Aussie visitor has many questions

[nick___]

Hi

 

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I am looking for some help in planning my US vacation. It will be a five week road trip/nature (read landscapes + wildlife that may cross my path) photography adventure with a few day long hikes (problem flying in from the other side of the world is you can not pack camping equipment) plus maybe a couple of the standard tourons type things thrown in. Coming from the very flat side of Australia, I am interested in mountains and combining my passion for photography with my interest in nature. This will first serious attempt at nature photography, I usually shoot live rock bands.

 

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After reading the archives, studying a couple of books and a previous trip to the Pacific North West, the rough plan so far is:

Arrive in San Francisco on 10 September, pick up a hire car and with out really stopping head north:

First question: Hwy101 and Jebediah Smith SP or Interstate 5 is most interesting route to Oregon? Given an interest in mountains more than coastline (we have got some pretty good coastline down here)

 

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Crater Lake NP, Portland (mainly to buy a lightweight tripod, at 8lb+ my steel Bogen is just too much of my 44lb baggage allowance, lots of film and a longer lens. Photographic equipment costs twice as much in Australia than the US). the Columbia river gorge, Mt. St. Helens, Olympic NP, Seattle, Mt Rainer, highway 12 through Idaho. Glacier NP, Yellowstone NP (the stories here almost scared me off, until I realised that if I came across a pack of 50 photographers with lots of glass photographing rutting Moose, I would be happy photographing the photographers), Teton NP.

 

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This is were my research and limited knowledge ends.

Question 2, I plan to visit a friend in Cleveland, what is the most interesting and scenic route from Teton NP to Cleveland? Also any interesting places to visit, I don�t mind a circuitous route.

 

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After a couple days in Cleveland it is back on the road next place I want to visit is Canyonlands NP, Bryce Canyon NP and the north rim of the Grand Canyon NP, before Vegas, Yosemite and SF. Again, I have no idea of a route from Cleveland to Utah. Any recommendations of route, places of interest or prime eastern topography, would be appreciated.

 

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I know fives weeks is an incredibly short period of time, to cover such a large area. I could spend five weeks in Yellowstone and barely scratch the surface. But that is all the time I can get off work this year. Still travelling alone and with no fixed itinerary (other that the Cleveland stop), I can spend as much time (within reason) as I like in one place.

 

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I want to thank all the people who have contributed to The Photo.Net Nature Forum., through the archives I have learnt a lot and filled my notebook with places and points of interest. Though I was surprised I found very little about Glacier NP.

 

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If you have any suggestions or recommendations for me, please contact me.

 

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Thanks

 

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Nick Cowie, Perth, Western Australia

flashboy@cygnus.uwa.edu.au

[don_baccus]

Wow, nice trip, you'll be really good driving on the right by the time you're done!

 

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If you take I5 north, rather than the coast, you'll pass by Shasta and could detour towards Lassen and Tahoe if you wished. I only suggest this because of your desire to see more mountains and less coast. On the other hand, the northern CA coast and southern OR coast have plenty of headlands, offshore rocks, and the like and are very beautiful, southern OR esp.

 

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Regarding Cleveland. I suggest you just pick the closest Interstate and bomb across the midwest to/from there. You've already got too much on your plate. For the price of gas and the hassle, you could just about fly your friend out to meet you for a couple of days...

[nes_suno]

<P>I would buy that tripod at Adolph Gassers in San Francisco. <EM>Trust me.</EM> Why? See below.

 

<P>Interstate 5 is a one hellacious eyesore. I would opt for the Pacific Coast Highway (State 1) to enjoy perhaps some of the finest coastal scenery in California, the Golden Gate National Recreational Area (GGNRA) and Muir Woods. If you do not have a tripod, you will curse yourself for not having listened to my suggestion. You'll catch up with 101 beyond Fort Bragg and if you hop onto 299, you'll end up at Redding (and Interstate 5) but only because you wanted to photograph Shasta (which is a nice place to take pictures).

 

<P>Other routes. Your local automobile association, travel bookstore, travel agency should be able to get you a U.S. roadmap.

 

<P>Concerning your detour to Cleveland: fly. You have only five weeks to cover way too much territory. Fly from Teton to Cleveland and to Salt Lake City. (Or fly your friend out, as previously suggested.) Although Ohio is frequently described as a Midwestern state, it is quite far east (geographically speaking).

 

<P>Go to Kings Canyon National Park, not Yosemite. The Devil's Postpile is pretty cool and you might check it out if you're in the neighborhood.

 

<P>I see no reason for a nature photographer to go to Vegas (unless he/she feels lucky enough to win $6000 for that yummy 500mm telephoto).

