major road-trip w/ my 4 year old son - CA to LA and back

[telemike]

Howdy, y'all!

My 4 year old son Owen and I are about to embark on a journey to and from Baton Rouge, LA from CA next week, and we are seeking advice on things to do and see and places to camp, as well as things and places to avoid.

The plan is to leave around July 21, spend 7-10 days on the road, spend about the same amount of time in and around Baton Rouge, then drive home and meet up with mama and some friends on the East Side of the Sierra the weekend of August 13-15.

Undecided on our outbound route... I would like to visit friends in Santa Fe, NM, then go on to Austin, TX enroute to LA. Not sure if I want to go Hwy 50 across NV, and through southern UT and CO; or rather through Flagstaff, AZ and such.

Homeward bound I am planning to go up the Mississippi to St Louis, then head west across the plains to visit folks in central and northern, CO and then Moab and SLC, UT.

We are well equipped and experienced. (Newish F-150 supercab w/ old 4WC Fleet.) Owen has traveled a lot in his short life: AK to CO, CO to ID and back, CO to CA, and, most recently, 10 days of skiing and playing on the East Side of the Sierra.

We'll likely spend a lot of time going through public lands where we can camp for free or for cheap, but we also might hit a KOA or swanky RV park if we need to for showers, laundry, pool, etc. Public parks w/ playgrounds and rec centers w/ pools are also likely.

I've already gotten several suggestions from folks on the ski forums I'm active on, including: Berlin/Ichthyasaur SP and Lehmann Caves in NV; Tonto Natural Bridge and Meteor Crater, AZ; Kennecott Bingham Cyn Mine in UT; drive-in movies in TX; Graceland in Memphis, TN; Natchez Trace, MI;

 

[Barko1]

Got an air conditioner? It's 106 right now in Southern NM and I think near 100 in Denver. I'd find the route that stays at the highest elevations. Natchez Trace is nice but this time of year I think could be unbearable. I remember camping N of St Louis and at night it stayed above 80 with a similar humidity. I'd take a big fan

 

[ski3pin]

Telemike, the Lady and I are driving across Nevada on 50 this coming Saturday and have been watching the weather. Looks like (according to the 10 day forecast) the heat wave we will be contending with will be cooling off for you. Looks like you will have high 80's and low 90's between Eureka Nevada and Green River Utah. We enjoy that drive. Lehman Caves will be nice and cool. The campgrounds in Great Basin National Park are nice, especially the highest - Wheeler Peak Campground. Hickison Petroglyphs between Austin and Eureka is a nice short break to stretch the legs. Downtown Ely has a nice park right on 50 for a break and lunch. Outside of Ely, south on 50 and on a road to the east, is Cave Lake State Park. This can be a possible overnight area. Whatever you decide for a route, have a safe and great trip.

 

[dsrtrat]

If your 4 year old is going stir crazy when you get to St.Louis take him to the City Museum, he will have a great time and will burn off all that energy.

http://www.citymuseum.org/home.asp

You may have a hard time keeping up.
Go early around opening time and wear long pants for the slides and crawls. Trust me, he will have a much better time than at Graceland.

Dsrtrat

 

[Barko1]

When we went through Flagstaff last month we spent the night at Bonito NF Campground http://www.fs.fed.us/r3/coconino/recreation/peaks/bonito-camp.shtml
It's by Sunset Crater which is nice and at close to 8000'. Not far off I40, big but good location.

 

[telemike]

Nailing down a route. Not that it really matters, but I like to sorta have a plan... It's a bit ciruitous, and I might roll through a few of the same places twice on the way back. No matter.

Here's what I'm thinking eastbound:

Sonora Pass to Bridgeport/Mono Lake and on to Tonopah. 2 choices from there (3 if you count the ET Hwy): 376 to 50 to Ely, or 6 to Ely. I'll probably take one way out and the other home, unless I don't and take the ET Hwy instead. Ely to Beaver, UT and down to Bryce Canyon, Grand Staircase-Escalante, up to Capital Reef and back down through Natural Bridges, then east to southern CO. I want to see Telluride, Ouray, Silverton, Durango, Pagosa Springs, and all the major passes w/ monster avalanche paths I've read so much about. From there it's on to Santa Fe, NM, through Tucimcari to Texas. Texas? Hmm...Levelland to Abilene to Austin to Beaumont to Baton Rouge.

MapQuest shows approx. 2700 miles. wow

 

[telemike]

"simpler" route westbound

Baton Rouge to St. Louis via Memphis, then on through to Denver via KC. Visiting folks in Vail, CO and Moab, UT. Home through Ely and Tonapah.

My sister is planning on some time camping along Natchez Trace while I am visiting. Anything else cool along the Mississippi I oughta know about? Vicksburg is one place I'd like to see.

