Page 1 of 6 123 ... LastLast
Results 1 to 10 of 54

Thread: Road trip out West..

  1. #1

    Join Date
    Jul 2009
    Location
    Staunton Virginia
    Posts
    170

    Road trip out West..

    Driving my girlfriend out to Utah first week of August. She is staying for a month, and I'm taking three weeks to get back to Virginia. Will be traveling mostly through the Four Corners region, then through Texas and the Southern route back. I'm taking about 100 sheets of 4X5 sheet film, black and white, and some medium format film and camera. Any thoughts for tent camping, film shooting, large and medium format photo ops? Places to camp and folks to visit also would be helpful. Thanks

  2. #2
    Les
    Join Date
    Dec 2011
    Location
    Ex-Seattlelite living in PNW
    Posts
    1,235

    Re: Road trip out West..

    All I can say is so many things to do/see and so little time - more film required :>). Being in the middle of a vacation season, you may have a problem securing campgrounds or lodging....so that should be your initial concern along with relatively high temps. I like SW a lot, but I wouldn't go there unless it's mid Sept or later.

    I could stay a week or so around Flag alone (but that's me). There is many many more to choose from....

    - Shiprock
    - Taos
    - Acoma Pueblo (it costs to get in)
    - Chaco Culture
    - Canyon de Chelly
    - White Sands
    - Big Bend Natl PK (fantastic for night shooting - milkyway)
    - Bosque del Apache (waterfowl, but more info needed what you'll see in the Summer)

    It's not going to be easy to decide, IMO.

    Les

  3. #3
    David Lobato David Lobato's Avatar
    Join Date
    Feb 2011
    Location
    Baltimore MD
    Posts
    1,054

    Re: Road trip out West..

    You're better off than a kid in a candy store. Leszek offered a great start with his list. Also Bandelier N.M., Canyonlands N.P., Arches N.P., Mesa Verde N.P., Bisti Wilderness, Davis Mountains in Texas, Guadalupe Mountains N.P. in Texas. The road loop from Durango to Silverton to Dallas Divide to Telluride to Cortez in Colorado has excellent mountain scenery. Yankee Boy Basin near Ouray is famous for wild flowers in summer. Alta Lakes near Telluride has an old mine and high altitude scenery worth checking out.

  4. #4

    Join Date
    Apr 2011
    Posts
    87

    Re: Road trip out West..

    Sounds like you've never been to the Southwest, you may find yourself wishing you'd brought a lot more film and lots of color film too, not just B&W.

  5. #5

    Join Date
    Feb 2001
    Location
    Greenbank, WA
    Posts
    2,605

    Re: Road trip out West..

    White Sands and Canyon de Chelly are great.

  6. #6

    Join Date
    Sep 2012
    Location
    Sunshine State
    Posts
    1,102

    Re: Road trip out West..

    Buy an annual NP pass and a book below, which helped me a lot in my 10 day southwest trip.
    Click image for larger version. 

Name:	image.jpg 
Views:	44 
Size:	72.7 KB 
ID:	153050

  7. #7

    Join Date
    Jul 2010
    Location
    San Gabriel Valley, California
    Posts
    316

    Re: Road trip out West..

    August in the Southwest, equals HOT weather. Be sure to dress accordingly and drink plenty of liquids (non alcoholic of course).

    Consider the heat and film storage too.

    Although I have traveled thru the Southwest during August, I did not have large format cameras or equipment to deal with. It can get real toasty under that focusing cloth .

    Have fun and best wishes on your travels,

    Jose

  8. #8
    2 Bit Hack
    Join Date
    Feb 2014
    Posts
    940

    Re: Road trip out West..

    Leszek's list is good but I would add the Great Sand Dunes National Park in south central Colorado. Mesa Verde, South San Juan Mountains. But that may be too far north.

    But to be honest, I would spend at least three days in Monument Valley-Oljato area taking advantage of the sunrise and sunsets. Goosenecks State park is just east near Mexican Hat, a relatively short drive with camping. Take UT Hwy 261 north of Mexican Hat. If you have a 4WD try Johns Canyon Road (Road 244 in Google Maps). From Goosenecks stay on 261 up to the Moke Dugway (a real treat at sunset and sunrise) to Cedar Mesa. Camping on the mesa and dramatic vistas. Well worth the time. Take 261 on north to Bridges Nat'l Monument then go west on Hwy 95 to Hwy 276 and Halls Crossing Road to the ferry across Lake Powell (cost money and not daily check before taking 276). From there you can go North to Capitol Reef and loop back through Moab and back to Mexican Hat or Durango. I have not done this loop.

