Posted by Ben Gardner on February 17, 2010 at 8:04 AM
Hi all,
Just managed to convince my fiance to have our honeymoon touring some of the national parks in the US in early September for 3-4 weeks. Below is our planned trip:
San Francisco
Yosemite
Death Valley
Grand Canyon
Havasupai
Page
Zion
Bryce
Yellowstone
Salt Lake City
I have a few ideas of spots I want to get some images such as Havasu falls, Horseshoe Bend, Antelope Canyon but I would really appreciate some indsider knowledge of places to see on the trip both places I might not know and those listed above, a grid reference or map link would be really useful but might be asking too much . Any help would be greatly received.
Posted by John Mumaw on February 17, 2010 at 9:18 AM
Posted by Howard Cihak on February 17, 2010 at 12:46 PM
Indeed, it does sound like an ambitious trip. However, if you had to "convince" your bride-to-be, then I recommend you give some thought to how you plan to make this a memorable honeymoon for her as well as a memorable photo expedition for you. To the extent you succeed, you may not have to "convince" her about joining you on future photo tours.
Good luck and very best wishes.
Posted by Bret Edge on February 17, 2010 at 4:41 PM
First, congratulations on your upcoming marriage. My wife and I did a 3.5 month road trip for our honeymoon and it was the best 3.5 months of my life. I think it's AWESOME that you are both choosing to spend your honeymoon road tripping throughout the West. Great choice!
John's book suggestions are good ones. I also recommend "Photographing Yosemite" by Michael Frye. If you have an iPhone or iPod Touch you might check out my apps, iFotoGuide: Yosemite and iFotoGuide: Arches. Both are available on the app store. Another great resource are the Photograph America newsletters by Robert Hitchman. There is also a guidebook to photography in Grand Teton and Yellowstone although I can't remember the title or author. It's pretty old but it does list some good locations.
Have a great time on your trip. Be sure to post some photos when you get back!
Posted by Bill Pelzmann on February 17, 2010 at 4:44 PM
Ben, congrats on your upcoming wedding.
I also highly recommend John's book suggestions for your planning.
You have some very ambitious objectives, even for 4 weeks.
I see you live in the UK. Have you ever traveled in the western US before?
If at all possible, leave yourself some fexibility in changing plans on the fly.
Once you get to an area, you might decide that spending a few extra quality days there might be preferable to rushing to the next view.
Posted by Don Grall on February 17, 2010 at 8:28 PM
I believe you will be lucky to see all those places in just 4 weeks, especially if you plan to stop along the way for photos. Drive time alone will be over 9-12 days between all those places, assuming you only stop for gas and food. Havasu Falls will take a minimum of 3 days alone unless you take the helicopter option into the village and back out again. To get some quality, I would plan closer to 8 weeks to see all you have planned.
Posted by Ben Gardner on February 18, 2010 at 9:05 AM
Thanks for all the advice. We are both really looking forward to the trip.
I have travelled to some of the destinations before but not all so it will be good to show my fiance those places I have talked about so fondly. The trip is not set in stone yet so we will be probably adjust as we go and if we find the driving is too much we might reduce the number of destinations a bit. Since I was last at Havasupai i understand fklodding has altered the falls. Has this drastically reduced the beauty of the area or is it still stunning?
Posted by Rene Pirolt on February 18, 2010 at 1:46 PM
Ben - congratulations! Can I go too??!
I'll throw in my two cents, since I have made quite a few road trips to the areas you are shooting.
I am not sure about the conditions at Havasupai, but I would suggest you skip Havasupai and the South Rim of the Grand Canyon. Then I would change the order of locations as follows:
Death Valley -> Zion -> Grand Canyon North Rim -> Page(Antelope Canyons and Horseshoe Bend) -> Bryce
This will SIGNIFICANTLY cut down the miles you will have to drive, and in my opinion the North Rim is much more photogenic than the South Rim. Also, the South Rim of the GC will be packed with tourists in September. If you do decide to stay at the North Rim, which I highly recommend, you need to make reservations right away. There is no lodging anywhere near the park other than directly at the North Rim and a few cabins just outside the park
Another option you might consider is skipping Bryce, and heading from Page to Moab. This will allow you to include Monument Valley, Canyonlands National Park, and Arches National Park.
