I am planning if can get my vacation from work as soon as possible to visit USA again, and i decided i will take that direct flight to Seattle so i ca be on the North/West states there, i am thinking i would like to have about 18 days up to 3 weeks if possible, so my few questions:
- Which areas i should be around there for photography?
- How much is the transport if available to national parks around there?
- Can i get some restaurants with international cuisine because i am not much with meat food specially with forbidden meat and trying to have very very similar food to what i eat in my country [Arabian, indian, middle eastern or turkish...etc]
- If you can help or give some guides, are there some cheapo hotels there so i can move around as cheap as possible?
I am thinking to be in Oregon and Washington states and not planning to go to another many states very far, even California i m not looking for to visit which is not that much far by flight, but i am thinking to use buses or trains and those lands transports than air.
I appreciate any help here to plan my trip at best i can.
Hi Tareq,
I can answer a couple of questions. Some additional information will help people advise you. What time of year do you plan to visit? Are you most interested in wildlife/birds or
landscapes?
Transport: You will want to rent a car. the U.S. is very car oriented, and most of the photo destinations are not accessible by public transportation. Car rental is typically $50 per day, but I'm not sure what insurance costs for foreign travelers.
Food: The west coast is very vegetarian friendly. Most restaurants (even fast food chains like McDonalds) have vegetarian options. Most stores carry international foods, especially health food stores like New Seasons, Whole Foods, where you could buy vegan food, meat substitutes like tempeh, and common international items like hummus, flat breads, unsweetened yogurt.
Let us know what you would like t shoot, and we can help you refine your trip plans.
Finally someone answered here, thank you very much!
I got that answers about food and transportation already and i think i will be forced to go with car renting at the end, and about food i think i shouldn't worry much or panic as i did traveled to some non arabic non my religious countries and managed to survive with whatever food i can find whether veggie or meat, i can manage something about food for sure.
Well, i love landscapes and it is my main goal/purpose of this trip, but if i have time and can access to wilderness or wildlife/nature and birds then why not, i may do that at least once if possible, but i don't have those expensive long telephotos to do it, i will not carry my short tele-prime even it is not enough for birds mostly, but anyway, i will not hold a hope on those very much.
I got many spots and photographic locations from another answers and also from the search and the list is increasing everyday, there are several spots that are all recommend and very popular, so i think i have to have my list as top priority spots and then less priority for the time when i am done with most popular spot if i can.
I avoided workshops because mostly i can't find the one i want and secondly it costs a lot for not necessary things i need, i am experienced already with shooting landscapes so i am not going to pay more for someone to teach me, and couldn't find someone who can take me around and only pricing for tour guide or say driving me to those places, i think photographers don't have time to drive or help other photographers over there, i am very new to that region and i never drive a car overseas before, so someone told me if i didn't plan carefully i may end up driving more than shooting, and it sounds i may drive more just to be familiar of the area before i plan for something and then i waste most of my trip by just driving around, and there are some factors may play in decreasing my opportunity to have enough shooting here and there.
The time i plan to visit all depend on if i will get the vacation and days off from work or not on time, i planned to have my vacation from mid Sept to almost mid Oct, i am planning from 16 or 17 Sept until about 6 Oct, so almost 3 weeks, if i do it fine, if not then i will have my vacation by November and some told me it will get more wet and more rainy as winter is almost arrived over there and told me it will be a waste to come that time of November and have most days without sunshine or cloudy and such, sure i may find few good or dry days but those are much less getting further than September and October, i know about the weather globally too, but i am also limited to my time of vacation, but let's hope i can do it by mid Sept to first week of October.
What else do you want to know from me to help you in answering/guiding me, please?
Posted by Greg Vaughn on September 5, 2013 at 12:57 PM
Hello Tareq,
Marylynne has given you some good information on food and transportation. I think you will not have any problems concerning choice and availability of food. There is some good public transportation around the major cities in Washington and Oregon, but rarely will it get you to the really good landscape photography locations, at least not without a lot of time and transfers on buses.
