4 week Cross country camping trip Detroit-San Diego

[michigancamper]

One of our radio stations sponsors the 4th of July Fireworks set to music, often patriotic music. The locations are all over the county. There's a place in Santee, or there usually is. (A long time ago it was in the center of Santee, but that's been 20 years.) I'm sure the grocery stores or shops in Santee will know where the closest place is.


Donna

Thanks Donna! work has been crazy the last few weeks. I'm paying for my upcoming sabbatical. I'm talking with my cousins as well on what the plan is for the 4th. One has two kids, a bit younger than our girls and the other cousin is my age but has no kids so looking for a great fire works family friendly event. We were in Park City for the fourth a few years and watching from the Canyons resort - what a show!

[michigancamper]

one additional question - if campfires are not allowed, either due to weather or local laws, are those portable table top bbq's okay? just looking for a back up in case (I know we will) find ourselves in that situation..

thanks!!

[DonnaR57]

Hmmm....actually, I've seen it both ways. One where NO campfires or BBQ's allowed, and one other where no campfires were allowed, but propane BBQ grills and camp-stoves were fine. Out here in San Diego, we tend to be a little on the conservative side when it comes to fire prevention. We've had too many brush fires that get out of control way too easily. Other areas of the country have similar situations.

Back-up plan: peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, or a trip to the local Subway for a $5 footlong that you split!

[Ellewoods2001]

According to the Havasu falls website, it doesn't say it's 8 miles unless I'm reading this wrong:

Accessible
Havasu Falls is just a quarter mile from Lower Navajo Falls and about a quarter of a mile before you reach the campground. Easily accessible from several paths leading down to the refreshing waters, of course you must take a swim. Below the major pool, you can explore smaller pools as the stream cascades and winds its way towards the campground

[Southwest Dave]

The tough bit is getting from Hualapai Hilltop down to ther Supai village, [8 miles] once down in the canyon everything is closer together. You can book a Helicopter flight or a horse ride to avoid the hike, time and money permitting. A 3 day giuded trip with everything sorted for you,.... wait of it............... $975 !! EACH.

[Midwest Michael]

According to the Havasu falls website, it doesn't say it's 8 miles unless I'm reading this wrong:

I think you are reading it wrong. Those are all places that are easy to get to from each other and the Supai Village. However, there are no roads to get to the Village. Its 8 miles from the nearest parking area down into the Canyon.

[michigancamper]

According to the Havasu falls website, it doesn't say it's 8 miles unless I'm reading this wrong:

Accessible
Havasu Falls is just a quarter mile from Lower Navajo Falls and about a quarter of a mile before you reach the campground. Easily accessible from several paths leading down to the refreshing waters, of course you must take a swim. Below the major pool, you can explore smaller pools as the stream cascades and winds its way towards the campground

my wife had read the same thing but once we dug deeper into it, thanks to the heads up from Southwest Dave. The write can be misleading which is unfortunate. While my wife and I are up for a decent hike, a 8 mile hike would not go over well.

[michigancamper]

Hmmm....actually, I've seen it both ways. One where NO campfires or BBQ's allowed, and one other where no campfires were allowed, but propane BBQ grills and camp-stoves were fine. Out here in San Diego, we tend to be a little on the conservative side when it comes to fire prevention. We've had too many brush fires that get out of control way too easily. Other areas of the country have similar situations.

Back-up plan: peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, or a trip to the local Subway for a $5 footlong that you split!

Thanks donna! Having been in SD during the last big wildfire, was it 2003?, totally understand being conservative. Spent the morning at the Zoo and flew out later that day, just before they shut the airport.

[michigancamper]

Ok, few more tweaks based on some great feedback here I've received while planning out our massive 5 week camping trip. A tap of the campfire chair to all that have helped! The countdown has already begun and its challenging at best to stay focused at work... Just sayin..

So our plans: in an interest of time, I won't get into great detail with some of the side trips we'll check out, but always open to feedback/suggestions!!
- Eau Claire Wisconsin for 1 night, or as far as we possibly can go. Our plan is to depart early morning of departure. To go through the UP add's three hours to our trip - I keep leaning back toward the Chicago route now as crazy as it sounds.
- Stop in Mitchell SD for 1 night - Mt Rushmore
- Stop at Sturgis for 1 night - Corn Palace, Wall Drug
- Yellowstone for 4 days/3 nights
- Twin Falls ID for 1 night
- Burns Oregon for 1 night
- Crater Lake Area/Shady Cove for 1 night
- Redwood forest for 1 night
- San Fran for 5 days/4 nights - 2 nights on the north side at SF RV and 2 nights on the south side. The company i work for is based in South San Fran and while my wife has seen campus, our girls have been wanting to visit. So, we'll do the Fishermans wharf, pier 39, Sonoma/Napa/Corporate Campus from the north side and then Carmel/Monterrey
- LA for 3 days/2 nights
- San Diego for 7/ 6 nights days - relatives live here - Zoo/Safari, Coronado, Gas Lamp, Balboa, Will be here week of and including 4th of July
- Hoover Dam/Boulder City for 3 days/2 nights - It'll be a hot one - any suggestions for here???
- Grand canyon for 4 days/3 nights
- Durango Co - 1 night - Via Monument Valley, Four Corners, etc. What I'm thinking...?
- Black Canyon of the Gunnison for 1 night What I'm thinking?
- Pikes Peak for 1 night, What I'm thinking?
- Topeka Kansas for 1 night -
- Yellville AR for 3 days/2 nights (family and friends there)
- Ozarks for 3 days/2 nights
- Home :( possible stopover in Springfield/for the night depending on how far we get.

As always, comments and suggestions are greatly appreciated! I will be gone for a few days with work so it might be a day or two before I can respond.. :)

thank you!

[Midwest Michael]

Just skimming through, some things really jump out to me.

First, Why are you even going to Eau Claire at all? Its well out of the way to South Dakota, unless you do decide to go via the UP (in which case its probably too far to drive in one day.) Have you considered taking a Ferry to avoid Chicago. Its pricey, but if you are extremely opposed to driving through Chicago, it would be an option, and could save you some time.

It looks like you've got your cities/attractions mismatched in South Dakota. You're also skipping the things I think are much more interesting things in the area, like Badlands, Custer State Park, and Jewel and Wind Caves to name a few.

Sturgis to Yellowstone is a pretty long way, depending upon where in the park you're heading, and which route you plan to take.

You really seem to be rushing down the west coast, and aren't really giving yourself time to drive the coast highway. SF to LA can be done in a day, but only if you are skipping the coast. It would also seem to make a lot more sense just to drive down the coast and stop in Monterey as part of that trip, instead of trying to do it as a daytrip out of SF.

California right now is using up the vast majority of your time, and you've got some stops where you're planning far more time than you'd need. IE, Hoover Dam can be seen in a couple of hours, and you've got a few days planned here. On the flip side, you're kind of racing through the 4 corners and Colorado. And then again Arkansas, your spending a few days with family and friends who live in the Ozarks, and then are planning to spend another couple more days there on top of that?

Just a few things I see as a first impression.