places to go

“Hello all First time posting been lurking for a while, learning some interesting stuff.

I'm from the north east side of Detroit, Michigan and I am going to be taking the months of Sept. and Oct. off to do a road trip across the USA to see some of the National Parks and do some car camping and day hiking in them.

What I'm lookiing for is suggestions on my list.
Badlands
Theodore Roosevelt
Yellowstone
Grand Tetons
Glacier
Olympic
down the coast to Ca.
Yosemite
Kings Canyon
Death Valley
Joshua Tree
Great Basin
White Sands
Guadalupe Mtns
Big Bend

As you can see too many places and not enough time. After looking at my list. Some I should see that are not on my list or some that should not be on the list???


day hiker”

“The Big Bend is a majestic place. I would suggest that you plan on going to the basin. It is a 6 mile hike gaining about 2500 feet of elevation to the South Rim. A sunrise overlooking the desert is impessive.

If you want a good meal and a cold beer after the hike, I would suggest the La Kiva in Study Butte on the west bank of Terlingua Creek.

Have fun.”

“I'd pass by White Sands on the way to the Gila Wilderness, if I were you.”

“I've been to the majority of those places as a kid and you can't go wrong with any of them.

Just a bit of a warning though. In my opinion trying to see as many of them as possible is a bad thing. All you will get is a brief taste and not the full experience. Just pick an area of the country and spend about a week in each location and plan to get into the backcountry in a couple of different parts of each place. You know, give yourself time to really explore. For example the east and west sides of Glacier are completely different. If you only visit the East side you are missing half the experience.

A really cool trip would be to just drive out to the coast and back. If you have never experienced it before it is amazing watching the country change from plains to hills to mountains to coastline and then go back again and see it in reverse. Try to get off the highway and take some backroads too. Lots of interesting things and people to see in "flyover" country. So I guess my picks would be Badlands, Theodore Roosevelt, Yellowstone, Grand Tetons, Glacier and Olympic. Mix in a few national forests too. Also make it a point to visit the areas that recently burned, those that burned a few yaers ago and unburned areas. It's quite a stricking lesson in ecology.”

“Day Hiker, are you who I think you are? If so, welcome. If not, Welcome anyway!!”

“WHITE SANDS is a fun place to spend a few hours but is not really a place you can spend the night.

GUADALOUPE is awesome! You gotta do Guadaloupe Peak and Devils Hallway.

Now the BADLANDS is a place to visit for about three days or so. I could talk about this place for awhile! Gotta do Saddle Pass and the Castle Trail.The Door trail & Notch Trail is a fun place to play around too. If you camp in the Badlands I suggest staying at Sage Creek. It's free but there is no water. Buy your water outside the park. The water at the visitors Center is TERRIBLE!!!!!”

“Mr. Chili this is just the kind of feed back I am looking for. What trails to go on and where to get a cold beer afterwards.

Mr. Pathman I never heard of Gila Wilderness but with two negitive comments on White Sands, I'm going have to do some checking on this Gila Wilderness place.

Mr. Packmule I know exactly what you mean about not enough time in one place to get to know it. I have debated over that same issure for the last couple of months. There is so much to see that I want to see a little of everything, and then later on when I really know what I want to see I can go back and take my time. Also I am suppose to hook up with brother in Las Vegas and a sister in Texas.

There is nothing in stone of this trip if I find a place that I need more time in I will take it.

Mr. Dude I am so impressed about these Bad Lands the pitures are so cool.

Miss Smiley no I don't believe I've had the pleasure, but thanks for the welcome.

I am so geeked for this trip, all I do any more is look at maps and read up on all the National Parks. And make plans!!!!!!!!!!!!!


THANKS FOR ALL YOUR HELP”

“9/17/02 Leave home 9/8 Badlands, Bison in campground,
rained at night got stuck
in campground. couple from
Neb. pulled me out. Thanks
9/10/02 Mt. Rushmore, Needles Hwy.
Wind Cave, (Centineal trail
Elk bugling very cool)
Custer State Park
9/12/02 Grand Teton's, Lake
Solitude
9/15/02 Yellowstone, Heartlake
Trail
(ended up with blister on
both heels and toenail
lifted.
9/19/02 Gallatin Red Cliff Nat.
Forest, mid 20 degrees
had 1/4 inch of ice in
water bucket.
9/20/02 Glacier Big Sky Country,
It does look bigger?
9/21/02 Many Glacier,
9/23/02 Waterton, Hike in sandles
just about went over cliff
loss of traction.
9/25/02 North Cascades Brought new
boots ( Montrails)
9/27/02 Olimpic Hurrican Ridge,
Rialto Beach at sunset,
Hole in the Wall,
Tide Pools, Starfish
Hoi Rain forest (12 miles
feet sore.)
10/1/02 Redwoods,
10/2/02 Lassen volcanic, Lassen
Peak Trail, feet hurting.
10/3/02 Yosemite Brother David,
Cousin Jim hook up with me
10/4/02 Halfdome, toughest hike I
have ever done. Yes I
brought the tee shirt.
10/6/02 David and Jim go home. I
go to Kings Canyon.
10/8/02 Sequora, Big trees and
and great Stars.
10/10/02 Vegas, David, Brother
lives there. Hot showers,
good food, swimming pool.
10/13/02 Death Valley, Colors in
mountains amazing.
10/14/02 Hoover Dam, to many people
10/15/02 Grand Canyon South Rim
South Kalibab Trail
10/16/02 Phoenix, Janet, cousin
10/17/02 Sedona Red Mountains and
Blue Sky.
10/18/02 New Mexico, Nephew in
Mountain Bike Race.
10/20/02 Carlsbad Caverns, By far
the nicest caves I been in
10/20/02 Guadalupe Mountains
Guadalupe Peak, Devils
Hall, Mckittrick Trail,
Nikkle Ranch (lunch so
good I missed my afternoon
hike, because I was
napping.
10/26/02 Big Bend, Rain
10/27/02 Fort Worth, Sister Kate
10/31/02 Alabama, First Mosquito
11/1/02 Great Smokey Mountains,
Nephew, Pat in colledge.
11/2/02 Concord NC Sister Lorraine
11/6/02 Cape Hatteras
11/8/02 Home

