US Road Trip 2024
Our sailing adventures in the Sea of Cortez ended up in Puerto Penasco early June which is the beginning of the hurricane season in this part of the Pacific coast. We left SV – Do The Thing at Cabrales Boatyard for the summer and went back to visit our families in Canada. The return to Puerto Penasco was scheduled early October, leaving us the whole month of September to enjoy an amazing road trip through the USA. After 27 days and more than 8,000 km we have visited some of the most beautiful places of the country, from historical monuments to natural parks, from golden wheat plains to the snow covered mountains, from the crowded cities to to most remote deserts.
The trip began in Longueuil, Canada, on 09/03. From there we got a lift (thanks grandparents!) to Plattsburgh, NY, to rent a car and start our road trip. Our first stop was Manhattan, we opted to stay 3 nights in New Jersey and commute by bus to save tons of money on hotels. There is so much to see in Manhattan, 2 days was a bare minimum. Among the highlights: Time Square, One World Tower Observatory, 9/11 Memorial, Ground Zero, Statue of Liberty, Wall Street and its Bull, Museum of Natural History, bike ride in Central Park, MoMA, 5th Avenue and Plaza Hotel. What I liked the most : Vincent Van Gogh’s La Nuit Étoilée at the MoMA.
On 09/06 we left New York and drove to Washington DC, staying at the Greenbelt Campground for two nights. Downtown Washington was easily accessible by metro from the Greenbelt station. The highlights : a guided tour of the Capitol, visit of the National Archives with the original Declaration of Independence and Constitution, the Obelisk, the White House, Abraham Lincoln’s Mausoleum, the Arlington National Cemetery.
On 09/08 we drove all day from Washington DC to Richmond, Indiana, then the following day from Richmond to Sioux City, Iowa, reaching the MidWest and the beautiful plains. 09/10 was another day on the road to reach Rapid City, Montana, where we camped two nights in order to visit Mount Rushmore.
On 9/11 we reached Red Lodge, Montana and stayed in a KOA’s wooden cabin for the night. The next morning, we arrived at the North East entrance of YellowStone Park. We crossed the mountains under the snow and saw lots of bison herds as well as elks. We camped at the Canyon Village Campground for two nights. During the two days in the park, we saw Mammoth Springs, the waterfall, the Grand Prismatic spring, the Old Faithful geyser and a lot of wildlife.
On 09/14 we left Yellowstone Park and camped at the entrance of the Grand Teton Park. We crossed the Park the next morning and continued our trip to Salt Lake City, Utha, then Elko, Nevada where we stayed for the night.
09/16 was a long day on the road to reach San Francisco where we met our sailing friends Karen and Tim who hosted us for two nights. We only spend a day visiting San Francisco which is very short. We opted for: the Lombard Street cable car, the Fisher Wharf, Alcatraz Island.
The next morning we visited the Intel Museum with our friends and left San Francisco to reach Yosemite Park four hours later. We camped for the night and visited the park the next morning, the panoramic view of the Glacier Point was amazing. We reached Sequoia Park by the end of the day and camped there for two nights.
On 09/21 we left Sequoia Park and reached the Death Valley by the end of the day. We camped there one night, enjoying the incredible view of the stars. We crossed the valley the next morning and reached Las Vegas, Nevada around noon. We stayed one night at the Circus Circus Hotel on the strip. We quickly visited the city and resumed our trip the next morning to reach Zion Park, Utha, by the end of the day. We spent the night at the campground and went for a 3h hike the next morning to visit Emerald Springs.
Bryce Canyon is about 2h drive away from Zion, we reached the North Campground by the end of the afternoon. The next morning we went for a hike along the Rim Trail, the panoramic view over the Canyon is just amazing.
Arches is another amazing National Park, one of my favorite at least. It is located about 4h from Bryce. We arrived at the campground by the end of the afternoon where we camped for 2 nights along the Colorado River.
On 9/28 we left Arches and drove about 5h to reach the Grand Canyon National Park in Arizona. We crossed the amazing Monument Valley.
We camped two nights at the Grand Canyon National Park. The next morning we went for a hike along the South Rim of the Canyon. Eventhough the panoramic view was amazing, I found Bryce Canyon a lot more grandiose as far as landscape and colors. Grand Canyon concluded that wonderfull trip, on 09/30 we drove to Snowflake, AZ to meet our friend Rob and Rachel with whom we had sailed the Sea of Cortez the previous season.
This road trip has been amazing. I have really been impressed by the quality of the campgrounds, not only for their inexpensiveness but also for the easy access to the National Parks they provide. The main cost for this trip has been the car rental and the gas (with arguably the ribeyes every other days!). My top 3 highlights: Manhattan (being able to see a Van Gogh at the museum means a lot to me), the Arches National Park and its breathtaking scenery, the mythic Monument Valley. My only regret is the drone prohibition in the National Park (which is totally comprehensible) but even from ground level, the landscapes were astonishing!
