Author Topic: NYC - CA - NYC Solo National Parks Road Trip Summer 2020  (Read 26061 times)

Offline BCL

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Re: NYC - CA - NYC Solo National Parks Road Trip Summer 2020
« Reply #20 on: August 21, 2020, 12:10:06 AM »
- 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.
+1 This will also give you time in Lamar Valley.

- Try to spend more than one day in Yellowstone.
+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.

80% are sold on first day of the month for the next month. 20% are sold 2 days in advance.
In your case, you have to be ready Sun or Mon at 7 am to grab a reservation.

This is from nps.gov:
How and when do I get a day-use reservation to visit Yosemite?
Day-use reservations are only available via recreation.gov. Reservations will go quickly; be sure to have an account, be logged in, and ready to get a reservation promptly at 7 am Pacific time.

Beginning at 7 am Pacific time on the first of each month, 80% of day-use reservations are available for the following month at https://www.recreation.gov/ticket/facility/300015. For example, on July 1 at 7 am, day-use reservations for all arrival dates in August will be available.

Beginning at 7 am Pacific time two days ahead of the day-use reservation date, the remaining 20% of day-use reservations will be available. For example, on July 1 at 7 am, day-use reservations for July 3 will be available.

Each user can make one reservation per entry date. You must arrive on the arrival date listed on your reservation. An occupant of the arriving vehicle must have the user (with photo ID) who made the reservation. The reservation is then valid for seven consecutive days (including arrival date).


Offline shmelive

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Re: NYC - CA - NYC Solo National Parks Road Trip Summer 2020
« Reply #21 on: August 23, 2020, 10:56:14 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.

+1
I will try to reach Billings for Shab. South Utah may have to wait for another trip, it'll depend on the time. Also, I've been to Arches and Canyonlands so I have less of a drive (pun intended) for South Utah atm.

+1 This will also give you time in Lamar Valley.
+1

80% are sold on first day of the month for the next month. 20% are sold 2 days in advance.
In your case, you have to be ready Sun or Mon at 7 am to grab a reservation.

+1 This is very helpful, thank you!

Offline shmelive

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Re: NYC - CA - NYC Solo National Parks Road Trip Summer 2020
« Reply #22 on: August 23, 2020, 11:31:42 PM »
Trip Report Day 1

Aaaaaand the trip is underway!! I started off with a nice lazy last morning with my siblings in our Tobyhanna Airbnb. All in all, a really nice place for a medium size family to stay - 5 bedrooms, lake view and access, spacious comfortable areas to relax...

View of the Lake

After our non-tearful goodbyes, it was time to head out. I put my first stop - Cuyahoga Valley National Park - in Waze, and off I went.


On the way, I kept my eyes out for Walmart. Because, dear friends, it seems that I have forgotten to tell you about my first roadtrip snafu.

As I was loading my car before heading to the Poconos last week, I noticed that the inside of my trunk was wet. I unpacked the trunk completely, and I saw one of a car owner's worst nightmares: mold. I consulted the Google, and covered the trunk with baking soda. Not sure if that was a good idea or not, but it did reduce the moisture.

Directions: Add one s***load of baking soda to trunk. Vacuum. Pray.

Welp. I was out of options at that moment. I consulted my dad, and then Amazon Primed a trunk liner replacement to the Airbnb. Sadly, USPS decided that the package was undeliverable because the addressee was unknown. Hmm. not sure why that was a problem. FedEx delivered a package to me at the same address two days earlier.

So, I went to Walmart on the way. Walmart #1 didn't have what I wanted, and it was then that I remembered that @JuryDuty had suggested I check Walmart.com for in-store availability. @JuryDuty is always right. I checked online, went to the next Walmart that was on my way, and picked up a suitable replacement.



It was one-size-fits-most, which apparently means that it mostly fits :) I'll get a real replacement when I get back to NY. I left the now-dry, full-of-baking-soda original liners in Tobyhanna for the sanitation and the raccoons to fight over.

I stopped for gas along the way. All rest stops seem to be following a similar policy - put up a sign that masks are required, and not enforce it. Most people were wearing masks, though. Yes, I was wearing one.

I crossed into Ohio...


and made it to Cuyahoga Valley.


