to Lassen National Forest.
I second the caligay mostly, either stick to the coast all the way up from LA or go up the west side of the Sierras to catch Yosemite before going to SF and up to Redwoods, the southern Oregon coast I think is the most scenic part of the actual coast also.
about the detour to Colorado, the Colorado Rockies aren't that great really. The Sierras and Cascades are better imo. and Glacier in Montana is probably the best mountain scenery I've seen in the US. Tetons ain't bad also.
though if you're mostly just driving through I can see the appeal of the much higher roads and passes in Colorado, and even a couple mountains you can drive all the way to the top of.
though I think Colorado is skippable, Southern Utah isn't, all the national parks there are spectacular. though it could be hellish in summer, never been then
If summer maybe skip Colorado and Utah for now and do a separate trip one day in winter to check out southern Utah and also do some skiing.
and if you end up anywhere near it don't miss Carlsbad Caverns, very impressive
No idea hy SighSee loves Denver so much