For budget lodging, there are a few hostels throughout the Pacific Northwest that can be located on an internet search. Also, many of the State Parks in Oregon and Washington have cabins and yurts for rent in the campgrounds. They are quite comfortable, with beds, heaters and electricity, and all you'd need to "camp" is a sleeping bag. Private campgrounds such as the KOA franchise have similar cabins.
If you are able to travel as you hope from mid-September to early October, you will be here for the start of fall color in some areas. Early autumn in the Pacific Northwest is often very beautiful, though there is always the possibility of days of rain.
Some ideas for where to go and when: start with Mount Rainier National Park, then over to the Oregon coast. Back north on the coast up to Olympic National Park in Washington. From Port Townsend, ferry to Whidbey Island, then follow Highway 20 across the islands to I-5. North to Bellingham, then east on Hwy 542 to Picture Lake for the Mount Shuksan View. Back to Highway 20 and then over the Cascade Mountains through Washington Pass. South on Hwy 97, detour west to Leavenworth area and Tumwater Canyon up Hwy 2, then continue south on Hwy 97 to the Columbia River. West through the Gorge for the waterfalls. Then back to Seattle - with a visit to Mount Saint Helens if time permits.
That route is suggested to give you the best chance of fall color during that time period. If your trip cannot take place until November, you almost certainly will have more rain. Stormy days on the coast (Oregon and Washington) can be excellent for photography, but that weather is not so great for the mountains and Columbia Gorge.
Thank you very much for your helpful reply and guide!!!
Well, it is all coming to the point of how can i move all around, i can have the name of all places there and even if i will visit few of them, if i can't drive then it is almost useless, so i have to focus on having a car no matter what, in all cases i must spend some money, i can't spend a lot to be in workshops with leaders and i don't get much out of it, i prefer to be free moving than being in a workshop that will suck half or more of my whole budget for the trip, so better i drive by myself, and i hope if i am lucky and find someone before i fly who can drive for me or i mean someone who wouldn't mind time me with him going around for photography as well then it will be a big help, but i always expect no body will help others much these days, not with strangers.
In all cases, if i do it this time great, if not and my vacation will be by end of October until mid of November then i will change my plan to another place, I think Europe northern areas will be almost the same, so i may choose the southern parts, but i will do my best to have it on Sept-Oct to PNW and then i hope i can do something when i am there, i know i will visit few places for sure, but it is all depends on when i will visit those places and how many and most important is if i will shoot what i want from those places.
Wish if i was rich enough so i can have my own budget and longer time, traveling for 1-3 weeks to do big landscapes photography sometimes can't help, mostly if i choose the wrong time of the year, so for this trip if it will happen by Sept-Oct i will make sure i can move around much to get more keeper/winner shots of landscapes, i will be happy if i can get to at least 4 popular points and getting almost 5-10 top best out of each, i don't need to have 100 all best shots, i will shoot over thousands from the whole trip but i know i will end up with almost 20-50 as my top best favorite shots so far, but this will happen only if i choose the right place and be there on right time if possible.
About the driving, how safe is driving around there? How is the traffic at worst if happen? How is the traffic flow out of the cities? How about the roads, are they safe paved wide enough or it is narrow for 1 lane each direction or what exactly? I always afraid of having accident by driving overseas, i can't pay for accident mistakes, and i may do the accident if i drive and keep looking all around me and not focusing on the road, and are you driving left side or right side in the car?
One thing, i saw a lot of amazing beautiful stunning photos from there, but can you link me to the top best photos from there so i can learn something out of them? I know when i look at photos that masterpiece then i know where and how to do it.
Thanks for any help you can give me!
Posted by Greg Vaughn on September 6, 2013 at 12:44 PM
Tareq,
Are you a competent driver at home where you live? Able to navigate cities as well as rural areas? If so, you should have no problem here. All of the roads you are likely to travel to get to the major landscape photo locations are good, safe roads, 2-4 lanes, paved and well signed. Traffic is very heavy all around Seattle and the metro Portland area, but it is manageable if you are patient and try to avoid the busiest times when people are going to/from work.
Several people on this website lead photo tours and act as guides, myself included, but I think you are unlikely to find anyone who could drive you around for 2-3 weeks without significant compensation. Would it not be the same if I came to your home country?
