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This isfrom two posts on another forum I made. If you can't see pics let me know.
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I've watched with interest the reactions of Europeans and others over US culture and sights during the World Cup games. I've traveled extensively here including a 20 state, 10,600 mile, 5 week trip in 2022. Of that perhaps 1500 miles was on divided highway, most of it was winding off the beaten path roads.
If visiting cities is your thing I'm not going to be of much help however if you are looking to see natural sights I have a lot of personal experience. If you have any questions I can offer some advice whether it's a few days or weeks.
As some general advice I'd suggest the early Fall, start after the first Monday in September which is a big holiday here that marks the end of Summer. Crowds are lighter, weather should be nice most places and nothing should be closed because of snow yet.
If you have extensive time to do this don't have a plan.By that I mean don't be making reservations or expect to be somewhere at certain date and time. This gives great flexibility in staying somewhere longer or moving onto the next attraction. Try and time it so you have accommodations as close to the attraction as possible. Leave for the park very early morning, even if it's still dark. Most of these places don't start seeing a lot of visitors arrive until 9 or 10AM. Be aware travel from one destination to the next is usually a days ride if not more.
Don't be afraid to use the mom and pop motels, they are typically cheaper and a lot cleaner. If you are comfortable with camping bring a tent. There is all kinds of opportunities for camping.
When traveling between destinations start looking for a place to stay around 3 PM or so. You should not have any problem finding accommodations for the night. Over 5 weeks I only used my laptop three times to find accommodations. Cash is king at these smaller places, ask and you'll probably get a discount. By not having reservation it also allows you to check the place out before putting money down.
Be sure to check ahead for restrictions in National Parks, Glacier National Park for example limits car traffic and you need a pass. It's free but you need to get it a few days ahead of time. Most parks have entrance fees, they aren't much but if you are going to visit multiple locations get the pass that is good for a year at the first park you visit.
Lastly always be aware of the gas level in your car. Fill up at any opportunity you have after it's past half full. If you are heading into a really desolate area like Death Valley for example fill up at last gas station even if's almost full.
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Crazy Horse near Mt. Rushmore, South Dakota. This is a private venture started in 1948. Completion could extend into the next century.For scale if you zoom in there is excavator visible. It's enormous, Mt. Rushmore could fit on the forehead.
Traffic Jam in Yellowstone, Wyoming
Entering East side of Glacier National Park, Montana
There is land more westerly and land more northerly but this is the most Northwestern point in the continental US, Washington State. Second one is my car in turn around for RV's near the trailhead, the most northwestern point in the US you could drive.
Oregon Coast
Avenue of the Giants, Northern California. It's like this for 30 miles.
Section of Pacific Coast Highway in Norther California. This is one of the more scenic drives in the US, it's 655 miles (1050KM) long. It meanders along the coast though mostly rural areas with the occasional small town and through some bigger cities including San Francisco. This is not a very good picture but best one I have online.
Golden Gate, San Francisco California
Sequoia National Park, California. It's very difficult to convey how large these trees are. The largest branches on the General Sherman are 6 feet wide, the branches could be huge trees themselves. It's 130 ft (40M) from the base of the tree to the first branch.
Engage Light Speed, West of Death Valley California
Zion National Park, Utah (or outside it). Left this for another day hopefully.
Bryce Canyon, Utah... Stunning.
Monument Valley, Utah
Mesa Verde National Park, Colorado - Native American Ruins
Black Canyon of the Gunnison, Colorado
Colorado...Hit this with perfect timing. The leaves were just changing and it had snowed the previous day.
A few more, I only have a 2500 to choose from.
Mt. Rushmore, South Dakota. Each US state has a flag and plaque.
Needles Highway near Mt. Rushmore.
Another one of Crazy Horse Memorial. This will be more than twice the height of any sculpture on earth when completed.
Devil's Tower, Wyoming
Yellowstone, Wyoming. The buffalo roam freely, the one in first picture is about 100 ft. off the path. It's also home to grizzlies , elk, moose, wolves and many other wildlife. Yellowstone National Park combined with Grand Tetons National Park directly adjacent to the south and the protected national forests/public lands surrounding both are referred to as the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem, in total it's roughly the size of Portugal.
Sundance, Wyoming. Other than an expensive one on the Pacific Ocean this was best room of the trip. $85, super clean and it even had towel sculptures with chocolate mints.
To the west of Glacier National Park.
