This is a work in progress, a way to get my ideas down on paper, and a way to share them with participants. This drive will take most of November, starting on Friday, November 3, and finishing November 29 (at the latest). Sandy will be with me for part 1, then Ben for part 2.
After the reunion, Sandy and I will work our way north leisurely and then she will fly home from San Francisco. Ben and I will explore the Pacific Northwest, probably in the rain. And then head inland and into winter. This will be different.
It looks like a lot of the National Parks will be sort of closed. Some are guaranteed to be closed. Some try to keep a few roads open, but will often be closed due to snow. Yellowstone will be very limited, but we might try it out anyways.
Update: The highway east of Cooke City has closed early due to winter storms. This means we will only be nipping in to Yellowstone for a back and forth jaunt, coming and going through the north-east entrance. Mammoth Springs will be the highlight. And we will see how far we want to go towards Cooke City before turning around
Driving South
Schedule looks to be:
- Friday, November 3
- Drive 10 hours to Billings, MT
- Taking an extra hour because we are now passing through Regina
- Saturday, November 4
- Drive in and out through through northern part of Yellowstone (only one entrance and dead end road is open)
- Drive 7 1/2 hours to Boseman, MT
- Or maybe as little as 4 1/2 hours, if we pull the U-turn at Mammoth Hot Springs
- Visit Mammoth Hot Springs (NOT something you swim in!)
- Sunday, November 5
- Drive 8 1/2 hours to Salt Lake City
- Visit Craters of the Moon, ID
- Monday, November 6
- Drive 5 hours to Kanab
- ? Visit Tabernacle Hill Lava Tubes
- Visit Belly of the Dragon
- Visit Peekaboo Canyon (maybe drive in if sand is mostly frozen. Otherwise, a couple of miles hiking)
- Visit Moqui Cave Museum
- Visit Sand Caves (near Kanab)
- Visit Kanab Dinosaur Tracks
- Tuesday, November 7
- Drive 3 1/2 hours to Las Vegas
- ? See a show
- Wednesday, November 8
- Drive 4 1/2 hours to Temecula
- Find a hotel
- Thursday, November 9
- Move in to Camila for reunion
Reunion in Temecula
We have 5-ish days to play.
- Thursday, November 9
- Arrival day
- Friday, November 10
- Saturday, November 11
- Sunday, November 12
- Monday, November 13
- Tuesday, November 14
- departure day
Driving North
Driving north has three main phases (!):
- Temecula to San Francisco with Sandy
- San Francisco to Seattle with Ben
- Seattle to Saskatoon with Ben
Temecula to San Francisco
We have firm fixed start and end dates: November 14 to November 21. Sandy is busy planning stuff to do in Los Angeles. And then we will stumble north, arriving on November 20 in Vallejo. The next day, we will put Sandy on a flight, and start driving north in the rain.
So far, we have:
Schedule looks to be:
- Tuesday, November 14
- Departure day from Camila
- Drive 1 hour to Irvine, CA
- Stay with Alison and Ken in Irvine
- Wednesday, November 15
- Stay with Alison and Ken in Irvine
- Thursday, November 16
- Do something
- Stay with Alison and Ken in Irvine
- Friday, November 17
- Drive 4 1/2 hours to San Louis Obispo
- Stay at Hotel Calle Joaquin
- Saturday, November18
- Drive 3 1/2 hours to San Francisco
- Stay at Chancellor Hotel
- Sunday, November 19
- Putter about San Francisco
- Continue staying at Chancellor Hotel
- Monday, November 20
- Drive 1 1/2 hours to Comfort Inn Cordellia
- Settle in
- Drive to Vallejo
- Dinner with Ben
- Drive 1/2 hour to Cordellia
- Tuesday, November 21
- Sandy flies out of SFO to YYC at 13:50
- Warren and Ben start driving north
San Francisco to Seattle
This will be the bulk of the return trip, zigzagging across Oregon, seeing the coast, and the interior. Rainy coast, probably cold and snowy inland. We are looking for waterfalls, caves and dramatic ocean scenes.
