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Post by The Hype Himself on Jan 21, 2018 3:45:56 GMT
We are going to South Korea this summer & I can't wait. Will make watching the Olympics way more exciting. A few days ago there was uproar on national TV here, because the big Travel Poobah recommended Saskatoon as the place to go in 2018. It is a very pleasant city, but wait until summer kindda proposition. Saskatoon. O.o I've been to Saskatoon. I like Saskatoon. It's a nice city (well, more like large town) in Saskatchewan, a nice province with lots of nice things. You can even see the northern lights fairly well during the winter. I wouldn't call it a destination, nor would I recommend staying in Saskatoon unless you're road tripping (as I was.) It's in a part of Canada that, in my observation, is similar to the part of the U.S. that I live in - it's one of those places that you have to drive through to get somewhere better. Saskatoon isn't the type of place you visit for a short-term trip. Of course, this is just my opinion. I'm not from Saskatoon, nor am I Canadian. My opinion isn't going to be all that informed beyond the 18 hours or so that I spent inside the city, most of which was devoted to sleep and browsing local accommodations while reading about the place on Wikipedia from the motel I was staying at.
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Post by The Hype Himself on Jan 21, 2018 3:58:06 GMT
What sort of activities do you enjoy and how adventurous are you? Also, what's your budget? Preferably less than 1.5k, 3-4k max. I'm just looking for something fresh. Something interesting. Something I can tell stories about. As much as I know you and your preferences bud, I don't think the budget you're allotting yourself is all that realistic for you. I mean, it's definitely possible to travel on the cheap like that - I've crossed the country and Canada on less than two thousand dollars - but I don't think you're the type of person who would want to travel that cheap. You don't seem the type of person who hitchhikes or rents bicycles to camp out in the wilderness (sometimes illegally) or stay in the cheapest youth hostel that you can find. I'm not insulting you, but you said you wanted to go to Rio earlier, and for Carnaval? Man, airfare alone is going to cost you at least $2k - and I'm seriously undershooting it.
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Post by The Hype Himself on Jan 21, 2018 4:04:35 GMT
Fly to Halifax Nova Scotia, rent a car (or van) and some camping gear and explore the Canadian maritime provinces. Enjoy the great US to Canadian dollar exchange rate, go one some super great hikes and see some fantastic terrain. For that matter, fly yourself out to Denver or Boise or SLC, rent a car (or camper) and gear, and go out and hike through the Rockies or the desert. Or go to Missoula, hit Glacier NP, then cross into Canada and check out the Canadian Rockies. Go on up to Banff, or Jasper. And if you want to stay in a big city, you can always just base yourself out of the cities I listed for the US, plus Calgary for Canada. Banff and Jasper would probably work a lot better if you want to go to Canada, though I don't know how large their airports are - you'd probably have to connect from Calgary or a smaller port in either the US or Canada.
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Post by The Hype Himself on Jan 21, 2018 4:08:45 GMT
I'm actually interested in this myself. I've never actually taken a vacation before, and I feel like I ought to. Mostly I just take time off, and stay at home. Ah man, you're missing out. I'm the type of person who is traveling about 20 - 24 weeks out of the year. I don't think you're looking for that much travel, but once you get out doors and learn how to travel cheaply (and live without luxury,) it opens so many doors for you. Aren't you from New York City? Take a weekend trip up to Maine, go to Acadia NP or something. Hell, the Adirondacks and upstate New York are at your fingertips. Cross the border at Buffalo and go see Niagra Falls and Toronto.
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Post by The Hype Himself on Jan 21, 2018 4:14:05 GMT
I'm going to California next month. Does anyone on this forum live out there? I'm from California originally. What part? It's a big state - LA? The Bay Area? Sacramento? San Diego? Northern California? Southern? Lake Tahoe? The Desert? Redwood Country? Shasta?
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Post by The Hype Himself on Jan 21, 2018 4:22:31 GMT
Go for a week to Torres del Paine. Yeah, that's a bit outside his price range - flights to Santiago run at a few grand. Plus, there's the 8+ hour flight, the connections, and actually getting to the part of Chile where TDP NP is from Santiago. Santiago itself would probably be a connection, since you'd be needing to get to Punta Arenas. I've never been to Chile, but it's a very mountainous area, at very high altitude, and that means the usual: travel is going to be particularly difficult, cumbersome, long, and thus very expensive. And as I stated, I don't think the OP is the type of person who has the patience to do it the cheap way (aka, the hard/fun way.) TDP is not the place to visit if you only have a week +/- a few days, and it's especially not the place to go for a vacation on a stipulated budget with a clarified end time.
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Post by Kappa Neko on Jan 21, 2018 11:22:02 GMT
Last June I spent three weeks in northern Spain (Asturias and Cantabria) and English was actually a real problem. Even when talking to young people. Ordering food was difficult (I'm vegetarian).
Apart from that it's an amazing place, especially the national park Picos De Europa. Great for hiking! You can reach the ocean from the mountains in about an hour or two. Lots of secluded small beaches you can have to yourself if you're lucky.
We spent a few days literally on top of a mountain surrounded by cow and goat farmers. Each morning the cows would walk past the cabin. It was the most amazing place.
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Post by Schmooples on Jan 21, 2018 16:56:23 GMT
I'm planning to go on a two-week camping trip on the Isle of Skye in summer. So far I haven't found anyone to accompany me though, so I don't even know if I'm really going :') But yeah, Scotland is beautiful and perfect for nature lovers.
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Post by mattig89ch on Jan 21, 2018 17:08:46 GMT
I'm actually interested in this myself. I've never actually taken a vacation before, and I feel like I ought to. Mostly I just take time off, and stay at home. Ah man, you're missing out. I'm the type of person who is traveling about 20 - 24 weeks out of the year. I don't think you're looking for that much travel, but once you get out doors and learn how to travel cheaply (and live without luxury,) it opens so many doors for you. Aren't you from New York City? Take a weekend trip up to Maine, go to Acadia NP or something. Hell, the Adirondacks and upstate New York are at your fingertips. Cross the border at Buffalo and go see Niagra Falls and Toronto. Noooooooooo, not from the city. From long island. Personally, I hate the city. I avoid going there at all costs, and I even try to avoid going through the city as much as possible. If I ever have to travel a long distance, I tend to take the 12 hour route around the city, just so I can avoid as much of it as possible. That said, thats not a bad idea. I haven't ever been to boston, or albany. I've been to the falls, but that was when I was younger. I've never seen any part of the Adirondacks. My biggest things are going to be price (I'm in a similar boat to bam), and what to do there. I can't just show up to a place and wander around. I'd need vague goals, destinations to visit, things to do, ect. I feel like I missed out during my trip to SC, because I didn't have any goals like that (Though the eclipse was awe inspiring). I just spent my time as the meuseum, instead of trying to find things to see, places to visit, ect.
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Post by Arijon van Goyen on Jan 21, 2018 18:16:27 GMT
A Real TM vacation
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Post by Kappa Neko on Jan 21, 2018 19:22:08 GMT
This year I'm going to visit a dear friend in Tucson again. I visit him every two years.
The first time I took that horrendous 18h flight to Arizona I spent 10 days on a solo road trip (my friend is very sick and can barely walk so we couldn't go together) in a SUV where I slept on an air mattress in the back on the nights I stayed inside the national parks.
I HIGHLY recommend the national park tour: Grand Canyon/Bryce Canyon/Zion. You can do Monument Valley as well easily in 1-2 weeks depending on how much actual hiking you want to do.
Second time I visited I took my family and we drove all the way to California, up the coast from LA to San Francisco, visited Joshua Tree (highly underrated, it's gorgeous!), Yosemite (extremely crowded) and Death Valley. We even stayed two nights there. It wasn't that bad in October. We even hiked the Badlands in the morning before the sun was fully up. Very interesting place!
Then we did the Utah parks and Gran Canyon again. Drove south to Tucson. It's doable in 3 weeks but I don't recommend it. We burned 7000km. We did spent 10 of those days hiking but it's really a 4 weeks kind of tour if you want to actually get in touch with the jaw dropping natural wonders. Never saw so many different cool things on a vacation trip in my life though.
Edit: Forgot to mention Arches NP. It's a bit further up north from Zion but absolutely worth it. Capital Reef as well. Arches is actually perhaps my favorite. Devil's Garden is one of th best hikes I ever did. And it's not even difficult and only 3-4 hours long. It's extremely beautiful. We even saw deer running around between the rocks! Amazing.
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Post by The Hype Himself on Jan 21, 2018 21:00:22 GMT
Ah man, you're missing out. I'm the type of person who is traveling about 20 - 24 weeks out of the year. I don't think you're looking for that much travel, but once you get out doors and learn how to travel cheaply (and live without luxury,) it opens so many doors for you. Aren't you from New York City? Take a weekend trip up to Maine, go to Acadia NP or something. Hell, the Adirondacks and upstate New York are at your fingertips. Cross the border at Buffalo and go see Niagra Falls and Toronto. Noooooooooo, not from the city. From long island. Personally, I hate the city. I avoid going there at all costs, and I even try to avoid going through the city as much as possible. If I ever have to travel a long distance, I tend to take the 12 hour route around the city, just so I can avoid as much of it as possible. That said, thats not a bad idea. I haven't ever been to boston, or albany. I've been to the falls, but that was when I was younger. I've never seen any part of the Adirondacks. My biggest things are going to be price (I'm in a similar boat to bam), and what to do there. I can't just show up to a place and wander around. I'd need vague goals, destinations to visit, things to do, ect. I feel like I missed out during my trip to SC, because I didn't have any goals like that (Though the eclipse was awe inspiring). I just spent my time as the meuseum, instead of trying to find things to see, places to visit, ect. That's called tourism, my friend. What interests you? Climbing? Hiking? Rafting? Biking? Running? Scenery? Culture? Museums? I can't tell you what to like, but I can tell you stuff that you can do when you go somewhere. When you figure out what you're into, Wikivoyage becomes your new best friend. And after you figure out what you want to do when you get there (wherever there is) you can start figuring out how to get there, and how much you want to pay to get there. If you live on Long Island, really, unless you fly or take a boat, there's really no way to get off the island by land except to go through the city. I can see why you might dislike it. On the link though, I'll start you off easy, with New York State as your starting point. Then, the world is your oyster.
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Post by The Hype Himself on Jan 21, 2018 21:56:38 GMT
This year I'm going to visit a dear friend in Tucson again. I visit him every two years. The first time I took that horrendous 18h flight to Arizona I spent 10 days on a solo road trip (my friend is very sick and can barely walk so we couldn't go together) in a SUV where I slept on an air mattress in the back on the nights I stayed inside the national parks. I HIGHLY recommend the national park tour: Grand Canyon/Bryce Canyon/Zion. You can do Monument Valley as well easily in 1-2 weeks depending on how much actual hiking you want to do. Second time I visited I took my family and we drove all the way to California, up the coast from LA to San Francisco, visited Joshua Tree (highly underrated, it's gorgeous!), Yosemite (extremely crowded) and Death Valley. We even stayed two nights there. It wasn't that bad in October. We even hiked the Badlands in the morning before the sun was fully up. Very interesting place! Then we did the Utah parks and Gran Canyon again. Drove south to Tucson. It's doable in 3 weeks but I don't recommend it. We burned 7000km. We did spent 10 of those days hiking but it's really a 4 weeks kind of tour if you want to actually get in touch with the jaw dropping natural wonders. Never saw so many different cool things on a vacation trip in my life though. Edit: Forgot to mention Arches NP. It's a bit further up north from Zion but absolutely worth it. Capital Reef as well. Arches is actually perhaps my favorite. Devil's Garden is one of th best hikes I ever did. And it's not even difficult and only 3-4 hours long. It's extremely beautiful. We even saw deer running around between the rocks! Amazing. Ah, Tucson, it holds a special place in my heart - I used to spend so much time there on my weekends in the Army, since Sierra Vista is just a crap place, while working in Ft. Huachuca. But I'm more of a Phoenix man. I have family scattered all around the region, with my remaining grandparents in Mesa, my aunt and uncle in North Phoenix, etc. I used to live in Tempe, way back when I first started school and went to Arizona State for my first year before I got deployed for the first time. I've traversed the West so many times, and it still never ceases to amaze me. You forgot Canyonlands NP. That one's my favorite stop on the Utah Golden Circuit. GC is amazing if you go at the right time in the right place, and sunrises are amazing, but I think the scenery of Canyonlands is so much more... Martian. And as I love to say about it, it's the only place where you find canyons inside of other canyons! And when you're at the Island in the Sky area of the park and a morning cloud settles in over the area proper (only really early in the morning) it's just so... surreal... Right up the highway from Canyonlands, you get to Arches of course. Arches is great - hours in the back-country hiking out to some of the lesser known, harder to reach arch like the Eye of the Whale Arch were what made that place for me. Delicate Arch is one of those scenery type things I think everyone should get out and see, and just marvel at how it looks - problem is timing. It gets really crowded, really fast, and as far as I know, it's still closed because some asshole graffiti'd the thing. Bryce Canyon is one of the more photogenic parks, but it's also smaller and there isn't as much to do. Camping, hiking, and biking yeah, but it's become a bit too... commodified? It's really crowded, and the paths that I tried just weren't that interesting. I'm an avid hiker and climber, and Bryce isn't really geared towards outdoor adventure stuff. That's in no way its fault, it's just the way it is. Capitol Reef is easily Utah's (and the National Park system as a whole) most underestimated gem. Seriously, I love that place. It has, in my opinion the most gorgeous night sky anywhere in the desert, and there is just so much canyon tramping, hiking, and other activities to do there. And it's almost never crowded, since it's so remote and difficult to get to - you literally feel like you're driving to the end of the earth trying to get there, and the cool 'step' features of the Grand Staircase-Escalante make you seem like you're climbing up god's own staircase or something to get there. Lastly, for the Utah NP's, you have Zion, which is... well... some of the best hiking and rock/canyon climbing in the world, bar none, a gorgeous abode, with the terrific vertigo you get every time you climb Angel's Landing (I still get quivers in my fingers thinking about it, just from how high you are and how close to the edge the mountain is, and how narrow the path is, and how steep the gradient is...) But Zion has one major drawback (or opportunity, if you like to meet other climbers and such): the crowds. Seriously, crowding in Zion is a serious problem. Monument Valley is, IMO, a waste of time - unless you go off-road on your own in a vehicle that can handle it, you're not allowed to climb around the rocks, and you have to pay huge prices for really short periods of time on a Navajo-chartered 4x4. It's overpriced, sadly. It's a shame, since it's really beautiful, but you're just nickel-and-dimed for everything. And this is just in Southern Utah. You get more mountains and salt flats up north, you get gorgeous, dramatic valleys up near the Idaho border, and you just get this amazed feeling that all the cool environments in the US are packed into this state. Really, my only issue with Utah is the prevalence of Mormons - and not to insult anyone here who might be one or the religion itself, it's just I'm not comfortable in a place with so many people who are as overtly religious. Fortunately, Mormons aren't necessarily bad neighbors, they're pretty friendly, and they leave you alone (more or less.) Plus, they tend to stick to certain parts of the state. There's so much other stuff to do in this area of the US too! A day trip or weekend in Sedona, checking out some of the old mining-town-turned-hipster-paradise haunts way out in the middle of nowhere, Flagstaff, the dry plains up in the North, the Saguaro fields down south... There's so much to see and do!
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Post by Kappa Neko on Jan 22, 2018 11:09:30 GMT
Canyonlands is the only one we didn't visit. No time, sadly. It's also huge, so we couldn't just do a quick stop at the most popular spot. We stayed only half a day in Capitol Reef but LOVED it. Weather was pretty shit though. VERY windy and rainy. Our motorhome almost got blown off the road at some point. We walked the dirt road into Capital Gorge for about an hour, then hitched a ride back when the weather started to worry us.
Arches was very crowded, yes. We did get a spot in the tiny campground (I monitored the webpage for months, waiting for an opening) BUT it rained badly that day. So we didn't get to enjoy a campfire in the most beautiful campsite ever. That sucked. Weather cleared up the next morning so we could at least hike Devil's Garden. We arrived fairly early and already parking spaces were getting sparse. So yeah, too crowded but still amazing.
Zion was very crowded both times I visited. Managed to snatch a spot at the campground in the park which also took weeks of monitoring the first time because it was the Columbus Day weekend. And yes, Angel's Landing was AMAZING. I wasn't that bothered by vertigo but I saw several people lose their shit and almost start crying. My uncle wanted to go up the chains but turned around quickly. The view from the top was jaw dropping.
Bryce is a unique place but as you said, not much to do there. You can spend several hours walking around down there and it was more exhausting than I anticipated, but half a day is enough. The nights are surprisingly cold there though in October. I froze my butt off sleeping in the car.
Yosemite was the most unpleasantly crowded park though. Again we got lucky we scored a campsite but way too many people and not enough shorter day hikes in the valley. I would love to do Half Dome but after my badly healed shattered heel bone long hikes are out of the question. The famous waterfalls were all dry or almost when we visited and one road was shut down. Still, it's a gorgeous place. The hike up to Nevada Falls was great. My favorite part of the park was the Tioga Pass road though. Hiking to Cathedral Lake was amazing. A lot less crowded up there. We were alone at the lake for a short while. Very spiritiual experience such serenity. The altitude gave my uncle grief though, he got dizzy a lot and we almost turned back.
Joshua Tree was less crowded but equally amazing. We took our time to stop everywhere and do several short hikes. I was most surprised about Death Valley, however. It's actually a super interesting place. And a lot more colorful than one might imagine. Lots of stuff to see. Even in October nights were 30°C and sleeping was difficult. But at the same time it felt amazing to sit outside at night and feel like you're floating in the bathtub. It felt oddly calming and relaxing. Days were ok at 38°C. But walking the salt flats in the heat felt surreal, you could feel it sucking the life out of you.
The Grand Canyon is of course one of these things you need to experience to understand. Pictures don't do it justice. Looking at that gaping hole is mind boggling. It's as if my mind couldn't process it. For anybody considering visting, ABSOLUTELY do take a hike into the canyon! It's sad that only a small percentage strays from the paved lookouts into the canyon. There's a great spot at Cedar Ridge and it only takes 1-2 hours round trip. The farthest you can easily walk in a day is Skeleton Point. It's an entirely different experience to look at this marvel from below the rim.
I have developed great fondness for sandstone and the amazing light reflecting off it. I find it all so soothing somehow. I feel so at peace there. I never noticed how dull and GLOOMY the light is in central Europe even on a sunny day until I compared photographs. It was quite shocking how bright Arizona and Utah are!
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Post by The Hype Himself on Jan 22, 2018 13:26:27 GMT
Word of advice for camping out west - DON'T STAY IN A NATIONAL PARK IF YOU CAN HELP IT. They're seriously overcrowded during peak-season, and any time of the year, there are going to be crowds (so long as the park isn't closed for the winter, which isn't as much of a problem for parks in the desert.) Take my advice - stay in a National Forest, National Recreation Area, or National Monument instead. It will save you so much more time and effort (and money) when camping. Even in the height of the summer tourist season, I and my friend had many campgrounds to ourselves. We also camped quite primitively (sometimes, we don't even bother with the tent,) so we were right under the stars. The only times I would recommend staying in an NP is: 1) if it's a less visited park, though out west, even the lesser known ones will get their share of travelers. 2) if you get a back-country pass. If you can line up a pass, you can go out to some of the most pristine, untouched areas of any park and job your tent wherever you please, so long as you bring back everything you take with you. Plus, you do this at your own risk, which need not be stated here. I've done this a bunch of times, and for me, if I'm staying in a park, getting a back-country pass is the only way to really get out there. National forests, monuments, and recreation areas are often just as good as the camping in any particular park, and they're usually far less crowded. Of course, most of them lack amenities such as showers, power, running water, or non-pit toilets. None of those are a concern for me (I've had to sleep in the holes that I've dug with my bare hands before,) but I know a lot of people don't like to leave themselves that much in the elements. I haven't been to Yosemite since my wee years, so I can't stake much of a personal opinion on it. It's of course considered the crown jewel of the National Park system in California (though I personally think Redwoods, Channel Islands, or Death Valley deserves that distinction), and I've considered many times about when to go, but as you say, it's just... so... damn... crowded. If I were to go, I'd probably want to stick it out first in King's Canyon and Sequoia NP's first, since those parks are far less visited and just down the