Planning help for Trip

[loki]

ok so we are hoping to take a trip from Victoria to the grand canyon in the summer or fall but need a little help with where to stop on the way down and back. Below is the rough route for down but not set in stone and would like to come back up through california, oregon, washington. Any points of interest we should look at? We where thinking of stopping at the San Deigo( sp?) Zoo for the kids (3 years and 11 months now so 3.5 and 1.5 by then) but there are no kennels at that zoo for the dog. So places need to be kids and dog friendly. :)

http://maps.google.ca/maps?f=d&hl=en&ge ... 8&z=5&om=1

[coaxial]

That looks like a great trip! I've heard portland is really nice, might want to work that in, and personally I always take a different route back than I did to get there, making it a loop of all unique scenery rather than the same stuff twice if possible.

Maybe you could do the mapped route on the way down and the las vegas, san fran, etc. And if you go as far as sandiego, mexico is a close visit.

I've been to idaho and it is really nice. The mountain areas and the snake river were the highlights for me. And 12' of snow in the winter :)

[BCDelica]

Great plan!! You'll have a blast which ever way eh!

14 years ago (just asked the boss to confirm that) left the 2 kids (# then) with grandparents for 3.5 weeks, and of we went on a similar road trip (in a 84 Toyota van). Didn't have plans set in stone, but the trip was so memorable for both of us. We headed straight to Jasper (hwy16) then; down through Kananaskis, to Waterton and Glacier national parks (going to the sun road is a must drive), down through Boise (nice town), Yellowstone for a several days, Salt Lake City, then the 84 back through Redding Cal, them up the coast on the Hwy 101. We also planned to go as far as the Grand Canyon, but really did enjoy taking our time on that trip.

Underlined a few of the sweet spots, we got lucky with both sets of Grandparents wanting our girls during that time. That time span kid-less only happened that once, would have happily done saem the trip with kiddos.

[BCDelica]

Thanks for the memories! Just put in the oven a recipe we made up on our trip there/above - baking powder biscuit crusted pizza (with sredded cheddar in the dough) with salsa (mild now, extra spicy then) instead of tomato sauce, spicy meats (for the 3 out 4 that eat meat in this house), and a light coating of rich cheese on top. I used dill and goda tonight.

Cooked in my old dutch oven well camping; we so need to find one again.

Yumm!

Almost done - do you think Mark would add a recipe section?

[marsgal42]

That looks like a great trip! I've heard portland is really nice, might want to work that in...

Portland is one of my favourite towns. Partly because it's genuinely nice, and partly because of Powell's bookstore. People actually take vacations in Portland for the express purpose of shopping there.

The main store is a full city block of downtown Portland. And it's 4 floors. There are other satellite stores, including Powell's Books for Cooks and Powell's Technical Books.

40 in August in Portland isn't uncommon. I hope your Delica's air conditioning works.

The I-5 bridge across from Vancouver isn't actually falling apart. It just looks it.

...laura

[loki]

thanks for the tips keep them coming, oh and just to clarify the map I posted is just a rough idea and indeed only for the way down, I would not want to re trace my steps and come back the same way, up through California is the likely route.

[delicat]

I did a similar trip couple yrs ago, from Vancouver to Gd Canyon. Don't know if you've been down the West Coast yet but if it's a first l'd ditch most of the Hwy (I-5...) and go by the Oregon Coast all the way to San Francisco then get back East. On the way back l'd return via Utah, great outdoor, scenery... If you want more details PM me and l'll find some for you. These obviously aren't the fastest routes but it's more about the journey than the destiny isn't it?

Life is a roadtrip...

[heavenisalie]

(going to the sun road is a must drive)

i have to second this, went this route on a family road trip years ago and it is amazing, ill be making a trip down there again (altho id prefer something a little more sporty than a delica for it. i wonder if i can talk my dad into giving me the keys to the porsche....

[jaggedfish]

I did a similar route to Salt Lake City... Some of my favs were (excuse the spelling, it's been a while):
The mountain route over to Winthrop
Electric City and the Grand Coulle Dam
Coure D'alene, Idaho if you like old buildings
The Sawtooth Range mountains in Montana
Sun Valley, Idaho
Walking on the bridge into Twin Falls, Idaho
!!! Camping at Massacre Rocks in the Snake River Canyon east of Twin Falls on the way to Salt Lake!!!
The ruins of Saltair (Beach?) just outside of Salt Lake and it's story... quite astounding.
The buildings of Salt Lake... government building, the heritage district, tabernacle all impressive - I'm in architecture, what can I say.

From this point we headed west to Bonneville Salt Flats (stupid hot), Reno, Lake Tahoe (and the Ponderosa Ranch for those of you old enough to remember Bonanza), Sacramento... over the mountains and back up the coastal route.

Prepare for the heat thru idaho... it's mostly lava fields and desert. Keep a stock of drinks and food handy - met a mom and her kids stranded with a flat tire outside of Electric City... they had no food, no drinks, no clue how to change a tire, no shade and it was about 110 - 115 degrees!!! Changed their tire, fed and watered everybody and sent them on their way with donuts and a pack of pop and some good advice for next time - you just never know when a problem will crop up.

Was in a jeep at the time and had troubles keeping it cool thru Idaho. Running the heater seemed to help cool the motor a bit but it made it awfully uncomfortable inside even with the widows wide open. Did find some relief at one of the cave attractions north of Twin Falls (Massive Cave?) where it is only about 60 degrees F constantly - what a contrast.

Very cool photo ops in Massacre Rocks - it's been a long time since I've been but I'm sure it would be the same. Outstanding sunsets, a wide array of migratory birds - white egrets (BEAUTIFUL), very weird bugs - Jerusalem Cricket (YIKES), lizards (kids will love them). AND... it's all down in the Snake River Canyon with big cliff faces for visual drama!

Obviously memorable as I still get excited even writing about it. Will expect photos... ENJOY!!!

[quadzilla]

On the way back be sure to check out the Lassen Volcanic National Park, which is east of Red Bluff. If you are feeling adventurous, you could continue west from Red Bluff along highway 299 to McKinleyville, then north on the coast hwy (101). In Oregon, HWY 58 has a lot to offer, and don't forget Crater Lake National Park. Oh yeah, while in California go to Mt. Shasta. This is one of the so-called "power centres" of North America. Not sure if this is true, but I heard that the Raelians used to think that there was a spaceship waiting in the lenticular clouds that formed near the peak of Mt Shasta (at > 4600 m its a big one!)

Good luck and have a great time!