Most scenic route to Seattle

[Donald Miller]

I am taking a trip to Seattle next week. I will be driving. I have available two fairly direct routes.

The first is west to Denver (I-70), then north to Cheyenne Wy(1-25 to I-80) and west to Ogden Utah and then I-84 to La Grande, Ore. from there to I-82 to I-90 and Seattle.

The second is west to Denver (I -70) then north I-25 to I-90 in southern Montana and west through Montana, Idaho and on to Seattle.

The distances of these two routes are fairly equidistant. 1990 for one and 2020 for the other.

I plan on doing photography for the equivalent of three days on this portion of the journey to Seattle(planning 7 days or thereabouts one way). Which of these routes is the more scenic? Do you have suggestions of sites to visit? I will be driving a 4WD vehicle. Are there weather or road conditions on either of these routes that should be considered?

On my return journey I intend to follow the Pacific coast of Washington, Oregon, and California until I turn back east (probably I-80) for home. Do you have suggestions on places to visit? Sites to see? Again I intend 7 days or thereabouts for the journey home. This should allow about 3 days of pure photography time during this portion of the trip.

Thanks for any experiences and insights that you have to offer.

 

[Michael A. Smith]

On your returm: Shore Acres State Park in Oregon. near Charleston, which is near Coos Bay. When you get there, park and walk to the the RIGHT.

If you have one place to visit, this should be it.

On the way out: The Yakima Valley is worth a drive through. (It is only about 30 miles long, as I recall.) It parallels I-82.

 

[Dave Burbach]

hi don
if you would like specifics on those 2 routes (at least through oregon/washinton. email me directly an i will give you my opinion and knowledge or a phone number. i live and photograph in the norhtwest.

 

[Thomassauerwein]

Have a great trip Don, Karen and I took a trip similar 10 years ago took us three weeks had the time of our life. I hope you have a blast we're envious.

 

[Joe Lipka]

Have to go I 90 through Montana. There is so much beauty between Bozeman and Missoula you will either run out of film, or not make it to Seattle, or if you are really lucky, both. Shore Acres is cool if you do that abstract rock thing. Just south of Florence, you should stop and see the dunes. When you go back on I-84, you will head up the Columbia Gorge. That in itself is very photogenic. Go for it. You will have a great time. Don't expect sunny skies once you get over the Cascades.

 

[Donald Miller]

Thanks for the guidance that everyone has offered. I hope that I have enough film (175 sheets of 8X10 and another 125 of 4X5). I may be deluded in thinking that 2 weeks is enough time for this trip. I can stretch it out if I need to .

I am leaning more toward the northern route. Will make my final decision by tomorrow afternoon. Thanks again.

 

[Robert Kennedy]

Hope he is doing ok....

We came back down I-5 on the 29th and barely avoided spending the night in the car because the snow was so bad. The Red Cross even had a shelter in Grants Pass. Heard it was WORSE out on the other side of things. We squeaked through on a one day window.

 

[lee]

Well Don is out there somewhere. He left about a week ago. I don't look for him for another week or so. Maybe longer now that the snow has hit. He is driving a 4 wheel vehicle.


lee\c

 

[Annie]

Don left Vancouver Island on Saturday morning when the snows were just beginning. As far as I know he was in Seattle that night and was headed for the Oregon coast the next day.

 

[Robert Kennedy]

Problem with 4WD isn't the 4WD it is the DOT guys who close the roads.

And ODOT when we went through was NOT being very nice.

We saw that the pass was closed when we left Tacoma, so we made reservations in Rogue River that morning "just in case". We ended up there as ODOT, despite what they promised was unable to open the pass up.

That morning they were claiming that ALL vehicles needed chains. At least on TV and on their phone message. We even got in touch with a real person and they said even our Jeep Wrangler with 30" Baja Claws was "inadequate"!

The irony is the roads were OPEN and DRY!

They just didn't want anyone getting stuck up there since ANOTHER storm was headed in that night. So everyone who chained up at the bottom had to dechain a few miles into the pass!

 

[Donald Miller]

I'm home. Arrived about 9:30 PM CDT.

My trip to Victoria took about 3 1/2 days. I encountered some snow through the mountains of Montana and Idaho. However it got more intense from Spokane into Seattle. I picked up the enlargers in Victoria on Sat morning and headed back to the states after the ice and snow of Friday night. The trip down past Portland was tough. On Sunday I went through the coast range to Coos Bay and photographed down into Calif. Left Gold Beach Oregon and over to Reno, Nevada (snow again, of course).

When I left Reno it was not only icy and slick but also foggy. I got to Salt Lake that night. Left Salt Lake yesterday morning and drove down through Moab Utah and into Cortez Colo. Stopped and viewed Tom Till's prints at his gallery in Moab. All I can say, if you haven't seen his work...it is worth it. Incredible color images and this is coming from a died in the wool black and white guy. Photographed around Cortez, up and over Wolf Creek Pass and intoAlamosa Colorado last night.

Photographed in the Sand Dunes this morning ( 4 degrees F when I got up) but it warmed nicely. Got some nice stuff up on the dunes. Left about 2 PM and into Wichita. Eleven days on the road--5,200 miles. Now for some sleep.

 

[roy]

Thanks for the guidance that everyone has offered. I hope that I have enough film (175 sheets of 8X10 and another 125 of 4X5)

I wondered how many of those sheets you used and how you coped with yhe exposed film, if you did not develop them during your safari. Welcome back, anyway !.

 

[Donald Miller]

[quote="roy]

I wondered how many of those sheets you used and how you coped with yhe exposed film, if you did not develop them during your safari. Welcome back, anyway !.[/quote]

I have a large number of holders. I guess something above 30 4X5 and 18 8X10. As it was with the amount of hours driving and weather conditions encountered I did not expose nearly all of the film that I took with me. Normally I black off a bathroom in the motel and change film in the holders there. Thanks and I am happy to be home.