    Or, from Halls Crossing go south to Staircase-Escalante, Kodachrome Basin SP (Camping) Brice Canyon, Zion. Between Bryce Canyon and Zion there is very nice place I have only seen in snow but it seems wonderful it is called Duck Creek between 9,000 and 10,000 ft., and about an hour west of the route between Bryce and Zion. Then on to Page and back to Kayenta AZ. You will pass Antelop Canyon (and the location of the 6.5 million dollar photo) just outside of Page at the power plant. From Kayenta it is a few hours drive to Shiprock and Farmington, NM with some interesting spots to shoot along the way where streams cross the road, mainly near Kayenta. From Farmington you can go south to Santa Fe, or east to Taos, or north to Durango.

    If it were me I would spent at least a week in southern Utah and see all these places. If you do this, you better get more film. Take and extra camera if you have one and an extra tripod. Call ahead for reservations during this time of year. Not my favorite thing because it basically locks you into being at a certain place at a certain time.

    The ride back:
    Once you hit the plains it is pretty much blah unless you like some of the interesting terrain in western OK. coolies and sage grass. I normally blast through OK though via I-40. The only route I know through TX was fairly miserable. That was from Amarillo to Dallas then Dallas to Shreveport. A real snoozer of a trip except for the mess in Dallas. Rush hour is not advised. If you take this route you could pick up Hwy 71 north at Shreveport leading into Arkansas. Far better than going north through eastern AR or MS.

    If driving north of I-40 interstate coming back east take Hwy 16 From Fayetteville, AR across Northern Arkansas. Goes through the Ozark Mountains and Nat'l Forest. Nice vistas little in the way of services. Fill up before leaving Fayetteville or the interstate. You could take US 412 from Springdale (or Tulsa) and spend a day or two in the Buffalo Nat'l River. Camping is available.

    South of I-40 in Arkansas there is US Hwy 270 through the Ouachita Mountains. Camping along the way. Hwy 270 comes off Hwy 71 at Y City and goes to Hot Springs. Take Hwy 7 North from Hot springs to Russellville. You can go on up to Hwy 16 and on to US Hwy 412 then east to the Mississippi River at Dyersburg and Reel Foot Lake. Interesting place. That puts you on the Tennessee-Kentucky border. Your choice from there.

    Remember it will be HOT in all these places. Not so much in the higher elevations of Taos.
    Regards

    Marty

  9. #9

    Join Date
    Dec 2001
    Location
    San Joaquin Valley, California
    Posts
    9,599

    Re: Road trip out West..

    A few weeks ago I fell asleep at the wheel. No one was hurt, and while I'm well used to insanely long drives in the West, I learned my lesson the hard way.
    So my advice to you not to try bagging everything in one trip. Focus on a few places that you think might be good hunting. There is no end to photo ops in the West as others have posted, but the West is a big place and you can easily spend more time driving from location to location than photographing. My 2-cents anyway.
    "I would feel more optimistic about a bright future for man if he spent less time proving that he can outwit Nature and more time tasting her sweetness and respecting her seniority"---EB White

  10. #10

    Join Date
    Sep 2014
    Location
    North Dakota
    Posts
    1,327

    Re: Road trip out West..

    Coming back you might try to hit Turkey, Texas and a lot of the small towns along the way. Turkey is the home of Bob Wills of country music fame. That is not why you stop. You stop because it is picturesque with the old buildings, window treatments and general ambiance of rural Texas. Cadillac Ranch near Amarillo might be of interest and Palo Duro State Park is nearby. http://www.americansouthwest.net/tex...tate-park.html

    Not sure how you are driving but smaller roads rather than freeways will get you to places more interesting as you go through rather than whizzing by at 70mph. Better food at Mom & Pop Cafe's rather than the chain fast food places as well. The big advantage is that you can often pull off the road to photograph as you travel - something that will earn you tickets on the Interstate Highways.

    Whichever way you go, enjoy the trip. Take good notes and if possible have a small point and shoot digital along to document the places of interest so you can remember them for when you come back some day. If possible take a photo of the town or location sign as well as the document photo so you don't forget. Getting home and looking at all the photos later - so easy to forget just where it was as the fine experience starts running together.

Similar Threads

  1. Road trip from NYC
    By baronvonaaron in forum Location & Travel
    Replies: 19
    Last Post: 2-Aug-2015, 06:30
  2. I-40 road trip
    By BradS in forum Location & Travel
    Replies: 20
    Last Post: 21-Jul-2014, 11:41
  3. Road trip, managing
    By Tadge Dryja in forum Gear
    Replies: 18
    Last Post: 11-May-2004, 11:52
  4. Road Trip
    By David R Munson in forum Location & Travel
    Replies: 19
    Last Post: 5-Oct-2001, 22:43

Bookmarks

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •