Go West or Head East for August '21

[Rorke]

If you were starting in the middle of the country...on a once in a lifetime, 3 week road trip with your kid and ZERO plans...
......would you Go West or Head East?

Suggestions are appreciated. My concerns are crowds/no campsites, fires, and heat.

Bus is functional. Old subie still kicking. Trans is good to go. Tools and spares are above average. No recovery gear aboard. We have a fridge and heater.

Thanks

[mikemtnbike]

My partner and I like to take van-less vacations every now and then- outdoor destinations with a little bit of urban mixed in, staying in nice places, spending the money we work so hard to earn.

After not being able to go to Scotland last year and that being off the table again this year, we were planning on going to Northern CA in October. Can't take an earlier trip because I missed a bunch of time from work earlier this year d/t medical issues. Sadly, my anxiety and guilt kicked in. I could not justify traveling to a region so greatly impacted by climate change, drought, wildfires, all the interconnected things. Furthermore, after Scotland (very understandably and correctly) falling through I was not willing to take another trip with enhanced odds of our enjoyment being thwarted.

So we're going to NYC and Maine. Sure, things could obviously still stop this from happening, but it seemed like the least risky option and I needed what peace of mind I could get.

Just sharing my thought process, your decisions are yours to make.
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1991 Vanagon GL 2.1 AT Westfauxlia. "Frankie" Totaled https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=764510&highlight=carnage
1995 Eurovan Camper "Marzivan"
2020 GTI SE manual

[dobryan]

I would go North, either Great Lakes or Maine, Vermont. The weather in the East and West is brutal this time of summer unless you are North in the East.

Or go to Colorado, Montana, Wyoming and stay at high elevations, check for effects of fires before you go.
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Dave O
'87 Westy w/ 2002 Subaru EJ25 and Peloquin TBD

"To travel hopefully is a better thing than to arrive." Robert Louis Stevenson

MD>Canada>AK>WA>OR>CA>AZ>UT>WY>SD
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Building a bus for travel in Europe (euroBus)
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The Western Syncro build
https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=746794

[djkeev]

It seems to be hot everywhere.

Michigan? A lot of pretty areas East of you along the Great Lakes into Vermont, New Hampshire and Maine.
I am partial to Vermonts NorthEast Kingdom and New Hampshires White Mountains.

I avoid the heavy tourist areas like Lake Champaign and most of Southern Vermont.

Now if you are sick of people, head West! Again avoiding the heavy tourist areas there is a lot to see and open space. It is amazing how much empty land is out there before you hit the Rockies.
Denver Sucks as do many popular cities.
Stay off the Interstates, experience the Nation on US, State, County and local roads. I find them relaxing yet sad as you realize how rural America has withered and died.
Empty stores, abandoned gas station and dead downtowns.

The big impressive sights get the crowds. You couldn't pay me enough to go to Yosemite any more!
Seek the State Parks, BLM or the "lesser" National forests.

Dave
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[PDXWesty]

I would go west; Glacier, Tetons, Yellowstone, Arches. Beautiful places that need to be seen. Yellowstone is very commercial but I've never seen it. Everyone should go once.
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89 Westy 2.1 Auto

[mikemtnbike]

[Captain Pike]

Follow as best you can Lewis and Clark Trail to the sea.
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LEARN TO SELF RESCUE
59 Panel bus, 1966 Single cab. 73' 181. 73 Westy. 91' H6 Vanagon 3.3L.
.....................All Current.......................

[Igeo]

West or north but refer to this:
https://gispub.epa.gov/airnow/?tab=0&clayer=ozonepm&mlayer=none
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1987 Westfalia 2.1 WBX Manual

[dobryan]

I would not go to the Southwest in August if I had any other time I could go. Arches is brutal in August. BTDT.
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Dave O
'87 Westy w/ 2002 Subaru EJ25 and Peloquin TBD

"To travel hopefully is a better thing than to arrive." Robert Louis Stevenson

MD>Canada>AK>WA>OR>CA>AZ>UT>WY>SD
https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=620646

Building a bus for travel in Europe (euroBus)
https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=695371

The Western Syncro build
https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=746794

[skills@eurocarsplus]

west is on fire. i'd go east
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[SCM]

Here's a view of the Bridger Mountains from my office parking lot taken a couple minutes ago. They're 4 miles away. I can usually see them VERY clearly from over 30 miles away. It's hard to tell from the photo but in real life there's an obvious haze of smoke between me and those houses on the other side of the field.