As for links to the "top best photos", as a start, check the work of the photographers listed here: http://gregvaughn.com/photographingwashington/resources/. That page has quite a few other links that will help you plan your trip.
1. I am well pr competent driver at home where i live, and i am familiar to my country but sometimes yes i got lost to some areas far and out of big cities. Also what about parking to find on NPs and some nature locations? someone told me that the parkings in the cities are very expensive or not cheap, so this will cost me also if i go to stay or rest in big cities sometimes, also he told me if i didn't return it on time or to the place where i rented from it may charge me quite expensive, so all my worry points coming from what hidden charges i may get from renting the car, i avoided the workshop because it limited to time and places for high charge, so i hope with the car i don't get to many many locations and charging me almost the same of any workshop or even more, i also have a limited budget for the car or workshop, but i will see how i can manage to get a car with less additional expense if possible.
"Would it not be the same if I came to your home country?" No it won't, because first in my country it is a small country and i can drive around in much much less time then your USA/Canada time, you all know that UAE is barely as large as smallest state there, and our oil price is lower, and also we can take some showing around free or if some ask for it for very low price that may mostly go for the fuel not for something else, but in USA all will ask cost for everything, in fact i want only someone to take me around on certain time if he can or free not for guiding me or giving me lectures, and i am surprised about if many photographers are going to those places i want to go to then why they can't take someone with them? In my country if i go around for photography and someone would like to join me i do that free with all pleasure, so are we different or are we stupid doing this then? I don't blame you if you charge for your guide tour or workshops, i may do the same, but also do you charge if you go alone in your regular photography and still asking for charge if someone would like to join you? I will never ask someone how can i photograph this and that, i only go my way if i go with someone until i am done and his done and go back home with him if he is living near or same area i am staying in or in his/her way, but i think all doing workshop/tour outdoor planned rather than just hiking around for free time, and not necessary i must go with only one person to all or many places, i can pay the fuel if it needs or share something, but i was hoping if some there can encourage and welcome helping some photographers coming from overseas free or very low price.
Let's say if i want to visit at least 5-7 popular places i want/look for within 2 weeks with someone under a workshop he/she does, excluding accommodation/food, how much this will cost?
Hi Tareq,
I think Greg is right that few people can operate as a guide without charging a good bit. If a person is a professional photographer, he or she can't afford time away from their own schedule. If a person is not a pro, he cannot afford time away from the regular job. The U.S. is weird. For all our riches, most of us are slaves to the process of earning money one way or another. Then there is the liability issue. We fear being sued so much taking a near stranger around in a car requires a waiver. I'm exaggerating a little on that last point.
Nonetheless, Greg is also right that most major destinations will be easy to find. In particular, the Oregon Coast and the Columbia River Gorge are well travelled, well marked (with signs) and easy to navigate. The mountain areas might be more difficult that time of year, but if you stay at a lodge (Paradise Lodge Crater Lake Lodge if open) you would get good advice and be near photo opportunities. As for driving in the back roads, etc, the good news is that there are few rural highways, so if you stay one and keep track of signs, you should be okay. Some destinations require hiking, and that should be done slowly and carefully with good maps. People get lost on trails in the Gorge all the time.
Do you have a smart phone or ipad? if so, there are navigation apps to give you more confidence. in addition, it would be hard to find someone to show you around for the duration of your stay, but my guess is that any one of us might be available for a single day out if you post your plan for a specific location and date here once you arrive.
A bad news, i canceled my trip to PNW or USA due to some issues at work, so i may apply for late Oct or November, and then it will be not a good time/weather in PNW this time, i don't want to waste my trip on not ideal weather tour, so i am looking for another place and i will keep that PNW trip for next year and i will apply earlier next time, and from all the details and information i've got here and there i may do it better.
