Planning Roadtrip for June in Middle/Western USA

[Drew Wiley]

Never seen that happen here in the West, John. In fact, the scarcity of policing in formal rest areas is one of the problems. Long-haul semi-truckers sometimes spend the night in such places; but it's considered a risk to the general public in ordinary cars. Maybe at really congested Freeway rest areas with limited parking area there might logically be an objection to staying there for long. But if they didn't want anyone to take actual breaks, why are most them equipped with picnic tables? The whole point, besides providing restrooms, is to keep overly fatigued drivers off the road a little while.

[John Kasaian]

Caution Rattlesnake signs are common at highway rest areas on I-5 in Central California.
Kind of makes you wonder about visiting a lavatory in the middle of the night!

[John Layton]

Would highly recommend that you consider a swing through southern Utah. Looking at your proposed route...you could head north from Albuquerque and aim for Chaco Canyon, Monument Valley, then west towards Page, Ariz. (Antelope Canyon just east of Page), then further west then north up through either Cottonwood or Johnson canyons to Kodachrome Basin State Park (great campground there!), then up to Rt. 12 and either take a short side trip to Bryce Canyon...then double back up rt. 12 up and over to Torrey and Capitol Reef NP (either camp there or stay in Torrey), then on to Hanksville and head north to Goblin Valley State Park (another interesting campground there), then north to I-70, east then down through Arches/Moab, Canyonlands. Hmmm - then you'd need to get back on your route west.

So, alternately, you could head north from Albuquerque, then either go up to Chaco then head back east through Cuba then onto Santa Fe (or skip Chaco), then from Santa Fe head N.W. through Abiquiu and up and over to Canyonlands by way of Mesa Verde, then to Moab and do the above mentioned route in reverse, except now you will, after coming through Capitol Reef and over and down then west towards Bryce, you will hit up Zion and go through St. George and on to Las Vegas.

Oh...don't forget, on the way either to or from Bryce on Rt. 12, to check out (possibly camp at) kodachrome Basin as mentioned above, and just east of the Rt. 12 junction above Kodachrome is Hole In The Rock Rd - which I highly recommend for a great collection of hoodoos about 15 miles down this track. A high(ish) clearance vehicle is recommended here also.

The section of switchbacks on Rt. 12 north of Boulder (Utah) are not to be missed...but do try to watch the road through this section, which is also a completely bizarre experience (especially when approached from the north) if driven after dark!

Jeesh...so much to see - and with LF you will want to spend some time at these places. Good luck!

[jnantz]

Never seen that happen here in the West, John. In fact, the scarcity of policing in formal rest areas is one of the problems. Long-haul semi-truckers sometimes spend the night in such places; but it's considered a risk to the general public in ordinary cars. Maybe at really congested Freeway rest areas with limited parking area there might logically be an objection to staying there for long. But if they didn't want anyone to take actual breaks, why are most them equipped with picnic tables? The whole point, besides providing restrooms, is to keep overly fatigued drivers off the road a little while.

Drew

I know, it's a rest area...
it was surreal though, both times guy resting in his car and a policeman bangs on his window, shines light in his face and yells though the window
"this is a rest area no resting here"...

Good luck with your trip Corran.

John

[Leszek Vogt]

Bryan, what you really need is a self-enclosed vehicle and about 3 months (probably longer ?), in order to do justice. The LF (as John mentioned) takes longer and if you are waiting for specific lighting/effect.....longer still. Although it's OK in emergency, many Walmart places are plagued with people who love to do "varoooom" near you....as they are heading home from a bar or some such. Few months ago I came back from the longest (land) trip in my life: 81 days and 18,845
miles....it was all about maritime provinces of Canada. Most of those nights I camped in the back of my enclosed pickup at myriad of campgrounds....some of those were forest camps, some BLM....I've stayed at motels/hotels small amount of time due to heat....mid US....it was the end of Aug. If I was doing LF, I'd need at least 1/3rd more time on the road or forgo the kind of exploration I enjoy doing. But, I didn't have any deadlines. Also, certain places require more time than others.

If you are really adamant to stop at DV, you could do it (the dunes) and you'd have to get out there super early (just as the sun peaks over the mountains).....by 8:30 AM the place will be already in the 90's. The night temps could be in the 80's and I'd have a difficult time to sleep in that.....regardless how low is the humidity :>).

The Pacific coast has more civilized weather (in the Summer), which is easier to adjust to. Overall, you might be biting more than......

[Alan Klein]

Collecting postcards in advance is a great idea. That way you learn all the places NOT to go. You'd be amazed by what you can discover taking a walk on a desert wash on the opposite side the road from the direction the herd is heading to that "must see" / "must selfie" scenic spot. Just don't get lost on the way back.

Halfway down the road to the Delicate Arch trailhead, I pulled over and did just that. It wasn't long till I found a clay hill absolutely covered with bits of shimmering shattered agate of various colors. Then a little ways further away, a deep reddish clay field dotted with bright blue gopher mounds! They were tunneling an underlying
layer of blue clay. And I guarantee no one has ever ever published a postcard or taken a selfie of that. And probably no one other than me and some resident geologists and dinosaur bone hunters has even taken notice of it. I am a huge advocate of what someone else labeled, "micro-exploration". Find your own special spot where no one else is looking. Who needs another damn stereotypical postcard shot?

Take a small GPS from Garmin. They operate for hours and with two spare AA batteries, you have many more hours available. Some have topo maps. Waypoint mark your car in the GPS before you head out into unknown territory so you can find your way back easily. I suppose a cellphone can work similarly if you can mark your location. But cell towers operation probably won't be available so regular google maps won't work unless you preload the maps for the area before you leave, something I do. That way navigation will continue to work.

[Alan Klein]

Drew

I know, it's a rest area...
it was surreal though, both times guy resting in his car and a policeman bangs on his window, shines light in his face and yells though the window
"this is a rest area no resting here"...

Good luck with your trip Corran.

John

A lot of Rest areas get pretty crowded during the season and you can't find a parking space. So like a bunch of bums, they tell you to keep moving.

[Tin Can]

I dislike Sunset and Sunrise over long flats

I try to stop during that pain

One fun trip, I drove all night as my co-driver could not stay awake, he was a hazard

100 miles from Denver from the south, I jammed on the brakes hard

I thought I saw a tanker sideways in the road

Nothing there

The year before I did see 2 semis' hit head on, the fire was huge

Seems there was a full lane jog right at the AZ NM border. The states fixed it the NEXT year

I972 Colorado back road, no traffic, but rabbits were starving and running at headlights

Dead rabbits everywhere for miles, even at crawl I could not avoid them

Also real cold about midnight

Spooky

[xkaes]

Dead rabbits everywhere for miles, even at crawl I could not avoid them

Also real cold about midnight

Spooky

That explains why I've been seeing so many starving coyotes lately.

[Corran]

Bryan, what you really need is a self-enclosed vehicle and about 3 months (probably longer ?), in order to do justice.

That sounds nice, but it's not going to happen anytime soon, either fiscally or time-wise. I know there's a lot of retirees here and all but I have a full-time position at a university, along with a lot of side work and gallery stuff going on. Not to mention my wife with her own job!

Funny thing you mention "low 80's" in DV at night. That sounds like heaven! I camped on the coast of GA over New Year's and the first couple of nights were about that but at 100% humidity. Miserable!