SouthWest Part II - where to go?

[Wheelieboy]

Here were some of my favourite scenic/twisty roads...

Grand Junction 141,CO:
http://maps.google.ca/maps?saddr=CO-...sz=10&t=m&z=10

Highway 50/550,CO:
http://maps.google.ca/maps?saddr=US-...&via=1&t=m&z=9

Black Hills, SD:
http://maps.google.ca/maps?saddr=W+R...m&z=10&vpsrc=6

Monument Valley, UT:
http://maps.google.ca/maps?saddr=US-...sz=10&t=m&z=10

Highway 88, AZ:
http://maps.google.ca/maps?saddr=AZ-...sz=11&t=m&z=12

[BeastieGirl]

Here were some of my favourite scenic/twisty roads...

Interesting - I was thinking of camping in Custer National Park in SD - I thought it might be a nice place to make a 2 night stop and giving myself 3 easy days to get home (via I-90).

[MacDoc]

Mainly I want to break up the topography - I don't want to do all mountains - much as I love the mountains. Last year was such an interesting mix - one day I'm standing beside 6 foot snow banks on a mountain pass - then I'm standing in a desert - looking at hoodoos, through the mesas - just ever changing scenery.

Trip across tho through some northern states certainly not all mountains and give a eye to temperatures .....there were weeks and weeks of 100 plus in the SW last year and not likely to change this year.

In my view april may is the time to do the South west - just before the May 24th long weekend hits.

South Dakota and Wyoming would be much cooler and Yosemite high enough to not be bad.
Wildlife is always some risk - but in tourist season you have lots of deer catchers ahead of you.

[revrandy]

Actually April is NOT the time to travel in the U.S., it is tornado season. Better to wait until May if you can - less storms.

As for your trip. Personally I would go to South Dakota and area. I have been through there, as well as Colorado, New Mexico etc. and the SD is vastly underrated. Montana is also stunning. Why not a trip to the pacific north west - hit Oregon, Washington State and maybe come back through the Canadian Rockies?

[BeastieGirl]

Actually April is NOT the time to travel in the U.S., it is tornado season. Better to wait until May if you can - less storms.

Apparently its already tornado season in the U.S., or at least in Alabama. Not a good portent - hopefully they won't get slammed like last April

Anyway, its not my plan to head out in the spring. I don't mind riding in the heat, I just keep hydrated. I don't even take the liners out of leathers until about 25 centigrade because I get chilled faster than I get overheated.

But yeah - I'm thinking SD over New Mexico - with limited time available I may just go to Sturgis and then see where (if anywhere) the spirit takes me. If I bump the trip a few weeks into September - maybe I will do a Yellowstone run. With the shorter distances, 12 hours of daylight will work and I'm an expert at pitching my tent in the dark.

[Wheelieboy]

I agree with the above posts about April not being a good time to travel through US as I've learned.

There was a snowstorm I had to go through Mid May in Colorado/Wyoming as well as Tornadoes in Nebraska.

[Moggs]

Bad idea to go to Wyoming (Yellowstone), South Dakota (Custer National PK, Sturgis) in April it is COLD!!! Elevation is high and you can run into sleet/snow storms. I know I have been there in early June.
Would keep nice and toasty in Southern Colorado (4 Corners, Monument Valley, Mesa Verde) A lot of the great rides like the Million Dollar Highway (AZ 191) are again at a high elevation and will be cold (was last September when I was there). The older section of Santa Fe is my favourite U.S. City. Texas is worth a shot with the ride through Big Bend National Park. Most of the State Tourist Agencies will send you free of charge their tour guide and that can be valuable. Another warmer suggestion would be Shenandoah Parkway, Blue Ridge Parkway, Deals Gap area (Tail of the Dragon), Natchez/Trace Parkway, Smoky Mtns, Mississippi, Louisiana.

So many places to go so little time!