I understand that people in USA tend to earn money one way or another, but this is also same here in my country, don't believe we are all rich and we are all the same and have high level, but even thought we don't give a bad image about our country by not help or asking money from strangers to help them if it is something we can do and not taking us away from many things in my life, i am married but i have time free to go out and around, also i have time to do photography around, so why not taking someone with us if we don't mind? And i feel sorry if some or many people in US just don't want to help or offer time when they have to help others from overseas who came for visit and tour, if someone is going to a mountain there and spend say 6 hours and i want to go there as well but i don't know how then why not this american person help him? But maybe i don't know how is the lifestyle there and maybe the issue of life here and there making them less helpful for strangers and they get busy to Damn jobs and don't want to waste time with others and worse if they have time but don't want to take someone in same purpose tour.
Anyway, i got a message from a nice man living there telling me that he is willling to invite me to his house, and dyring the weekend he can take me to Mt. Rainier because he is living almost 1 hour drive from it, this behave alone made my day and if it is true then it will save my time and budget and even plan if i go there, 2-3 days with someone invited me to his place with his family and willing to drive me once or 2 times to one spectacular place will give me a better idea about the driving rules and watching the roads and also during that drive once or twice i can see some places around where i can visit alone when i leave that person after few days, all what i asked is someone who can drive me to some places he can go and wanted to go until say sunset when he/she is available then i can do the rest alone, save few bucks in few days will help for other days for sure, and i will be so appreciated that i will do the same if someone would like to visit my country.
Thank you very much for all help/guide here, and hope i can do it next time.
Late October early November can be rainy, and that can create some nice stormy skies on the coast and fresh snow in the mountains. Nnetheless, it can also be uniformly gray and drizzly. If I were coming to the US late October/early November, I think I would go to Utah.
That said, I could certainly spend a day in the Gorge showing you around. I teach Monday-Friday, but if you will be in Portland for a weekend, even a Friday afternoon, private message me and we can see if it will work out. I will be out of town Nov 1-3 but around otherwise.
I like cloudy skies a lot, in fact it is what i look for but sometimes i would like to have sunshine so i can see the sunset where the sun is there on the horizon, i can't risk going there and getting rainy cloudy fuzzy days about 2 weeks and less than 1 week i may have sunshine if possible.
Ofcourse if i will go to PNW then i will have 2 weekends there, and almost third weekend i will be ready to go back home, just let me know about the weather by late October, i can apply for my vacation by 20th and fly by 21st Oct, our religious Occasion will start by 15 Oct until 17, and 18-19 are our weekend, i may think about 19/20 Oct to fly, so give me an update weather forecast for Oct, until that day i can decide if i keep PNW or cancel it to go to another areas but not in USA.
Discussion
10 repliesI am planning if can get my vacation from work as soon as possible to visit USA again, and i decided i will take that direct flight to Seattle so i ca be on the North/West states there, i am thinking i would like to have about 18 days up to 3 weeks if possible, so my few questions:
- Which areas i should be around there for photography?
- How much is the transport if available to national parks around there?
- Can i get some restaurants with international cuisine because i am not much with meat food specially with forbidden meat and trying to have very very similar food to what i eat in my country [Arabian, indian, middle eastern or turkish...etc]
- If you can help or give some guides, are there some cheapo hotels there so i can move around as cheap as possible?
I am thinking to be in Oregon and Washington states and not planning to go to another many states very far, even California i m not looking for to visit which is not that much far by flight, but i am thinking to use buses or trains and those lands transports than air.
I appreciate any help here to plan my trip at best i can.
I can answer a couple of questions. Some additional information will help people advise you. What time of year do you plan to visit? Are you most interested in wildlife/birds or
landscapes?
Transport: You will want to rent a car. the U.S. is very car oriented, and most of the photo destinations are not accessible by public transportation. Car rental is typically $50 per day, but I'm not sure what insurance costs for foreign travelers.
Food: The west coast is very vegetarian friendly. Most restaurants (even fast food chains like McDonalds) have vegetarian options. Most stores carry international foods, especially health food stores like New Seasons, Whole Foods, where you could buy vegan food, meat substitutes like tempeh, and common international items like hummus, flat breads, unsweetened yogurt.
Let us know what you would like t shoot, and we can help you refine your trip plans.
Finally someone answered here, thank you very much!
I got that answers about food and transportation already and i think i will be forced to go with car renting at the end, and about food i think i shouldn't worry much or panic as i did traveled to some non arabic non my religious countries and managed to survive with whatever food i can find whether veggie or meat, i can manage something about food for sure.
