So I'll be moving to Portland with resinate and lucy on the 19th, but before we get there we have a really long road trip planned.


We are going from Chicago >> Badlands, SD >> Yellowstone, WY >> Grand Teton, WY >> Craters of the Moon, ID >> Flaming Gorge, UT >> Dinosaur, CO >> Arches National Park, UT >> Grand Canyon, AZ >> Zion, UT >> Yosemite, CA >> Super7 >> up the coast and then over to Portland.

I'll be posting pictures on my flickr, and keeping a little trip log on my website.
http://www.ghostandflower.com/chicagotoportland.php

Was wondering if anyone had any thoughts on some cool stuff to see along the way, tips on where to stay, good places to eat, etc.

I guess it would be good to keep in mind that two of us are 20 and one is 18. We are also trying to keep a tight budget, and have no real plans or time restraints.

Life's for living, right?
Jesse

well i haven't been to all of those places. check out slide rock state park in Arizona if you can. it's south of the Grand Canyon near Sedona (past Flagstaff). while at the Grand Canyon, try to hike down the canyon if you have time. you'll need to spend the night at the bottom though unless you're super fit. i hiked it when i was twelve and spent a day at the bottom before going back up. i think i fared better then than i would now. it doesn't matter if you skip the hiking at the GC as there are a ton of sweet canyons all throughout your route. its kind of a tourist trap. try not to buy a rainstick mocked up to be from some vague native american tribe. they are everywhere in Arizona.

but anyway, slide rock state park is a rushing stream/river that creates natural waterslides in the rocks. sounds painful, but there is a thick coating of slippery moss that accelerates your journey. god's water park. it rules.

from the AZ state park site:
"The park is named after the famous Slide Rock, a stretch of slippery creek bottom adjacent to the homestead. Visitors may slide down a slick natural water chute or wade and sun along the creek. The swim area is located on National Forest land which is jointly managed by Arizona State Parks and the U.S. Forest Service. Together these areas have seen the making of many Hollywood movies such as "Broken Arrow" (1950) with James Stewart, "Drum Beat" (1954) with Alan Ladd and Charles Bronson, "Gun Fury" (1953) with Rock Hudson and Donna Reed, and a scene from "Angel and the Badman" (1946) with John Wayne."

http://www.pr.state.az.us/Parks/SLRO/

also, the arches in Utah are amazing. there are a lot of killer national parks in UT: Dinosaur Nat'l Monument, Zion, Bryce Canyon are all awesome.
here's the national park list for Utah. amazing rock formations are everywhere there.
http://www.npca.org/parks/park-list.htm ... iAodiEJgIw

I'm a firm believer in checking out State Parks as well and Utah does not disappoint with some of the names:
Starvation State Park, This is the Place Heritage Park, Goblin Valley, Goosenecks, Kodachrome Basin are memorable
clickable map of state parks in utah--
http://stateparks.utah.gov/parks

i forgot how awesome Utah was for years, it all just came flooding back. sorry if i got a bit long-winded.

glad to see someone else's enthusiasm matching ours

thanks for the tips, the journey continues to grow new branches as it inches towards self-awareness. beautiful rock formations are very welcome. utah will certainly be an exciting day or two. we'll be avoiding the tourism industry at about every turn since the budget doesn't have room for souvenirs (or much shopping in general).

so what's the deal with camping at state/national parks?

Thanks for the cool info!

When I said Dinosaur, CO I meant we'd be stopping at Dinosaur National Monument, so that one is covered.
That Slide Rock place sounds pretty awesome/scary.

I really want to add Roswell to the trip, but we might have to save that for another time.

Please go to Zion in Utah, it was built by GIANTS and godlike creatures.

We are going right past it, so I don't see why not. It looks awesome!

