Nature Photography vacation suggestions in the U.S. for December??

[donald_kim_lewiston]

Hello, my wife and I are in desperate need of a photo vacation after

our plans for Hawaii were unexpectedly scrapped. We live in Southern

CA and love to drive/camp and take pictures. We have about 5 days.

We've done Yosemite, Arizona, Death Valley, and all of the Utah parks

(my favorite) and we are looking for something new. I've never been

to New Mexico and I don't know anything about its photo ops except for

the White Sand Dunes. I have used this forum in the past for

suggestions and have actually planned 2 large trips around the advice

and info given. Anything in the southwest or west coast or anything

that is driveable would be great.Thanks again for your time.

[donald_kim_lewiston]

Correction, I'll have about 7 days for this trip. THanks.

[jim_j2]

How about Northern CA, and Oregon coastal areas. The SF Bay area then into the Redwoods or the Feather River valleys of Northern California or Napa Valley areas.

 

A Snowmobile tour of Yellowstone National Park in the winter would be the "ultimate" if you are real adventerous!

 

Just some thoughts!

Have a great trip wherever you end up

Jim J.

[louie]

In addition to White Sands, there's also Bosque del Apache in New Mexico, which is a "must"

if you're into bird photography. If you had more time, I'd also throw in Carlsbad Caverns and

perhaps Guadalupe National Park in Texas. If you had a few days more, that'd make a pretty

good loop. Santa Fe and Taos are nice if you need a break from nature photography.

 

For something different, you could head south to Baja and do some seakayaking in the Sea of

Cortez. Great time to catch the whales. Plenty of outfitters have week-long trips.

[stephen hazelton]

Big Bend- specifically the desert, not the mountains, which can get colder. I photographed wild flowers on New Year's Day last winter.

[fk319]

Expanding on Louie,

 

I lived near White Sands for a while, The Army Base has a bunch of missles outside, not sure of a full museum though. Also Sun Spot is a nice place to visit, a telescope pointing to the sun. I have seen caves but not Carlsbads, cave are always fun to photograph. There is a place near El Paso where lava used to come out of the ground, I dont remember much of it, just that it is on my must see list when I get back to that area. (I can call my folks for the name.) Jauz is a border town across from El Paso. I seem to remember pueblos in the rock. Btw, White sands is much mor photogentic right after the park gates, near the museum, and not in the middle of the park.

 

I now live in PA, but December is pretty much a no camping place in November to January, Hunters and Campers dont mix. It is also very black and white.

 

Frank

[craig_gillette]

I believe December is one of the periods that sees a lot of elephant seals on the beach at Piedras Blancas near Cambria/San Simeon - but don't know just how the overall weather might be. You'd also have the rest of the Morro Bay to Big Sur to Monterey area to work with.

[vuyisich]

I have a folder "New Mexico", which has pictures from all over the state. Maybe they will interest you in visiting here.

[the lone ranger]

I don't know anyone who can truthfully say they've "done" Yosemite, Arizona and those parks you've mentioned, but Bosque is a place I'd like to go. In December, the Sacramento NWR is interesting as well if thousands of birds are your thing. On the same trip you could go even further north to the Klamath NWR for more birds.