road (so-to-speak) from Yosemite. Same with Joshua Tree - I've always been fascinated with that park, and though I've been, I was too young to remember it well (I was about 4 years old when the Comet Hale-Bopp passed through in the spring of 97'.) Part of Joshua Tree for me has always been my association of it with the U2 album: it's one of my favorite albums ever, and I grew up listening to that with my mother, who is herself still a huge U2 fan (as am I, I took her and dad to see them twice last year, in Cleveland and at home here in Indianapolis.) But I think one thing about Joshua Tree that juxtaposes it perfectly with Death Valley is the life/death dichotomy that they share, with Joshua Tree representing life/rebirth. I need to get out there, but it'll have to wait for a couple of years while I do volunteer work in Africa for the Peace Corps. And for GC, I've been several times, both North and South Rim (If you can ever get there via the North Rim, do it - it's completely different from the South Rim, and the juxtaposition is very interesting, with the desert-like, pinnacles of the south rim, and the heavily-forested, mountainous north rim. Some member of my family, a cousin I believe on my dad's side, has a part-time visit down in the canyon itself for rafting and kayaking. I've done that once or twice, but the problem is that they're born-again Christians, and they insist on preaching heavily while doing it, so I don't do that anymore... But yeah, I've climbed up and down the canyon enough times that it's sort of lost its luster for me, though I admit that I will always feel the magic of a sunrise over the canyon. Plus, when you're staying in Flagstaff waiting for a break in the weather to climb Humphreys Peak in the Winter (the highest point in Arizona,) the GC is a great place to go to for a day trip - and it's totally different when you see it in the winter. I was deeply impressed by that event, with the snow covered mesas and plateaus, and the clearing of the morning cloud base that made many parts of the canyon look like literal islands in the sky... During the Summer, I was out on a big road tour of the Northwest and Canada for about a month-and-a-half, and I hit every Park (except for Rainier, which I've been to and climbed enough times to skip,) all of which were my first time (or in Yellowstone's case, first that I remember.) Crater Lake (which was gorgeous, though unfortunately for me, it was a bit of a miss since I arrived there too early in the season, and most of the snow hadn't melted yet, so the roads were pretty much closed, and the fog cover meant seeing the lake itself was a wasted effort.) The drive through eastern Oregon, in the desert hills that few ever visit, down through to California along the Cascade spine, seeing Mt. Shasta and its sheer enormity (and my next climb in the US when I get the chance,) down to Lassen Volcanic, and clambering around Manzanita Lake and seeing the Milky Way at night... Then the drive to the coast, and sleeping among the Redwoods with the Banana Slugs and mist from the Pacific rolling in - it makes me tear up a bit, since California is my home state, and I get nostalgic and all, even though I'd never been to Northern California before... And then hiking along the redwoods, with that cinnamon-y pine smell that you only smell while there... Then on the road through Oregon again, in the middle of the rain, the awesome weirdness of Portland, and into Washington, with a brief stop at the Mount St. Helens National Volcanic Monument, then to the coast again for a couple days on the Olympic Peninsula, in the Olympic National Park, probably one of the most diverse parks in our system (beaches, valleys, mountains, rainforest, it's got them all.) I underplanned for Olympic, sadly - it's such a huge park, with so much to do, that I could really only realistically do one or two things, so just being completely surrounded by the Douglas firs and hemlock trees in what was probably the greenest place I've ever been too (and I've been to a lot of rainforests in the tropics!) I'll tell you more, but man, there's just so much to talk about here! I was actually going to ask, where were you from ? You said central Europe just now, so I have a clue, but whereabouts in particular? I was in Germany for a very long TDY while I was in the Army, and I spent some free time going through Western and Southern Germany, Austria, and Switzerland (as well as going through the rest of Western Europe.)
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...lives for biotic explosions. And cheesecake!
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Post by Kappa Neko on Jan 22, 2018 14:33:14 GMT
I'm from Germany, I do most of my hiking in Austria but that happens maybe once a year for two weeks. And I'm not a tent camper. We either rent apartments in Austria or mobile homes in North America.
