PJ30
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Re: 4+ months in the West
padredw wrote: Austin If you are going to be in this part of Texas in April, you have a wonderful opportunity to visit Fredericksburg to see the Bluebonnets. Maybe you have a good reason to visit Austin, and there are many good possibilities for things to see there. On the other hand, it is one of my most dreaded cities to drive through, especially with an RV. In fact, I go far out of my way to avoid it on my visits to the Hill Country of Texas. April is also a great time to visit "our part" of Texas--northeast around Tyler, Longview, Nacogdoches. We have some really nice state parks such as Tyler, Caddo, and Daingerfield--just to name a few. You can make a visit to Texas a highlight of your trip and not just a necessary drive--and a long one at that. I have a good bit of experience with your route from Augusta to Texas, so let me know if you have any questions about a specific area or stop along the way. Many thanks, we love State Parks so they're definitely on the Can we include these? list :) Austin - to be truthful its more a case of a ranch o/s Austin actually... But I do hear there's a supermarket that sells decent espresso coffee :))547Views0likes0CommentsRe: 4+ months in the West
Exciting! 2nd draft legs 1 - 2 Augusta to Vancouver done: 71 days, 7,130 miles Leg 1 Augusta to San Fran via Athens, Montgomery, Selma, New Orleans, Austin, Albuquerque, Zion NP, Bryce Canyon NP, San Francisco; Leg 2: SF to Vancouver via Yosemite NP, Las Vegas, Grand Canyon NP, Arches NP, Boulder, Colorado, Black Hills NP, Yellowstone, Calgary and Western Canada, Vancouver. Exactly 71 days left for our return to Augusta by end August. Need a minimum of 36 days (at our pace) so about 5 weeks free to extend stays / include new places.. :)) Let's hope the RV is in good shape by the end - it's up for sale then! Thanks for all contributions - received and to come Paul547Views0likes0CommentsRe: 4+ months in the West
mkl654321 wrote: Yosemite in spring is fantastic. The waterfalls are at their peak then--in good snow years, which it seems will include the current season, April and June are great as well. Early April can be chilly. The confusion about snow and ice is that heavy winter snowfall can affect the opening dates of campgrounds on the Tioga Road and the Glacier Point road, which when they are open, serve as overflow campgrounds for the Valley and are beautiful destinations in their own right. Also, if Tioga Pass isn't open (Memorial Day is the usual target date), park access from the east isn't possible. The other access roads are at much lower elevations and are clear year-round. Hwy 140 is the easiest. I don't know if you have much of a shot at finding a campsite in the Valley this late in the game, but try the private campgrounds just outside the Valley on Hwy 140. There are also a couple of small, primitive Forest Service campgrounds along the Merced river (also on 140) that are rarely booked up, even though they are pretty close to the Park. Thanks that clarifies547Views0likes0CommentsRe: 4+ months in the West
4runnerguy wrote: PJ30 wrote: Our planning is at the stage of do we go clockwise to Seattle from San F or anti-clockwise? (For personal reasons we need to do San F by late April/mid-May. While there may be other reasons to go the opposite direction, I've always found that heading south along the coast is best. You're on the ocean side of the highway and it's much easier to get into the scenic pull offs along the way. You may find yourself doing something other than a loop (maybe a figure 8?) as some places (like Rocky Mountain, Glacier, Yellowstone, Mt. Rainer and Yosemite) are best done in June or later, while other places like Zion, Arches, Big Bend(?) are definitely better in the mid to late spring (think April). Can get pretty hot in June and July in So. Utah. Maybe if you have to be in SF April/May, do the Utah parks on the way out to SF, then turn back, do the Grand Canyon, then north to CO, up through WY and MT, over to Seattle and the coast, then south along the coast at least all the way through OR. Head inland somewhere in CA and visit Yosemite, Mt. St. Helens, Redwoods, Crater Lake (OR), etc. Up to Tahoe, back across UT and CO and head back to GA. Thanks! We had almost come to the 8 shape ourselves albeit for different reasons and in a different direction. Having driven the Skyline and Blue ridgeway in Fall the access to pull offs sounds a brilliant idea! I will plug those changes into our route planner.547Views0likes0CommentsRe: 4+ months in the West