Have a great trip!
Posted by Bob Falcone on February 18, 2010 at 9:59 PM
If nothing else, I would have to agree with Rene on visiting Monument Valley. IMHO, nothing defines the American west as it does.
Posted by Les Barstow on February 23, 2010 at 5:45 PM
I have to agree with others here, both on the book recommendations and on the length of the trip. The car drive alone seems a killer, especially with both the Grand Canyon (S. Rim) and Yellowstone thrown in. I like René's suggestion of an alternate that will save you a lot of drive time; the South Rim is a long detour...
The other alternative is to cut out Yellowstone and add Moab (Arches and Canyonlands) to the trip. That may or not be acceptable - Yellowstone is different from the rest of your trip, and it has a lot to offer at any time of year; early September is very nice in my opinion (if a bit chilly - it's snowed lightly every time I've been up there over the Labor Day week).
Discussion
9 repliesJust managed to convince my fiance to have our honeymoon touring some of the national parks in the US in early September for 3-4 weeks. Below is our planned trip:
San Francisco
Yosemite
Death Valley
Grand Canyon
Havasupai
Page
Zion
Bryce
Yellowstone
Salt Lake City
I have a few ideas of spots I want to get some images such as Havasu falls, Horseshoe Bend, Antelope Canyon but I would really appreciate some indsider knowledge of places to see on the trip both places I might not know and those listed above, a grid reference or map link would be really useful but might be asking too much
'Photographing the Southwest: Volume 1--Southern Utah' and 'Photographing the Southwest: Volume 2--Arizona' .
Also note the thread below 'Exploring Havasupai' for another book recommendation.
Sounds like an ambitious trip...best of luck!
Good luck and very best wishes.
John's book suggestions are good ones. I also recommend "Photographing Yosemite" by Michael Frye. If you have an iPhone or iPod Touch you might check out my apps, iFotoGuide: Yosemite and iFotoGuide: Arches. Both are available on the app store. Another great resource are the Photograph America newsletters by Robert Hitchman. There is also a guidebook to photography in Grand Teton and Yellowstone although I can't remember the title or author. It's pretty old but it does list some good locations.
Have a great time on your trip. Be sure to post some photos when you get back!
I also highly recommend John's book suggestions for your planning.
You have some very ambitious objectives, even for 4 weeks.
I see you live in the UK. Have you ever traveled in the western US before?
If at all possible, leave yourself some fexibility in changing plans on the fly.
Once you get to an area, you might decide that spending a few extra quality days there might be preferable to rushing to the next view.
I have travelled to some of the destinations before but not all so it will be good to show my fiance those places I have talked about so fondly. The trip is not set in stone yet so we will be probably adjust as we go and if we find the driving is too much we might reduce the number of destinations a bit. Since I was last at Havasupai i understand fklodding has altered the falls. Has this drastically reduced the beauty of the area or is it still stunning?
I'll throw in my two cents, since I have made quite a few road trips to the areas you are shooting.
I am not sure about the conditions at Havasupai, but I would suggest you skip Havasupai and the South Rim of the Grand Canyon. Then I would change the order of locations as follows:
Death Valley -> Zion -> Grand Canyon North Rim -> Page(Antelope Canyons and Horseshoe Bend) -> Bryce
This will SIGNIFICANTLY cut down the miles you will have to drive, and in my opinion the North Rim is much more photogenic than the South Rim. Also, the South Rim of the GC will be packed with tourists in September. If you do decide to stay at the North Rim, which I highly recommend, you need to make reservations right away. There is no lodging anywhere near the park other than directly at the North Rim and a few cabins just outside the park
Another option you might consider is skipping Bryce, and heading from Page to Moab. This will allow you to include Monument Valley, Canyonlands National Park, and Arches National Park.
Have a great trip!
The other alternative is to cut out Yellowstone and add Moab (Arches and Canyonlands) to the trip. That may or not be acceptable - Yellowstone is different from the rest of your trip, and it has a lot to offer at any time of year; early September is very nice in my opinion (if a bit chilly - it's snowed lightly every time I've been up there over the Labor Day week).