I'm off on holiday for two and a bit weeks basically driving down the west coast of North America (Vancouver to San Francisco) with a stop over in New York. Can anyone recommend any interesting places to take photos in any of these areas? Thanks!
West Coast America
- Thread starter NewBoy
- Start date
Stick to the coastal road and you won't be disappointed. I found the Oregon coast to be better than the Californian. The road follows the coast more closely. There are loads of waterfalls in Oregon if that's your thing. Multnomah is one of the most famous, near to the Columbia Gorge.
I passed through Portland in Oregon but without the opportunity to stop. It looked like a place well worth having a stop off at.
As you get in to California you'll find yourself driving through some Redwood forests. Pull over and get close to see just how big they are. On the US 101 about 35 miles south of the Oregon border you will find an 'attraction' called Trees Of Mystery ( http://www.treesofmystery.net/ ). Don't be put off by the tackiness of the web site. It's actually quite a good little place to walk round redwoods and sequoias and see some unusual tree phenomena as well as the incredible size of them. And - only in America - a semi-circle of Redwoods where you can get married.
Also in the same region on the 101 is the town of Leggett, and here (or just outside) is that famous redwood that straddles the road with the road running through it - you drive through an archway in the tree.
Look on Amazon for books on photographing the Oregon and Californian coasts, waterfalls etc.
One Oregon oddity. You aren't allowed to fill your own car with petrol. It has to be done by an attendant - no self service day or night. Annoying, but suck it up and get over it. It also makes buying petrol late at night a nuisance as 24 hour manned stations aren't plentiful. So plan accordingly.
If you haven't got a Tom Tom then I'd recommend getting one (with US maps obviously). Well worth it.
Look here for some San Francisco stuff that I posted (No 13)
http://www.talkphotography.co.uk/forums/showthread.php?p=1760804#post1760804
I passed through Portland in Oregon but without the opportunity to stop. It looked like a place well worth having a stop off at.
As you get in to California you'll find yourself driving through some Redwood forests. Pull over and get close to see just how big they are. On the US 101 about 35 miles south of the Oregon border you will find an 'attraction' called Trees Of Mystery ( http://www.treesofmystery.net/ ). Don't be put off by the tackiness of the web site. It's actually quite a good little place to walk round redwoods and sequoias and see some unusual tree phenomena as well as the incredible size of them. And - only in America - a semi-circle of Redwoods where you can get married.
Also in the same region on the 101 is the town of Leggett, and here (or just outside) is that famous redwood that straddles the road with the road running through it - you drive through an archway in the tree.
Look on Amazon for books on photographing the Oregon and Californian coasts, waterfalls etc.
One Oregon oddity. You aren't allowed to fill your own car with petrol. It has to be done by an attendant - no self service day or night. Annoying, but suck it up and get over it. It also makes buying petrol late at night a nuisance as 24 hour manned stations aren't plentiful. So plan accordingly.
If you haven't got a Tom Tom then I'd recommend getting one (with US maps obviously). Well worth it.
Look here for some San Francisco stuff that I posted (No 13)
http://www.talkphotography.co.uk/forums/showthread.php?p=1760804#post1760804
Just about anywhere in SF is worth a shoot. Catch a tram ride for sure, do alcatraz if you can, and pier 39 for the marine life and attractions.
As already mentioned, oregon has plenty to offer I can confirm the redwoods are amazing. Take in the sand dunes too, and if you can find sunset cove/bay at sunset it has the most amazing sunset to watch as the sun goes down just behind a rocky outcrop in the bay. you also might be lucky enough to spot a few seals and whales round there too.
I seem to recall Florence had some great scenery and a decent bridge. I lived in Oregon for a few years and will see what else I can dig up. Oh, and unless it has changed, Oregon has no sales tax either, so consider that before buying anything in Ca unless you have too. also watch out for speed traps - oregon cops will pop up where u least expect them, including stood in the centre division with a speed gun!
one city i wasn't so taken with was Seattle. the seafront was interesting, as was the monorail. the tower however was very uninspiring. get out to the shores Lake Washington and you might get overtaken by Bill Gates if you get really (un)lucky...
finally, if you smoke don't toss your butt end out of the car window. a big no-no in fire season, and frowned upon in winter months too.
enjoy the journey!
As already mentioned, oregon has plenty to offer I can confirm the redwoods are amazing. Take in the sand dunes too, and if you can find sunset cove/bay at sunset it has the most amazing sunset to watch as the sun goes down just behind a rocky outcrop in the bay. you also might be lucky enough to spot a few seals and whales round there too.