PJ30 wrote: PJ30 wrote: starcraft69 wrote: PJ30 wrote: starcraft69 wrote: You can go into Yosemite before June if interning from the west slope. Aril and May are some of the best months for the falls. With that said they are all booked up for those month's already. Take it from someone in CA you do not need to wait till June. If that was the case why are they booked solid???????? You can get into Yosemite year round from the west slope. I don't understand why anyone would say you cant get in till may, I have been to Yosemite each month of the year over my life time. Thanks for all replies. I wonder if the difference of opinion has anything to do with some commenting on access roads rather than the campgrounds per se? Yesterday on the NPS site it said some campgrounds would not be open until June Some C/G wont open till later but valley C/G are open even now I was looking to go in april for two days but they are booked the days I need look at weekdays in may you might get one. There is a nice RV park just outside the park on HWY 140 that you could probably get into if you book now. I think the difference in opinion is one who lives here and one who doesn't. I would not have the best info for the east coast as I live here on the west. Anyway have fun and be safe live, love, laugh Thanks! Yes we're not snobbish about staying in CGs outside the NPs AND we prefer some creature comforts anyway - 7 months wild camping in Southern Africa was quite enough for a while :) Also we found in Florida keys last autumn (November) that although the State Parks were very busy as warned by so many (Oh, you'll never get a site - they book up 2 years in advance etc) we did manage to find a site every night turning up without a reservation MID-WEEK. Have yet to get a handle on what other public land is near Yosemite...242Views0likes0CommentsRe: 4+ months in the West
PJ30 wrote: starcraft69 wrote: PJ30 wrote: starcraft69 wrote: You can go into Yosemite before June if interning from the west slope. Aril and May are some of the best months for the falls. With that said they are all booked up for those month's already. Take it from someone in CA you do not need to wait till June. If that was the case why are they booked solid???????? You can get into Yosemite year round from the west slope. I don't understand why anyone would say you cant get in till may, I have been to Yosemite each month of the year over my life time. Thanks for all replies. I wonder if the difference of opinion has anything to do with some commenting on access roads rather than the campgrounds per se? Yesterday on the NPS site it said some campgrounds would not be open until June Some C/G wont open till later but valley C/G are open even now I was looking to go in april for two days but they are booked the days I need look at weekdays in may you might get one. There is a nice RV park just outside the park on HWY 140 that you could probably get into if you book now. I think the difference in opinion is one who lives here and one who doesn't. I would not have the best info for the east coast as I live here on the west. Anyway have fun and be safe live, love, laugh Thanks! Yes we're not snobbish about staying in CGs outside the NPs AND we prefer some creature comforts anyway - 7 months wild camping in Southern Africa was quite enough for a while :)242Views0likes0CommentsRe: 4+ months in the West
4runnerguy wrote: OP - You seem to have questions about snow in Yosemite in June, but then mention other destinations in the west, some of which will also be affected by snow (e.g. Colorado). Are you going to Yellowstone or Glacier? Are you planning time at desert parks like Zion and Arches? Could you make a short list of your main destinations for us? That might make it easier to get an overall view of your plans. Thanks. Whilst we have some Big Names on the list - Grand Canyon, Zion, Bryce, Arches, Yosemite, Oregon Coast, Seattle, Vancouver and around, Mr Rainer, Olympic, Glacier, Yellowstone, Grand Teton, Badlands, Black Canyon, Rocky Mt, Hot Springs - we know we are ignorant and therefore expect to find people en route who will say "Oh you must go to ____" and off we will go. So compared to many we will have a looseish, incomplete itinerary when we set off. Our planning is at the stage of do we go clockwise to Seattle from San F or anti-clockwise? (For personal reasons we need to do San F by late April/mid-May.242Views0likes0CommentsRe: 4+ months in the West
starcraft69 wrote: PJ30 wrote: starcraft69 wrote: You can go into Yosemite before June if interning from the west slope. Aril and May are some of the best months for the falls. With that said they are all booked up for those month's already. Take it from someone in CA you do not need to wait till June. If that was the case why are they booked solid???????? You can get into Yosemite year round from the west slope. I don't understand why anyone would say you cant get in till may, I have been to Yosemite each month of the year over my life time. Thanks for all replies. I wonder if the difference of opinion has anything to do with some commenting on access roads rather than the campgrounds per se? Yesterday on the NPS site it said some campgrounds would not be open until June Some C/G wont open till later but valley C/G are open even now I was looking to go in april for two days but they are booked the days I need look at weekdays in may you might get one. There is a nice RV park just outside the park on HWY 140 that you could probably get into if you book now. I think the difference in opinion is one who lives here and one who doesn't. I would not have the best info for the east coast as I live here on the west. Anyway have fun and be safe live, love, laugh Thanks!242Views0likes0Comments
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