The Mid West American Road Trip

Wow, first off apologies for such a long hiatus, summer was very busy and blog time has been at a premium.  Finally though I expect to get a little bit of free time over the next week or so to update you all on the American Road Trip I’d mentioned in a previous post.

In short and amazing holiday/vacation plenty of photo’s taken and plenty to share in coming posts.  But for now a very quick photo summary to whet you appetites…..

Having started off on a 9 hour flight from London Heathrow.

We landed for a very short initial stay at Denver

The next day we drove to Mount Rushmore

and then onto Badlands National Park

before heading West towards Devils Tower

where we met a large colony of Prairie Dogs

Still heading west we stopped off at the Little Bighorn battlefield.

and then headed over the Beartooth Pass

Into the beautiful Yellowstone National Park

where we sat by Yellowstone lake on a moonless night and stared at the Milk Way

Our next trip took us South to the Grand Tetons

and then on a long drive over the Rockies to Salt Lake City

Another Drive took us South and East towards Moab where we visited Arches national Park

… and the stunning Canyonlands National Park

Nearing the end of our trip we headed east back towards Denver

A fantastic and memorable holiday that I will never forget.  We covered 6 states experienced temperatures from -2 to 34 deg C and covered 2843 miles.

 

Just glad the Pilot decided to clean the screen before we headed back to London.

 

 

Tour of the American Mid-West….ish (a Photographer’s Dream)

3 weeks, 2500+ miles, 6 (possibly 7 states) and loads of fantastic photographic opportunities.  Mrs 8DCPhoto has only gone and booked the holiday (vacation) of a lifetime for the 8DC Photo Family!!!

NB:  For those states we are visiting, you can be assured that despite being Northern Europeans we will not be adopting the traditional  18th Century “Grand Tour” practices.  So your culture, art and historic relics will not be pillaged, though I may fill a few SD cards taking pictures of them all.

We’re big fans of travelling around the USA and having made 4 trips from the UK in the last 10 years we’re about to increase our experience significantly from our previous visits to the West (California, Utah, Arizona, Nevada) and Florida.  We’re confident independent travellers and usually don’t waste our precious holidays by staying at one hotel taking root by the pool or on the beach… I’d go mad after a day.  We much prefer to hire a car and plan out various places to visit and get around a bit when on holiday.

Image courtesy of the Cavender Boys

This year’s trip is no exception, but we will be racking up the mileage and ticking off some of those bucket list places as never before. So look out Colorado, South Dakota, Montana, Wyoming, Idaho,  Utah  and quite possibly Nebraska , the 8DCPhoto family road trip is heading your way in the summer of 2014 and I promise we’re nothing like the Griswold’s…. the mother-in-law couldn’t make it and the hire company were short of Wagon Queen Family Trucksters (see right) with roof bars.

No doubt some of you will have guessed that given the list of States we’ll be travelling through we  might possibly be hitting a few of the US’s National Parks.  We love the US National Parks, they are such a wonderful public resource that are second to none in terms of the value for money (we have the annual NPS pass booked) and facilities provided.  Whilst we have fantastic National Parks in the UK and Europe too we could learn a thing or two from the NPS in the US.

So where are we heading I hear you ask?

In short we are Flying in and out of Denver, Colorado and taking a broadly counter clockwise circular route north taking in Fort Laramie, Mt Rushmore, The Badlands, Devils Tower (I’m a great fan of Close Encounters, “Dar Dee Dar Dor Daaaaah”), Little Bighorn Battlefield, The Bear tooth pass highway, Yellowstone, the Tetons, Salt Lake City, Canyonlands and Arches, before heading back to Denver via Vail.

So as you can see we’re heading out on one hell of a road trip and I hope it will be an experience never to be forgotten especially for the younger members of the 8DC Photo Family.  I certainly intend to blog about the trip, probably on our return as I think Wi-Fi and or the mobile signal might be a little sparse in various places along the route plus I want to make the most of the break.

So why am I telling you this? I’m not boasting, though I do feel generally smug about this holiday, but what would be really great and in the interests of a photographer being prepared and planning ahead, would be for you readers whether you’re a photog or not out to make some suggestions, pass on tips let me know your own experiences. For example:

• What are some of those off-the-track places to visit along the route?
• What are the best sites away from the crowds in the National Parks esp in Yellowstone? whilst we have youngish kids coming along they’re not afraid of a 3-5 mile hike, I have them in training.
• What tips can you share when visiting the towns along the way, where to eat quirky places to see? To help you out we will be staying in Denver CO, Custer SD, Rapid City SD, Sheridan WY, Red Lodge MT, In the Park at Yellowstone, Jackson Hole WY, Salt Lake City UT, Moab UT and Vail CO.
• Is there anything we should consider visiting in North West Nebraska around Alliance, Scottsbluff or Chadron? We’re currently skirting past Nebraska and I feel compelled to grab another state while we’re there.
• What kit should I take with me? As a minimum I’m thinking my Canon EF 24-105 L (general walkabout Lens), Canon EF 100-400 L (Wildlife in the Parks) and my Sigma 10-20 (for Landscapes).  Obviously my Tripod will be packed but is it worth taking a fast prime e.g. my Sigma 30mm F1.4?

So please feel free to pass on your tips by commenting on this post, any will be greatly appreciated especially if you’re local along the route, locals always know best.

Thanks for reading and if you’re a resident of Colorado, Wyoming, Montana, Idaho, Utah or South Dakota keep an eye out for a family of 4 Brits in an SUV hitting your streets around August and September this year.

Links:

Cristine Eastin’s American Road Trip

Three Girls Move West, Spring Break Road Trip to South Dakota

Bucking the Trend, 2013 Epic Summer Road Trip