In need of inspiration......

[NicolaP]

Hello from Scotland!

Looking for some help again. We have two weeks vacation from 13 March and would like to come back to the US for another wee road trip. The only problem is we don't really know where to start this time. Last year we did a round trip from Vegas through GC, Bryce, Zion etc and the year before that we drove south from Vancouver to San Francisco.

Ideally we'd like it to be 'warm'. It doesn't have to be hot but we'd like to camp so don't want it to be too cold over night and we'd like it to be warm enough to be outdoors and not be too cold. We love walking, photography and anything to do with the great outdoors, but also enjoy history and culture.

I was thinking of maybe the deep south/ South Carolina or maybe Texas but I have no ideas of what there is to do in these areas.

The other thought I had was heading to LA and taking a drive up to Yosemite for maybe a week of our trip as we loved it there but I seem to get quite mixed reports on what it would be like there at that time of year?

You've been a great help in the past so any assistance will be greatly appreciated.
Thanks

[dj toast]

Hello fellow Scotland-dweller!

A few years back I was in Yosemite in mid-April and it was beautiful but by no means warm.

Here's a picture that was actually taken slightly further south in Sequoia national park (between LA and Yosemite) but is representative of conditions when I was there:



Snow four to six feet deep at the side of the road was the norm...

And another, for good measure:



I watched about twenty people fall down on the ice surrounding that tree.

This one is from Yosemite proper



The dampness was probably good for the views of the waterfalls, on the bright side!

So I'd hate to talk you out of visiting such a beautiful part of the world but if "warm" is part of your plan, your other suggestions seem a better bet!

[Foy]

Hello NicholaP,

The Gulf Coasts of FL, AL, MS, LA, and TX come to mind. Particularly South Texas (Padre Island). Do be aware of the propensity for university students to take their annual "Spring Break" bacchanalian trips to Padre Island and Florida's Destin area.

Although I've never been there, the West Texas towns of Terlingua and Marfa have growing reputations for arts and food lovers, and offer desert hiking and travel. According to a friend who lives "off the grid" outside of Terlingua, March generally sees the return of pleasantly warm (but not hot) weather down there. Big Bend National Park is in West Texas, too. My sense is that you'd be in nice weather out there except for at high elevations in the Guadalupe Mountains. Off the cuff, I'd reckon a day's drive west of the Dallas/Fort Worth Int'l Airport would put you in the vicinity of the noted West Texas locales.

Have fun planning and taking your RoadTrip!

Foy

[bk949]

Charleston (S.C.) and Savannah (Ga.) are particularly photogenic cities. Port Royal in South Carolina is pretty. Jekyll Island and Cumberland Island (Ga.) are very nice as well. It might still be a little cool, but Williamsburg, Va. can be a lot of fun if you like history and can suspend your disbelief a little and there are some other nice areas around there to visit as well (there's a big amusement park there, Jamestown is nearby, and you're not too far from DC and the museums up thataway). March is also (I understand) an ideal time to visit the Everglades and Florida Keys -- not too muggy, no hurricanes, no bugs yet.

Texas has a lot to offer -- it might be tough to combine with South Carolina and Florida, though. But San Antonio is a great, historical location with a lot of culture to it. There are also some nice outdoorsy areas there -- Pedernales Falls and Enchanted Rock, for instance. Plus you could throw New Orleans and possibly the Natchez Trace on top of it, or else could go the other direction and check out Big Bend National Park and Carlsbad Caverns (although it'll probably still be very cold at New Mexico altitude).

I had a similar experience to DJ when I went to Sequoia/Kings Canyon last April. It was beautiful, but snow-covered. Still, as photography goes, the red-green-white contrasts are pretty cool. But you might be able to combine that with the Big Sur coast (would be warm-ish) and Death Valley (probably warm already) and have a good time that way.

Good luck!

bkd