It's a nice park, mostly with easy hiking and biking paths through forests. I did the Ledges Trail, as recommended by @crownsbroyal. I was a bit underwhelmed, but if that was the best of the park then I'm glad I chose that trail. Here's a pic of the Ledges Overlook:



I must be spoiled, I guess. As punishment for not enjoying the view, I had an unexpected encounter with a state trooper, and will have to make an obligatory donation to the State of Ohio.

I decided that I would drive West until I got tired. I pulled up the IHG app (more on IHG later - basically I've decided that IHG would be the best bet for this trip) and found a few hotels along the I-80. A few podcast episodes and phone calls later, I arrive in Fremont, Indiana, which is where I currently find myself, typing at a hotel desk in a hotel suite.


That sign says Indiana!

For tomorrow, plan is to see two clients over Zoom in the morning (hotel WiFi seems good), head to Indiana Dunes SP, then Chicago for late lunch/early dinner with friends whom I have not yet texted, and then head further West. For now, good night!

Day Totals: 562 miles driven, too many hours to count. Filled up on gas twice.

Offline yitzgar

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Re: NYC - CA - NYC Solo National Parks Road Trip Summer 2020
« Reply #23 on: August 23, 2020, 11:41:57 PM »
I like your writing style

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Re: NYC - CA - NYC Solo National Parks Road Trip Summer 2020
« Reply #24 on: August 24, 2020, 12:51:15 AM »
What camera do you have with you? That picture that you said isn't nice, is actually a pretty good shot.

Offline shmelive

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Re: NYC - CA - NYC Solo National Parks Road Trip Summer 2020
« Reply #25 on: August 24, 2020, 08:24:10 AM »
What camera do you have with you? That picture that you said isn't nice, is actually a pretty good shot.
Thanks. I’m using my iPhone XR. I have another camera with me, which I may use for some more scenic shots.

Offline jose34

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Re: NYC - CA - NYC Solo National Parks Road Trip Summer 2020
« Reply #26 on: August 24, 2020, 08:42:35 AM »
Keep it coming...

A few comments.
First of all not sure if you referring to this but I do find IHG to have the best quality of nice but simple places to stay aka. Holiday Inn, Holiday Express etc...

I'm sure you know about this but  I wonder if you can program Siri or another app to auto focus to take pictures automatically of certain things.

Offline Mikes@Micro

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Re: NYC - CA - NYC Solo National Parks Road Trip Summer 2020
« Reply #27 on: August 24, 2020, 08:54:06 AM »
. wonder if you can program Siri or another app to auto focus to take pictures automatically of certain things.
Something like this?
siri shortcut
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Offline shmelive

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Re: NYC - CA - NYC Solo National Parks Road Trip Summer 2020
« Reply #28 on: August 24, 2020, 11:10:00 AM »
First of all not sure if you referring to this but I do find IHG to have the best quality of nice but simple places to stay aka. Holiday Inn, Holiday Express etc...
Yes, exactly.

I'm sure you know about this but  I wonder if you can program Siri or another app to auto focus to take pictures automatically of certain things.

Interesting, I'll look into it!

Offline CRACKERJACK

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Re: NYC - CA - NYC Solo National Parks Road Trip Summer 2020
« Reply #29 on: August 24, 2020, 12:29:05 PM »
First of all not sure if you referring to this but I do find IHG to have the best quality of nice but simple places to stay aka. Holiday Inn, Holiday Express etc...
Staybridge cheap and nice

Offline lakewood34

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Re: NYC - CA - NYC Solo National Parks Road Trip Summer 2020
« Reply #30 on: August 24, 2020, 02:26:51 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)....
interesting i did sunrise at schwabacher landing  3 weeks ago and myself and my entire party were very underwhelmed and i have seen alot nicer. It was a clear sky and a cloudless day so i'm not sure why it should not have been good but it was unanimus in my party that it was not worth getting up for . As an aside there were close to 50 people there and i was from the first to come so we definitely didn't miss it. The only benefit was we got to jenny lake pretty early and beat the crowds. By the time we left it was super crowded at the boat launch dock with large backups.

Offline shmelive

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Re: NYC - CA - NYC Solo National Parks Road Trip Summer 2020
« Reply #31 on: August 25, 2020, 12:26:46 AM »
TR Day 2

I'm tired. Let's see how much I can type before falling asleep.

First, the story of the skipped waypoints.

