The Long Way Home

[clikrf8]

I am planning our April trip to Arizona/New Mexico. Both states have much to offer to the traveler/photographer that we will probably confine ourselves to the northern Arizona area plus a quick foray into Northwest New Mexico for a few days. We are planning to be gone about a month plus. Since we are leaving from the far northwest corner of the US, it will take us a few days longer than some of you who live much closer. I would like to dawdle on the way down, stopping at the John Day National Monument (3 sectors), Shoshone Falls in Idaho, Great Basin National Park and Valley Of Fire State Park in Nevada before heading to either the Grand Canyon (south entrance) or the Vermillion Cliffs area. Hubby is the driver and would rather blow down I5 to somewhere in California and cross over into Arizona. I hate I5. I dislike freeways. People drive too fast and there is nothing to see except for semis and on/off ramps. What do you all do?

I have chosen some possible places to see in Arizona/New Mexico: Petrified Forest, Little Painted Desert, Monument Valley and Canyon de Chelly and some cool geology in the area surrounding each Navajo National Park, Bisti Badlands, some cool monoliths like Aglatha Peak and Shiprock Rock, Valley of the Gods (oops, that's in Utah), maybe Antelope Canyon, Coal Mine Canyon and some secret places a fellow photographer told me about, among others. I am yet uncertain of our way home but would like to return via 395 to visit our very old friends the Bristlecone Pines.

Any thoughts on this? Hubby is the driver so he decides but I am trying to convince him to dawdle.

 

[Overland Hadley]

Definitely dawdle.

Unless you have a need to be in a specific place at a specific time, why not see some interesting places along the way?

That is one thing that is great about a truck camper, it makes it easy to have an open schedule.

 

[DirtyDog]

I5 is only good for one thing. When you have been on the road for a month, haven't showered in 2 weeks, and are out of beer, then you use I5 to blaze a path back home. Otherwise it's to be avoided at all costs.

 

[Barko1]

Just bring your heater as there should be below freezing temps. NW NM can be plenty chilly and April will likely produce some strong winds, snow at higher elevations.

As for travel mode.... I have done both and sometimes like to get some fast miles under my belt the 1st day. Depends on weather and mood. I'd suggest some time coming through Utah, 95/24/12 is one of the best collection of roads in the country and you'll be right there.

 

[highz]

You might consider adding Chaco Canyon to your list. Looks like an epic trip.

Oh, and I avoid freeways whenever possible.

 

[Alley-Kat]

Tell the hubby to "chill out" and "slow down".

I second the Utah 95/24/12 route, they are the best collection of roads in the country.

 

[generubin]

Avoid I5.

I always recommend taking the one day San Juan River rafting trip out of Bluff Utah. Wild River Expeditions is the company. Those who have done this trip always tell me it was one of their high points. You get petroglyph panels, cliff dwellings, awesome geology and a great lunch.

Other favorites for the area are Chaco Canyon, the overflow camping area for Navajo National Monument, Goldmine Camp along the San Juan near Bluff, and of course the incredible White Rim Trail.

Moon House, cliff dwelling is worth searching out. It's on Cedar Mesa.

 

[clikrf8]

I agree. I5 has no redeemable value except maybe the view of Mt. Shasta but that's it.

We have travelled 12 & 24 a few times but never 95. I wanted to skirt the Northern Arizona area by using 89/89A and I-40 (an interstate but it passes by Petrified Forest NP and Little Painted Desert besides there are remnants of Route 66 to explore. That's the part I am unsure of at this point. I would like also like to use 89/89A then return home through Utah via any one of a number of roads to get us to the Burr Trail Switchbacks which we only went down one switchback before turning around in November after hubby decided he wanted to travel up them, not down. Better views descending imho. Or we may put that off to another time. Too many trips, not enough time.

