Things to do in Northern California?

[kenmbz]

One reason why people who live in Pa don't know much about their own state. People on the East Side go to to the Jersey Shore and people on the west side go to Cedar Point or lake Erie. No one who lives in the state actually travels both ends of the state (like me not going north through Wellsboro going to NY LOL).

Pretty much the only location people know from the East Side of the state is Pittsburgh, and the west side of the State Philly (or perhaps Harrisburg).

Thing I've found is in NC, people from the West side go to the NC shore, and people from the East Side go to the mountains in western NC, so it seems everyone is familiar with where all the bigger cities / towns are.

When I'd go home on the East side in Pa for the holidays when I lived on the West side of Pa, most of the people didn't even know where Erie was and I had to tell them about 90 minutes north of Pittsburgh LOL

I have been all over PA, north , south , east, west.
It's a long state and I do bet most of my neighbors don't know much about what's around the Ohio border.
Just like most people think NY is NYC and the "corridor" and then niagra falls.

Nevada and Utah have a lot in them, just sites are far away from each other.

Vegas to me is just the landing spot to get to the parks,

Good luck in your planning.

 

[deserteagle71]

Honestly, and this may sound dumb, but after ordering those gazetteers, I never fully understood how big Nevada was. Nevada was never on my radar because I was dumb enough to think that the only thing the state had was desert and Vegas. Again, my stupidity.

Nevada is the 7th largest state...drive from Denio on the Oregon border to Laughlin in the south is 662 miles according to the official Nevada State road map.

The valley are desert. The mountains - are beautiful. Nevada claims to have 308 named mountain ranges, all running north to south. Completely different ecosystems (elevations up to 13,105 feet) than what you see in the desert between the mountain ranges. Near Jarbidge, Nevada:

 

[alexpops]

Definitely see the RR museum in Sac if you can.

If you wind up in Sausalito, go up to the Marin Headlands (last exit before heading south over the Golden Gate Bridge) It'll put you above the Golden Gate Bridge about the same level as the top of the North Tower. Pretty eerie seeing the towers sticking out of the fog. (which you have a good shot at in August). If it's clear, probably the best view of the North side of SF. Then, if you follow the road west, you'll come to an abandoned coastal gun emplacement (never used, but built after Pearl Harbor). Walk through the tunnel & it puts you on a cliff trail overlooking the Pacific. Also, Sausalito in the afternoon, you can see the fog pouring over the hills as it gets sucked in by Sacramento. Looks like water flowing over the hill.

Half Moon Bay walk the docks for a shot at seeing real fishing/crabbing boats -- & a glimpse into pre-high tech life in No. CA. If you have time, you might even be able to book a fishing trip out of there. (If you're spending any time on the NO CA coast, bring warm clothes)

In Carmel (if you get there), have lunch at the Hog's Breath Inn. Used to be owned by Clint Eastwood & should still have a lot of his movie memorabilia in there. Also you get to say you ate a "Dirty Harry Burger". Not sure if he still shows up since he sold it, but he used to be a pretty regular sight when he owned it.

Most of this is 20+ year old info, so keep in mind that the safety police may have limited access to some of this stuff.

 

[California]

First family vacation in a while. Planning on two weeks around Yosemite middle of August with wife and son ...

If you are staying just outside of YNP then plot all these suggestions on a map. Then use Google Directions to plot driving time to each of them. It's a big state, as big as Boston to Atlanta. You don't want to spend days crawling in tourist traffic.

I'll emphasize in this post things that are local to where you are staying, Yosemite, NorCal, and the Nevada border region just east of it.

Yosemite is a must-see. Half Dome in that photo above, is a VERTICAL MILE from the campground below. Crowds are inevitable in August but it's still worth it. Maybe the hordes of hot, fit young women there will make the crowds there more bearable for your son.

Another must-see within a day's drive is over Tioga Pass to Mono Lake and the NP visitor center there. Then to Bodie, NE of there. It's a ghost gold mining town, abandoned 80 years ago with the buildings preserved as a State Park. It's never very crowded.

Here are photos looking down toward Mono Lake, then East into YNP, from a solo offroad adventure in 1999. The view looking down from Tioga Pass is similar.

Then return over the Sierras to your lodging over one of the passes described above.

Virginia City in Nevada, East of Carson City, is also interesting but a little too far to include in the same day trip. Maybe a trip the next day. Site of huge underground silver mines (the original basis for Nevada's economy) with miles of shafts and tunnels, now a cute but still interesting tourist site. Not too crowded.

There are Redwood groves just south of Yosemite so this might be preferable to the two-day trip to see the (more extensive) north coast redwoods. The redwood grove at Muir Woods just north of San Francisco is also an alternative.

San Francisco is vastly different from what you see on TV. Downtown and the tourist areas - Chinatown, Fisherman's Wharf, etc are magnets for crazies who prey on tourists. The universal -and real- advice is thieves will break into every parked car hoping to find tollbooth change or earbuds even if nothing is visible. Park out in any decent outlying neighborhood and take an Uber into the tourist destinations. There's no place to park in the tourist areas anyway, during tourist season. It's not a car-friendly urban design. Oh and the cable cars are fun. Golden Gate Park has several great museums as well as a lot of open space. Recommended. But Uber for the last mile, too, instead of wasting an hour trying to get rid of your car.

Sacramento's Railroad Museum is a must-see if railroads are of interest to you. This was originally the terminus of the transcontinental railroad so there's a lot of history. One of the biggest locomotives in the world is there. 2-8-8-2, and cab-forward for the many tunnels and snow-sheds over Donner Pass.

Donner Pass and driving around Lake Tahoe is another long day trip from where you will be. Spectacular scenery. But check Google traffic to see if this is practical mid-summer.