As far as NP campgrounds are concerned, some are fine. The one in Arches is actually very pretty, the one in Zion is nice too. We ALWAYS camp inside the parks to save time. I would not want to drive for 2-3 hours to get to a trailhead. Sadly these days this means booking campsites WAY in advance. You cannot expect to get walk-in campsites anymore. Not even outside the parks. We ran into real trouble at the coast in California so that on two nights we stayed at the Walmart parking lot... EVERY single campground was full. And around Yosemite everything was booked up as well. We got stupid lucky we got a spot last minute inside the park.
This was quite shocking. We used to travel Canada in the past and we never had issues getting campsites, nothing was booked online. We simply drove until we found a nice campground for the night at a quiet lake or something. And they were A LOT cheaper too. The campsite fees in California are SICK. Might as well stay at a hotel... Online booking has utterly ruined the freedom aspect of road trips. At least for mobile homes. Tent camping might still be a lot easier. I had to plan every single stop meticulously. No room for switching things around. On the few days where I did NOT book like six months in advance that resulted in parking lots...
I loved unmaintained cheap derserted campgrounds in Canada. The best experience was camping on a broad riverbed, Yukon. I don't like crowds but it cannot be helped in the States it seems unless you go super off season. It's like everything is Lake Louise these days... However, the worst crowds disappear quickly when you leave the bus stop tourists. You basically only have to start down an actual trail for a few minutes to be rid of 90% of them. But yeah, it sure isn't like the romantic solitude of the Yukon or parts of Alaska.
California/Nevada/Arizona/Utah was amazing but it was rather stressful because of the crazy campground situation and also miscalculating how much longer it takes to get anywhere in a somewhat crappy slow mobile home compared to the SUV I had when I drove around on my own. I don't doubt that when you're local or have a lot of time, you can still camp cheap and away from crowds. I always wanted to try backcountry hiking. Especially going from mountain hut to mountain hut in Austria, reaching places you wouldn't normally see. Never got round to it, didn't have any friends who even liked hiking. So the road trips with my family were mostly roadside sightseeing with a bit of hiking in the parks.
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Post by Treacherous J Slither on Jan 22, 2018 14:37:21 GMT
I'm going to California next month. Does anyone on this forum live out there? I'm from California originally. What part? It's a big state - LA? The Bay Area? Sacramento? San Diego? Northern California? Southern? Lake Tahoe? The Desert? Redwood Country? Shasta? We're going to San Diego first then roadtripping up through cali to the redwood forest.
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Post by Treacherous J Slither on Jan 22, 2018 14:39:40 GMT
I'm going to California next month. Does anyone on this forum live out there? I'm from California originally. What part? It's a big state - LA? The Bay Area? Sacramento? San Diego? Northern California? Southern? Lake Tahoe? The Desert? Redwood Country? Shasta? We're going to San Diego first then roadtripping up through cali to the redwood forest.
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Post by Treacherous J Slither on Jan 22, 2018 14:41:21 GMT
Anything of note we should check out?
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Beerfish
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Little Pumpkin
Games: Mass Effect Trilogy, Dragon Age: Origins, Dragon Age 2, Dragon Age Inquisition, KOTOR, Baldur's Gate, Neverwinter Nights, Mass Effect Andromeda, Anthem, Mass Effect Legendary Edition
Origin: Beerfish
XBL Gamertag: Beerfish77
Posts: 15,060 Likes: 35,937
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https://bsn.boards.net/user/314/personal
Mass Effect Trilogy, Dragon Age: Origins, Dragon Age 2, Dragon Age Inquisition, KOTOR, Baldur's Gate, Neverwinter Nights, Mass Effect Andromeda, Anthem, Mass Effect Legendary Edition
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Post by Beerfish on Jan 22, 2018 14:59:42 GMT
I'm from California originally. What part? It's a big state - LA? The Bay Area? Sacramento? San Diego? Northern California? Southern? Lake Tahoe? The Desert? Redwood Country? Shasta? We're going to San Diego first then roadtripping up through cali to the redwood forest. I went to a conference in San diego a few years back, lovely city. I really liked it.
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Proud Sponsor of Swingin' Seamen Charter Fishing: My Live Bait Will Catch Your Fish Every Time!
