Collaborative travel journal for lovers of the American West! (page 4 of 41)

Great idea, Fabienne, but we don’t have to limit ourselves to the (stunning, okay) landscapes of our beloved West, right? I wanted to share this photo I took in Santa Fe—it says a lot about the mentality of our favorite Americans... something you’d never see back home unless a miracle happened. The police officers stopped for breakfast at the restaurant and left their patrol car parked out front, soon joined by a colleague who just "parked" his horse by casually looping the reins over the light bar. I thought it was too much. New Mexico gift!

Hey Chris,

I love this photo. Like you said, it’s too much 😏

Hi Fabienne,

This is such a fun post—I’d love to join in! 🙂

I just saw that UT9 is closed for quite a while due to a landslide. Since this road through Zion is absolutely stunning, I’ll start with a few photos for those who won’t get the chance to drive it.

In order: a panoramic view of the road (among other things) from the end of Canyon Overlook Trail, then three shots from the road itself, including the last one where you can see Checkerboard Mesa.

Hello Fabienne,

To visit the stunning "The Wave" in the American West, you have to win a lottery. For "Coyote Buttes South" (CBS), the process is different—I got the permit by logging onto the website as soon as applications opened. Our visit was planned for July 2016. I logged on April 1, 2016, at 8 PM French time to submit my permit request.

The process is well explained here: www.roadtrippin.fr/...ote-buttes-south.php

Once I had the permit, I emailed a professional guide (www.paria.com/guides/) to take us there because you can only reach CBS by taking a rough trail that’s hard to navigate without a proper 4x4, and we didn’t want to risk getting stuck in the sand.

The landscape blew us away. Here’s a photo that gives a little preview of CBS:

See you soon,

Christine

I just saw that UT9 was closed for a while due to a landslide

Hi Pascal,

My oldest daughter just told me about it. We were planning to go back there this summer. I hope the road will be open by then.

See you,

Christine

A little surprise when waking up in Bryce Canyon City this morning.

Good luck to these bikers hitting the road again! 😎

Hi Christine,

My oldest daughter just told me. We were planning to go back there this summer. I hope the road will be open by then.

This seems pretty serious. I hope it reopens—I know you love that amazing route too. You should check the NPS website every now and then and keep your fingers crossed (though I’m not sure it’ll do much good 😉).

Little surprise when waking up in Bryce Canyon City.

Some inconsiderate bikers from the far north who stole your parking spot? 😉

Hey Pascal!

Yep, another amazing road, UT9, that cuts through Zion. When I look at them, I still find those mountains really strange—like they’ve been sanded and scratched... and that milky white color is so surprising!

By the way, do you know the little Kolob Terrace Road that starts in Virgin and takes you up to the heights above the park? We took it kind of on a whim, and it turned into a lovely drive—except suddenly a storm rolled in, and we ended up arriving at the "Kolob Reservoir" in hail! But it didn’t last long.

One of the views from up there of the surrounding mountains:

Great idea, Fabienne!

Alright, here’s my contribution—but more serious ones will come later; there are so many...

A little trip through Nebraska:

Yep, another stunning route with UT9 crossing Zion. When I look at them, I still find these mountains really weird—like they’ve been sanded and scratched... and that milky white color is so surprising!

Sure is!

I haven’t had the chance to see it yet because last time I was there, a big part of the Kolob area was closed. Such a shame since it’s a more low-key part of Zion and seems way less crowded than the canyon.

Hi Fabienne and everyone!

What a great idea, but it's so hard to choose!

For the 'wow' factor, I’d say Canyonlands. The colors of the rocks, the blue sky, and that sense of the earth’s power just blew me away! After a classic visit in 2016, we went back this year to do the Shaffer Trail, and I’m definitely going back again!



For the 'fun' factor, the slot canyons in Utah where you often feel like you’re alone in the world! Here’s Spooky and Peek-a-Boo Canyon.



Have a great day!

Vinciane

In April, to get from Jackson to Yellowstone, the road was closed in the Grand Tetons. We had to take a big detour through Idaho to finally reach West Yellowstone, but before that, we went all the way to the end of that closed road to enjoy the scenery... Wyoming forever.

Hi there!

Just one photo! Okay, some of you have already cheated, I see 😛... Just one, but one that represents what? A place we struggled the most to reach? The one that gave us the strongest emotions? The one where we were among the only—or the first—to capture it? After 10 trips (and the 11th planned in a month) to the Southwest, that’s tens of thousands of photos... since that’s the main goal of these trips...

I’m going with the photo of Dick’s Arch, first because I was the first to take a good shot of it just months after its discovery was announced, and second because I really suffered to get there—almost out of water—after visiting (for the second time) all the sights at Coyote Butte North (The Wave, Second Wave, Melody Arch, Alcove, Burger, etc.), climbing up a freaking steep dune, and covering 26 km in 6 hours that day under the blazing sun... That was in 2017.

Just one photo! Okay, some of you have already cheated 😛...

That’s surprising... And wait, it’s not over yet 😏

Alleye, I’m going with the photo of Dick's Arch—first because I was the first to take a good shot of it, just a few months after its discovery was announced, and second because I really struggled to get there, nearly running out of water after visiting (for the second time) all the sights at Coyote Bute North (The Wave, Second Wave, Melody Arch, Alcove, Burger, etc.). That day, I covered 26 km in 6 hours under the blazing sun... It was in 2017.



Congrats, your photo was worth all the effort!

A series of unexpected photos thanks to an (almost) perfect alignment of the planets: arriving in SF from the north, big blue sky, seated near the window (which wasn’t scratched and was almost clean) and on the right side of the plane! I have a great memory of it. The photos speak for themselves:

Thanks.

Well, obviously, you say one, and BAM! Several... I almost made a collage of 30 photos in one, just to say that, but no. Those who want to see just have to click on the links in my travel journals...

Lol...

Those who want to see just need to click on the links in my travel journals...

I think a lot of us have gone through your travel journals 😇

😛

On the road between Big Water and Alstrom Point (Pages) This road is stunning! Hard to pick just one favorite.

Oh you sneaky ones, I knew some of you would try to sneak in multiple photos per post... 😉

My friends, what amazing contributions!!!! From Maryelectra taking us from the Wyoming State Capitol Building to her fishing adventures through the snow-covered Grand Tetons, Bloody450 and his bear in Yosemite, Noyellebis and Frisco77 with Crater Lake in all its glory, Swimmer with his Zion crossing and San Francisco Bay seen from the plane window, Hiacinthe with Coyote Buttes South, Othellomoto and his snow-covered motorcycles, Blagajcity and his one-of-a-kind (and highly flammable) rest area, Tifi2012 and the slot canyons of Utah... The award for courage and energy definitely goes to MycoVTT for his stunning Dick’s Arch.

But I’m still making the connection with Swimmer (San Francisco) and sharing this vision of a perfect day... look how the steep streets shine in the sunlight!

As they say out there: enjoy!