In a separate thread, I received many useful suggestions for places to stay in and around Yellowstone, Grand Teton, and Glacier National Parks. We've made lodging reservations in those areas during the time period 8/28 to 9/13/13, but now I'm looking for suggestions of places to visit/photograph during the rest of our trip.
In a nutshell, we're making an 8-10 week roadtrip across the US and back, from about mid-August to mid/late October. As I said, we're starting off at Grand Teton, then Yellowstone, then Glacier National Parks, and that brings us to 9/13 ... and after that our plans are pretty wide open. Our general thought right now is to continue west from Glacier NP thru Idaho all the way to the west coast, with stops along the Columbia River Gorge, and then spend a few days at Olympic National Park in Washington State. From there, we would start our way down the Pacific coast (Route 101?) thru Oregon into Northern California and make our way to the Yosemite/Mono Lake/Bodie area. And then start heading back east --- Our thoughts includine driving thru Death Valley, then possibly make stops in Sedona, and/or Sante Fe before making the final push home. If we have any energy left (and autumn timing is right) we might take a route thru Great Smoky Mountain NP in Tennessee/North Carolina on the last leg of our trip.
I know that's it's lots of ground to cover, but it's a once-in-a-lifetime trip for us and we have time/flexibility. So, we'd like to see as much of this beautiful country as possible.
I'm looking for any suggestions of specific places to visit or see along this general route. Or...if I'm overlooking other must-see areas, the general route can be modified. (Note: We've already been to the Grand Canyon, Bryce and Zio National Parks and would prefer to see new-to-us places.) We like natural scenery/landscapes and plan to do lots of photography, of course. Light to moderate hiking (we're in our 60's) is also do-able.
So...any thoughts on places to see?
Thanks!
In a nutshell, we're making an 8-10 week roadtrip across the US and back, from about mid-August to mid/late October. As I said, we're starting off at Grand Teton, then Yellowstone, then Glacier National Parks, and that brings us to 9/13 ... and after that our plans are pretty wide open. Our general thought right now is to continue west from Glacier NP thru Idaho all the way to the west coast, with stops along the Columbia River Gorge, and then spend a few days at Olympic National Park in Washington State. From there, we would start our way down the Pacific coast (Route 101?) thru Oregon into Northern California and make our way to the Yosemite/Mono Lake/Bodie area. And then start heading back east --- Our thoughts includine driving thru Death Valley, then possibly make stops in Sedona, and/or Sante Fe before making the final push home. If we have any energy left (and autumn timing is right) we might take a route thru Great Smoky Mountain NP in Tennessee/North Carolina on the last leg of our trip.
I know that's it's lots of ground to cover, but it's a once-in-a-lifetime trip for us and we have time/flexibility. So, we'd like to see as much of this beautiful country as possible.
I'm looking for any suggestions of specific places to visit or see along this general route. Or...if I'm overlooking other must-see areas, the general route can be modified. (Note: We've already been to the Grand Canyon, Bryce and Zio National Parks and would prefer to see new-to-us places.) We like natural scenery/landscapes and plan to do lots of photography, of course. Light to moderate hiking (we're in our 60's) is also do-able.
So...any thoughts on places to see?
Thanks!