North Cascades, Washington State- The impression I had here was like watching Jurassic Park. Unfortunately there was forest fire in nearby area, that's the haze. It was like this for two days of travel.
Atop the Space Needle, Seattle, Washington State
Second highest peak at Olympic National Park, Mt. Olympus is to the left under cloud cover. Unfortunately there was extensive cloud cover and I never got a peak at it, it took me about half and hour to get this shot. It opened up for about 30 seconds and then it was gone. The second one is zoomed shot of the glacier.
Another one from Avenue of the Giants, Northern California. This was from side road off the main road. These are redwoods, typically taller than the Giant sequoias but no where near girth.
Tourist trap on private property, couldn't help myself. The cutout dates to 1930.
Another one from the Pacific Coast Highway
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Above San Francisco the Pacific Coast Highway goes inland and follows along this small bay. Don't miss that turn!
Alcatraz, San Francisco Bay. This was the highest security federal prison in US until it was closed in the 60's. It's now part of the National Parks System.
Another one of the general Sherman. It's 36.5 feet(11m) at the base.
Kings Canyon is adjacent to Sequoia National Park, this is just the parking lot for the General Grant tree. Early morning so I was first one there.
Tourist trap in King's Canyon, didn't need gas but I got some anyway. It's gravity fed, no power. There was minimum purchase and it was quite a bit more expensive, this is middle of no where. It worked out in the end because I took a more off the beaten path road after exiting King's Canyon that I would not have taken otherwise.
Heading east towards home, This is from overlook, far off in the distance is Mt. Whitney the tallest peak in lower 48 states.
Exiting the Sierra Nevada Mountain range, China Lake which is US military installation is in this general direction. Death Valley is over the mountain range in the background and to the left.
Death Valley was closed due to washouts from massive storm a little bit before I got there. I could of headed south and hooked up with an Interstate for quick ride to Las Vegas but that's not me. I took the 300+ mile trip around north of Death Valley. Free range cattle here, note the cow sign.
Hoover Damn Nevada/Arizona, I was there early morning and got some great shots with no people or cars.
A few more from Bryce Canyon, Utah
Escalante National Park, Utah
Capital Reef National Park, Utah
Somewhere near Canyonlands National Park Colorado, Utah. River is the Colorado River
Natural Bridges National Park, Utah
"Mexican Hat" near Monument Valley, Utah
Monument Valley, Utah - Monument Valley is on Navajo reservation and controlled by them. There is one way dirt road that is 17 miles long.
Mesa Verde Nationa Park - Native American Ruins. This is series with second and third images zoomed in.
Black Canyon of the Gunnison, Colorado
Independence Pass and the Continental Divide, Colorado - Elevation 12,000 ft.
Pikes Peak, Colorado, Unfortunately not a very good day to be there. I was leaving the next day and it was as clear as it could get, I almost did it again. It's at least a 2 hour drive to get to the top.
Some my wonder where the Yosemite and Grand Canyon pictures are. I was to both places and others in my 20's. Comments about my chicken legs are verboten!
Arches National Park, Utah - You may recognize this from one of the opening sequences of one of Inadian Jones movies.
Badwater, Death Valley, California - Lowest point in the US. 282 foot below sea level.
North Rim of the Grand Canyon, Arizona
El Capitan, Yosemite Valley, California
Last but not least, Pacific Coast Highway, South of Big Sur
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Beautiful Pictures. Seems like it was quite the trip. Thanks very much for sharing.
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It was planned for years, at least to take it. I had no time table, no end date, no schedule and just some daily notes for the routes I was taking written on a notepaad. At one point I had missed the road I wanted to get on, I looked down at dash... Fuel, Check!, West, check! and kept on going. I'm getting older and glad I took it. A lot of these places are physically demanding for a 50 year old smoker who doesn't exercise much.
The photos could of been better. I had a higher end P&S and was using the auto adjust. I should of been paying more attention to the results because some of them are blown out. That said composition is important and I think do a decent job.
There was a photographer at Black Canyon of the Gunnison and he had one of those large format cameras complete with the accordion apparatus set up on tripod. I was talking to him and he was waiting for this exact moment of where the sun would be and no cloud cover. If I recall he was waiting for the sun to be in a position it wasn't casting any direct light on the cliff face so there was no shadows but the light would be maximized. Clouds were sporadic that day and one ruined his shot. He packed his shit up and left with no picture taken. That's some dedication. -
how did you handle the situation with the bison ? ( Traffic Jam in Yellowstone, Wyoming)
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You deal with it by sitting there and enjoying it.
