Barstow to Sacramento Scenery
 

Planning Family Vacation June 2004. 12 members in two mini vans. Have two travel days to get from Barstow to Sacramento. Looking for as much scenery as possible.Thinking of driving Route 395 north to Lee Vining and staying the night, then taking Route 120 thru Yosemite and on to Sacramento. Is 395 worth the trip as far as scenery goes and how bad is the drive thru Yosemite? Second option would be to drive to Visalia and take the loop road 198 and 180 thru Sequoia Natl Forest, spend the night in that area and the next day take 41 out of Fresno and catch the Western portion of Yosemite before heading to Sacramento. Again looking for as much scenery as possible. Thanks for any comments.

i like the 41 then the 49 along the foothills. rather windy, but passes through alot of neat gold rush towns. 395 is nice, with side trips to mono lake, the ghost town bodie, etc. you can also keep north on 395 to carson cityh, nv and cut across tahoe.

did i say 'windy', like chicago? i meant wind-y as in it winds alot. winedy? beery? vodka-y? hmmmm.

I would pick your first route. Very scenic through Yosemite (as long as we don't get massive snow this winter so the road is still closed in June). You might look into either staying at Tuolomne meadows in the tent cabins or at White Wolf in the rustic cabins, both along 120. It's my guess that the Sequoia loop choice would add more hours in the car, and I don't think it is quite as scenic.

Do any of those 12 tend to get carsick? If so, you need to stock up on dramamine for the mountain roads.

sorry for the noise, but does dramamine make you sleepy? And is it over the counter stuff?

My wife tends to get carsick, and we'll drive through Tioga Pass in early October ...

Dramamine is over-the-counter, and now they make a new one - non-drowsy. I did not try it yet, usually I take Ginger - herbal capsules, non-drowsy, no side effects, sold everywhere OTC.