# Cross Country



## MarkD (Jul 8, 2011)

Beginning to plan a XC trip from NY summer 2013. Suggestions as to 1) what to see, 2) where to stay, 3) any other ideas. We have 2 months to drive there and back. Suggestions are welcome!


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## raynardo (Jun 8, 2007)

We did it in 2010, once around the U.S. leaving from near San Diego. Here's the link to our *blog*.


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## Nathan (Jan 2, 2007)

Ok, what I'd do?

Mammoth Cave, Rocky Mountain, Black Canyon of the Gunnison, Mesa Verede, Canyonlands, Arches, Zion, Grand Canyon, Kings Canyon/Sequoia, Yosemite, Redwoods, Crater Lake, Olympic, Canadian Glacier (Canada), Banff/Jasper(Canada), Waterton lakes (Canada), Glacier (US), Yellowstone, Teddy Roosevelt, Mt. Rushmore, home

Of course that's a lot of ground to cover in 2 months......









I'll also give the disclaimer that I haven't made it to the PNW parks yet, but I might be there in 2013....


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## raynardo (Jun 8, 2007)

Nathan said:


> Ok, what I'd do?
> 
> Mammoth Cave, Rocky Mountain, Black Canyon of the Gunnison, Mesa Verede, Canyonlands, Arches, Zion, Grand Canyon, Kings Canyon/Sequoia, Yosemite, Redwoods, Crater Lake, Olympic, Canadian Glacier (Canada), Banff/Jasper(Canada), Waterton lakes (Canada), Glacier (US), Yellowstone, Teddy Roosevelt, Mt. Rushmore, home
> 
> ...


Nathan,

We've been to _every one_ of those sites. Almost all of them in the past two years (19,000 miles on the OB). Only Mammoth Cave was over 35 years ago! We've done 40 states in our OB since we purchased it new in 2006.


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## Nathan (Jan 2, 2007)

raynardo said:


> Ok, what I'd do?
> 
> Mammoth Cave, Rocky Mountain, Black Canyon of the Gunnison, Mesa Verede, Canyonlands, Arches, Zion, Grand Canyon, Kings Canyon/Sequoia, Yosemite, Redwoods, Crater Lake, Olympic, Canadian Glacier (Canada), Banff/Jasper(Canada), Waterton lakes (Canada), Glacier (US), Yellowstone, Teddy Roosevelt, Mt. Rushmore, home
> 
> ...


Nathan,

We've been to _every one_ of those sites. Almost all of them in the past two years (19,000 miles on the OB). Only Mammoth Cave was over 35 years ago! We've done 40 states in our OB since we purchased it new in 2006.
[/quote]
Sure, rub it in!!! Acutally, I'm just missing the PNW parks and can't wait to hit them. I left out the east coast parks, but to do a real grand tour you should throw in some of those too!


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## ORvagabond (Apr 17, 2009)

If you make it to Oregon...the southern Oregon coast near Florence has Honeyman State Park that is excellent, if you come up I5 from CA in Ashland just 14 miles north of the border is a Jackson County Park called Emigrant Lake, an excellent site and if you head over toward Crater Lake which is 76 miles east of I5 about half way is Joseph Stewart State Park...all these are excellent and have full hookups.


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## duggy (Mar 17, 2010)

raynardo said:


> Ok, what I'd do?
> 
> Mammoth Cave, Rocky Mountain, Black Canyon of the Gunnison, Mesa Verede, Canyonlands, Arches, Zion, Grand Canyon, Kings Canyon/Sequoia, Yosemite, Redwoods, Crater Lake, Olympic, Canadian Glacier (Canada), Banff/Jasper(Canada), Waterton lakes (Canada), Glacier (US), Yellowstone, Teddy Roosevelt, Mt. Rushmore, home
> 
> ...


Nathan,

We've been to _every one_ of those sites. Almost all of them in the past two years (19,000 miles on the OB). Only Mammoth Cave was over 35 years ago! We've done 40 states in our OB since we purchased it new in 2006.
[/quote]

It'll be a few more years, but I like the look of that list of parks. I can't wait until I have the time to do a major cross continent tour! Count yourselves as some of the lucky ones!


