Will do!
12 years in Natl Parks and resorts. AMA and pics.
- Thread starter DreamerMMA
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Great thread
@DreamerMMA
I'm doing a tour around the USA starting September 1st and plan to be gone for about 10-12 months. I live in Kelowna BC, itll be myself plus wife and two kids 4&6, we have a truck and trailer set up and our first stop will probably be Oregon. Soooooo what do you got for me to do?
@DreamerMMA I'm doing a tour around the USA starting September 1st and plan to be gone for about 10-12 months. I live in Kelowna BC, itll be myself plus wife and two kids 4&6, we have a truck and trailer set up and our first stop will probably be Oregon. Soooooo what do you got for me to do?
Sadly I have not spent enough time in our national parks, I need to change that asap! Very cool lifestyle!
First off, check out Portland, OR. There is so many good restaurants and fun things to do there. Don't forget to check out the Columbia River Gorge and maybe hike up to the Columbia Falls. It's only about a half our east of Portland IIRC.Great thread
I'm doing a tour around the USA starting September 1st and plan to be gone for about 10-12 months. I live in Kelowna BC, itll be myself plus wife and two kids 4&6, we have a truck and trailer set up and our first stop will probably be Oregon. Soooooo what do you got for me to do?
After Portland, head south and maybe see the fossil beds and Crater Lake as the park is open until October and the crowds thin out in the fall.
From there I would head to the coast via the 138 then head north a little bit up the 101 until you hit Tillamook. Take the wife and kids on a tour of the Tillamook Cheese Factory, the Tillamook smoke house where they make the jerky and then head to Rockaway Beach and enjoy a walk there weather permitting.
Head south from there until you cross the California border and then take hwy 199 NE to Grants Pass, OR. It connects to the I-5 and along the way you'll hit the redwoods, Smith River and enjoy a gorgeous drive. Along the way you'll hit the turnoff to Cave Junction and can see the Oregon Caves if you like.
After that, I'd get on the I-5 south and head to Ashland, OR. Take the family to Lithia park downtown, check out the cool restaurants and sites and then take the I-5 south to Mount Shasta in Northern California. From there it's easy to catch a small highway west back to the coast which is what you should do if you are not in a hurry.
The I-5 get's pretty boring for a while after this and the 101 is one of the most scenic drives you can take in the US. I'd get back to the coast and follow it through California to The Avenue of the Giants, Arcata and some other cool coastal towns, stick with it all the way to San Francisco and the John Muir Woods just north of town. Just south of SF is Santa Cruz which is well, well worth a visit for the boardwalk alone. Your kids will probably love Santa Cruz as it has a fairground and is very family friendly out on the boardwalk.
After that, head further south to Monteray Bay and see the Monteray Bay Aquarium and the famous Cannery Row immortalized in John Steinbacks classic novels. About 45 minutes further south and you hit Big Sur National Park which is incredible.
I'm a big fan of the coast and think it has the most to offer for a trip like yours. If it was just adults I might tell you to go inland more and enjoy the wine country and the rolling hills you'll find on the highways between the 101 and 5 in the Northern and Central California area.
You could keep heading south and check out LA and San Diego but IMO, you aren't missing much but a lot of stress driving around those cities. To be fair, I'm not a big fan of Southern California so maybe some others here can point you in the right direction. Obviously there's Disney Land, Sea World and other large tourist attractions that are good for kids so I wouldn't expect you to skip those.
If you go that far south, maybe turn east and go through Death Valley on the way to Las Vegas, the Hoover Dam and Grand Canyon South Rim.
Did you have some kind of route planned out already or is that what you are trying to figure out now?
Where are you from?
Wow great info thanks! As far as a route it'll some thing close to one of these.
I'll probably start a thread when I go and update it through my time. Apparently these maps destinations are all must sees but so many I have no idea about.
I live in Spokane, WA currently. Was in the Seattle area for 16 years and never went to Olympic National Park...somebody slap me.
AMAZING! So freakin jealous!Wow great info thanks! As far as a route it'll some thing close to one of these.
I'll probably start a thread when I go and update it through my time. Apparently these maps destinations are all must sees but so many I have no idea about.
Damn that's on my bucketlist bro, your about to live my dream.Wow great info thanks! As far as a route it'll some thing close to one of these.
I'll probably start a thread when I go and update it through my time. Apparently these maps destinations are all must sees but so many I have no idea about.
I wanted to visit the US many times and almost did a bunch of times, but my wife doesn't like to fly so i'm fucked.
I'm trying to do a 3 week trip around march or april with a friend through Cali/nevada
Nice thread bro, would love to have done that, hope that in the future i can visit some of the natl parksSplinty thought it'd be a good idea to make a thread about this here.
