Cali road trip...

[OcheerioO]

Hey there!
I just joined here because I'm needing some advice about a trip I'm interested in taking by myself. I've never traveled by myself before, but I'm looking forward to the opportunity to see the west coast for the first time and be on my own.

The purpose of the trip is to expand a photography series I am working on. I'm interested in traveling for a fresh perspective, different landscape and the potential to push the series to a different level.

I've never been to California and I can't stop hearing about how beautiful it is-- I think I could create some really amazing imagery, so that's why I chose it as my destination. My plan was to fly to cali from philly, rent a car and begin my trip. I was thinking about spending 2 weeks or so traveling about the state. So for those of you still reading this...any suggestions on definate stops or well-traveled routes? Any advice would be greatly appreciated. I'm 25, btw.
Thanks so much, Lauren

[AZBuck]

Welcome aboard the RoadTrip America forum.

I like your idea of getting out and setting yourself the challenge of finding a new dimension to your art in a limited time frame. Yes, California has some great scenic treasures and you can hit most of them in the span of two weeks. What you won't be able to do is see all of them in all lights in all seasons. So you will have to do the best you can while your in any one spot. But as to an itinerary. You can fly into either San Francisco or Los Angeles, or any of a number of satellite airports like Oakland or Ontario that might be cheaper or less congested. The basic idea, then would be to make a loop of San Francisco, Marin county, Redwoods National Park, Lake Tahoe, Yosemite National Park, Kings Canyon National Park, Death Valley National Park, Mojave Desert, Los Angeles, Big Sur, Monterey, and back to San Francisco. Clearly, you can start/end this loop anywhere. Have a look at what that looks like on a map and how those locations stack up against what you want to do. Then if you need more specific advice on routing or sites, or if you just need tips on travelling alone, let us know.

AZBuck

[W. Larrison]

Interesting trip idea OcheerioO, and I think that AZbuck had a reasonable idea of how to sort of lay out the trip -- but I'm not sure 2 weeks would be enough.

What type of photos are you interested in? And what time of year are you thinking of?

Off hand (I live in SoCal), I can think of several different ways to do this, depending upon what you are most interested...

- People. From the beach folks in SoCal, to the entertainment folks in LA, up through SF and its vibrant community, then into the NW of california with its denizens of the Redwoods, and then to the far NE of California where you are almost in the Plains cowboys, down through the central vallley with its farms and workers, and the deserts with its mix of grizzled desert communities and glitzy enclaves like Palm Springs and the party life along the Colorado River.

- Change in geography . Beaches, mountains, deserts, rivers, valleys, forests, dry lakes, deep blue lakes, snowy mountains, death valley, lava flows, and ocean forests off islands off the coast.

- Wildlfe.
- Scenery.
- Technology and Nature
- Views and attempts at utopia

etc etc.

What are you interested in?

[Mark Sedenquist]

I just joined here because I'm needing some advice about a trip I'm interested in taking by myself.

There are several solo travelers on this Forum. Here are some tips.

Mark

[OcheerioO]

thank you all for your help! I'm thinking of planning the trip for september, but as of late, I'm all talk--so who knows. Things are looking more tangible though, thanks to the ideas on here.

~Lauren