Yosemite/Yellowstone/Mt Rushmoor
Replies: 32 - Last Post: Jan 22, 2013 8:55 PM Last Post By: Kym_n_James
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First of all I can assure you I'm genuine, if optimistic. And I apologise for the spelling error, there is a town near me in the UK spelt that way and I was too lazy to check the correct spelling.To respond to Ianw7605's suggested alternative, I have already visited Las Vegas, Zion, Bryce Canyon, Page and Grand Canyon on a previous trip.
I realise that the proposed itinierary is rushed and many people would spend a week or more in each of these national parks, however I don't have the luxury so it will be a bit of a whistle-stop tour. I'll take on board the feedback that this is too much and maybe the solution is to skip the vineyard, spend 3 days each in Yosemite and Yellowstone and then head straight to Chicago (skipping Mt Rushmore etc).
Thanks for the responses, especially those related to how to travel between these places including costs, timings, etc. This information is very useful to help me plan.
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Some years ago at around 3:00 AM I blasted my roadster through Zion National Park from the Springdale entrance all the way to Mt Carmel Jct. just to see how fast I could do it. /../ You can't see all of the "highlights of Yellowstone" in two weeks.
Ok. And NYC for comparison has more than 6000 miles of streets. Does that mean you need 40 weeks to see the highlights of NYC?
What are the highlights of Yellowstone anyway? Could you list them? Do you check them off as you travel through the park? That is not how I travel. I am a free bird. I take each day as it comes, do what I enjoy to do. If I get tired of Yellowstone after 1 day, I will go someplace else. I don't care that there is one hot spring that is number 14 on the list that I didn't see, or that I didn't drive 12 of the least scenic miles on the figure 8 road. I don't have to see it. I don't have to check every single box on the Yellowstone list. To me, that sounds like obsessive-compulsive behavior, and it should not be what traveling is about.
Oh, and please do not advocate illegal behavior such as speeding here. It goes against forum guidelines. Thank you.
Thanks for the responses, especially those related to how to travel between these places including costs, timings, etc.
No problem. Let us know how your trip turns out!
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... and maybe the solution is to skip the vineyard, spend 3 days each in Yosemite and Yellowstone and then head straight to Chicago (skipping Mt Rushmore etc).I would probably have just three nights in Yosemite NP (ie, two full days), and then head to Grand Teton NP (worth a full day), and then Yellowstone NP (worth four nights). Salt Lake City is a kind of weird place, but an hour or two in the Mormon Temple Square is a must-do - amazing buildings.
You are getting some very divergent opinions here regarding Yellowstone NP - personally I don't think you can see the highlights in a day, but nor do you need a full week. Four nights (three full days) does allow you to see a great deal indeed, and it is worthwhile, particularly as you are en route from the southwest to the northeast.
A night at Old Faithful, Mammoth, and Tower will allow you to see all the highlights - the most spectacular are (a) the geothermal fields between Old Faithful and Mammoth, and (b) the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone region. Then head northeast through the Lamar Valley on your way out.
I haven't driven east of Yellowstone NP, but all the advice on here is that there is some wonderful country out that way, on your way to Illinois.
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What are the highlights of Yellowstone anyway? Could you list them? Do you check them off as you travel through the park? That is not how I travel. I am a free bird. I take each day as it comes, do what I enjoy to do. If I get tired of Yellowstone after 1 day, I will go someplace else. I don't care that there is one hot spring that is number 14 on the list that I didn't see, or that I didn't drive 12 of the least scenic miles on the figure 8 road. I don't have to see it. I don't have to check every single box on the Yellowstone list. To me, that sounds like obsessive-compulsive behavior, and it should not be what traveling is about.
In the "old" Thorn Tree, you would be denounced as a 60 MPH tourist. I think most people would want to do more than time the drive past Old Faithfull to coincide with an eruption, snap a picture out the window as they pass without slowing, and say that they had seen Yellowstone. That's just me though. You do as you wish.
Oh, and please do not advocate illegal behavior such as speeding here.
I didn't "advocate" it. I did it.
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time the drive past Old Faithfull to coincide with an eruption, snap a picture out the window as they pass without slowing
"straw man"
I didn't "advocate" it. I did it.
National Parks is federal property. You just admitted to committing premeditated federal crime. You have lost all credibility and have no place on this forum. Begone!
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I haven't driven east of Yellowstone NP, but all the advice on here is that there is some wonderful country out that way, on your way to Illinois.
There are some places to stop between Yellowstone and Chicago, but the OP has no time to stop in those places. It is two extremely long days of driving to get to Chicago, or three more tolerable days, and that is without stopping for anything except gas, bathroom breaks and food. I mean ZERO extra stops. No side trips, no detours, just taking I-80 straight across Wyoming, Nebraska, Iowa and Illinois. Those are some mighty big states you need to get across.
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Wouldn't you just duck across to Sheridan Wyoming, and then take the I-90 all the way? Not that I've done it.
You could do either I-90 or I-80. The difference in travel time is about one hour, with I-90 route being longer. It goes through the Black Hills, though, so I guess you could hop out, check out Mt. Rushmore for about 30 seconds, and hop back in. The rest of the drive is equally dull with the exception, possibly, of the Bad Lands but again, hop out, snap a picture, keep driving. If the OP have two whole weeks then maybe it wouldn't be so rushed, but even so, I'd give that trip three weeks.
You can also take I-90 to I-94 and go through North Dakota, Minnesota and Wisconsin.
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The rest of the drive is equally dull
Guys. You are forgetting about the a-maize-ing Mitchell Corn Palace.
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And on the northern route, the largest twine ball in the world is just a short detour in Darwin, Minnesota. This area is anything but dull!28
America's a weird place. When it get's boring we make big balls of twine, drug stores with free water and Lord knows what else.It's not always that interesting or all that worthwhile to visit, but it is what makes us America. diners shaped like a duck, hotels shaped like a shoe, best movies in the world and te only place that cold possibly house Broadway.
What do you think they do in Australia or Siberia? We're weird, I love us
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Australia is pretty weird too ... and I think we have something of a mortgage on long boring drives.Plus we are fairly good at mindless diversions as well.