This is getting too long-winded so I'll stop here. The entire region is my 'back yard' and I love it. YNP has been the site of extended family annual gatherings, coming from all over, since I was too young to remember. Grandpa was a mine superintendent at Bodie. Uncle wrote his PHD thesis mapping the underground ore bodies at Virginia City. I worked on survey crews at Squaw Valley and early Alpine Meadows (Lake Tahoe region) 60 years ago. Recall having to back up and try several times to get a worn out VW transporter (bus) up the steepest parts of Old Kingsbury Grade, Gardnerville in Nevada to South Tahoe. We've snow-shoed in to a friend's family cabin at Silver Lake, off SR88, Carson pass. My covered wagon ancestors winched their wagons up the eastern side of that pass to get to California.

 

[MossRoad]

One reason why people who live in Pa don't know much about their own state. People on the East Side go to to the Jersey Shore and people on the west side go to Cedar Point or lake Erie. No one who lives in the state actually travels both ends of the state (like me not going north through Wellsboro going to NY LOL).

Pretty much the only location people know from the East Side of the state is Pittsburgh, and the west side of the State Philly (or perhaps Harrisburg).

Thing I've found is in NC, people from the West side go to the NC shore, and people from the East Side go to the mountains in western NC, so it seems everyone is familiar with where all the bigger cities / towns are.

When I'd go home on the East side in Pa for the holidays when I lived on the West side of Pa, most of the people didn't even know where Erie was and I had to tell them about 90 minutes north of Pittsburgh LOL

We have a kid in Pittsburg for the past 5 years (leaving at end of summer). We've found out about what you've mentioned. Not many people there go east.

One of the nicest drives I ever took solo was from here to Boston for some work-related schooling. That little corner of PA, then New York for about half the day was great.

Have fun on your CA trip. Looking forward to your observations and comments.

 

[MossRoad]

Been to Vegas 4 times.

The first 3 times flew in around midnight, rental car and straight into Utah, and I'd drive from Arizona the day of my flight to Vegas and be there early. Only time I stayed in Vegas was at the airport.

Last trip was with my girlfriend and my dad. Since my mom had passed and my Dad went out to Vegas with her, his only request was that we spend a couple of days in Vegas before we flew out. We did. Honestly, the town wasn't as bad as I thought it would be LOL

I'll be reviewing this thread to look up places and routes. If you can think of anything interesting and haven't posted it yet, feel free to do so. A very sincere thank you.

Honestly, and this may sound dumb, but after ordering those gazetteers, I never fully understood how big Nevada was. Nevada was never on my radar because I was dumb enough to think that the only thing the state had was desert and Vegas. Again, my stupidity.

We were out in Vegas in January for 3 days. My advice to you is if you want to take your son to a place where he can see limos pulling up to Valet parking while a guy lays on the curb masturbating to the feather girls walking by trying to get you to take a picture with them, well, that's the place to go.

Honest to goodness, we saw more people lying on the curb vomiting or urinating in their own pants in one place then we've seen anywhere else... Chicago, Detroit, DC, etc...

With that said, we had a blast. Just be aware of what you're gonna see.

 

[alexpops]

We were out in Vegas in January for 3 days. My advice to you is if you want to take your son to a place where he can see limos pulling up to Valet parking while a guy lays on the curb masturbating to the feather girls walking by trying to get you to take a picture with them, well, that's the place to go.

Honest to goodness, we saw more people lying on the curb vomiting or urinating in their own pants in one place then we've seen anywhere else... Chicago, Detroit, DC, etc...

With that said, we had a blast. Just be aware of what you're gonna see.

Hmmm ... Vegas has changed since the late 70's/early 80's. Casino security used to make sure those types stayed downtown and the Strip was relatively free of those sights. Now the working girls WERE rampant on the Casino floor and in the bars, but that's a different story.

 

[Sigarms]

Yosemite is a must-see. Half Dome in that photo above, is a VERTICAL MILE from the campground below. Crowds are inevitable in August but it's still worth it. Maybe the hordes of hot, fit young women there will make the crowds there more bearable for your son.

Good tip. I better bring VERY dark sunglasses myself

After I get my maps and go over them, I'll probably be asking you and some others some questions.

I have the feeling that we may end up taking a two or 3 day trip away from the park and stay overnight elsewhere else if we find something that really peaks our interest. I'm glad it's 2 weeks now as it should give us some elbow room time wise.

 

[alexpops]

Sig -- one thing to keep in mind in CA. It will be expensive compared to your home turf. Gas is about $5/gallon & diesel at 6+. Food is more expensive even if you buy at grocery store. was paying .99/lb for whole chicken & quarters in FL, they are over $2/lb in CA. Forget about decent barbecue until you get back home, but if you like authentic asian food, you'll be in luck. My wife's daughter visited us last week & complained about the rental car cost as well something like $400 for 5 days.

 

[California]

Sig -- one thing to keep in mind in CA. It will be expensive compared to your home turf. Gas is about $5/gallon & diesel at 6+. Food is more expensive even if you buy at grocery store. was paying .99/lb for whole chicken & quarters in FL, they are over $2/lb in CA. Forget about decent barbecue until you get back home, but if you like authentic asian food, you'll be in luck.

GasBuddy is your friend. Expect much better prices back in the neighborhoods compared to an interstate offramp.

Gas within YNP is absurdly expensive. I see $4.00 in Modesto, the last significant city on the way there. Then $5.40 just outside the park.

There's great Mexican food, with welcoming hosts and servers, all over California and these restaurants aren't expensive. But like anywhere, ask a local for advice rather than relying on Yelp reviews, a hotel brochure, or a fancy sign in front.

It's possible to live moderately, like a local, so long as you stay out of the tourist economy.