In 2003 I got out of the US Army and went to the Oregon Unemployment Department. I talked to the vet rep there and he asked me if I'd ever considered working at a park. Crater Lake needed a gift shop clerk and I had a little bit of retail experience as a teenager. I took the job and started an absolutely incredible journey to some of the most amazing places the US has to offer.
I started at Crater Lake and have worked 4 summers there, 3 winters at Death Valley, a year and a half at Sequoia, winter at Grand Canyon South Rim, summer at Grand Canyon North Rim, summer at Olympic, Summer at Glacier and part of a summer at Yellowstone.
Besides the 8 national parks I've worked in I've also worked for 4 ski resorts. Deer Valley and Stein Erickson at Park City, UT. I did Royal Gorge in Truckee CA and Big Sky in Montana just this past winter.
I've also worked a fishing lodge in Oregon, a fish processing plant in Alaska, a brew pub on the Oregon Coast and some other seasonal gigs. Spent a little bit of time in Portland, OR and Cincinnati, OH as well.
This is me in 2010 in the Umpqua National Forest near Crater Lake.
A friend and I at the jumps at Deer Valley in Park City, UT, winter 2010-2011
Death Valley National Park, CA, 2012
You better call me when you get close to Louisville brother. I owe you and your family dinner.Wow great info thanks! As far as a route it'll some thing close to one of these.
I'll probably start a thread when I go and update it through my time. Apparently these maps destinations are all must sees but so many I have no idea about.
I lived in Spokane and Courdelaine a long time ago.
The nice thing is you are only a few hours from Olympic and Cascades National Parks. A bit further east and Yellowstone and Glacier so not a bad location for that kind of stuff.
Why on earth did you leave Seattle for Spokane?
You should if you get the chance. If you can't get the wife to fly maybe you can get her to take a cruise or something instead.
It's not a bad route. As you can see the US is gigantic and there is a lot to see.Wow great info thanks! As far as a route it'll some thing close to one of these.
I'll probably start a thread when I go and update it through my time. Apparently these maps destinations are all must sees but so many I have no idea about.
Figure out what time of year you are starting. If it's spring/summer, start on the west coast and travel the northern route first. Try to hit the east coast for the late summer and fall and then take the southern route of the journey as things get colder in the fall/winter. This should bring you in the right areas in the best times and avoid some of the worst weather ideally.
In the Northwest we have a lot of mountains and snow so it sucks to be driving around those areas in the winter unless you are up for some skiing or something. The roads from Washington heading east along the northern highways are amazingly beautiful in the summer.
The east coast is known for it's beautiful scenery in the fall when the leaves turn, my understanding is that summer and fall are the best times to be there but I'm not an east coaster so I'll leave that for another member to fill you in on. I know we have some New Yorkers here.
The south east has a lot of beautiful coastline, countryside and very diverse and dynamic cities. It's hot and humid in those areas so better to go when it's cooling off IMO. Spring time means mosquitos IIRC and that's a problem in the North West as well.
The Southwest is mostly desert and high desert forests. Hot and dry for the most part, nearly unbearable in the summer in some places. Good choice for the winter half of your trip.
I see no reason to go to Detroit these days. It's a crumbling shithole and very dangerous in many areas. I don't live there so maybe I'm just overblowing what I hear but we hear a lot about Detroit sucking balls these days.
The east coast is known for it's beautiful scenery in the fall when the leaves turn, my understanding is that summer and fall are the best times to be there but I'm not an east coaster so I'll leave that for another member to fill you in on. I know we have some New Yorkers here.
The south east has a lot of beautiful coastline, countryside and very diverse and dynamic cities. It's hot and humid in those areas so better to go when it's cooling off IMO. Spring time means mosquitos IIRC and that's a problem in the North West as well.
The Southwest is mostly desert and high desert forests. Hot and dry for the most part, nearly unbearable in the summer in some places. Good choice for the winter half of your trip.
I see no reason to go to Detroit these days. It's a crumbling shithole and very dangerous in many areas. I don't live there so maybe I'm just overblowing what I hear but we hear a lot about Detroit sucking balls these days.
Awesome thread
@DreamerMMA! I remember seeing that massive bud cola on the UG. That thing is legendary. Back in the day I would finish that thing off in a couple weeks. Nowadays it would last me a year.
@DreamerMMA! I remember seeing that massive bud cola on the UG. That thing is legendary. Back in the day I would finish that thing off in a couple weeks. Nowadays it would last me a year.
Yeah, I've posted it on the UG a few times over the years.Awesome thread
I met Joe Rogan in Vegas one time and he knew who I was because of that giant bud. I told my parents and they got a kick out of that.
IIRC, they got about 5 1/2 ounces from that one cola.
I'm back at Crater Lake for the rest of the season. Smokey as all hell up here.