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hawkeyegod
Mass Effect Trilogy, Dragon Age: Origins, Dragon Age 2, Dragon Age Inquisition, KOTOR, Mass Effect Andromeda, SWTOR, Mass Effect Legendary Edition
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Post by The Hype Himself on Jan 22, 2018 15:56:49 GMT
Anything of note we should check out? Are you staying along the coast, or do you have the time/freedom to move inland a bit? Hit the Channel Islands NP when you get through LA. Make sure to drive up Highway 1 and spend some time in Big Sur (just be sure to check for landslides in advance and adjust your route accordingly.) Stay out of San Francisco proper if you don't want to get caught in godawful traffic. Try to spend some time at Patrick's Point State Park, one of the best hidden gems in the US (plan accordingly, this sells out fast.) Remember that in the Redwoods, you can't stay in the National Park proper, but you can stay in any of the State Parks, like Jedediah Smith State Park - the NP is administered jointly with the state of California, and a lot of the Redwood territory is located inside the state parks. If you can go inland, hit Lassen Volcanic NP in northern California, stay for an evening or two in Weed, smoke some weed, and marvel at the enormity of Mt. Shasta which utterly dominates the skyline of the Southern Cascades.
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Post by Treacherous J Slither on Jan 23, 2018 15:11:43 GMT
Anything of note we should check out? Are you staying along the coast, or do you have the time/freedom to move inland a bit? Hit the Channel Islands NP when you get through LA. Make sure to drive up Highway 1 and spend some time in Big Sur (just be sure to check for landslides in advance and adjust your route accordingly.) Stay out of San Francisco proper if you don't want to get caught in godawful traffic. Try to spend some time at Patrick's Point State Park, one of the best hidden gems in the US (plan accordingly, this sells out fast.) Remember that in the Redwoods, you can't stay in the National Park proper, but you can stay in any of the State Parks, like Jedediah Smith State Park - the NP is administered jointly with the state of California, and a lot of the Redwood territory is located inside the state parks. If you can go inland, hit Lassen Volcanic NP in northern California, stay for an evening or two in Weed, smoke some weed, and marvel at the enormity of Mt. Shasta which utterly dominates the skyline of the Southern Cascades. Thanks man. We plan on somehow skirting L.A. because of the traffic. Sad to hear that San Francisco isn't any better. We're staying at a airbnb in a part of San Diego called North something. Supposedly it's a nice area. Bummed to hear I can't camp out in the redwood forest. What if we do it anyway? Is there a fine? Jail time?
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mousestalker
Inactive Moderator
ღ The Untitled
Just here for the cosplay
Staff Mini-Profile Theme: Mousestalker
Games: Mass Effect Trilogy, Dragon Age: Origins, Dragon Age 2, Dragon Age Inquisition, Baldur's Gate, Neverwinter Nights, Jade Empire, Mass Effect Andromeda, SWTOR
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Post by mousestalker on Jan 23, 2018 15:17:55 GMT
Bummed to hear I can't camp out in the redwood forest. What if we do it anyway? Is there a fine? Jail time? They make you listen to an eight hour lecture on how high speed light rail cures rectal cancer and then participate in an awareness/self criticism group to help you determine your real identity. You then must spend twenty hours in community service hugging the homeless. Best not to...
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Post by Treacherous J Slither on Jan 23, 2018 15:22:04 GMT
Bummed to hear I can't camp out in the redwood forest. What if we do it anyway? Is there a fine? Jail time? They make you listen to an eight hour lecture on how high speed light rail cures rectal cancer and then participate in an awareness/self criticism group to help you determine your real identity. You then must spend twenty hours in community service hugging the homeless. Best not to... Hrmm...worth it.
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Little Pumpkin
Games: Mass Effect Trilogy, Dragon Age: Origins, Dragon Age 2, Dragon Age Inquisition, KOTOR, Baldur's Gate, Neverwinter Nights, Mass Effect Andromeda, Anthem, Mass Effect Legendary Edition
Origin: Beerfish
XBL Gamertag: Beerfish77
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https://bsn.boards.net/user/314/personal
Mass Effect Trilogy, Dragon Age: Origins, Dragon Age 2, Dragon Age Inquisition, KOTOR, Baldur's Gate, Neverwinter Nights, Mass Effect Andromeda, Anthem, Mass Effect Legendary Edition
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Post by Beerfish on Jan 23, 2018 15:29:38 GMT
When you walk through the redwood forest make sure you record the loud sound of chainsaw on your smart phone.
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