I think I finally nailed down our plan for next year’s big trip to the Western US and Canada. Whew, is all I can say. I just hope the actual journey isn’t as tiring as the planning!
So, this is what I have so far – a big loop taking in the coast and the Rocky mountains (more or less). Here’s the map – detailed plan right after that.
Click for the full version
1-3. San Francisco
4. Traveling to Yosemite, visiting the Jamestown and Columbia gold rush area.
5-7. Yosemite NP.
8. Traveling from Yosemite to Santa Cruz and visiting the beach boardwalk.
9. Monterey Aquarium.
10. Point Lobos nature reserve.
11. Highway 1 up to Big Sur.
12. Highway 1 up to San Luis Obispo.
13. Highway 1 to Los Angeles.
14. LA – Universal Studios.
15-17. LA
18-19. Anaheim (you know where…)
20. Driving from Anaheim to Kingman (Route 66).
21. Route 66 to the Grand Canyon NP.
22. Gran Canyon NP and drive to Page, Arizona.
23. Page and drive to Zion NP.
24. Zion NP.
25. Bryce Canyon NP and drive through scenic byway 12 to Escalante.
26. Continued drive on byway 12 to Moab.
27-29. Moab (Canyonlands NP, Arches NP and rafting on the Colorado).
30. Drive through Mesa Verde NP to Durango, Colorado.
31. Driving scenic road 550 (Million Dollar Highway) to Ouray.
32. The Black Canyon of the Gunnison and driving to Colorado Springs.
33. Colorado Springs.
34-35. Denver, Colorado.
36-38. Rocky MT NP.
39. Driving through Cheyenne, Wyoming to Custer, S. Dakota.
40. Custer State Park, S. Dakota.
41-42. Rapid City, S. Dakota (visiting the Badlands NP and a few other places).
43. Devil’s Tower and drive to Thermopolis, Wyoming.
44. Thermopolis (hot springs state park).
45. Driving to Grand Teton NP.
46-47. Grand Teton, NP.
48. Drive from Teton to Yellowstone NP and visiting the southern part of Yellowstone.
49-51. Yellowstone NP.
52. Driving to Bozeman, Montana.
53. Lewis and Clark Caverns and driving to Great Falls, Montana.
54. Great Falls, Montana.
55. Driving to Glacier NP.
56-57. Glacier NP.
58. Crossing over to Canada, via Waterton Park to Calgary.
59. Calgary.
60-62. Banff NP.
63. Driving up to Jasper NP (Icefields road).
64-65. Jasper NP.
66. Driving from Jasper to Yoho NP.
67. Yoho Park.
68. Driving from Yoho NP to Kamloops.
69. Driving from Kamloops to Vancouver, BC, Canada.
70-78. Vancouver and then Victoria. Possibly a couple of days in the Pacific Rim NP.
79. Back to the US from Victoria to Port Angeles, Washington.
80-81. Olympic NP.
82-86. Seattle, Washington.
87. Driving to Portland via MT St Helens.
88-90. Portland, Oregon.
91. Driving from Portland to the Oregon coast and then from Astoria to Canon Beach.
92. Driving to Newport (Oregon beaches).
93. Driving to Bandon (Oregon Beaches).
94. Oregon and North California beaches to the Redwoods region.
95. Redwood NP.
96. Highway 1 in northern California to Mendocino.
97. Mendocino to San Francisco.
98-100. San Francisco.
And then… flying back home!
Yes, I know there’s plenty more to see that’s not too far from our route. I know we’re missing out on places like Salt Lake City, and on the Cascades region including Crater Lake, Lassen NP and Lake Tahoe.
Lots of other places that can be incorporated – but alas, there’s only so many days to the trip, so some things will have to be left for our next trip!
Still, I’d love to get more feedback, so bring it on – I’m all ears!
on Jul 21st, 2010 at 4:07 pm
scenic 550 from durango – ouray is scary. at least to me. i don’t like roads with serious drop offs on one side. i hated that road.
anyhow — you are seeing the most beautiful part of this country, imho. you aren’t missing out by skipping SLC, except to see the home of the mormons. love the mormons, but temple square is okay to be missed on a trip like that.
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IsraeliMom Reply:
July 22nd, 2010 at 10:36 am
I am actually looking forward to the high mountain drives! Fortunately, we’ll be doing 550 south to north, so will be in the less scary side of the road
on Jul 21st, 2010 at 6:18 pm
Wow, what an awesome trip! I want to go with you
I don’t have any advice for you since I’ve only been to Seattle, Las Vegas, and the Grand Canyon (south side).
Mark´s last blog ..MarkSoFla- @Lionard0 Refuah Shlemah! I hope eveyone is ok
IsraeliMom Reply:
July 22nd, 2010 at 10:37 am
We’ll be passing close to Vegas but skipping it this time. Had enough of it on our last trip.
on Jul 21st, 2010 at 6:18 pm
Wow – looks like quite an adventure! Glad to see Great Falls on your itinerary – we’re pretty proud of our community, and hope that you enjoy your brief stop here. Be sure to visit The Sip-N-Dip, which is a “tiki bar” in downtown Great Falls that features mermaids. Also of note: a “Haystack” breakfast at Goode’s Q & Bayou Grill! And make sure to spend some time at Giant Springs – a beautiful park right on the Missouri River.
Have a great trip!
IsraeliMom Reply:
July 22nd, 2010 at 10:39 am
Thanks for the tips! I added your blog to my RSS reader to keep up to date with Great Falls news! It looks like an awesome town to me – just beautiful!
on Jul 26th, 2010 at 1:14 pm
Now that’s my dream journey.
I hope I will be able to go on one like yours one day. 
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on Jul 30th, 2010 at 4:12 am
Aloha,
So happy I found your blog. I would love to viist Israel some day! Can’t wait to read more:)
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IsraeliMom Reply:
August 1st, 2010 at 2:32 am
Nice to see you here, Patrice! Be sure to let me know when you visit – would love to meet a fellow Mom from Hawaii! Until then, hope to “meet” you online frequently.
Sorry about editing out your site name and replacing with your own. With this being a dofollow blog, I prefer not to have keywords in the name field – just real names.
on Aug 11th, 2010 at 9:57 pm
Hi, got the link for your blog on Trip Advisor. That’s quite a road trip you have planned! Sounds great! My husband and I toured the “Four Corners” area some years ago. We put 3000 miles on our rental car in just one week. I don’t know if you’ll have time, but we really enjoyed Monument Valley in that area. Durango is a cool town with just beautiful scenery. We tried to drive the road to Ouray, but it was snowing so I turned around.
We’ll be in Yellowstone and possibly Glacier next summer, too. Can’t wait!
IsraeliMom Reply:
August 12th, 2010 at 4:19 am
Monument Valley is a place I’d love to see, but since I really wanted to include the parks on the north there – Zion through to Arches – I couldn’t work it in without adding a couple of days. One of many painful decisions on a road trip…
I really like your blog, going to subscribe and keep track. Hey, maybe we’ll see you next summer