Today at work I put in for vacation time and it will be a month from now. I feel like I don't know what to do. I want to go somewhere and I have some ideas on where I want to go. I feel like I don't enjoy solo travel anymore. I've done it many times in my life and it just does not feel the same as it used to. But yet, I feel like I want to go somewhere.
The ideas of the places I want to go to are: Mt. Rushmore (but I wonder if it will be too cold there at that time). Lake Tahoe, Washington State (around Port Angeles), or Yosemite.
Any ideas?
Oh I loooove Yosemite! I went in October when I went, the waterfalls were dried up but I thought who cares? I'd never seen anything like it. I was in HEAVEN. (I lived a sheltered life and never traveled though) so we were driving to Yosemite and I was in such awe... then I realized I hadn't even reached the park boundary! I knew it was gonna be great. And I just loved it. You should go!
Otherwise I am dying to go to Mt. Rushmore. My friend and I did a roadtrip up that way and on a whim went there, but we had just that day to see it. It was so foggy you couldn't even tell there was such a thing... it was like, gone. Hiding in the fog. I was so disappointed. So I badly want to go. Also the Badlands in that area are nice too, we did get to see them.
I prefer colder weather so it wouldn't bother me. Shoot, it was June when I went to Rushmore and it was cold/windy/foggy/rainy so you just never know. I do recall trying to go a couple years later in Oct and they were having major snow/ice so we cancelled.
Since you are going alone you could always wait and decide later. When I traveled the US (esp in off-season) it was no problem to just go somewhere and get last minute hotels. We went to Yosemite with no hotel reservation and got a room just fine right outside the entrance. I would think the same for the Mt. Rushmore area as well. We got a room just a week in advance. So you could keep an eye on the weather.
Whatever you decide have fun!
Do you like joining groups? There are a million outfits that run group tours - I took one to Egypt once and it was the best time I've had in my life - three weeks of laughing and just having a blast... that way you aren't alone...
"Otherwise I am dying to go to Mt. Rushmore. My friend and I did a roadtrip up that way and on a whim went there, but we had just that day to see it. It was so foggy you couldn't even tell there was such a thing... it was like, gone. Hiding in the fog."
Jo and I went to Mt Rushmore the first week of August and we had exactly the same experience. We couldn't even see more than 10 ft in front of the car most of the time!
The Badlands were gorgeous and I would have loved to go hiking through them more (it was raining too much, and that's dangerous for the harder trails), and Devil's Tower was also worth the trip.
What do you like doing? Hiking? Sight-seeing? History or nature or more modern?
I would say definitely the Badlands. Could be the best time of year there. Fall colors, fewer tourists. Stay out of the Days Inn at Custer, though. If you are pet-free, I recommend the Holiday Inn Express in Custer. Just beautiful.