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## mike (Dec 17, 2006)

There are so many places to see. We did a 10000 mile trip a couple of weeks ago. Alot of the places mentioned we stayed at. Some of my observations
1. Take your time, I know its easy to focus on getting to see everything, but as I was doing the towing, i found that it was better to spend a week at yosemite, grand canyon etc then a day or two and move on.

2. the musts were the grand canyon and yosemite/sequoia.

3. Places i wished we could have explored, the columbia river gorge in oregon/washington state.

4. IMHO stay away from fishing bridge in yellowstone. I know it has full hookups but it is not worth it.

5. Stay in the national parks, we got a yamaha2400 that runs on propane. We did alot of dry camping and it was really worth it. Its better to stay in the parks than drive in and out every day. Plus most have busses that take u everywhere and after driving long distances it was nice to not drive.

6 In yosemite, we stayed in Touleme Meadows. It was by far the best place for us. It was also the most difficult pull as it is a narrow uphill twisting road. My wife was crying. But I will stay there again, it is in the high country. Also do the half dome hike.

7. use the park ranger programs, they are great and informative, plus free

8. Bullard Beach in Oregon was also a great place for a couple of days.

9 Be aware that things will happen, just take ur time and enjoy the trip

10. try to get together with fellow outbackers around the country, we met quite a few.


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## Oregon_Camper (Sep 13, 2004)

mike said:


> There are so many places to see. We did a 10000 mile trip a couple of weeks ago. Alot of the places mentioned we stayed at. Some of my observations
> 1. Take your time, I know its easy to focus on getting to see everything, but as I was doing the towing, i found that it was better to spend a week at yosemite, grand canyon etc then a day or two and move on.
> 
> 2. the musts were the grand canyon and yosemite/sequoia.
> ...


...and don't go spelunking with Oregon_Camper....he'll take you into ice caves and almost get you killed.


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## Piecemaker (Nov 15, 2007)

Not sure when but we would like to make the same trip someday.

Is it true that the national parks sites fill up fast?

What is the best time of year considering the weather to make the trip?

Any other info available?


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## raynardo (Jun 8, 2007)

Not sure when but we would like to make the same trip someday.
_*By then some of this information may be outdated.*_

Is it true that the national parks sites fill up fast?
*Yes, but that also depends on when you're traveling and what national parks you're visiting, as some definitely fill up faster than others, i.e. Yellowstone fills up fast in the summer, but Big Bend is almost empty in the summer. One of the other concerns is that some national parks cannot handle trailers over 26', and many of them don't offer full hook-ups, in fact a majority don't offer much in the way of hook-ups, but it is getting better.*

What is the best time of year considering the weather to make the trip? 
*Again - where are you heading? May is great since most of the kids haven't gotten out of school yet, but parks like Glacier may still be snowbound. Death Valley in August is almost unbearable. Yet I've been to both places at those times.*

Any other info available?
*Yes. But you'll need to be much more specific!*


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## Piecemaker (Nov 15, 2007)

Thank you for reply.


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## BritsOnTour (Sep 15, 2006)

We spent a year on the road Aug 09-Aug 10.......SO absolutely worth it! Dh worked every day, I homeschooled 4 kiddos







We tried to stay in many locations for a week, traveling on a Saturday. We focused on the National Park sites so that the kids could complete Junior Ranger programs and I knew we were learning!

We'll be heading out for another 3 or 4 months in May to hit some of those places we missed! This time, we'll get to the North Rim of the GC and we're going to Alaska - woot! Also planning to spend a couple of months down in FL Nov/Dec. Got to make the most of these opportunities.

I think DH would recommend all the UT NPs in his top ten, I loved Crater Lake, kids loved White Sands in NM - honestly we loved everything but those would be the highlights. Isn't the planning fun? lol! I just popped on the board to find a cg recommendation for Rocky Mountains NP, as usual, OBers came through, plenty of reviews









Ali


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