 

[Barko1]

The one time I tried to camp on the N. Trace all the spots were taken by Canadian snowbirds. Natchez has a nice path above the river and West of there, Frogmore, has an interesting tour of what was a slave plantation. Probably not the thing for a 4 year old though. Be nice to get out on the river

 

[telemike]

I'm hoping to get on the river. My old AAA maps show a few ferries on the Mississippi, so I'm sure we can go across back and forth it if we want to. I'd love to get on a ferry or barge or something that could take us upstream a ways and really see the river. How awesome would it be to take a full-on sternwheel river boat trip up the Mississippi?

I'm not averse to taking a guided tourist trip along the way. I'd rather not do some sorta big touristy thing, but I bet I could hire a small boat with a guide and get out in the world somewhere cool. I'd like to do some sorta day trip with a small outfitter on each end of the trip. We could go ww rafting, horseback riding, caving, swamp touring, you name it.

 

[telemike]

counting down the hours before we hit the road - packing up this afternoon

Had to have some last minute repairs done on the Fleet. The wood on the front edge of the camper bed rotted out and the screws pulled out. I'd noticed it was getting bad a few months ago, but after the last 10 day trip, I could tell it was toast. I think the kids were playing up there and finally did it in. I'm lucky my wife didn't fall through the bed onto the top of the truck. YIKES!

Anyway, good work by Sonora Mobile RV, and I'm ready to go. If you are in Tuolumne, Alpine, or Calaveras counties, call Brent. He comes to you, and he'll help you out. I think he had a much bigger job he could have been doing this morning, but he came here first to make sure Owen and I got on the road with a proper bed.

www.sonoramobilerv.com
209.770.0445 cell

Not to mention new brakes, new tires, and AC repair in the last 3 weeks.

I think we're ready to go....

 

[Barko1]

Good travels, keep us posted.

 

[brett13]

Ha. I read the thread title ("CA to LA and back") as someone who was driving from California to Los Angeles and was making a dig at LA by trying to imply California doesn't really include LA. Well, I laughed anyway.

 

[telemike]

checking in from Santa Fe - trip has been great so far - no time, so no details

next up, TX

 

[Barko1]

checking in from Santa Fe - trip has been great so far - no time, so no details

next up, TX



Kiss the mountains goodbye

 

[telemike]

done kissed the mtns goodbye - we never got beloew 4000' until we hit Texas, and it's all downhill from there

arrived in BR a few days ago - of course, 20 miles from my sister's place we got stuck for 4 hours in traffic from a big-rig wreck

no pics yet, because we've been too busy playing with my nephews

highlights along the way:

* Bryce Canyon - you'd think a kid that just spent 2 days in a truck wouldn't be all that into riding the shuttle bus, but that's what Owen wanted to do - 3 short hikes and many loops in the bus

* Bryce to Blanding was awesome - stops along the way to see rocks, petroglyphs, rocks, a swinging bridge, rocks, rocks and more rocks - skipped the dino museum in Blanding in favor of the state park Indian museum - very cool archeaological site and museum

* a couple of days in SW Co - spent a day at the Ouray hot springs park - perfect for Owen, because he got to swim and play and hang out with other kids - Lizard Head Pass has some great camping, as does the area just outside of Silverton

* visited friends in Santa Fe, then bombed through NM and TX - there really isn't much to say about west TX, other than it smells funny

it rained every afternoon for the first 4-5 days - major thunderstorms everywhere we went

* Galveston was very cool and fun - good camping at the state park, but the bugs in the back bay were horrible - don't try camping along the seawall, the local PD will roust you - having a sleeping 4 year old along helps, but we still got told to move

* drove through Texas City along the coast to Sabine Pass and along the LA coast - miles of factories and refineries might not seem like a cool thing to see, but I found it interesting - most of us have no idea what sort of industrial development is required to maintain our decadent lifestyles - saw a bunch of BP's new sand barriers along the coast, as well as several spill clean-up operations

* stuck for 4 hours on the highway overlooking Atchafalaya swamp - on the bright side, we got a chance to stop and look down on the swamp and check out the critters - alligators are way cool - many new birds

this week's plans include a day at the amusement/water park, the NO zoo and aquarium, and a swampboat tour, as well as various and sundry chores for my sister

I'll try to get some pictures up later today.

 

[Barko1]

Try the NO Zoo Cruise!

 

[telemike]

no cruise

Katrina put an end to that...

 

[telemike]

some random pictures

random two-track near Beaver UT - first night's camp

happy boy - Bryce Canyon NP, UT

petroglyphs on the road from Bryce Canyon to Glen Canyon

suspension bridge on the road from BC to GC

Lizard Head Pass

Ridgeway, CO RR museum

Galveston, TX

flyin' boy, Galveston

Texas City, TX - petrochemical hell

spiderman

 

[ski3pin]

Telemike, what a great adventure for you and your son! Thanks for sharing. Be safe. Have fun. Keep us posted!