2 Ozzy tourists on the loose

Sorry about the comment then. It's just a lot of people ask a question and then never reply back. The movie Paul is about two British tourist who rent a motorhome in San Diego and travel the same route you're talking about. Only they find an alien (Paul) who has escaped from Area 51. They don't go to Mt Rushmore, but they do end up in Wyoming.

It's true you are rolling the dice even if you were aiming for mid June for the Rockies north and for high altitude country and the Sierras(Yosemite). Right now the winter is shaping up to be snowy and cold with 2000+ low temp/snow records last week and a 1000+ the week before. But of course weather being what it is, it could be warm and pleasant by March but the odds are against it.

BK

Actually not a 1 hit wonder at all. I do shift work & was waiting to see what other answers may be forth coming before replying. We will be back in LA from the cruise on 21 March 2014 , From what I have read so far this may still be too early to enjoy good weather for sightseeing around the Rockies . The Head of Finances is now looking at other idea's ,maybe a trip up the coast to the Canadian border then back down the west side of the Rockies checking out the wineries etc .


We have never heard of the movie "Paul ", it may have another name in Oz. Red ruby slippers from the Wizard of Oz ,well the Financial director has a few pairs of them so I don't think we need any more at the present time.

Cheers ,

Tom in Oz.

When will you be starting your trip in the U.S.? March is pretty early for any camping in the Rockies. We don't de-winterize our camper until May 1. I've seen it -20F in March in Wyoming and the Black Hills, and April is often our snowiest month -- when we get the gigantic blizzards, right up to the the end of the month. While it is the tail end of winter and April has some nice days, it's also the least predictable month weather-wise with lots of nasty, windy, cold and wet days. Two years ago we couldn't get into any NFS campgrounds in the Big Horn Mountains until late June!

One hit wonder? Creates a new identity, asks one question, and then never comes back?

Just out of curiosity, is your road trip based on the movie Paul?

agesilaus wrote:

If you prefer mountain and tree type parks, I'd go across to Death Valley then north from there to King's Canyon/Sequoia NP and North to the west entrance of Yosemite NP. I personally think Yosemite is the crown jewel of the park system. There most likely will still be snow on the ground there and the east side of the park will probably be closed.
BK

Just to clarify a little for your trip planning if you take this advice (and it's good advice), if you go across Death Valley from Vegas you're going to need to go South in order to go North. So if you're looking at a map once you cross Death Valley you'll need to go South on 395 probably to 58, but you can do 178 too. Then you take one of those roads west over to 99. Then you can go north on 99 and access Kings Canyon, Sequoia, and Yosemite. Neither Kings Canyon or Sequoia can be accessed by car any time of year from the east side, and the road into Yosemite will likely still be closed in March from the east side too.

3 weeks sounds ok to me. If you prefer RV over motel, I see nothing in your destinations that would preclude taking an RV. Enjoy the trip.

I suspect your Area 51 trip will be a let down unless you enjoy looking at a fence in the desert.

As for the rest of your trip I'd say it's a bit too much for three weeks. It's a two day drive from Vegas to Denver and another 2 days up to Rushmore. Then 2 more days out to the west coast for example. And that's if the weather cooperates.

You'd spend most of the time driving. At Las Vegas you are at the entrance of some of the most spectacular desert redrock landscape in the world. The Four Corners area has a lot of major national parks: Grand Canyon, Bryce Canyon, Zion, Canyonlands and Capital Reef are the major parks. And there are probably 20 to 30 smaller national and state parks in the same general area. And you are very near Death Valley NP at Vegas. And March is a great time to visit DV, with luck they will have had some winter rain and the wild flowers would be blooming.

March is a little early for more northern parks like Rushmore (not that there is anything much to do there), Rocky Mountains National Park, outside Denver, will probably be at least party snowed in that early in the year. And you have a good chance of getting snow storms going across Colorado, and on mountain roads at that, and up in South Dakota. Early July is usually considered the safest early date at those parks.

If you prefer mountain and tree type parks, I'd go across to Death Valley then north from there to King's Canyon/Sequoia NP and North to the west entrance of Yosemite NP. I personally think Yosemite is the crown jewel of the park system. There most likely will still be snow on the ground there and the east side of the park will probably be closed. You could continue north to Lassen Volcanic park and then across to Highway 101 on the coast at Redwood City where most of the giant Redwood parks are found. Depending on time you could explore up the Oregon coast on 101 or head south on 101 down to San Francisco and south back to LA.

Just to give you an idea of the size of the American West. It would take you all day to drive south to north in Death Valley if you stop and walk out to some of the viewpoints. Like Badwater. It is a very big place: 13500 sq km almost the size of holland, and the other major parks aren't that much smaller.

BK

I notice Kansas isn't on the itinerary...been there, done that, got the ruby slippers- right? :B