Well, i love landscapes and it is my main goal/purpose of this trip, but if i have time and can access to wilderness or wildlife/nature and birds then why not, i may do that at least once if possible, but i don't have those expensive long telephotos to do it, i will not carry my short tele-prime even it is not enough for birds mostly, but anyway, i will not hold a hope on those very much.
I got many spots and photographic locations from another answers and also from the search and the list is increasing everyday, there are several spots that are all recommend and very popular, so i think i have to have my list as top priority spots and then less priority for the time when i am done with most popular spot if i can.
I avoided workshops because mostly i can't find the one i want and secondly it costs a lot for not necessary things i need, i am experienced already with shooting landscapes so i am not going to pay more for someone to teach me, and couldn't find someone who can take me around and only pricing for tour guide or say driving me to those places, i think photographers don't have time to drive or help other photographers over there, i am very new to that region and i never drive a car overseas before, so someone told me if i didn't plan carefully i may end up driving more than shooting, and it sounds i may drive more just to be familiar of the area before i plan for something and then i waste most of my trip by just driving around, and there are some factors may play in decreasing my opportunity to have enough shooting here and there.
The time i plan to visit all depend on if i will get the vacation and days off from work or not on time, i planned to have my vacation from mid Sept to almost mid Oct, i am planning from 16 or 17 Sept until about 6 Oct, so almost 3 weeks, if i do it fine, if not then i will have my vacation by November and some told me it will get more wet and more rainy as winter is almost arrived over there and told me it will be a waste to come that time of November and have most days without sunshine or cloudy and such, sure i may find few good or dry days but those are much less getting further than September and October, i know about the weather globally too, but i am also limited to my time of vacation, but let's hope i can do it by mid Sept to first week of October.
What else do you want to know from me to help you in answering/guiding me, please?
Marylynne has given you some good information on food and transportation. I think you will not have any problems concerning choice and availability of food. There is some good public transportation around the major cities in Washington and Oregon, but rarely will it get you to the really good landscape photography locations, at least not without a lot of time and transfers on buses.
For budget lodging, there are a few hostels throughout the Pacific Northwest that can be located on an internet search. Also, many of the State Parks in Oregon and Washington have cabins and yurts for rent in the campgrounds. They are quite comfortable, with beds, heaters and electricity, and all you'd need to "camp" is a sleeping bag. Private campgrounds such as the KOA franchise have similar cabins.
If you are able to travel as you hope from mid-September to early October, you will be here for the start of fall color in some areas. Early autumn in the Pacific Northwest is often very beautiful, though there is always the possibility of days of rain.
Some ideas for where to go and when: start with Mount Rainier National Park, then over to the Oregon coast. Back north on the coast up to Olympic National Park in Washington. From Port Townsend, ferry to Whidbey Island, then follow Highway 20 across the islands to I-5. North to Bellingham, then east on Hwy 542 to Picture Lake for the Mount Shuksan View. Back to Highway 20 and then over the Cascade Mountains through Washington Pass. South on Hwy 97, detour west to Leavenworth area and Tumwater Canyon up Hwy 2, then continue south on Hwy 97 to the Columbia River. West through the Gorge for the waterfalls. Then back to Seattle - with a visit to Mount Saint Helens if time permits.
That route is suggested to give you the best chance of fall color during that time period. If your trip cannot take place until November, you almost certainly will have more rain. Stormy days on the coast (Oregon and Washington) can be excellent for photography, but that weather is not so great for the mountains and Columbia Gorge.
Have a wonderful trip!
Thank you very much for your helpful reply and guide!!!
Well, it is all coming to the point of how can i move all around, i can have the name of all places there and even if i will visit few of them, if i can't drive then it is almost useless, so i have to focus on having a car no matter what, in all cases i must spend some money, i can't spend a lot to be in workshops with leaders and i don't get much out of it, i prefer to be free moving than being in a workshop that will suck half or more of my whole budget for the trip, so better i drive by myself, and i hope if i am lucky and find someone before i fly who can drive for me or i mean someone who wouldn't mind time me with him going around for photography as well then it will be a big help, but i always expect no body will help others much these days, not with strangers.