Cedar Point amusement park was supposed to be in the plans today. It looked cool, and it was on the way. Although I can tend to be a last minute planner, I did look this one up beforehand. They said they would be open every day until Labor Day, and then change to weekends only. Alas, when I checked their calendar yesterday, they had apparently decided to celebrate Labor Day early this year - Gut Yom Tov. They were open yesterday, but not today or the rest of this week. Nu nu. I got some extra travel in last night instead.

This morning, after I saw two clients from the comfort of my hotel room, I was planning on stopping at Indiana Dunes on my way to Chicago (at the recommendation of @Something Fishy). There was only one small problem. I had a close encounter with a q-tip last night, and I needed to see an ENT pronto. Long story short, I had to go straight to Chicago and sadly skip the Dunes. There's more to the story, but I'm tired.

It was nice being back in Chicago!


I made sure to hit up Ken's for lunch. I had a Burger Buddy.


And my buddy had a Italian something or other (Italian Beef, maybe?). I'm told I need to get that next time.


Continuing with the theme of mixing friends and food, I met up with a couple who recently moved to Chicago. We caught up at Milt's.


I truly love this place. I haven't been in a couple of years, but they still have my favorite Bloody Mary, with jalapeno-infused vodka and a garnish of beef bacon:

YUM. Another view, this time with pickles:


And this time with a cup of chili:


The chili was great as well. Very full-flavored. It had a nice kick too. I generally can't tolerate too spicy, but this was just at the edge of my tolerance zone. I know this tells you nothing at all. Spice is relative. I'm being unhelpful. Get the chili. Thank me later.

The Braised Short Rib entree. Pricey, but really really good. Falls apart in your mouth, if not first on your fork. Well, MY fork. Get your own.


Maybe it's an Illinois thing, but the wait staff insisted that we put our masks back on when staff approached the table. Understandable.


The closest you're going to get to a picture of me.

Can't stop in Chicago without some time at Lake Michigan!


And then heading West once again, on my way to the Badlands. Staying tonight in Madison, WI.

Totals: $300 out of pocket at the ENT. Blah out of network coverage. Drove 333 miles, 5-6 hours total. No stops for gas today! I'm running on Milt's BBQ sauce.

Blurry Wisconsin welcomes me!

Online Something Fishy

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Re: NYC - CA - NYC Solo National Parks Road Trip Summer 2020
« Reply #32 on: August 25, 2020, 02:21:51 AM »
interesting i did sunrise at schwabacher landing  3 weeks ago and myself and my entire party were very underwhelmed and i have seen alot nicer. It was a clear sky and a cloudless day so i'm not sure why it should not have been good but it was unanimus in my party that it was not worth getting up for . As an aside there were close to 50 people there and i was from the first to come so we definitely didn't miss it. The only benefit was we got to jenny lake pretty early and beat the crowds. By the time we left it was super crowded at the boat launch dock with large backups.

Because you need clouds for an epic sunrise. Bald skies are terrible for sunrises and sunsets.
Check out my site for epic kosher adventures: Kosher Horizons

Offline Yehoshua

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Re: NYC - CA - NYC Solo National Parks Road Trip Summer 2020
« Reply #33 on: August 25, 2020, 11:56:26 AM »
Great TR so far. Sorry about the ENT visit and your obligatory donation to the state of OH. I had a similar incident with the commonwealth of PA a few years ago. Enjoy being back in WI (albeit just driving through). Looking forward to the rest!

Offline jose34

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Re: NYC - CA - NYC Solo National Parks Road Trip Summer 2020
« Reply #34 on: August 25, 2020, 12:06:31 PM »
This TR almost reminds me of a few years ago when Dan and the crew did the Antarctica cruise, new exciting update everyday!

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Re: NYC - CA - NYC Solo National Parks Road Trip Summer 2020
« Reply #35 on: August 25, 2020, 02:03:56 PM »
I would take a bit of time to stop off in Mitchell, SD to see The World's Only Corn Palace, it's definitely unique, and only a few min. off the I-90.

Offline shmelive

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Re: NYC - CA - NYC Solo National Parks Road Trip Summer 2020
« Reply #36 on: August 25, 2020, 02:45:03 PM »
I would take a bit of time to stop off in Mitchell, SD to see The World's Only Corn Palace, it's definitely unique, and only a few min. off the I-90.