The smoke is largely from forest fires in CA and OR. Smoke from the fires in MT and ID seems to stay a bit farther south but not always. My nostrils burn a little when I go biking and I wake up with a scratchy throat and crusty eyelids most mornings. It's been like this since late June and will probably get worse until fall rains or an early snow. Late Sept. early Oct. can actually be a nice time to visit - listen to the elk bugling in Yellowstone.

We're under drought and fire restrictions which, in part, means no campfires or charcoal grilling ANYWHERE in southwest MT (not in developed campsites, primitive campsites, or my backyard).

My opinions about Yellowstone/Glacier and other nearby destinations are tainted by my memories of "the good 'ol days" so I'll spare you those

Just know that tourism EXPLODED around here as the coasts went on lockdown in 2020 and it has not abated at all.
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'91 Westfalia GL Automatic (GTA "Turbo" Rebuild w/Peloquin) and 2.3L GoWesty Engine

[brickster]

Just in case you weren't aware, you can see fire/smoke activity here. It's updated every day:

https://fire.airnow.gov/

As far as crowds and campsite availability, that's harder to predict. It's tough all over! It was already on the uptick before the shutdown, and it has increased since then. I'd say that research would be necessary in order to determine that aspect.

What kinds of activities are you interested in doing at your destination? Have you seen either area before?

And, perhaps most importantly, what does your kid want to get out of the trip? If it were me, that would guide my decision.

[nmerrill]

Recent reports from Maine are = Sh** show busy. Sure, this is likely "the usual places" and the state is large. But, based on what I see in VT, Maine coast must be out of control.
So, deal with the people, or deal with the bugs, your choice!
Also, there are a shocking number of Sprinters (et. al.) running around VT. I swear I see at least one every time I leave the house.
Maine an NH are similarly swamped...

[SCM]

[bobbyblack]

Personal reports might help... Anyone happen to be up in the Lake Superior area? I'd like to go somewhere I can still breath.. My fav has been Grand Marais, MN.

Maybe DHaavers can shed some light on conditions up there?

I'm kind of lucky, as to actually be about as close as can be to "starting from the middle"

-bobby
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'87 Westy 'Flossie','86 Westy 'R1','86 tintop GL - Subi2.2 'J2','83.5 stock tintop L 'ZoomBus','74 Karmann Ghia, '63 Notch

[Steve M.]

West to Little Bighorn National Monument and Yellowstone.

Along the way as you get within a hundred miles of Ellsworth AFB you might see low flying B-1 Bombers out of training missions

Then you get to Little Big Horn National Monument by whichever route you take from the east.
They did this monument to stupidity well. From the top of the hill down into the Indian camp and back out again as they tried to escape there is a tombstone where every soldier and Indian fell.
It is worth seeing.


(Okay I had to edit this for senility.)
From there head southwest into Wyoming to get to Cody, Wyoming and take Hwy 120 north to Hwy 296 the "Chief Joseph Scenic Byway"

It is a beautiful way into Yellowstone coming though the Lamar Valley.

Out along that way you have the Dakoata "BadLands" and many other things to see. If you can get up to Glacier park that would be good too.
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This free advice is worth exactly what you paid for it.

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[fxr]

Glacier is almost impossible to get into. New for this year:
https://www.nps.gov/glac/planyourvisit/gtsrticketedentry.htm

Tetons, Yellowstone etc will be heaving with people in August. Long hot lines for everything, ghastly traffic, 'bison jams' all day long around the roads. Not a good time to visit.

From the centre in August I'd head east, away from the fires.
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Jim Crowther
1984 1.9l EJ22 Westy Wolfsburg Edition
Vespa GTS 300

[SCM]

[childofthewind]

Definitely go west. Less people, more wide open spaces, lots of BLM land, big mountains. Come visit the High Sierra with the most perfect creeks & backcountry lakes to fish. And the wildflowers!
There's definitely some fires out here but in the Eastern Sierra especially up high where I am, there is no smoke from them.
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1987.5 wolfsburg hardtop; 2.1

“As for me, I am tormented with an everlasting itch for things remote." - Melville

[Steve M.]