Page - San Francisco on Route 66

[jasz]

Hello all

I am going on a small Photo roadtrip i Feb 2009 and already got most of the trip covered, but is stuck on the last part.

On wednesday afternoon we will be poiunting our nose to San Francisco where we have to catch a plane at 14.00 on friday.

My plan was to go south off Las Vegas as we are going through LV earlier on the trip, we would like to hit the original part of Route 66 to see some history, but besides that we are lost for ideas in that area... do you guys have any ideas.

We are mostly in to photographic worthy places, but we are open for ideas

Looking forward to your replies

Sincerely

Jasz / Denmark

[Midwest Michael]

Welcome to the RTA Forum!

Covering this distance, and getting in parts of route 66 certainly would be possible. If you go down to Flagstaff, you'd have plenty of possibilities to travel sections of Route 66 potentially all the way to California.

The one thing I would caution, if your flight leaves SF early Friday Afternoon, I wouldn't want to be too far from SF the night before. At 900 miles to cover this distance, your time will start to get a little limited if you detour onto Route 66 and stop for lots of photography. You may get into a situation where you need to sprint back.

There are hundreds of threads with ideas about travels between Las Vegas and San Francisco. Any of them could also potentially be added to this trip, but for more specifics I think you'll have to share some more details about the rest of your trip so we know what ground you are already planning to cover.

[jasz]

Thank you for your kind welcome..

Here is the basics of out trip.

San Francisco
Yosemite
Bodie
Mono Lake
Death Valley
Las Vegas
Monument Valley
Page
?
?
?
?
San Francisco

We are mainly going for the spectacular views or sites

Jasz

[Southwest Dave]

personally i would of thought that on leaving las vegas for monument valley it would be best to go across the hoover dam and pick up part of '66 between kingman and williams during this part of the trip.
after page,if it's photography you want, you could head to bryce canyon and zion n.p.,both are amazing places.this route could then take you back through yosemite via the e.t. highway and tonopah.
if you did'nt want to go back via yosemite then i would head for page first [which you could take the 15 to st george and still see zion and bryce] and then monument valley afterwards before heading back to flagstaff/williams and the '66 before crossing the southern end of the sierras and possibly visiting sequoia n.p. lake isabella and the kern valley can also be explored this way. of course time is a major factor and a lot will depend on how much time you want to be on the go,and then theres the small matter of a place called the grand canyon ;-] lol!

this may give you an insight into the options mentioned
have a great trip!!!

[Mark Sedenquist]

We are mostly in to photographic worthy places, but we are open for ideas

Here are three articles, all written by expert photographers of places in Arizona you could consider...

Touring the Navajo Nation, by Jaimie Hall-Bruzenak
Exploring northern Arizona, by Peter Thody
Beyond the Grand Canyon, by Suzanne and Craig Sheumaker,

Mark

[jasz]

just read about something called the Tioga Pass which seems to be closed most of the year :-) which way should i go to come from Yosemite to Monolake ?

We will be in the area around March 1, 2009

Jasz

[Mark Sedenquist]

just read about something called the Tioga Pass which seems to be closed most of the year

Tioga Pass is located on the eastern edge of the Sierra Nevada mountains on CA-Hwy 120 and it is usually closed from late November to mid-May due to snow. Here is our best guess at when it will close this year.

which way should i go to come from Yosemite to Monolake ?We will be in the area around March 1, 2009

It's a little hard to predict which passes will be open on March 1st but, you really have two options -- both will require a full-day of travel to get from Yosemite to Mono Lake in March. (in the summer months, you could make this trip in a couple of hours). Either go north to US-50 or I-80 and then south on US-395.. Or go south CA-99 to CA-58 to US-395 and go north.

Mark

[jasz]

Thx Mark for your suggestions.

Our trip is actually taking shape now, and before you all comment on the tight schedule, then , yes, i know it, but i want to see "the full monty" in a very short time, yes, there will be a lot of driving - but i love to drive ;-)

Day 1 - arriving at San Francisco, pick up our car and drive to the "golden gate " to shot some pictures off it, then it is off to the Oakhurst area to stay for the night.

Day 2 - leave Oakhurst through Yosemite heading for Bodie for sunset pictures and then to Lee Vining for the night (road 40, 120, 49, 50, 395)

Day 3 - Sunrise pictures at Mono Lake, and then head for Las Vegas through Death Valley, if time allows, then "Race Track" otherwise only Rhyolite & Sand Dunes, Stay in Las Vegas for the night

Day 4 - PMA Convention and then off to Monument Valley to stay for the night.

Day 5 - Monument Valley sunrise shots and then off to Page to see "The Wave" (if we get tickets) after that we head for San Francisco

Day 6 - on our way to San Francisco (photo stops not planned yet) reach San Francisco for the night.

Day 7 - Sunrise shots at "Golden Gate" and small phototrip around San Francisco (Cable Car, Lombard Street.....) and then it is off to Europe again (maybe a small nap in the plane... hehehehehe)

Pretty tight schedule, but i know we can do it ;-)

Jasz

[Southwest Dave]

Thx Mark for your suggestions.

Our trip is actually taking shape now, and before you all comment on the tight schedule, then , yes, i know it, but i want to see "the full monty" in a very short time, yes, there will be a lot of driving - but i love to drive ;-)

Pretty tight schedule, but i know we can do it ;-)

Jasz

all thats left to say then is, HAVE A GREAT TRIP!!!!!!!!!!!

[Yeehaw]

I don't want to spoil the party but you haven't the faintest idea what you are talking about. If I understand correctly you'll be doing this in februari. Keep in mind it's some 4 hours to drive from SF to Oakhurst if no snow. Visit Yosemite Valley and drive around the north. This year it was a mess with snowploughs all around and people stuck in blizzards along 395 north of Lee Vining. You need chains and be prepared (you must have chains in the car in Yosemite in winter anyhow). The racetrack?? Bring an extra pair of tires. The track will kill them if you should get there and the towtruck is very expensive and no cellphone coverage. It takes more than half a day to drive from Furnace Creek to the racetrack and back so Lee Vining-Lone Pine-Racetrack-Rhyolite to Las Vegas in one day? Forget it unless you want to drive late in the evening. Las Vegas to Monument Valley is a 7 hours drive and you'll lose one hour because of entering another timezone. Monument Valley to the Wave is 3hours plus 3-4 hours for The Wave. From Kanab to San Francisco is another 13-14 hours. Think twice before going. Safety first but if you go, have a nice trip!
Yeehaw