There are some interesting places off the beaten track around the 2 Navaho Indian Parks and into very Northwestern part of NM that look interesting from looking at Benchmark maps and the few images on line. So, we want to concentrate our energies there. I know that both parks limit your access but we will make do with what we can as private tours are expensive and the group ones not conducive to photography. Valley of the Gods, Moki Dugway, Natural Bridges, etc. also will be considered. We also want to see some of the Native ruins so need to decide which ones to see. The San Juan River raft trip sounds fun, also.

At this point, I don't want to rush to cram as much in as possible but stay a few days at least in each place to soak in the area and get a feel for its uniqueness. I am leaning more toward just keeping to the Northern Arizona area and reserve the Southeast part of Utah and Southwestern part of CO for another time. On our last trip in Oct/Nov we felt rushed as we wanted to see, do so much. If hubby hadn't wanted to revisit Bryce, we would have returned home via Southeast Utah then travel along Northern Arizona to California. Also, we were unsure about which passes in California to cross. I got a new camera for the trip (thanks VISA) so wanted to reshoot Bryce and the colors in Zion were incredible so glad we went that way.

Just some meandering mutterings to get a better idea of what to do. It will depend on weather, also, so will have a loose itinerary. Truck camping makes this easier than other ways especially dispersed camping on BLM/NFS land. May trip to Eastern Oregon will be easier as well either eastern WA for Palouse/Wallowa Mountains in June. The Yellowstone/Tetons/Western WY?Flaming Gorge/Dinosaur trip will be easier, also.

Thanks for the feedback. It really helps my ADD/right brain. I do have several months to get this one somewhat organized. And, work on images from this last one.

 

[LuckyDan]

#1: Dawdle, It's Wander the West not Woosh the West.

#2: If you are forced to take I5 South do so only to McCloud Calif then start the Dawdle on Hwy 89 East though in April it may be snowy still.

#3: The John Day Fossil Beds are pretty neat. After reading about what the environment there was way way waaaaaay back when it kinda makes me wonder about global warming. I typically stop at the Cant Ranch part and eat my lunch when I'm working that part of the world.

Enjoy the trip.

 

[clikrf8]

#1: Dawdle, It's Wander the West not Woosh the West.

#2: If you are forced to take I5 South do so only to McCloud Calif then start the Dawdle on Hwy 89 East though in April it may be snowy still.

#3: The John Day Fossil Beds are pretty neat. After reading about what the environment there was way way waaaaaay back when it kinda makes me wonder about global warming. I typically stop at the Cant Ranch part and eat my lunch when I'm working that part of the world.

Enjoy the trip.


Hwy 89 (California version) looks intriguing. Lots of Is it like CA hwy 299? Omg, what a hairy drive! People in fast cars and semis passing on blind curves, boulders in the middle of the road, construction, too many hairpins curves in succession and while gaining and/or losing altitude, etc. It wouldn't be so bad if it wasn't such a busy road as it was very scenic but too many people for us. We dislike tailgaters and had to continually pull over to allow them on their crazy way. We asked some locals about CA hwy 36 who said it was even worse with 1 1/2 lanes. I see that 89 intersects 299. How is traffic on 89? We missed Lassen as all the campgrounds were closed. Maybe we will hit it returning home.

We want to hit the Painted Hills in late April or early May for the bee balm. I have seen some wonderful images with side lighting hitting the bee balm which lights up the edges of the hills. Very striking.

 

[ntsqd]

If you are going to be in the Lassen area then make a point of stopping at McArthur-Burney Falls and be sure to hike down into the canyon. For a mostly typical CA state park campground it was a pretty pleasant stay.

I've driven 299 between Redding and the coast several times. First time was for the Kinetic Sculpture Races and we were late so I was making time. Well as much time as you can in a diesel Rabbit. Middle time was in a blizzard in a 26 foot U-Haul over-weight with robotics/automation hardware (long day & longer story). And the last time was coming back from an OR Lighthouses trip. I don't recall any experiences such as yours though the blizzard was a little hairy due to the weather.

