Author Topic: NYC - CA - NYC Solo National Parks Road Trip Summer 2020  (Read 26065 times)

Offline shmelive

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NYC - CA - NYC Solo National Parks Road Trip Summer 2020
« on: August 19, 2020, 08:42:15 PM »
Yes, you heard that right. A solo 4-week road trip from NYC to California and back, hitting as many National Parks as I can along the way.

I'm spending a few days in the Poconos (8/18-8/23), and then heading out for real.

Some preliminary details: I'm allowing for some flexibility in my planning; that said, here's the basic plan:
NYC -> PA. Stay with siblings for a few days in a great Airbnb in the Poconos.
Cedar Point Amusement Park. Yes, it's open.
Chicago. See some friends (with appropriate distancing) and eat some Chicago kosher food.
South Dakota (Mount Rushmore, Crazy Horse, Devil's Tower Monument)
Wyoming - Yellowstone, Grand Teton
Utah - Bonneville Salt Flats
(I've already been to Arches and Canyonlands. Zion and Bryce will have to wait for another trip.)
Yosemite (Yo Semite!)
Sequoia National Park
Los Angeles
Death Valley
Joshua Tree
Las Vegas
Hoover Dam
Grand Canyon
After that, who knows?
Possibly: Great Salt Plains in OK, New Orleans, Great Smoky Mountains.

I'm happy to take suggestions, especially westward bound between PA -> Chicago -> South Dakota -> Yellowstone, and eastward bound between Grand Canyon and NYC (yes, I know that's a long way).

I'm deliberately skipping some parks that are too out of the way, like Rocky Mountain, Glacier, Crater Lake; and some cities that I plan to visit at some later date for a baseball game (Houston, St. Louis, Cincinnati, Denver).

I'm using my own car, mostly for comfort and nostalgia reasons. It's a 2012 Camry, 97k miles, and a workhorse.

I eat dairy out, so I won't be obsessing around where to get food. Sorry to disappoint. I'll post food pics if there's demand, or when eating at a hechshered establishment.

Let the trip commence!

Offline yitzgar

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Re: NYC - CA - NYC Solo National Parks Road Trip Summer 2020
« Reply #1 on: August 19, 2020, 09:23:08 PM »
Badands np in SD

Offline shmelive

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Offline aarony

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Re: NYC - CA - NYC Solo National Parks Road Trip Summer 2020
« Reply #3 on: August 19, 2020, 11:10:40 PM »
I think Hoover dam viewpoints may be closed.  Check first.

Offline JuryDuty

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Re: NYC - CA - NYC Solo National Parks Road Trip Summer 2020
« Reply #4 on: August 20, 2020, 10:12:21 AM »
Sounds great!
Jury Duty: Nothing to do there but chill and write a TR. Kinda like the beach but missing the view and ocean breeze.

Offline crownsbroyal

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Re: NYC - CA - NYC Solo National Parks Road Trip Summer 2020
« Reply #5 on: August 20, 2020, 12:04:11 PM »
Between PA and CHI, you can knock off Cuyahoga Valley National Park.  I would recommend the Ledges trail, the rest is pretty standard.  It is right next to Cleveland off the highway.

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Re: NYC - CA - NYC Solo National Parks Road Trip Summer 2020
« Reply #6 on: August 20, 2020, 02:22:02 PM »
Badands np in SD

Cannot stress this enough. Drove through SD a few weeks ago and planned on spending 2 hours in Badlands just to be yotza, ended up spending half a day and regret not having had a couple of days there.
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Online Something Fishy

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Re: NYC - CA - NYC Solo National Parks Road Trip Summer 2020
« Reply #7 on: August 20, 2020, 02:22:29 PM »
Between PA and CHI, you can knock off Cuyahoga Valley National Park.  I would recommend the Ledges trail, the rest is pretty standard.  It is right next to Cleveland off the highway.

Good idea, just to grab another national park. Same goes for Indiana Dunes.
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Offline jose34

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Re: NYC - CA - NYC Solo National Parks Road Trip Summer 2020
« Reply #8 on: August 20, 2020, 04:23:20 PM »
Yes, you heard that right. A solo 4-week road trip from NYC to California and back, hitting as many National Parks as I can along the way.
.....

I eat dairy out, so I won't be obsessing around where to get food. Sorry to disappoint. I'll post food pics if there's demand, or when eating at a hechshered establishment.

Let the trip commence!
Cool good for you. Looking forward to seeing how it goes and telling other people how you were brave enough to do it solo.   

Online BCL

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Re: NYC - CA - NYC Solo National Parks Road Trip Summer 2020
« Reply #9 on: August 20, 2020, 06:42:56 PM »
FYI, Yosemite requires some kind of reservation https://www.nps.gov/yose/planyourvisit/covid19.htm

Offline shmelive

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Re: NYC - CA - NYC Solo National Parks Road Trip Summer 2020
« Reply #10 on: August 20, 2020, 08:28:07 PM »
FYI, Yosemite requires some kind of reservation https://www.nps.gov/yose/planyourvisit/covid19.htm

+1

Anyone know more about this? There's conflicting info on the website. One place says it's too late to buy for August/September, and one place seems to say they release tickets 2 days in advance.

Offline shmelive

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Re: NYC - CA - NYC Solo National Parks Road Trip Summer 2020
« Reply #11 on: August 20, 2020, 08:30:45 PM »
I think Hoover dam viewpoints may be closed.  Check first.

