First Time, Western USA

[Estelle641]

Hi all,
We're planning a 2 week trip from San Francisco to explore what the USA has on offer outside the main cities. We've been to a few main cities before, so we'd like to focus more on beautiful scenery, interesting places, easy drives. We're from South Africa, so this won't be repeated anytime soon. We have no idea which direction to head into, but would like to drive along the coast somewhere, visit those beautiful sandstone formations in Utah, Yosemite if possible, whatever you suggest ;)
Thanks !

[glc]

Welcome to RTA!

Exactly when in the spring will you be traveling? Some of the western attractions in the mountains may still be in winter mode and not accessible to wheeled vehicles.

[Southwest Dave]

With 2 weeks you can certainly manage your 'wish list' in a nice loop trip. Heading south down the coast will put the ocean on your side of the road, from the Cambria area you could head inland, possibly to the Grand canyon. From there you could head through Page AZ and visit Bryce canyon and Zion and then start to work on your return. Las Vegas, Death valley, Sequoia and Yosemite NP's are all possible. You should do a little more research and map out where you want to go and at what pace, then we can give more meaningful advice.

[AZBuck]

As noted, the time of year of your trip will make a big difference in what will be available to you. Much of the red rock country of the Southwest that you plan to see is well over a mile in elevation, and the winter snows hang on well into spring with additional accumulation possible. For some specific examples, note that thee North Rim of the Grand Canyon, all but one or two roads in Yellowstone, and the only approach to Yosemite from the east are all closed until almost summer in typical years. So f you plan to travel before mid to late May, you'll probably have to factor road closures into you plans. In the meantime, though, have a look through these discussions to get an idea of some other attractions in the general area you're going to be traversing.

AZBuck