We were recently over part of 89 on our long way back from Bend, OR ( avoiding I-5 as much as possible too: 97 > 31 > 395 > 299 > 89 > 70 > 99). Conditions and traffic were what I'd expect in such an area, reasonable and sparse except for the Lassen influence - and even that wasn't bad at all. Mostly farm traffic as we weren't in the area on a weekend.

 

[MarkBC]

If you are going to be in the Lassen area then make a point of stopping at McArthur-Burney Falls and be sure to hike down into the canyon. For a mostly typical CA state park campground it was a pretty pleasant stay.

I've driven 299 between Redding and the coast several times. First time was for the Kinetic Sculpture Races and we were late so I was making time. Well as much time as you can in a diesel Rabbit. Middle time was in a blizzard in a 26 foot U-Haul over-weight with robotics/automation hardware (long day & longer story). And the last time was coming back from an OR Lighthouses trip. I don't recall any experiences such as yours though the blizzard was a little hairy due to the weather.

We were recently over part of 89 on our long way back from Bend, OR ( avoiding I-5 as much as possible too: 97 > 31 > 395 > 299 > 89 > 70 > 99). Conditions and traffic were what I'd expect in such an area, reasonable and sparse except for the Lassen influence - and even that wasn't bad at all. Mostly farm traffic as we weren't in the area on a weekend.

I agree -- I've driven 299 from Redding to Alturas several times and nothing seemed gnarly about it to me.

I've taken the route you took from Bend a few times on my way home to Bend from Redding. It's a lot longer, but much more interesting.

...until you get near Lapine on 31.
BTW: The stretch of US 97 between Bend and the first 75 miles south of there is almost as boring as I5 -- a laser-straight corridor bordered by mostly spindly lodgepole pines, mostly blocking any view.

IMHO.

 

[Smokecreek1]

I agree -- I've driven 299 from Redding to Alturas several times and nothing seemed gnarly about it to me.

I've taken the route you took from Bend a few times on my way home to Bend from Redding. It's a lot longer, but much more interesting.

...until you get near Lapine on 31.
BTW: The stretch of US 97 between Bend and the first 75 miles south of there is almost as boring as I5 -- a laser-straight corridor bordered by mostly spindly lodgepole pines, mostly blocking any view.

IMHO.


Say, how many years do these folks have to make this trip anyway? I agree with MarkBC here, 299 is okay, mainly depends on weather, 89 and the other roads in NENW Ca can be fun too. I have a stick shift so 32 from Red Bluff to the coast is no fun, unless you have a motercycle- throw in 139 and visit Eagle lake in the NE, and do all the roads in NE to avoid I5. I discovered the Fossil Beds NM this summer, it is pretty neat and has both no fee BLM and USFS CG's in the area-but I would really check the weather out first, some of those roads methinks could be interesting with some snow and ice.

Smoke

 

[clikrf8]

Actually, 299 from Redding to where it meets 101 is worse. I liked 299 from NV/CA border to Redding. It was scenic and we stayed at a very photogenic campground (BLM Pit River) which was the only one open in early November. Fall color and small twin waterfalls and we had it all to ourselves. $4.

I will check out your info and possibilities and add it it to coming or going. California is a beautiful state. It does have a lot to offer if you forget about LA. I have a nephew near Sacramento and a cousin in Riverside area. Also, have a wonderful neighbor whose family was grandfathered in to some land in or near Yosemite. He bought out relatives and is building a large cabin, I am not sure of the location )near Mariposa?) but it cost a lot of money to bring in the cement trucks. He said whenever we were in the area to let him know and he would give us directions. It would be a nice base from which to explore Yosemite.

Thanks for all your help and have a wonderful Thanksgiving.

We are retired so have lots of years, we hope.

 

[craig333]

299 is nowhere near as bad as 36 or 32. 89 past lassen is out. Its one of the first roads that close once the snow falls. Some geographical oddity there.