western us and canada road trip

[Dina de Veer]

I am looking to plan a 2, maybe 3 week road trip this summer, most likely in June, starting in southern California and heading east then north, going through Arizona, New Mexico maybe, Colorado, Utah, then up to Yellowstone then Vancouver, Victoria (maybe some other places in Canada?) Seattle then back down through Oregon, hitting very northern cal maybe and Nevada to So Cal - this is just a rough idea. would there be anythign of interest around montana, idaho, and wyomming to see besides yellowstone?? If you have ANY suggestions, ideas at all it would be much appreciated. Im looking for cool places to see, things to do, and cheap places to stay. I'll probably be traveling wiht one other person. Thank you! -Dina

All three states have magnificent scenery from one end to the other and lots of great highways for exploring. There are attractions all over these states (look for the red ink on most maps). Some examples:

Idaho -- Shoshone Ice Caves; Snake River Canyon; Sun Valley; Nez Perce National Historic Park; scenic drives, particularly along the Salmon River (SR75 & US93).

Montana -- Glacier Park is a must; Virginia City Historical Museum; Big Hole Battlefield; Little Bighorn Battlefield (where Custer said "...look at all those Indians!"); Flathead Lake; Museum of the Plains Indian; Pompey's Pillar.

Wyoming -- Ft Bridger; the Dinosaur Graveyard; Thermopolis (hot springs); South Pass; the Whitman Mon; Hole in the Wall; Medicine Wheel National Historic Site; Devil's Tower; Bozeman Trail; Ft Phil Kearny; Independence Rock and the Oregon Trail; the Frontier Days Rodeo at Cheyenne; Flaming Gorge and of course... Yellowstone/Grand Tetons.

[PNW Judy]

Vancouver BC is a beautiful city. I would drive up to Whistler. Beautiful scenery. Victoria is also worth a ferry ride to. If you go there, dont' miss Burtchart Gardens.

Washington has Mt. Rainier, Mt. St. Helen's (a definite must-see!), Olympic National Park, North Cascades Highway, and much more.

Oregon's coast is tremendous. Also Crater Lake.

Hope this gives you a few ideas.