 

<P>You might consider spending 5 or more days in the San Francisco Bay Area. There are a bunch of nice parks and vistas around the area (for a few samples, check out Galen Rowell's web site: http://www.mountainlight.com). The city of San Francisco is particularly photogenic and the various neighborhoods (e.g., Castro, Haight, Chinatown, North Beach, Noe Valley) have their own flavors. A quick jaunt to Angel Island (or the more touristy Alcatraz) might be enjoyable; I have never been to Alcatraz (hey, I grew up around here).

 

<P>There are ample numbers of quality restaurants in San Francisco. Sometimes people ask me, "I am having one meal in San Francisco; where do I go?" I reply, "Postrio." (Postrio, 545 Post Street, SF, 415-776-7825). It is the quintessential California dining experience.

 

<P>There are myriad microbreweries on the West Coast. I hope you like beer (it is alleged that Aussies drink beer). If not, we have some nice wineries that you might enjoy. Legal intoxication is 0.08 percent or more of body weight (California Vehicle Code) so please be careful.

 

<P>Your itinerary indicates that you will leave before Halloween. Quite a shame since it is San Francisco's Mardi Gras. About 100,000 people, bizarrely clad or mostly naked, appear in the Castro district and cavort.

 

<P>California has approximately 200 state park properties, 150 national forests, 13 national parks and monuments and a handful of unclassified major recreational areas (the aforementioned GGNRA is one of them). I hope you can budget some time in your short excursion to enjoy this state as much as I do. Even if you just drive through this state, you will want that tripod.

 

<P>Have fun!

[anthonty_debase]

I think that trying to visit the Columbia Gorge, Mt. Saint Helens, Mt. Rainier and Olympic National Park while in Washington state is a bit much. If I were you I would skip Mt. Rainier since Mt. Saint Helens being a more recent eruption is a lot more intersting volcanoe. I would also just drive the Olympic Peninsula. You can do it in one long day and end up spending the night in Port Townsend.

 

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Getting out of San Francisco quick is a good idea for a nature photographer. Did you know that San Francisco gets its water by damming Yosemtie National Park? They destroyed the Hetch Hetchy Valley which was second only to Yosemtie Valley as a fine example of a glacial valley. As far as I know San Francisco is the only city to have ever 'dammed' a national park. So much for the "flower child' image. Perhaps you should take a photograph of the O'Shaunnesy dam to remind your fellow Austrailians of how easy it is to destroy one of God's/nature's temples.

[duane_galensky]

I appreciate your excitement about visiting, and you are going to see some very nice areas indeed. However, as I'm sure I would do when I eventually get to Australia, I think you're packing too much into one five-week trip. Based on your itinerary, you'll spend about a third of your entire trip driving...maybe more. You're way underestimating how separated the areas are, and how twisty and winding the roads are particularly in the mountains (which adds both distance and time.)

 

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Why not look into whether you can purchase an airline pass? Like the rail passes in Europe, they're not available to residents, but might be available to you. Some places you mention aren't convenient to airports, but if you budget your driving to get into these less accessible areas and rely on air travel between hubs, I think you'll be better off (particularly Cleveland which is damn far from the West Coast! It's much much (much!) closer to me here on the East Coast and it takes me nine hours to drive there!)

[jeff_hallett]

hey nick,

 

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on your next trip come to FLORIDA and photograph some of wonders

down here including the EVERGLADES, CORKSCREW SWAMP, THE KEYS,

MERRITT IS. REFUGE and much more. come in jan or feb. not as spectacular as some some of the western features but well worth a trip.

 

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you can put on a mask,fins, snorkel and U/W housing for your camera

and compare our reefs to yours. just thought i,d put in a plug for my home state. GO GATORS! 1996 national champs. sorry. had to throw

that in too.

 

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good shooting, jeff hallett

[nick___]

Thanks for the advice, I will purchase an inexpensive small lightweight tripod in Australia. So I can take photos at Shasta. Still contemplating the coast and/or Lassen, any suggestions?

 

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I know I will be doing at lot of driving and will spend probably a third or more of my time behind the wheel. But that is part of the adventure for me. Other than the Yellowstone to Cleveland and Cleveland to Utah legs, I will try and stay off the interstates and stick to the two lane highways and see America. I know that a lot of the mountain road are tight, twisty and scenic (for example Hwy 12 in Idaho a favourite of mine). There is only one thing I would prefer to do than drive these roads is ride them on a motorcycle. I was hoping someone could suggest the most interesting route from Glacier NP to Yellowstone NP.

 

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Actually if I had studied the maps beforehand, and realised that Yellowstone is further west and Cleveland further east than I thought (Geography was never one of my strong subjects at school), I probably would not agreed to visit Cleveland, but I have. So my vacation will be four weeks road adventure visiting some of the best National Parks with a week long side trip to Cleveland thrown in.