+1

Offline Dawie

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Re: NYC - CA - NYC Solo National Parks Road Trip Summer 2020
« Reply #37 on: August 26, 2020, 02:56:18 PM »
Maybe it's an Illinois thing, but the wait staff insisted that we put our masks back on when staff approached the table. Understandable.

law or becoming the law
https://nypost.com/2020/08/25/illinois-mandates-masks-at-bars-and-restaurants-when-interacting-with-staff/

Offline shmelive

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Re: NYC - CA - NYC Solo National Parks Road Trip Summer 2020
« Reply #38 on: August 29, 2020, 11:30:30 PM »
Ok, it is HARD to keep up the pace here, but I’m going to try. Day 3 TR, here we go.

I woke up in the Staybridge Suites Madison, Wisconsin (coincidentally also where I went to bed last night), had breakfast…



...and then I saw five clients from 9 AM to 2 PM Eastern standard Time, a.k.a. 8AM to 1 PM central time. It was exhausting! Thank G!d for hotel WiFi, though.

I feel like working is a necessary evil on this trip, and I don't think I could take the trip without doing so, but it's killing my vibe a bit. I really do like to sleep in! I was exhausted. I pushed late check out as far as I could, until about 3:30 PM, and then I headed out on the road.

But first, a stop for gas (the Milt’s barbecue sauce had run out). I had a long drive ahead of me – I was basically going to head toward Badlands national Park in South Dakota, and get as far as I could.

Gas is really cheap here! It was $1.99 a gallon. Thanks, Wisconsin!


Something else I noticed - I’ve been having a windshield bug problem. I don’t know if this area has more bugs, or I’m covering more miles, or the higher speeds lead to more bug squashing, but my windshield was becoming messy. The wipers and fluid weren’t helping as much as I would have liked. More on this later.

I headed west on the I-90, passing into Minnesota.




You can really see the bug streaks on the windshield!

To my surprise I crossed over the Mississippi River! I knew it runs north to south but I wasn't expecting it this far north. Hey. Geography.


On a gas pit stop, I saw a carwash place, and my car desperately needed one (especially the windshield). I stopped in, and - to my surprise - it was fully automated, with no attendant! I used the kiosk and pulled in. It was definitely a fun experience! Too bad there were no attendants at the end to wipe down my windshield, I could have used it.


[this is supposed to be a video, can anyone help me troubleshoot?]

I amused myself with music, phone calls, and an audiobook until I got to Blue Earth, Minnesota. I was there to see the Jolly Green Giant, he of the corn and green beans - neither of which were served at the statue. Not that I eat green beans, but that’s a story for another time.

While exiting the highway in Blue Earth, I was once again welcomed by a representative of the state, this time Minnesota. He traveled in a car with flashing lights. We had a little chat, and he thankfully did not obligate me to make a mandatory donation to the state. I was very grateful.

At the statue, I met two fine gentlemen from the East Coast, one from Albany and one from New England. I asked them to demonstrate their photography skills with my camera, with me and said Giant as the subjects. Then I reciprocated and demonstrated my photography skills with their respective terms. Surprisingly, they are also on a road trip to the West Coast, planning to visit as many national parks in the camp. We compared notes, laughed at the unpredictability of the universe, and drove away.



My (mostly) clean car and the Jolly Green Giant. If you look closely, you can see the Toyota letters that I ordered for free from Toyota by way of a tip from @Dan a bunch of years ago. Anyone remember that post? And if yes, did you order letters as well? I have named my car Fezzik, after the Princess Bride character played by Andre the Giant in the iconic movie. Fezzik, meet Jolly Green. Jolly Green, meet Fezzik. I will henceforth refer to my car by name.

Back on the I-90, I headed west once again, and stopped at Sioux Falls, South Dakota, for the night.

Two gas fill-ups, one car wash, one pull-over, and  437 miles of driving (6.5 hours). Long day. I’m wiped. Staying at the Candlewood Suites in Sioux Falls, SD.

Offline Yehoshua

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Re: NYC - CA - NYC Solo National Parks Road Trip Summer 2020
« Reply #39 on: August 29, 2020, 11:58:05 PM »
Lol, nice! Did you make it to SD that day? The main storyline goes unanswered...