Looks like you're right. https://www.usbr.gov/lc/hooverdam/service/index.html

Thank you!

Offline shmelive

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Re: NYC - CA - NYC Solo National Parks Road Trip Summer 2020
« Reply #12 on: August 20, 2020, 08:35:19 PM »
Between PA and CHI, you can knock off Cuyahoga Valley National Park.  I would recommend the Ledges trail, the rest is pretty standard.  It is right next to Cleveland off the highway.

+1

Offline shmelive

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Re: NYC - CA - NYC Solo National Parks Road Trip Summer 2020
« Reply #13 on: August 20, 2020, 10:27:09 PM »
Enjoying Tobyhanna State Park with @JuryDuty and fam.
Pictured: @JuryDuty
Not Pictured: Fam


Offline shmelive

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Re: NYC - CA - NYC Solo National Parks Road Trip Summer 2020
« Reply #14 on: August 20, 2020, 10:33:28 PM »
Small detail I left out:

I'll be working some of the time (almost all weekday mornings) to support myself during this trip. I'm a psychotherapist and have been seeing clients from home since March, so I thought this was a good opportunity to work and play at the same time.

When else will I get to leave everything behind for four weeks?

As I say all the time, it's a once in a lifetime experience!

Offline shmelive

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Re: NYC - CA - NYC Solo National Parks Road Trip Summer 2020
« Reply #15 on: August 20, 2020, 10:36:13 PM »
Tentative Itinerary, planned with @JuryDuty over hot dogs and baked beans.

Sun 8/23
Leave Tobyhanna, drive to cedar point 7 hrs. Stay near cedar point or Cuyahoga Valley

Monday 8/24
Work till 11
Visit cedar point park or Cuyahoga Valley for a few hours
Drive to chicago 5.5 hrs
Dinner chicago with close friends, at a distance. (Milt's, I hope.)
Stay chicago

Tuesday 8/25
Work till 1-2
Drive 7 hrs

Wednesday 8/26
11 am Eastern Zoom meeting
Drive 7 hours to badlands. Stay there.

Thurs 8/27
Work 11:30-1
Badlands Park
Stay rapid city

Fri 8/28
Work till 11
Crazy Horse, Rushmore, Devil’s Monument (5 hours total driving)
Stay at devils monument or a bit farther west
Try to make it to Bozeman (HA)
Stay over shabbos 8/29
Motzei shabbos drive to Yellowstone? West yellowstone holiday inn

Sunday 8/30
yellowstone
drive to grand teton

Monday 8/31
Work morning
Grand teton
Drive late to Pocatello or SLC, stay

Tuesday 9/1
Work till 1
Drive to Bonneville Salt Flats - 1.5 hrs
Drive to Yosemite - 7 hrs
Stay near there (maybe on the 6?)

Wed 9/2
Yosemite

Thursday 9/3
Work till 1
More Yosemite
Drive to Sequoia 4.5 hours

Friday 9/4
Sequoia National Park
Drive to LA 4.5 hours
Stay there for shabbos 9/5
Drive to joshua tree 3 hrs sat night

Sunday 9/6
Joshua tree
Drive to Death valley national park 5 hours

Monday 9/7 - Labor Day
Death Valley
Drive to Las Vegas, Hoover Dam (if they open it?), to grand canyon 4.5hrs

Tuesday 9/8
Grand Canyon

Wednesday 9/9, Thursday 9/10, Friday 9/11, Shabbos 9/12
Flex days

Sunday 9/13
Get the heck back to NY before Rosh Hashana this Friday. ~40 hours driving over six days.

Comments welcome!
« Last Edit: August 20, 2020, 10:40:45 PM by shmelive »

Offline yitzgar

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Re: NYC - CA - NYC Solo National Parks Road Trip Summer 2020
« Reply #16 on: August 20, 2020, 10:44:57 PM »
Try to squeeze in sunrise at gtnp. I can vouch personally for schwabacher landing, oxbow bend and Mormon row are both supposed to be great too. (And Something fishy will have your head if you don't)....

Online Something Fishy

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Re: NYC - CA - NYC Solo National Parks Road Trip Summer 2020
« Reply #17 on: August 20, 2020, 10:45:38 PM »
- Stay in Billings for Shabbos, and drive to Yellowstone over the Beartooth Highway Sunday Morning. Coming from that direction and skipping the BT is criminal.
- Try to spend more than one day in Yellowstone.
- Check out Monument Valley after the GC, and Grand Staircase-Escalante if you have the time.
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Re: NYC - CA - NYC Solo National Parks Road Trip Summer 2020
« Reply #18 on: August 20, 2020, 10:46:34 PM »
Try to squeeze in sunrise at gtnp. I can vouch personally for schwabacher landing, oxbow bend and Mormon row are both supposed to be great too. (And Something fishy will have your head if you don't)....

'Deed I will.

If you have only one day, so sunrise at Schwabacher and sunset at Oxbow.
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Offline shmelive

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Re: NYC - CA - NYC Solo National Parks Road Trip Summer 2020
« Reply #19 on: August 20, 2020, 10:51:55 PM »
'Deed I will.

If you have only one day, so sunrise at Schwabacher and sunset at Oxbow.

Will do - I want to keep my head!