Generally they are moving across the road with the occasional one pausing to take a break. There can be many of them so you could be sitting there for a while or moving forward in small steps. I had few if I rolled my window down I could of touched them as they were walking by. Traffic will get backed up. They didn't mind the slowly moving cars if they were in the opposite lane but if they were in your lane you were waiting.
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I think your pictures look good.
If you ever get to my neck of the plains.(Woods are scarce here).
Visit Palo Duro Canyon the second largest canyon system in the US.
I have been up Pikes Peak 3 times.Twice driving & once on the train.
The train ride was interesting. It was 95° F at the bottom.
Other people looked at us like we were crazy because we were carrying coats.
The train windows were open at the start & we could hear them closing as the train went up.
At the top it was really snowing .We were able to walk around outside.
Most of the people stayed in the concession.
In the same area Royal Gorge Bridge in worth a visit.
I also visited Cripple Creek before it became a casino town.
It was like visiting a ghost town.
Carlsbad Caverns is also worth a visit.
One time there I booked one of the special guided tours.
The Hall of the White Giant tour.
Ranger guided once per week with only 8 guests. So only 400 people get to see this a year.
Saguaro National Park is also amazing. Not as tall but kind of like Sequoia National Park with cactus.
I do have pictures taken with a film camera. I decided not to post them as I did not want to compete.
Yours are better anyway. -
Big thx for this - from a long time i've had a dream to rent camper and drive over US and Canada - some trip like 1 or more year long (yeah, i know tourist visa is for 90 days), it will never happen but still it is good to have some dreams. Your pictures showing something that is frequently forgotten in all this political noise we are constantly attacked - how beautiful continent North America is, once again big thanks.
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When I was in my early and mid 20's my cousin who is same age used to head to Arizona after the New Year to work each year for a few months, we have a friend who lives there. I'd drive out with him, usually a short trip of 4 to 5 days and get a plane back, then in the Spring I'd take the return flight. We'd spend two weeks seeing different places. We did that 3 times.
On the one trip out we ended up in Texas because there was snow storm to the north. I did see Carlsbad and there was some other park with Indian ruins in Southern Arizona, the name escapes me. Also saw the Royal Gorge bridge Colorado on different trip. My cousin was always in a hurry and I was the one trying to see everything. I was on Alcatraz island and called him, he made a joke "How did you get there, submarine?"
In any event when I do this again the basic plan is to leave after New Years. Direct to Charleston and let the fun begin. Everglades >> Key West >> New Orleans >> Southern Texas >> San Diego >> Pacific Coast Highway from SD to Morro Bay which will complete the entire thing, Northern Arizona and Northern New Mexico. There will be many stops along the way. Looks like that Canyon you mentioned would be stop on the way home. -
Take a short trip. If I was making recommendation for short 1 week trip.Originally Posted by pandy
Day 1 - Fly to Vegas, blow all your vacation money at the casinos and get a room in Boulder City, NV that night.
Day 2 - 7AMish Hoover Dam, it will be deserted and inside tours start at 9AM >> Back to Vegas by lunch and do The Valley of Fire northeast of Vegas which will get you near Utah border. Max out the credit cards at those casinos.
Day 3 - North rim of the Grand Canyon
Day 4 to ? - There is smorgasbord of places to visit in Southern Utah that you can pretty much hit one after the other. It's like one giant wonder. Zion National Park, Grand Staircase Escalante, Capital Reef, Canyonlands, Natural Bridges, Arches, Monument Valley... Those are all National Parks or Monuments in Southern Utah except Monument Valley which is on a Navajo reservation.
I wish I could see it all, with this last trip I was seriously considering driving to Alaska.Last edited by thecoalman; 26th Jul 2026 at 13:09.
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I used to would have also recommended Las Vegas. It has been many years since I have been there.
One thing is parking at most casinos is now paid. Last time I went it was free at any casino.
If you do go I found the Motel 6 off Flamingo to be one of the best places I stayed.
Close to the strip but you do not need to navigate a large casino to come & go.
Also there is no longer the free pirate ship battle at Treasure Island & the white tigers of Siegfried & Roy are gone.
I did stay at a really nice Days Inn in Saint George Utah before going to the North Rim .
Large continental breakfast Free.
