Best place to Travel/Life out West for a few months?

[RivaLiva]

Maybe I just get the perception that all of Cali is expensive. We are just looking to see the country. We both went out west on vacations and want to live the dream one more time before we start working.
We am thinking about Coeur De Alene, Idaho, Albuquerque NM, Laramie Wyoming, Mesa Arizona, maybe not even that big of a city I don't really know. We aren't planning to leave til Labor Day because of our summer jobs so we have time. I was just posting to get some ideas.

[MissT74]

Just jump on the 10 FWY and drive....you'll know when to stop, what to see, etc, when you see it. I think it's a great idea, but remember, it's summertime which = HOT, I mean DAMN hot, out here in the old Southwest.

T

[mason55]

inland empire isn't bad pricewise. you're on the way to vegas, not far from LA and SD and it's really starting to boom there.

also, according to david lynch, it's crazy there

[RunDownHouse]

[ QUOTE ]
Maybe I just get the perception that all of Cali is expensive. We are just looking to see the country. We both went out west on vacations and want to live the dream one more time before we start working.
We am thinking about Coeur De Alene, Idaho, Albuquerque NM, Laramie Wyoming, Mesa Arizona, maybe not even that big of a city I don't really know. We aren't planning to leave til Labor Day because of our summer jobs so we have time. I was just posting to get some ideas.

[/ QUOTE ]
Are you real big on outdoorsy-type activities? If not, those are all pretty bad choices. Where are you starting from?

Cliff notes: Through the Badlands of SD to Devil's Tower, WY. South to Rocky Mountain Nat'l Park, CO. West through Arches and Moab to Lake Powell, UT. West through either Capitol Reefs or Grand Canyon, and so on to Vegas. Then either NW to Tahoe, west to San Fran, and down the coast to LA, or straight west to LA an then up the coast to San Fran. Either way, driving the coast through Big Sur is incredible.

Since you mentioned Wyoming, here's a route you could try if you do like back-country comforts: Head through Wall, SD, to the Badlands National Park. Just outside the park, within 30-45 minutes of Wall, there's a tiny town of less than 100 that has an 1800's jail that you can just walk in. No tickets, lines, nothing, just the jail that's been standing there forever. There's also a bar that's been there since the 1800's, has cut-in-half 55 gallon drums for barstools and sawdust on the floor. The low ceiling and walls are covered with carvings and bullet holes. The town, particularly the jail and bar, have been written up in National Geographic. So hits Badlands Nat'l Park for the stunning scenery, and on your way out stop through this town for the jail and a beer. I know Wall Drug has the National Geographic article framed somewhere on the walls, and I'm sure if you get anywhere close, someone can name you the town and give you directions.

On your way west out of Wall, its about 45 minutes to Rapid City. Nothing big there, but its close to three destinations: Mount Rushmore, Sturgis, and Deadwood. The first is self-explanatory, and you won't need (or want) more than an hour or two there. Visit the unfinished Crazy Horse memorial if you want more carvings in mountains. Sturgis is only important if you visit during the Sturgis rally, the largest Harley rally in the country. Thousands and thousands of bikers all converge on this tiny town for a week of concerts and brawling. When I lived up there, I was warned not to hang around the camp sites of Sturgis at night. Too dangerous. Deadwood is the setting for HBO's "Deadwood," obviously, and the deathplace of Wild Bill. I was there before the show, but I'd love to go back and see the town through the lens of the show. Visit the table where Wild Bill was shot, visit his grave on a hillside, and then hit up a casino for a buffet lunch and some gambling.

After Deadwood and Sturgis, keep heading west to Devil's Tower in Wyoming. I think its ~4 hours from the WY/SD border. You can see it from way far off, and you'll probably want a good half day to hike around once you're there. From Devil's Tower, head south towards Laramie and do whatever you want to do there, then keep going south into Colorado and hit up Rocky Mountain National Park. Stunningly beautiful, and there are plenty of places where you can simply pull off the road and climb to the top of the nearest mountain. A friend and I did this and were chased back down by a territorial mule deer. Scary at the time but a great memory.

