Thank you so much tom_mn, I will look more into different flying options as well as one way rental cars. That was a reeeally good price on the car. When I looked at the places we usually use it was 3000$ for return SFO and 4000$ for one way SFO-LAX 😱

I know SAS/Star alliance has different options with stops in Chicago and NY, but in my initial research they were both expensive and with a long travel time (our home airport is SFT). Like you I found LAX/SFO to the be the cheapest and best options regarding departure times and fewest stops.

My mom used to work as a travel agent (long time ago) and she likes to have as few stops as possible, so if we can get a direct flight from the US to CPH or ARN she will be happy. However I will definitely do more research on flights to see how we could optimise our travels.

I also think April is a better time frame, especially as you may hit wildflower season and the desert areas such as Zion are more manageable. I love Death Valley. From Death Valley, look for lodging in Ridgecrest or Lake Isabella. From Lake Isabella to Yosemite is a reasonable drive, coming up via Oakhurst and Route 41. In fact many Southern Californians use that routing rather than coming in via the west side.

It's unfortunate that few people participate in the California forums due to their domination by certain very loud voices.

mlgb
I haven’t quite figured out the different forum parts just yet, but I feel that everyone has been really helpful and I have appreciated everyone’s input in this thread.

It however sometimes can feel a bit overwhelming with differing views and opinions and knowing who to listen to. Some things are objectively true (like temperatures) while other things are more subjective. I will try to use the collective knowledge and experiences from here in guiding us, but still in the end we will go with what we think works best for us - which might not be what some would choose.

And do read between the lines and realize there can be pots calling kettles black ;)

it sounds like you have a good handle on what is important to you and what makes sense and what doesn't. Everyone is trying to be helpful (or at least most are) so just work your way through the various 'factions' and use the advice you think works for you. >;) . . .

Well every community seems to have its “differences” within the community, I am glad I haven’t encountered (or picked up on) too much negative energy.

With all your advice, and my own/our preferences, have created a new rough itinerary for September 2024 which I hope will work well. I think I will start a new thread later on to get more specific tips with regards to that plan and those destinations.

Good idea honja, you can also look for trip reports where people who have been to an area give details on their plan.

That sounds like a great drive. I'm glad you're not stopping in Portland or Eugene. Really unsafe nowadays. I had my trailer broken into while driving through there.