Ideas (from south to north)
Redwood (Valley of the Giants)- Go inland:
Lassen Volcanic NP- Lava Beds NP
- Mushpot Cave
- Golden Dome Cave
- Catacomb Caves
- Upper/Lower Sentinel Cave
Face Rock- Crater Lake
- Toketee Falls?
- Watson Falls?
- Boyd Cave
- Redmond Cave
- Crooked River High Bridge
- Terwilliger Hot Springs
- Tamolitch Falls (Blue Lake)
- Koosah Falls
- Silver Falls SP (10 Falls Hike)
- Go coastal:
- Sea Lion Caves
- Devil’s Churn
- Devil’s Punch Bowl
- Tillamook Creamery
- Tillamook Air Museum
- Hug Point
- Cannon Beach
- Go inland:
- Multnomah Falls
- Seattle Museum of Flight
Possible Schedule could be:
- Tuesday, November 21
- Drive 3 hours to Redding
- Choose a hotel?
- Wednesday, November 22
- Drive 4 hours to Klamath Falls
- View Burney Falls enroute
- Explore several Lava Beds NP Caves (Mushpot, Catacombs, Sentinel, etc.)
- Overnight:
- Stay at Indian Well Campground or
- Klamath Falls (looks like there are several hotels)
- Thursday, November 23
- Drive 5 1/2 hours to Redmond (hotel of Skull Hollow Campground)
- Visit Crater Lake (if road is open)
- Explore Boyd Cave
- Explore Redmond Cave
- Stay at Skull Hollow Campground
- Friday, November 24
- Drive 4 hours to Eugene, OR
- Maybe visit Koosah Falls
- Maybe visit Tamolitch Falls
- Hike 10 Falls in Silver Falls SP
- Stay hotel in Eugene, OR
- Saturday, November 25
- Drive 6 hours to Trask River
- Visit Sea Lion Caves
- Visit Devil’s Punch Bowl
- Visit Drift Creek Falls?
- Visit Munson Creek Falls?
- visit Tillamook Creamery
- Visit Hug Point (can be delayed until next day)
- Visit Canon Beach (can be delayed until next day)
- Tent in Trask River County Campground or hotel in Tillamook
- Sunday, November 26
- Drive 5 hours to Seattle
- Visit Multnomah Falls (looks like tickets aren’t required in November)
- Stay Hotel (e.g. Days Inn Wyndham Seattle South)
- Monday, November 27
- Aviation Museum of Flight Seattle
- Late afternoon, start drive north to ?
Seattle to Saskatoon
We have opted to go through the Canadian Rockies. And the car is prepared with snow tires. We could push hard and make the trip in a single day. Three days would be pretty leisurely. The start day depends on when we decide to leave Seattle.
I have done this route many times and it is a good one. There are lots of things to see. Road closures and snow storms frequently get in the way.
Ideas (south to northeast)
- Kelowna: Myra Canyon
- Golden: Sky Bridge
Takakkaw Falls(closed in winter)- Lake Louise
- Johnston Canyon
- Banff
- Drumheller Dinosaur Museum
Proposed schedule is:
- Monday, November 27
- After Museum of flight, drive 6 hours to Kelowna
- Cross border
- Stay Kelowna
- Tuesday, November 28
- Drive 6 hours to Banff
- Stay Banff
- Wednesday, November 29
- Drive 7 1/2 hours to Saskatoon
- Thursday, November 30
- Ben flies to SFO at 18:55
Links to Places to Visit
This map show places we could visit for the whole trip.
This map shows places we could visit for just the going north portion.
I have been adding things to these maps. Now I just need to figure out an efficient way to visit as many of them as possible. Snow may make some of the routes impassable. Switching the car over to snow tires gives us the additional option of going across the Canadian Rockies.
Other Odds
Packing list for this trip is HERE.
Test Photonic