I seem to recall Florence had some great scenery and a decent bridge. I lived in Oregon for a few years and will see what else I can dig up. Oh, and unless it has changed, Oregon has no sales tax either, so consider that before buying anything in Ca unless you have too. also watch out for speed traps - oregon cops will pop up where u least expect them, including stood in the centre division with a speed gun!
one city i wasn't so taken with was Seattle. the seafront was interesting, as was the monorail. the tower however was very uninspiring. get out to the shores Lake Washington and you might get overtaken by Bill Gates if you get really (un)lucky...
finally, if you smoke don't toss your butt end out of the car window. a big no-no in fire season, and frowned upon in winter months too.
enjoy the journey!
W
whiteflyer
Guest
Now this I have disagree with, when I have been we never total plan our trip. We find it much better to be free to go off route and explore, I know of many people who have done the same USA road trips as I, but missed stuff because they had to get to the next booked hotel.
Regarding my recommendation to get a Tom Tom (or other satnav for that matter)
I think you may be making wrong assumptions on how I (or others) use satnav. Having to get to a pre-booked hotel isn't the same thing as using a satnav to get around.
I too drive freely with little forward planning, making it up as I go along. Trips of up to 7000 miles in a month. This doesn't stop me from using satnav to help out here and there, especially where many US roads are poorly signed, or appear without no prior warning and then with a tiny easily missed sign. There is no way I plan a whole or even half day's driving A to B using satnav. I might put in a destination some distance away just to get me on the right road and give me an approximate distance and time to.
I still use plenty of maps, and I use a compass a lot. Getting around US cities and towns is easily accomplished just by using a compass to head say west to get to a freeway entrance or get out of town. And of course, satnav units have compass directions.
I don't make many hotel/motel bookings in advance. It depends on destination and likely availability. Obviously you have to have the first night booked somewhere for US immigration address purposes, but most of the time I stop wherever I get to by the evening and find whatever's available. It's very liberating, as I'm sure you know.
It has got me in to and out of places where a map failed, or was just too difficult to use, like driving alone round the San Francisco streets without having to find places to stop (almost impossible) and keep looking at a map. Like trying to find your way out of the airport and get to your hotel. And if you remember to locate the car rental place on the satnav before leaving, it can get you back to it on return, which in itself can be a difficult and very stressfull task despite their instructions and map.
A satnav doesn't stop you exploring or driving freely. So long as you don't become a slave to it and use it with common sense it's an excellent and useful tool. I lent mine to a friend last year for a 2 week road trip and he thought it was amazing. The Tom Tom is still a damned useful thing to have and I wouldn't be without it.
Now this I have disagree with, when I have been we never total plan our trip. We find it much better to be free to go off route and explore, I know of many people who have done the same USA road trips as I, but missed stuff because they had to get to the next booked hotel.
I think you may be making wrong assumptions on how I (or others) use satnav. Having to get to a pre-booked hotel isn't the same thing as using a satnav to get around.
I too drive freely with little forward planning, making it up as I go along. Trips of up to 7000 miles in a month. This doesn't stop me from using satnav to help out here and there, especially where many US roads are poorly signed, or appear without no prior warning and then with a tiny easily missed sign. There is no way I plan a whole or even half day's driving A to B using satnav. I might put in a destination some distance away just to get me on the right road and give me an approximate distance and time to.
I still use plenty of maps, and I use a compass a lot. Getting around US cities and towns is easily accomplished just by using a compass to head say west to get to a freeway entrance or get out of town. And of course, satnav units have compass directions.
I don't make many hotel/motel bookings in advance. It depends on destination and likely availability. Obviously you have to have the first night booked somewhere for US immigration address purposes, but most of the time I stop wherever I get to by the evening and find whatever's available. It's very liberating, as I'm sure you know.
It has got me in to and out of places where a map failed, or was just too difficult to use, like driving alone round the San Francisco streets without having to find places to stop (almost impossible) and keep looking at a map. Like trying to find your way out of the airport and get to your hotel. And if you remember to locate the car rental place on the satnav before leaving, it can get you back to it on return, which in itself can be a difficult and very stressfull task despite their instructions and map.
A satnav doesn't stop you exploring or driving freely. So long as you don't become a slave to it and use it with common sense it's an excellent and useful tool. I lent mine to a friend last year for a 2 week road trip and he thought it was amazing. The Tom Tom is still a damned useful thing to have and I wouldn't be without it.
I spent a short time in Seattle but can't remember much about it, so I guess it didn't leave much of an impression on me too. I do remember doing the Underground tour, which was fairly interesting and entertaining. For Newboy, some of Seattle's street levels were raised decades ago and the original level, complete with buildings, were just buried. Some have been excavated, and the tour takes you round them, underground. The girl who did my tour was brilliant - almost a stand-up comedian. But that was something like 9 years ago now.
I also did a Boeing factory tour, if you have any interest in that sort of thing. It's not a long tour - an hour or so - so easy to squeeze in.