Don't plan on staying at or near the Grand Canyon. Like at Tuba.
I just saw Zion & I regret not going to Bryce Canyon.
For thecoalman I understand the best way to get to Alaska is drive to Washington & take your car to Alaska by ferry boat.
The only other way is a long drive through Canada.
I've been to several sites in Arizona. London Bridge was interesting but not to impressive.
Both rims of the Grand Canyon are well worth seeing.
Again Saguaro National Park & Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument are interesting.
A bit commercial but Old Tucson is interesting. -
The trip through Canada is apart of it. That said taking a ferry to or from Alaska on top of the trip through Canada would be interesting.For thecoalman I understand the best way to get to Alaska is drive to Washington & take your car to Alaska by ferry boat.
I wasn't necessarily recommending Vegas itself, certainly plenty of things to do there if that is your thing. Vegas is a good starting point even if it's just for the flight in for short trip and wanted to maximize what you'll see.
If you wanted to stay in Vegas there is four places outside of the city not too far.
Hoover Dam of course. This used to be the entrance for the tour inside the dam, they use it for the exit now. They built a visitor center on the Arizona side so people weren't in the baking sun waiting in line.
Red Rock Canyon to the west, this is a one way 13 mile loop. They have wild burros and there lot of trails if you want to hike in.
From there you can go to Mt Charleston to the Northwest. It's a nice drive but it's up the mountain and down the mountain. It's more of a commercial area at top but nice.
Then the Valley of Fire to the Northeast. It was later in the afternoon into early evening so I didn't have time to stop and smell the roses here. I did all four in one day and I probably should of split it into two days or skipped Mt. Charleston.
It's fine line between maximizing what you see and not rushing it. You can easily spend a week any single park if you really wanted too. Some days I easily put on 10+ miles hiking throughout the day. -
Just to add realistically you could visit the North Rim of the Grand Canyon as day trip from Las Vegas but it would be a really long day 12 to 14 hours assuming 4 hours at the Grand Canyon.
Here is a funny story, this is back in the early 90's. We were camping near the North Rim of the Grand Canyon and had some time to burn. We had seen these signs for Jacob Lake and decided to go see what it was about. We were literally going around in circles following these signs trying to find this lake only to realize off to the side of our campsite was the "Lake". The picture is literally taking from where tent was setup. Apparently it's largest body of water for hundreds of miles.
Ladies and Gentleman, Jacob Lake. It's a little cutoff because I was trying to get the deer in but that is most of it.
[Attachment 93200 - Click to enlarge] -
@ thecoalman,
Since you are in Pennsylvania as it says under your avatar then go through Canada on the way "Hey".
Then back on a ferry.
It seems there are at least 2 Red Rock Canyons in the US.
The Oklahoma one used to be Red Rock Canyon state park.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red_Rock_Canyon_Adventure_Park_(Oklahoma)
Big lake -
That's what I meant above, it's great idea if I ever decide to take that trip.Originally Posted by cholla
Yea, it's massive. Some lakes can be pretty small in my area but that one barely qualifies as a back yard pond.Big lake -
Wonderful photos.
Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence -Carl Sagan -
Well - highly unlikely - check 'visa bond program' - soon it will reach 20000$ - instead visiting USA it is cheaper to visit rest of the World.Originally Posted by thecoalman
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Deleted as not to detract from thecoalman's topic.
Last edited by cholla; 3rd Aug 2026 at 10:03.
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Checking it as suggested, it's fully refundable assuming you don't overstay. It's also limited to 50 countries, it does not apply to most of the world. Looking at the list there is not a whole lot of the general population in those countries that could afford to come here for a vacation to begin with. ChatGPT estimates the average GDP per capita in those countries is $3K to 4K, a low of $300 and high of $22K. Someone making $300 a year could probably afford that 7 day trip if they saved for about 15 to 20 years, entire lifetime to meet the bond.
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Thanks, didn't really do much in Oregon other than the 101. After the Space Needle in Seattle in the morning I headed "North" on the 101 first place I could get on it, was surprised there wasn't some kind of plaque or sign but perhaps I missed it. Stayed the the night in Port Angeles, here is early morning shot from the room.Originally Posted by TreeTops
Olympic Park early morning which was nearby.
Northwest Point off of 101 "West" around noon and then got a room somewhere still in Washington on 101 South. That's how they had the signs labeled, I guess it makes sense but was a little weird. The room number was humorous. Looks a little ratty but it was nice place. Was owned by older Asian couple, her eyes lit up when I pulled out cash an she gave me break on the room.