 

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I expect most of my trip to be:

Arrive at a NP during the day, visit the ranger station, have a brief look round, find a good spot and take some landscape shots in the evening light. Go crash in a nearby motel (because I am not a real nature photographer :-) plus it will be cheaper than having to ditch camping gear, as it would cost more to ship back to Oz than it is worth), get up before dawn, back to the NP, some sunrise and early morning shots, go for a long hike, maybe take some more photos at sunset, back to the motel, get up before dawn, possibly back to the NP for more sunrise and early morning shots and then on my way to the next NP two days away. Though if I find a stunning place, I can stay a extra day or two. Yellowstone/Teton I expect to stay unless scared away by tourons or pros with long glass, until I have to make my cross country dash to Cleveland.

 

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I will be following some pretty standard advice, pack half as much clothes and take twice as much money and film as you think you need. Current thinking is 3 rolls (of 36exp) per day in an NP, 1 roll per day on the road. 60 rolls is probably the minimum. And success rate, 3 (10x16) for walls at home, 2 (10x16) for walls at work and 60-100 (standard prints) for an album to make the relatives and work colleagues, jealous.

 

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Jeff, I might make it to Florida, next trip. The Everglades, Corkscrew Swamp and The Keys, yes. Reefs I not so sure about, comes from an watching a 15-20 foot white pointer shark less than 20 feet away, while sitting on rocks near a beautiful reef and no I didn�t have my camera.

 

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Thanks

 

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Nick

[martin_davidson]

I am not a native, but I can empathise with your travel plans having toured the States extensively, for work, and more especially, for pleasure. The advice about flying rather than driving is really sound. Apart from scenic highways (up the Pacific Coast, or across the desert) the interstates are really boring, and 55 mph in an American boat-car will drive you insane (what is the speed limit in Australia?) The great thing about America is that it is one of the few countries in the world that lives up to its own hype. The National Parks are just perfect, and unlike their European counterparts, are very, very visitor-friendly. Actually, Las Vegas is worth an evening (but no longer), although dont look for any surprises. The only caveat, is that the Pacific North West is cold and wet. Californian dining -- fantastic, and a real break from fried food nightmare on a bed of plastic ice-berg lettuce. Wonderful restaurants off that Coastal highway -- and Sean is spot on about the micro-brewery beer, much much more drinkable than the canned stuff. I am so jealous! Oh, and good luck with your photographs!

[ric_raymond]

Nick,

The main point of my reply is to discuss the side trip to Cleveland but a couple of other points first.

Have you thought about renting camping gear? There must be places in SF that do this. I live on the east coast and have no direct knowledge of what places are there but there must be something.

Second, I do not believe that three rolls of film per day in a national park is adequate. You might want to reconsider this.

Now to the side trip to Cleveland. Given your interest in mountains I would recommend that you leave the Grand Teton area by route 26/287. This will take you east through the Wind River range. There is some great scenery and hiking in this area and it is not clogged with tourists. I would follow route 26 through Wyoming and down into Nebraska. This was part of what we call the Oregon Trail which was followed by many moving west. Lots of historic interest.

Route 26 will meet up with our interstate highway 80 in Nebraska. Go east on 80 then north to Cleveland. This will be though some flat country.

Getting back I would go west and south from Cleveland to route 70. Follow 70 west right through to Utah. This will give you some good views of the front range of the Rockies (after what seems to be an ungoddly long drive through Kansas!!). Route 70 through Colorado has some interest and you will be able to get to the north side of most of what you want to see in Utah.

Most of the interstates will have a traffic flow of between 120 and 130 kph (75-80 mph). Driving time (this is behind the wheel time) from the Grand Tetons to Cleveland will be around 30 to 40 hours depending on traffic on route 26.

Ric

[anthonty_debase]

The national speed limit of 55 miles per hour has been repealed. Many interstate and intrastate highways are now posted at 65 and 70 miles per hour. Montana has no speed limit on some highways.

It's still a lot of long boring driving. Have you considered taking the train for part of your trip. Amtrak is cheap and actually rather good (at least compared to Canada's Via Rail).

[walter_newton1]

I would suggest taking a detour to visit Rocky Mountain National Park in Colorado (off I-70 on your way to Utah). Once in Utah, Arches National Park is close to Canyonlands.

 

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Don't expect to see much on the drive between Cleveland and the Rocy Mountains, just try to cover that ground as quickly as possible.

[nes_suno]

<P>I admit I am not a fan of driving (so much so that I don't even own an automobile). When I need to travel the 300+ miles to Los Angeles, I fly. I am lazy and don't use the PCH (much slower than I-5).

 

<P>Yes, America has a fairly slow speed limit (whether one follows the regulations or not).

 

<P>Three rolls per day is definitely not enough in a National Park. Buy a drink cooler and load it up with Velvia (or your favorite photographic poison) in a large city. A pro shop in a big city knows that pros know what that film should cost and their price isn't all that different than the mail order places.