In all cases, if i do it this time great, if not and my vacation will be by end of October until mid of November then i will change my plan to another place, I think Europe northern areas will be almost the same, so i may choose the southern parts, but i will do my best to have it on Sept-Oct to PNW and then i hope i can do something when i am there, i know i will visit few places for sure, but it is all depends on when i will visit those places and how many and most important is if i will shoot what i want from those places.
Wish if i was rich enough so i can have my own budget and longer time, traveling for 1-3 weeks to do big landscapes photography sometimes can't help, mostly if i choose the wrong time of the year, so for this trip if it will happen by Sept-Oct i will make sure i can move around much to get more keeper/winner shots of landscapes, i will be happy if i can get to at least 4 popular points and getting almost 5-10 top best out of each, i don't need to have 100 all best shots, i will shoot over thousands from the whole trip but i know i will end up with almost 20-50 as my top best favorite shots so far, but this will happen only if i choose the right place and be there on right time if possible.
About the driving, how safe is driving around there? How is the traffic at worst if happen? How is the traffic flow out of the cities? How about the roads, are they safe paved wide enough or it is narrow for 1 lane each direction or what exactly? I always afraid of having accident by driving overseas, i can't pay for accident mistakes, and i may do the accident if i drive and keep looking all around me and not focusing on the road, and are you driving left side or right side in the car?
One thing, i saw a lot of amazing beautiful stunning photos from there, but can you link me to the top best photos from there so i can learn something out of them? I know when i look at photos that masterpiece then i know where and how to do it.
Thanks for any help you can give me!
Are you a competent driver at home where you live? Able to navigate cities as well as rural areas? If so, you should have no problem here. All of the roads you are likely to travel to get to the major landscape photo locations are good, safe roads, 2-4 lanes, paved and well signed. Traffic is very heavy all around Seattle and the metro Portland area, but it is manageable if you are patient and try to avoid the busiest times when people are going to/from work.
Several people on this website lead photo tours and act as guides, myself included, but I think you are unlikely to find anyone who could drive you around for 2-3 weeks without significant compensation. Would it not be the same if I came to your home country?
As for links to the "top best photos", as a start, check the work of the photographers listed here: http://gregvaughn.com/photographingwashington/resources/. That page has quite a few other links that will help you plan your trip.
Well, answering your reply post:
1. I am well pr competent driver at home where i live, and i am familiar to my country but sometimes yes i got lost to some areas far and out of big cities. Also what about parking to find on NPs and some nature locations? someone told me that the parkings in the cities are very expensive or not cheap, so this will cost me also if i go to stay or rest in big cities sometimes, also he told me if i didn't return it on time or to the place where i rented from it may charge me quite expensive, so all my worry points coming from what hidden charges i may get from renting the car, i avoided the workshop because it limited to time and places for high charge, so i hope with the car i don't get to many many locations and charging me almost the same of any workshop or even more, i also have a limited budget for the car or workshop, but i will see how i can manage to get a car with less additional expense if possible.
"Would it not be the same if I came to your home country?" No it won't, because first in my country it is a small country and i can drive around in much much less time then your USA/Canada time, you all know that UAE is barely as large as smallest state there, and our oil price is lower, and also we can take some showing around free or if some ask for it for very low price that may mostly go for the fuel not for something else, but in USA all will ask cost for everything, in fact i want only someone to take me around on certain time if he can or free not for guiding me or giving me lectures, and i am surprised about if many photographers are going to those places i want to go to then why they can't take someone with them? In my country if i go around for photography and someone would like to join me i do that free with all pleasure, so are we different or are we stupid doing this then? I don't blame you if you charge for your guide tour or workshops, i may do the same, but also do you charge if you go alone in your regular photography and still asking for charge if someone would like to join you? I will never ask someone how can i photograph this and that, i only go my way if i go with someone until i am done and his done and go back home with him if he is living near or same area i am staying in or in his/her way, but i think all doing workshop/tour outdoor planned rather than just hiking around for free time, and not necessary i must go with only one person to all or many places, i can pay the fuel if it needs or share something, but i was hoping if some there can encourage and welcome helping some photographers coming from overseas free or very low price.