19 National Parks
25 States
13000 Miles
35 Rolls of Film
Lots of Memories and ever more smiles.

LIFE IS GOOD”

“wow, you get around.”

“Lotsa places! You saw some of my favorite Black Hills/Badlands stuff. I take it you were camping at Sage Creek?

I love Wind Cave N'tl park. :-)”

“Yes it was a trip of a life time, I
will never get that much time off of work again.

The Badlands are amazing, the Bison in the Sage Creek Campground
made me nervous, I slept in the truck that night.

The section of the Centineal Trail
that I did had markers staked in the ground but the there was not a path to follow. Must not get a lot of traffic, did not see any one else out there, just me and the animals.”

“HA!! I camped out, course I had a friend with. Yes, bison were roaming all among the tents. hehehe

On the drive in there, I had to stop to let the bison pass by. They were right outside the Jeep window, right by me. Too cool!

What part of Centennial did ya do? I camped out overnight (my first overnight on the trail by myself) not far from where it started, near Norbeck Dam, or some such thing.

I didn't go far. Did a morning hike, observed the bison in the open, all by my lonesome... and then left.

Awesome place; I must get back!!

So how did you manage all the time off?

And did the overwhelming road trip leave ya more than ready to get home, or to get back out there?”

“Places to go
"Hello all First time posting been lurking for a while, learning some interesting stuff.

I'm from the north east side of Detroit, Michigan and I am going to be taking the months of Sept. and Oct. off to do a road trip across the USA to see some of the National Parks and do some car camping and day hiking in them.

What I'm lookiing for is suggestions on my list.
Badlands
Theodore Roosevelt
Yellowstone
Grand Tetons
Glacier
Olympic
down the coast to Ca.
Yosemite
Kings Canyon
Death Valley
Joshua Tree
Great Basin
White Sands
Guadalupe Mtns
Big Bend

As you can see too many places and not enough time. After looking at my list. Some I should see that are not on my list or some that should not be on the list???


day hiker"
day hiker
04:46:03 PM
08/10/02

"The Big Bend is a majestic place. I would suggest that you plan on going to the basin. It is a 6 mile hike gaining about 2500 feet of elevation to the South Rim. A sunrise overlooking the desert is impessive.

If you want a good meal and a cold beer after the hike, I would suggest the La Kiva in Study Butte on the west bank of Terlingua Creek.

Have fun."
chili36
05:36:57 PM
08/10/02

"I'd pass by White Sands on the way to the Gila Wilderness, if I were you."
Pathman
06:45:11 PM
08/10/02

"I've been to the majority of those places as a kid and you can't go wrong with any of them.

Just a bit of a warning though. In my opinion trying to see as many of them as possible is a bad thing. All you will get is a brief taste and not the full experience. Just pick an area of the country and spend about a week in each location and plan to get into the backcountry in a couple of different parts of each place. You know, give yourself time to really explore. For example the east and west sides of Glacier are completely different. If you only visit the East side you are missing half the experience.

A really cool trip would be to just drive out to the coast and back. If you have never experienced it before it is amazing watching the country change from plains to hills to mountains to coastline and then go back again and see it in reverse. Try to get off the highway and take some backroads too. Lots of interesting things and people to see in "flyover" country. So I guess my picks would be Badlands, Theodore Roosevelt, Yellowstone, Grand Tetons, Glacier and Olympic. Mix in a few national forests too. Also make it a point to visit the areas that recently burned, those that burned a few yaers ago and unburned areas. It's quite a stricking lesson in ecology."
humanpackmule
02:37:39 AM
08/11/02

"Day Hiker, are you who I think you are? If so, welcome. If not, Welcome anyway!!"
Smiley girl
08:27:57 AM
08/11/02

"WHITE SANDS is a fun place to spend a few hours but is not really a place you can spend the night.

