USA Roadtrip
Jan / Feb 2024
San Francisco to Washington D.C.
Nate, Taki, and I traveled by car taking the southern (winter) route through as many parks as we could in 3 weeks. About halfway across, we focused on a few cities: Austin, New Orleans, and Oak Ridge (family) before landing in D.C.
Camping in the West
Trona Pinnacles
Epic camping with nobody else around. Hiking was decent, desert variety. Loved the solitude of this place. No amenities at all - fully self-supported.
Death Valley
Comfortable camping at Texas Springs Campground. Best dog area: Twenty Mule Team Canyon. Loved the colors at Zabriskie Point and Dante’s View was worth the detour.
Grand Canyon
It snowed while we were camping in Mather Campground!! The camping section next to ours was closed for the season, so we had a lot of space to wander with Taki. Got views of the canyon upon arriving, since the next morning was fully fogged out. Comfortable amenities & restaurant, where we stocked up on Prickly Pear beer.
Parks in the South West
Sedona
Gorgeous colors with many scenic hikes. Great for dogs, as he was allowed on all the trails. Saw pink jeep tours and many mountain bike trails.
White Sands
Another picturesque place - the farther you go out, the better the views of infinite sand dunes. Super cute characters on the Hiking Dune Life Nature Trail, where we learned about dessert critters. Stopped by the nearby Pistachioland on the way out for some car snacks and nutty ice cream.
Carlsbad Caverns
Solid day trip. Started through the Natural Entrance, which was actually the highlight for me, since it was less crowded and quite an experience to descend into the caverns as your environment slowly changes. Enormous examples of a variety of formations.
Colorado Bend (TX)
Loved this trail to a lovely waterfall. Very empty. Taki was sure to alert us to any armadillo we found near the paths.
Austin, TX
Our Airbnb right next to Barton Springs and Zilker Park was the best place we could have found! We made generous use of the city bikes, doing a self-guided mural tour and biking around Lady Bird Lake / the river. We ventured into the nightlife scene at Cheer Up Charlie’s, Tiki Tatsu-Ya, and the Sahara Lounge all with wildly different atmospheres, but of course with live music. We were also delighted at finding a brewery specializing in sours at Blue Owl Brewing.
New Orleans, LA
Landed at a traditional shotgun style Airbnb in the Bywater - a now cute neighborhood with a beautifully revitalized park along the railroad tracks. The power of the internet connected me with an aerial teacher practicing out of a martial arts studio where I took my first single point trapeze lesson (after being only a hoop aerialist). We tasted the music scene here at a variety of venues from living rooms to streets to clubs and I do love me some horns. Finally we got some Kings Cake for the road as we watched the floats drive into town.
The Sprint Back West
Parks
Cummins Falls State Park, TN: A rainy but beautiful waterfall stop, where the lower area was closed due to high water levels.
Chickasaw State Park, TN: Nice camping spot right on the water.
Hot Springs NP, AR: Soaked in Quapaw Baths.
Mount Nebo, AR: Foggy views, but exciting mountain hiking and misty forest trails. Camped on an overlook.
Petrified Forest, AZ: Learned about petrified wood
Sedona, AZ: West Fork Oak Creek Trail
Red Rock Canyon NP, NV: Keystone Thrust Trail
Attractions and Food
Stafford Air & Space Museum in Weatherford, OK: Lots of actual space / mission artifacts
Tucker’s Onion Burgers in Oklahoma City, OK: Delicious (yes vegetarian friendly!) + milkshakes
Yellow City Street Food in Amarillo, TX: Hip vibes
Canyon Road Art Galleries in Santa Fe, NM: Outdoor mobiles
Meow Wolf in Santa Fe, NV: Secret puzzles