Heading west from Colorado, enter Utah and see the Arches Natl' Park and Moab, just over the border. You could spend days exploring all of it; rent mountain bikes if you're adventurous. Continuing west, spend a day or two at Page, AZ, or anywhere further north on Lake Powell, for some boating fun. If you've got the bucks, you can get a house boat. Pick up a keg, plop it on the deck, and putter around the lake in your houseboat for a few days. Or rent a motorboat and explore the canyons and caves back through the narrow crevices of the lake. If you're in a rental car, you may even bay able to unload your luggage at the north end of the lake, get a boat, motor your way south, and then get a meal and another car in Page. Do your research first, because the northern parts of the lake, in Utah, can be pretty remote, with few services. If you miss the last ferry across the lake going from Hall's Crossing to Bullfrog, there isn't even a hotel or restaurant for you. Its either sleep in your car and eat at the employee kitchen, or 90 miles back east to Blanding, UT.

After Lake Powell, if you're in Page, its a hop, skip, and a jump to Grand Canyon Nat'l Park. No more needs to be said. If you're at the north end, in Utah, drive through Capitol Reefs Nat'l Park. Intensely wild, rugged scenery, the quality of the roads through the park mean it'll take you maybe twice as long as covering the same stretch on an interstate, but its worth it.

After Capitol Reef/Grand Canyon, just go straight west to Las Vegas. Perfect ending (and beginning, and middle) to any trip. If you're still going, you can drive straight up the NV/CA border to Lake Tahoe. I loved it there, and it seemed like it'd be a great vacation spot in either summer or winter. Then you can head West to San Fran, then drive the beautiful coast south through Big Sur to LA.

Staying in campgrounds in National Parks the entire time is a great way to save money. One time when I headed out west, I planned my route simply by staying at one park, getting out my map, deciding how much I wanted to drive the next day, and finding a national park about that distance away. A tip to remember is that, in many places, if you find an established fire ring somewhere, you can camp there yourself. Check with local park rangers to make sure, but those types of places have been my best camping experiences. Driving through the Black Hills, I took a small road that was unpaved at times. Eventually, I saw a clearing among the pines with a fire ring. I had to drive over a shallow stream to pitch the tent, but its by far the most idyllic place I've ever camped. Just outside of Rocky Mountain National Park to the west, I turned off the main road at an unmarked gravel road. It took 4WD at a spot or two, but it wasn't long before I found a fire ring. Great camping, although the bugs ate me alive. Again, check with the rangers, but if you've got time and don't want to shell out $30 to pitch a tent, it can be worth it to explore just outside the parks and see if you can find a beautiful, secluded spot. If you make it to LA, there's a great hike-in only camping area on the cliffs of Malibu. Often, national park campsites are kind of "meh" because of all the RVs. This place in Malibu is not only in a great location for seeing all of LA, but its hike-in only status means no RVs. Its not a hard or long hike by any means, but the fact that you can't just drive up means that there won't be any families with small children or casual visitors.

There's a ton to see out west, so you'll probably miss most of it. If you're in WY, you may want to go to Yellowstone instead of heading south. I just said south to Rocky Mountain because I've been there and because its a good route south, then west, then a bit south in order to hit up Vegas. But you could just as easily head to Yellowstone, then south to SLC and so on to Vegas. In any case, I definitely recommend camping most of the way even if you're not particularly looking to cut costs. Its an incredible way to experience the country, and if you get sick of it a night or two in a motel will often be enough to refresh you.

[inside??]

Make sure you spend a day in Sedona, AZ. Very Mystical

[Monolith]

Try Santa Fe and Taos, New Mexico: very pretty, though Santa Fe can be pricey...

[Bullrun]

SD badlands onto
Wy Devils Tower onto
WY Bighorn Mountains onto
MT Billings Montana for dinner or something onto
MT through redlodge, MT into Beartooth mountains...wow...snow in july on the mountains...a good 10-12k feet up on the highway you will find a campground...
Stay on highway into the northeast entrance of yellowstone via Cooke City...onto

ID West Yellowstone, fun town...
Off to Boise ID just to work your way from Boise to Cour d alene....amazing scenery....

but the coast could be fun too..

[RivaLiva]

Thanks for the write up Run, and to everyone else for the ideas. We still have plenty of time as I said to plan it all out but getting some ideas is great so we can have a basis of what to work off of and then play it by ear as we get on the road.

Camping along the way is something I didn't even think about until you said it. That will save us some and will definately look for a fire ring. We are both hunters so we are fairly outdoors friendly and don't mind camping. We are looking for both a mix of camping but also staying in cities to get both the camping life but also hitting up the bars and partying.

We talked it over a little last night and will for sure include some of these spots depending on the route we take.

Also we are definately want to try to visit:
Pikes Peak
Mt Rushmore
The Badlands
Yellowstone
Las Vegas
I can't remember the others that we said