GUADALOUPE is awesome! You gotta do Guadaloupe Peak and Devils Hallway.

Now the BADLANDS is a place to visit for about three days or so. I could talk about this place for awhile! Gotta do Saddle Pass and the Castle Trail.The Door trail & Notch Trail is a fun place to play around too. If you camp in the Badlands I suggest staying at Sage Creek. It's free but there is no water. Buy your water outside the park. The water at the visitors Center is TERRIBLE!!!!!"
walkindude
11:46:19 AM
08/11/02

"Mr. Chili this is just the kind of feed back I am looking for. What trails to go on and where to get a cold beer afterwards.

Mr. Pathman I never heard of Gila Wilderness but with two negitive comments on White Sands, I'm going have to do some checking on this Gila Wilderness place.

Mr. Packmule I know exactly what you mean about not enough time in one place to get to know it. I have debated over that same issure for the last couple of months. There is so much to see that I want to see a little of everything, and then later on when I really know what I want to see I can go back and take my time. Also I am suppose to hook up with brother in Las Vegas and a sister in Texas.

There is nothing in stone of this trip if I find a place that I need more time in I will take it.

Mr. Dude I am so impressed about these Bad Lands the pitures are so cool.

Miss Smiley no I don't believe I've had the pleasure, but thanks for the welcome.

I am so geeked for this trip, all I do any more is look at maps and read up on all the National Parks. And make plans!!!!!!!!!!!!!


THANKS FOR ALL YOUR HELP"
day hiker
09:27:20 PM
08/11/02

"9/17/02 Leave home 9/8 Badlands, Bison in campground,
rained at night got stuck
in campground. couple from
Neb. pulled me out. Thanks
9/10/02 Mt. Rushmore, Needles Hwy.
Wind Cave, (Centineal trail
Elk bugling very cool)
Custer State Park
9/12/02 Grand Teton's, Lake
Solitude
9/15/02 Yellowstone, Heartlake
Trail
(ended up with blister on
both heels and toenail
lifted.
9/19/02 Gallatin Red Cliff Nat.
Forest, mid 20 degrees
had 1/4 inch of ice in
water bucket.
9/20/02 Glacier Big Sky Country,
It does look bigger?
9/21/02 Many Glacier,
9/23/02 Waterton, Hike in sandles
just about went over cliff
loss of traction.
9/25/02 North Cascades Brought new
boots ( Montrails)
9/27/02 Olimpic Hurrican Ridge,
Rialto Beach at sunset,
Hole in the Wall,
Tide Pools, Starfish
Hoi Rain forest (12 miles
feet sore.)
10/1/02 Redwoods,
10/2/02 Lassen volcanic, Lassen
Peak Trail, feet hurting.
10/3/02 Yosemite Brother David,
Cousin Jim hook up with me
10/4/02 Halfdome, toughest hike I
have ever done. Yes I
brought the tee shirt.
10/6/02 David and Jim go home. I
go to Kings Canyon.
10/8/02 Sequora, Big trees and
and great Stars.
10/10/02 Vegas, David, Brother
lives there. Hot showers,
good food, swimming pool.
10/13/02 Death Valley, Colors in
mountains amazing.
10/14/02 Hoover Dam, to many people
10/15/02 Grand Canyon South Rim
South Kalibab Trail
10/16/02 Phoenix, Janet, cousin
10/17/02 Sedona Red Mountains and
Blue Sky.
10/18/02 New Mexico, Nephew in
Mountain Bike Race.
10/20/02 Carlsbad Caverns, By far
the nicest caves I been in
10/20/02 Guadalupe Mountains
Guadalupe Peak, Devils
Hall, Mckittrick Trail,
Nikkle Ranch (lunch so
good I missed my afternoon
hike, because I was
napping.
10/26/02 Big Bend, Rain
10/27/02 Fort Worth, Sister Kate
10/31/02 Alabama, First Mosquito
11/1/02 Great Smokey Mountains,
Nephew, Pat in colledge.
11/2/02 Concord NC Sister Lorraine
11/6/02 Cape Hatteras
11/8/02 Home

19 National Parks
25 States
13000 Miles
35 Rolls of Film
Lots of Memories and ever more smiles.

LIFE IS GOOD"
day hiker
07:05:04 PM
01/08/03

"wow, you get around."
biz
07:07:50 PM
01/08/03

"Lotsa places! You saw some of my favorite Black Hills/Badlands stuff. I take it you were camping at Sage Creek?

I love Wind Cave N'tl park. :-)"
lizs
07:20:30 PM
01/08/03

"Yes it was a trip of a life time, I
will never get that much time off of work again."


Actually,your employer should never get you to give so much of yer precious years.
Glad,you had a great road trip.Do it again soon.Life is short.”

“Wow... what a GREAT TRIP!

You Suck!

<SMILES>”

“Daaaaaauuuummmmmm!

Good for you!
Now that we have the Readers Digest condensed version of the trip report is there on in a pop-up picture book format for those with short attention spans?”