Go West Anniversary Trip

My wife and I are celebrating our 30th Anniversary this year with a grand three week vacation in late Summer to early Fall to the western United States. ; Stops will include San Diego, Disneyland (of course), Las Vegas, Grand Canyon, Moab, UT where Arches and Canyonlands National Parks reside and ending up in Denver for side trips and where I will be photographing a wedding for my daughter's life long friend.

Have booked accommodations at all locations including the Disneyland Hotel, MGM Grand and cabins at the National Parks. Got house sitter all set to take care of the pets and mow the lawn, too.

Should be a fun adventure. ; Just starting to research shooting locations for the trip. Anyone been to the three national parks I mentioned? ; Suggestions, tips, etc is welcomed.

 

Not that I can help any with ideas for shooting as I have never been any of those places. ; But I can say I am looking forward to seeing what you get, I'd love to see each of your stops. ;

 

I've been to Arches: ; http://www.msummersphotography.com/Landscapes/Arches-National-Park and Canyonlands: http://www.msummersphotography.com/Landscapes/Canyonlands-National-Park

My trip was in February 2011, so my pictures won't be useful for sun angles, etc. ; There is an app for Arches made by iFoto Guide that gives info on the popular locations including the best time of day to shoot them, suggested focal lengths, etc. ;

Sunset at Delicate Arch is a must do, but will be crowded in the summer. ; Clouds rolled in at the last second so I didn't get the killer red glow. ; The trail to Delicate Arch is not an easy one since most of the elevation gain is in the last 1/3 of the trail. ; I recommend taking only the gear you want for the shot up the hill with you to make the climb easier.

I most of the rest of my shots from that trip came from the morning I shot sunrise at Mesa Arch at Canyonlands which turned out to be the only good sunrise I got that trip. ; Speaking of Canyonlands, if you want to shoot Mesa Arch, get there well before sunrise as it is a very popular spot. ; Allow more time than Mapquest says for the drive to the arch. ; There is a long stretch of open cattle range on the way into that section of the park. ; On a dark night if you do the speed limit you won't see the cattle until its too late.

 

here is a california specific photo guide site that i found very useful in planning for my recent san diego trip


http://ca.myphotoscout.com/

 

Michael, the sunrise you got at Mesa Arch are spectacular! I haven't looked at Canyonlands much yet. ; Will be reseaching it soon.

I have an eBook for Arches which gives good sunrise/sunset locations. ; Except for Delicate Arch, most of the arches are within easy reach from the road. At least, the ones I am looking at. ;

Thank you for your links and advice!

Gary, we are only spending a night in San Diego. ; Doing the zoo in the morning before turning around for Anaheim in the afternoon. We would like to go eat down by the ocean that night. ; Any suggestions?

Roger, we are spending three days at the Grand Canyon. ; Got a cabin on the South Rim. Well, near it anyway. ; :

John and Jeff, thank you! ; I have been studying up on landscape photography. ; Will have all my filters with me just in case. ; Since we'll be at these places after Labor Day, they won't be as busy with tourists. I am sure there will be plenty of other photographers around. ;

Down to less than 50 days. ; Getting pretty excited!

 

one word HODADS. the hamburgers are huge and phenomenal. it's in ocean beach, there's one in town but i suggest the original, if you get there in late afternoon you could shoot some surfing at the pier before dinner as it's only about 3 blocks from the water.

 

OMG! ; This place looks great: http://hodadies.com/

Thanks for the tip, Gary. ; The Ocean Beach location is about 6 miles from the hotel. ; Not sure how that translates to California traffic time. ; ??? ; I love good burger joints and after flying and driving all day, one of Hodad's burgers should hit the spot.

 

time isn't relevant in this case. these burgers are worth it. it took me about 25 minutes from old town on the city bus with stops. old town San Diego is worth some walk around time. an hodads does not do reservations, you get on line behind the rope like everybody else

 

Hi Scott, you will love it!! ; I took three weeks in 2011 and drove the entire Route 66 from Chicago to LA staying at many of the places you mentioned. ; I wrote a travel blog that can be found at ; "www.garryrollins.com" ; Use the username "rt66blog" and the password of "road trip" to access it. ; In a few weeks I will be doing another three weeks to visit Yellowstone, Arches, and Canyonlands. Send me a private e-mail and we'll see if we are there the same dates. ; I did 3 days at GCNP but one day was a rim to rim crossing taking 14 hours in one day. I like the North Rim better than the crowded south. We did Disneyland but also spent one night on the Queen Mary in Long Beach which was cool.

 

Within three weeks now. ; For those who have been to the Grand Canyon, Arches and/or Canyonlands. ; I am concerned about carrying enough water. ; We'll have a rental vehicle and I am planning on buying a cheap cooler and a couple of cases of bottle water to transport with us. ; Except for one or two occasions, the vehicle will be close by as we explore the parks.

Also picked up a Think Tank R U Hot pouch for my belt. We are two healthy people in our 50's but are not used to being in an arid environment at altitude. ; Any tips or suggestions?

 

Arches recommends 1 gallon per person in the warm months. ; I was there in February, so I only had a quart. ; Many of the arches aren't that far from the parking lots, but there are some long hikes to the remote ones. ; Not sure about Canyonlands. ; I only won't to Mesa Arch which is less than a half mile from the parking lot.

The altitude wasn't bad at Arches. ; I only had trouble on the trail to Delicate Arch for sunset. ; Leave plenty of time to get there and don't try to drag all your gear up that hill.

 

Thanks, Roger and Michael!

I picked up the Think Tank R U Hot and an insulated bottle which fits it perfectly. ; Should get us by. ;

Of course, they have had a lot of rain and flash flooding in Utah the past few days. ; Hope that drys up by the end of the month.

Down to less than 5 days before we disembark. ; Packing this weekend!

 

I want to again thank everyone who gave me suggestions and references for the trip. ; It was a fabulous vacation full of Sun, adventure, new experiences and a whole lot of photography. You all helped to make it a very special one for me and my wife.

 

Glad you and Merrie had a great time. ; Looking forward to seeing the rest of the photos.