Spent the next two days on 101 into Northern CA. These should all be Oregon.
Last edited by thecoalman; 1st Aug 2026 at 19:53.
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Of course this generally not a problem but this very strong signal to all people willing to visit USA - so despite fact that my country apply under VWP this may change sooner than anyone can imagine so your planned travel of dreams may become obsolete faster than you think - it is extremely difficult to build something on such unstable foundation...Originally Posted by cholla
All true and you are 100% right but try to see this from other side - there is so many very nice continents/countries without similar regulations so people usually choose less problematic trips where you can spent 6000...12000$.Originally Posted by thecoalman
Last edited by pandy; 2nd Aug 2026 at 07:40.
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If I'm looking at this from the other side someone who needs to work an entire year just for the plane ticket isn't coming here to spend $6K to $12K on a vacation. If you have $6 to $12K to spend on a vacation it's unlikely the country you live in is on that list.
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Deleted as not to detract from thecoalman's topic.
Last edited by cholla; 3rd Aug 2026 at 10:04.
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That's because they are on shorter list where travel to US is outright banned.Originally Posted by cholla
In any event we are straying into politics here, please don't get my topic locked.
Needles Highway, Mt. Rushmore - Difficult to see because it's washed out but if you zoom in on the tunnel Mt. Rushmore is framed. One photo I was really disappointed with because it was quite clear with the eyes.
Crazy Horse Memorial, near Mt. Rushmore - These are from 2022, if you look up current progress the hand and arm are partially completed. I've included image that is not mine of what it will look like when completed. As already mentioned they have been working on this since 1948, completion may extend into next century.
Last edited by thecoalman; 3rd Aug 2026 at 08:50.
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That should fix the too political for my posts.
Except where they were quoted.
I can't edit those.
The Crazy Horse sculpture has been very slow .
The reason is they use explosives as little as possible & a lot more controlled than the Mount Rushmore project did.
Crazy Horse is all privately funded also. So it takes time to have enough money to do the sculpture.
All government offers of funds are rejected. -
Thanks cholla, I didn't expect you to edit anything but I could see where this was heading.
Looking back at my journal for this the guide stated they currently have a 18 man crew on it working year round. His estimate was completed in 30 to 40 years. I was reading about the completion of the hand they were discussing some newer technology they were using that was accelerating the process.Originally Posted by cholla
I would imagine the funding is picking up since 1998 when they finished the face since there is something to look at. Don't recall what I paid but it's currently $30 a car for up to 3 people, $10 each additional person. There is some very large Native American museums on the property. They also have a bunch of buses that take you to the base of the mountain for an additional $5 per person. They encourage you to take all the rocks you want.
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I thought removing the posts was the best way to show I thought they were getting too political also.
I have not been to Crazy Horse but my brother has. -
Nice pics, but is the VideoHelp forum really the place to publish personal photoalbums?
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Initial post was made in private forum on phpBB.com, many of the team members are from Europe and other countries. I copied and pasted it here. Images are hot linked to files on my own server.
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As an American I love seeing people discovering it... I visited the Sequoia National Park last year ... too bad though that 77,302,580 Americans voted to not protect and the rest of the natural beauty...
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The National Park System is 85 million acres, a little smaller than the state of Montana. These are some of the most protected areas in US. Most commercial activities, especially those that would alter the landscape like mining or logging, are almost entirely banned. For the most part the very limited commercial activity in a National Park are historic buildings contracted out to private enterprise to provide guest services or private property grandfathered in. Lodging, camping, food services, gas stations etc.
The National Forest System is 193 million acres and the National Wildlife Refuge System is 95 million acres which are not as restrictive as National Parks System but nonetheless largely protected spaces. State parks, state forests and other areas protected by the states add another 100 to 150 million acres, privately protected areas another 60 to 100 million acres. BLM also controls about 245 million acres, 40 million acres are protected to some degree or another.
This is not a complete list. Protected areas at the county level, local towns/cities, Native American reservations and other smaller areas are not included.
Depending on how you want to define protected a rough estimate of areas with broad protections which doesn't include all the acreage listed above would be the size of Texas + California + Arizona + Nevada + Colorado.
Thanks for playing, keep your political comments out of my topic.Last edited by thecoalman; 5th Aug 2026 at 18:22.
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