 

<P>REI is considered king in outdoor outfitters. I would dare guess that camping gear is cheaper in the States than anywhere else (and I don't even camp). You're Cadillac camping (running water, electricity) so big-time camping gear budget is probably not a major consideration.

 

<P>If you are desperate for a decent meal, go to the local fire station and ask a fireman's opinion on the best food deal in town. These guys have enough free time to dabble in gourmet cooking and often visit restaurants in fire code site inspections.

 

<P>I've been ocean-kayaking in Monterey Bay and was 10-20 feet away from otters, harbor seals, etc. I brought my Yashica T4. We didn't get dunked in the water; as a matter of fact, it was a fog-free day (which surprised me).

 

<P>September and October are the two best months in California (the latter month particularly). A pair of jeans, long-sleeve collared shirt, closed-toed footwear, and blazer will get you into 99.8% of habitated places in California; you do not need to overpack unless you are traveling above 1000m (3000 ft.). A waterproof shell, baseball cap, sweatshirt, and hiking boots will get you into these places in almost everything but a winter storm.

 

<P>If you have a scuba license, you will want to dive Niihau (Hawaii) one day. I got my PADI Open Water Certification in Kauai in late May (I spent most of my last vacation doing this). I still had a good time and got many decent non-scuba shots (mostly in the last 48 hours).

 

<P>I don't know what National Parks are like in Australia, but we have some really nice places to visit. Please do drop by.

 

<P>BTW, get your San Francisco E-6 developed at the New Lab (http://www.newlab.com). It's good enough for me; coincidentally it is also good enough for Galen Rowell (and apparently Thomas Mangelsen). I forgot to mention that Adolph Gasser's web site is at: http://www.gassers.com.

[john_ziegelbein]

In response to Sean Yamamoto's previous response in which he recommended dining at "Postrio" (in downtown San Francisco), I would like to add one thing. Be prepared to spend somewhere in the neighborhood of $50 (US currency) per person. I was in the area on business last week and tried it based on Sean's recommendation. Great food, but definitely an "upscale" dining experience.

[john___14]

I'd recommend a more southern route out of Cleveland (home of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame). Try I-44/40 (which pretty much traces the non-nature, but otherwise noted, Route 66 of song and screen). This is a little longer than I-70, but the speed limit is higher across Oklahoma than it is across Kansas, by a 10 mph difference. When you hit Amarillo, TX, detour south about 30 miles to see Palo Duro Canyon State Park. You would then have the option of another (long?) day south to Big Bend NP or Guadalupe Mountains NP. Then make your way across New Mexico and Colorado to Canyonlands, etc. as described in your post.

 

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On the Northern Route to Cleveland, I'd recommend Badlands NP after Tetons/Yellowstone.

 

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I'd also echo what many have said about picking and choosing. Five weeks will be too short if you try to see more than a small fraction of what's worth seeing between San Francisco and Cleveland (or what's been posted here).

[lolo_lasid]

I know this is late, but it may be of help to someone with similar intention.

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About the tripod: you can also rent it. I did. Well, I committed the mortal sin of hopping on the airplane w/out my tripod. Upon arrival in San Jose, a few calls to some stores who called themselves 'professional suppliers' on the yellow pages resulted with a suggestion to call Ewert's. They are located off interstate 101 N (San Tomas expressway exit), at the end of Jay Blvd. Ed handled the rental department and was a very helpful person. A Bogen 3021 with grip head was $54 USD for a week (Friday to the 2nd Monday after). If more than a week, of course, it would be cheaper to just buy a 3001 and bring your ballhead along. No one I tried carried foam padding for the legs, including the bigger Adolf Gasser in SF. I hope no else should ever repeat my stupid mistake.

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About the trip, I covered over a thousand miles in one week, and had a chance to see the coastal line (Monterey to Big Sur) and the mountains, as well as cityscape (SF). Camping in Los Padres NF by the beach was just as nice as camping in Sequoia NP and Yosemite NP. Wildlife encounter was minimal with exception to seals (including a dying, solitary one on the beach of Carmel-By-The-Sea), crossing bears at night, mule deer, and coyote in Yosemite. Hiking opportunity was plenty and photographically very rewarding (yes, lug the tripod along). Tourist load was minimal in Sequioa/Kings Canyon, but still quite high in Yosemite NP (all campsites were full). I would agree with anyone who suggests Sequoia/KC NP over Yosemite if only one was to be chosen. Controlled burning was being performed in several areas of the mentioned NP's and the smoke was quite bothersome, if not robbing one of landscape shots due to poor visibility (I lost one sunset). All in all, yes, this region offers tons of nature photo opportunities and one week would not do it enough justice. Backpacking the backcountry is still a dream, so maybe next time. Those who live in this region should be greatful just for the beautiful landscape!