Let's say if i want to visit at least 5-7 popular places i want/look for within 2 weeks with someone under a workshop he/she does, excluding accommodation/food, how much this will cost?
I think Greg is right that few people can operate as a guide without charging a good bit. If a person is a professional photographer, he or she can't afford time away from their own schedule. If a person is not a pro, he cannot afford time away from the regular job. The U.S. is weird. For all our riches, most of us are slaves to the process of earning money one way or another. Then there is the liability issue. We fear being sued so much taking a near stranger around in a car requires a waiver. I'm exaggerating a little on that last point.
Nonetheless, Greg is also right that most major destinations will be easy to find. In particular, the Oregon Coast and the Columbia River Gorge are well travelled, well marked (with signs) and easy to navigate. The mountain areas might be more difficult that time of year, but if you stay at a lodge (Paradise Lodge Crater Lake Lodge if open) you would get good advice and be near photo opportunities. As for driving in the back roads, etc, the good news is that there are few rural highways, so if you stay one and keep track of signs, you should be okay. Some destinations require hiking, and that should be done slowly and carefully with good maps. People get lost on trails in the Gorge all the time.
Do you have a smart phone or ipad? if so, there are navigation apps to give you more confidence. in addition, it would be hard to find someone to show you around for the duration of your stay, but my guess is that any one of us might be available for a single day out if you post your plan for a specific location and date here once you arrive.
A bad news, i canceled my trip to PNW or USA due to some issues at work, so i may apply for late Oct or November, and then it will be not a good time/weather in PNW this time, i don't want to waste my trip on not ideal weather tour, so i am looking for another place and i will keep that PNW trip for next year and i will apply earlier next time, and from all the details and information i've got here and there i may do it better.
I understand that people in USA tend to earn money one way or another, but this is also same here in my country, don't believe we are all rich and we are all the same and have high level, but even thought we don't give a bad image about our country by not help or asking money from strangers to help them if it is something we can do and not taking us away from many things in my life, i am married but i have time free to go out and around, also i have time to do photography around, so why not taking someone with us if we don't mind? And i feel sorry if some or many people in US just don't want to help or offer time when they have to help others from overseas who came for visit and tour, if someone is going to a mountain there and spend say 6 hours and i want to go there as well but i don't know how then why not this american person help him? But maybe i don't know how is the lifestyle there and maybe the issue of life here and there making them less helpful for strangers and they get busy to Damn jobs and don't want to waste time with others and worse if they have time but don't want to take someone in same purpose tour.
Anyway, i got a message from a nice man living there telling me that he is willling to invite me to his house, and dyring the weekend he can take me to Mt. Rainier because he is living almost 1 hour drive from it, this behave alone made my day and if it is true then it will save my time and budget and even plan if i go there, 2-3 days with someone invited me to his place with his family and willing to drive me once or 2 times to one spectacular place will give me a better idea about the driving rules and watching the roads and also during that drive once or twice i can see some places around where i can visit alone when i leave that person after few days, all what i asked is someone who can drive me to some places he can go and wanted to go until say sunset when he/she is available then i can do the rest alone, save few bucks in few days will help for other days for sure, and i will be so appreciated that i will do the same if someone would like to visit my country.
Thank you very much for all help/guide here, and hope i can do it next time.
Best,
Tareq
That said, I could certainly spend a day in the Gorge showing you around. I teach Monday-Friday, but if you will be in Portland for a weekend, even a Friday afternoon, private message me and we can see if it will work out. I will be out of town Nov 1-3 but around otherwise.
Ofcourse if i will go to PNW then i will have 2 weekends there, and almost third weekend i will be ready to go back home, just let me know about the weather by late October, i can apply for my vacation by 20th and fly by 21st Oct, our religious Occasion will start by 15 Oct until 17, and 18-19 are our weekend, i may think about 19/20 Oct to fly, so give me an update weather forecast for Oct, until that day i can decide if i keep PNW or cancel it to go to another areas but not in USA.