If you had a month...?

[dedmiston]

My wife and I have found ourselves in the unique (for us) situation of having the month of September free. Unbelievably, we have the time and the means to hit the road for roughly a month. We don't have firm boundaries on either end, so it could possibly stretch into five weeks.

So my question is...

If you had a month to wander throughout North America (USA and/or Canada), where would you go and what would you do?

Requirements:

* The start/end points are Southern California
* The goals are to see national parks, amusement parks, and things one doesn't see every day.
* We can't leave before 8/29 or return after 10/5.
* We're pulling a 44' fifth-wheel toy hauler. We're intrepid, but not stupid. We have made it into some tight places to get a beautiful spot, but I'd rather have a nice wide camp to pull into.
* We dry camp probably 80% of the time, so hookups are a welcome novelty for us. We love the freedom of boondocking though.
* We are fairly active and pre-retirement age.

So if life gifted you with 4-5 weeks with your lovely spouse and a couple of dogs, where would you go and what would you do?

[philh]

MI Upper Peninsula, specifically picture Rocks, Tahquamenon Falls, and Mackinac Island.

[Jayco-noslide]

Head for Glacier NP, maybe up to Canada's national parks, or not then follow US Rt. 89 south through YNP and Grand Teton and as far as time allows. Or the other way around. Countless national parks and various other mountain points of interest.

[Jebby14]

cedar point is the best amusement park in the world for thrill rides. plan more than a single day and spend the money for their fast passes. worth it. its only a day trip for me so I've been lucky enough to go many times.

[Deb_and_Ed_M]

If Cedar Point is on your list, a trip either up through Michigan (or down, depending on entry point) will take you through some spectacular scenery. Sleeping Bear Nat'l Lakeshore offers beautiful camping/hiking/biking; the Lelenau (Michigan's "pinky") area is scenic wine country with quaint little towns; Ludington State Park offers beach access on Lake Michigan which should still be relatively warm in Sept - and the drive through the Upper Peninsula is reminiscent of being in Alaska: beautiful, wild, remote.

Spetember on the west coast of the USA and Canada can be smokey due to forest fires - there's a website called "inciweb" I think, that shows where the fires are (and places to avoid if you enjoy seeing lovely vistas)

If you decide to nix Cedar Point - Ed and I followed the Pacific Ocean from N Cal to Oregon (if we had a month, we would have gone all the way to Canada), and that was a spectacular drive (and upwind from any fires)

[Crowe]

I'd head straight up to Banff and Jasper National Parks then mosey my way down through Yellowstone, Grand Teton, Custer State Park and the Badlands in SD. If you're willing to drive that far, I'd agree with PartyOfFive as the northeast is perfect that time of year.

[Optimistic_Para]

Probably not doable from SoCal, but was me, I'd go to Newfoundland to L'Anse aux Meadows, the place where the Norse landed in North America.

Plus, the fall colors will be fabulous throughout the Canadian Maritimes and New England, and the ocean ferry ride to Newfoundland would be an adventure all by itself.

l'anse aux meadows

[Dick_B]

Adventure Caravans tour of the Great Western Parks takes the entire month of September starting in St. George, UT.

[Toolguy5]

The Smokie Mountains are gorgeous in the fall. Lots to see and do there. If you like Country Music Nashville is right around the corner from the Smokies.

[PartyOf_Five]

Given where home is, I'd guess you want the opposite- mountains, fall colors, cooler temps for jacket bike riding. If suggest you roll Northeast, hitting national parks on your way to New England. Finding on how much you drive daily, I'd suggest 7-9 days max of 1 way driving, so you have time to decompress and relax, and time to return. Catch a bunch of small stuff, like was mentioned.
We like to keep moving so we just move slowly and make a circle, tweaking the plans if we're 'behind schedule'... oh well.

[zcookiemonstar]

What is the farthest place you ever wanted to go that you can drive your rig? Start there. Don't waste time with places close to home that you can do with weekend or even week long trips.
You say you like amusement parks Six Flags has one in St Louis (there is another Six Flags just north og Chicago too.) then on your way to Ohio Not worth a special trip from California but if you are a Elvis fan you could stop and see Graceland. When you are in Ohio I think they have the Rock and Roll hall of fame and the Footbal Hall of Fame. There is a lot of little things like that all over the country. When you decide on a main destination I am sure you will get a lot of feedback on the area and the route to and from. Four weeks is a long trip we we all know how fast it will go by.

[winnietrey]

Me, the allure would be in the freedom, sights are good, but one can not see everything. Pick out some that really interest you.

Me I would head east, till, I got tired of heading east, then I would swing north, till I got tired of heading north. I would then swing west, then back done to Cali south. We are much more go where the wind blows folks than planners

In 15 years of MH trips all over the Western US, it is our observation sometimes the big stuff, we think would be so great isn't, and the small stuff, we find by just exploring and being free to explore is

[ppine]

Sept is one the great on the road months. I would head to Utah and go to the lesser known Native American Sites and some of the famous ones like Canyon de Chelley, Chaco Canyon, Bandolier, Wapatki, Mesa Verde and Navajo NM.

I would head out for a couple of fall mountain sites like the Henry Mtns and the High Uintas. Maybe swing up to Royal Gorge, the Gros Ventre Mtns and Yellowstone, back down through the Sawtooths and Crater Lake.

[SidecarFlip]

Mfan wrote:
I think cedar point only operates on the weekends after labor day

That is correct. However there is camping very close by.

[navegator]

You might want to try for the Grand Canyon North rim, then to the valley of the God's that area, then East to the Arches with Mesa Verde then to Durango, Silverton, Teluride, Montrose and back down to Holbrook petrified forest Flagstaf and Sedona and Jerome, Prescott and then back home.

navegator

[Bobbo]

Last fall we spent 6 weeks wandering about the 4 corners area of AZ, UT, NM, and CO.

This fall we are going to spend 6 weeks wandering from ME, to the Canadian side of Niagra Falls.

(We are both retired so we DO have a month to wander, whenever we feel like it. We choose the spring, before schools let out, and fall, after the schools take up again.)