I'm going to be keeping a blog and photo journal of the whole trip. Started it today with some thoughts on things.

http://www.ghostandflower.com/chicagotoportland.php

Definitely get to Bryce and do the rim trail. That place is amazing. You can get to the bottom and back of GC if you start early (like 5-6am, though the shuttles to the trail heads don't start till 6am?). If you're going via the South entrance I would do Kaibob to Phantom Ranch through Indian Garden to Bright Angel. In Zion if you're with avid hikers I'd say do Angels Landing otherwise do the overlook trail which is adjacent to it. Haven't been to Wyoming or SD....looks like you are going to have a fun road trip!!

So once your stocked up at super7. Please dont take HWY 5. it is so not the way!!!!
The best way to go is the HWY 101. it takes maybe 2 to three hours more. If you take the 101 you get to go through the redwood forests. You can even drive your car through a tree (HEAD EXPLODE). I just did that trip from SF to Portland and it was awesome. Iv taken the 5 so many times and it has its pretty moments but nothing compared to the 101. You also dont have to take the 101 all the way to portland either. Once you made it to Crescent City you will take HWY 199. The 199 is awesome too. Lots of huge trees.
Just a thought

Damn, that's quite the trip! And what's with everyone moving from Chicago to Portland? I just went out with 3 new friends who all just recently moved here from Chicago!

siphilon- Thanks for the tips! Since we don't really know what we are doing, it's quite likely that we'll be following your plan.

computerhair415- It would be crazy for us to not take 101! It's been planned from the beginning. I think I'm most looking forward to that part of the trip.

---NT--- Im not sure, what everyone else's reasons are, but I have a few. There's no nature in Chicago, and I love the forest. Especially mossy forests. Chicago is too busy, and people are super uptight. While it might be the same case in Portland according to people from Portland, coming from Chicago people there seem extremely laid back and friendly. Also, all of my favorite artists live in Portland.

Well, I don't know what to think about this.
My car makes a rattling noise when I hit bumps. It's be doing it for a long time, but I figured I'd get it check out before I drove 5000 miles across the country. So I took my car in today, and they gave me a list of shit that's wrong with it. I asked them which things were a must to get me across the country, I don't care about the rest. Grand total = $2000.

I need brake pads, a drive belt, front right axle, radiator hoses, mid-pipe for my exhaust, and a some other stuff.

At this point I'd say the move is up in the air. I don't have the money to fix my car.

that is awful news for that money you could buy a "new" used car... is it time to sell your jalopy along with your toys to fund the move? that sounds even more awful now that i said it out loud.

what are you going to do? you can't stop the dream!

Yeah Im thinking that I might do that. Or maybe I can just walk. Don't think I'd be going the long way though. I also think I'd be doing that alone.

Sell the car and buy a motorcycle!

I agree - don't stop the dream! Can you get a better repair quote? Get a new used? trade in?
Sell sketches along the way to finance the trip?

Here's an update. Took the car to someone else that my uncle knows. Gave me a quote on the same shit that Duxler gave me, and this guy said 800 to fix it all. My uncle, who supports what I do more than anyone else, said that he would help cover the cost.
So the problem seems to be resolved. It's amazing how quickly things got shitty and then were fixed.

Thanks for the tips everyone. It feels good to know that people out there are being supportive that don't really know me.

and uncle saves the day! awesome news, best of luck with the trip/move

Made it to South Dakota. Due to some hiccups we only got to Sioux Falls, but will be in the Badlands tomorrow.

More info and pictures on the blog.

that's great progress! did lucy decide to join the caravan?

edit: i just read that lucy went back... i am so sorry. but i trust that it will work out for the better. the dream continues!

thanks, bill

surprised how close some campsite rates come to hotels. getting to the woods this afternoon should be good though.

Yellowstone and Jackson Hole are beautiful. I'd like to go back out there again soon, have been out there twice. While your out that way look into visiting some ghost towns. They are really cool

some updates on the blog, and a substantial amount of photos on both of our flickr accounts


a few days from yosemite/sf and excitement is high

Definitely check out the flickr pages for some cool toy photos.

they're both gleefully shouting "FREEEEEEDOM!" at the top of their lungs