Machka 

We are thinking of coming through the Eugene area around about December 12 or so ... give or take a day or two.

Machka 

Unfortunately, I don't think we'll get as far south in California as San Diego this time, but I'd love to get down there the next time we're in the US. That's an area I've wanted to see for some time.

That said ... we might, depending on the weather and how much time we have. If we do, it would be early December.

Machka 

We could possibly be in the Prescott area around about December 1. We'll keep you posted.

Machka 

We're heading for the Amarillo area tomorrow ... and then into Oklahoma ... and then into Texas near the Dallas area ...

Machka 

We've been down to Louisiana, out to Florida, and back to Louisiana where we stopped for a few days. On our way down we saw the mountains of Montana and Idaho, Craters of the Moon, the first town powered by nuclear energy, a bit of the Grand Tetons, Flaming Gorge, Colorado National Monument, and Arches National Park (and Moab). We travelled through the Rockies and up Pikes Peak, then visited Garden of the God. We've experienced a bit of Route 66, saw the huge hotel in Mineral Wells, and have cycled past "Queenslanders" in Mississippi and Louisiana. We've seen the results of hurricanes and have observed alligators, a snake, and porpoises in the wild.

Tomorrow we start the westward portion of our US travels ... through Texas, New Mexico, and Arizona.

Machka 

We're aiming to be in Austin tomorrow night.

Tuscon ... end of November.

Phoenix ... December 1.

Prescott or Flagstaff and Grand Canyon ... early December.

Then Cedar City and Bryce Canyon if the weather is still good.

From there we're debating whether to go to San Diego, or more or less straight across to the Los Angeles area.

Machka 

Looks like we might be in the San Diego area toward the end of ... well ... this week. Maybe this coming Friday.

Machka 

We had a great 6 weeks in the US!! 17,500 km in 6 weeks ... in the van, of course. But we also cycled here and there ... in Idaho, Oklahoma, Texas, Louisiana, Florida, Alabama, Mississippi, New Mexico, Arizona, Utah, California, and Oregon.

We also had the opportunity to visit lots of people ... buglady and coldfeet in Canada, nancysv, StephenH, my brother and his family, revchuck, qcpmsame and family, mev, andewclaus and his wife, SanDiegoCyclist and his wife, Pat in CA and his wife, homeyba, Red Rider and her husband. So nice to put faces to names, and we were very thankful for the hospitality.

In between visiting everyone, we also got to see heaps of sights and wildlife and many cities and towns ... lots of good experiences and memories.

Big Lew

I have traveled along hwy 85 & 86 south of Gila Bend in Arizona during the winter. Good weather, dry, and quite remote (carry extra water and emergency equipment), but I found it enjoyable. Most of it is through the Tohono O'Odham Indian territory which doesn't seem to have a bottle re-cycling program, so you have to be very careful when pulling off onto the gravel roadsides for fear of broken glass. Once away from the hwy. shoulders it's not as much of a problem so exploring the dirt side roads is interesting

Machka 

I have finished the Colorado Monument photos ...
https://www.flickr.com/photos/machka-...7630063425035/

If you're ever in Grand Junction, don't miss a drive or ride or walk through the Colorado Monument. It's an amazing place!!


That set also contains quite a few photos of Craters of the Moon in Idaho as well.

Just a couple "don't miss" places if you're touring the US. I'll have more as I process more photos.

Machka 

Craters of the Moon





Flaming Gorge



Colorado Monument










(Click photos for more)

Machka 

The drive out to Moab ...










Arches National Park






We met a cycletourist in Arches National Park, travelling across the US from north to south. But we wondered if there were a middle tier route east-west, or west-east, that went through the red rock country of Utah. It would be spectacular. In fact, we're talking about spending a month or so in that area, cycling, travelling, etc.


What are some of your must-see areas in the US?

Machka 

Pike's Peak in Colorado ... we asked and apparently the road is open to bicycles in September ...

The lake on the way up Pike's Peak




America the Beautiful monument on the top of Pike's Peak





The Road

mje

The road is now open to bicycles year round. https://www.springsgov.com/page.aspx?navid=4743

Machka 

That would be quite a ride!!

Machka 

Garden of the Gods ... not quite as dramatic as Arches National Park or Colorado Monument, but still worth a look if you're in the Colorado Springs area. And the Trading Post store there is quite impressive.

Machka 

Elk City Oklahoma is probably not the first place you might think of as a "must see" place in the US, but it was a fascinating stop for us. It is on the historic Route 66 and contains one (of probably many) Route 66 Museum. The Museum was inexpensive, but quite interesting ... and worth the stop ...





https://www.flickr.com/photos/machka-...7630063425035/


If you click the photos, or the link above, you'll see all our photos from BC to Texas ... on the first half of the US portion of our tour. There are many places on that half of the tour which we'd recommend, and where we'd like to visit again.

contango 

So far it sounds like you're too far west for this to be much help, but consider the Shenandoah National Park in Virginia and the Blue Ridge Parkway. Lots of hills, but the views are outstanding.

Shame you guys were in England while I was in the US and now you're in the US while I'm in England. Oh well...

Machka 

Actually ... we're back in Australia now. But it was too bad we missed you. Coming to Australia any time soon?

I'm working my way through the photos we took on the US portion of our trip. On this trip we covered quite a bit of the west and south US. We have done the north (east, west, and central) on trips in the past, but we're missing a little section on the east coast.

contango 

Doubtful to be honest, the 8 hours on board a plane from London to the east coast of the US is about as much of an aircraft as I can take. I'd love to see Australia and NZ but until these scramjets are available for civilian use it's unlikely to ever happen unless I win the lottery and take a long cruise there.

Let me guess, you're missing Shenandoah and the Blue Ridge Parkway? I'd love to cycle those but not sure I've got the legs for them just yet, the highest I've cycled to in the UK was somewhere around 1400 feet elevation and out there you're over 5000 feet for parts of it.

Machka 

It is a long flight to get here.

And ... you guess right. We'll have to get there some day. It is, after all, a goal of mine to cycle in all the US states. I'm well on my way but I need that area. We live in an alpine area of Australia so we could get lots of climbing practice in.

Machka 

Pascagoula, Mississippi was a pretty town, and there was a road all along the Gulf of Mexico all the way to the Louisiana border. We think it would be fairly decent for cycling, and if we returned to that area, we thought it might make an interesting short tour.




And when you're in Louisiana, you've got to stop and see the alligators!



One of the things we noticed as we travelled through Texas on the way to El Paso and then New Mexico was that for long stretches there were service roads, and on one or two occasions there were cycletourists on the service roads. The first photo is Texas ... the second is New Mexico ...

Machka 

Tombstone, AZ




Saguaro National Park (West) near Tucson, AZ

Machka 

Grand Canyon!!

We cycled from the village, uphill along the edge of the Canyon. In some cases, it was right along the edge ... exciting! I highly recommend going and cycling there. Now, I'm not positive whether it is possible to cycle there in peak tourist season. We were there in early December 2012, and it was beautiful ... decent weather and hardly any people around. Of course, Decembers may not always be that nice ... but this one was.

Click each photo to get a different page of Grand Canyon photos.

Machka 

Jerome, Arizona ... this place was a bit of a surprise to us, but apparently it's on the RAAM route. It would have been quite a challenge to cycle through here ...





And Sedona was quite impressive too ...



We'd like to spend more time in this area.