We are flying in to Seattle, mid August. We have 3.5 days scheduled for sightseeing in Seattle and around, before we start our roadtrip, with the end destination being Minneapolis, 2 weeks later.

We have decided to see the following:
Space Needle, Boeiing Factory, Pike Place Market, Mt St Helen, Mt Raineer, tour of the old burried city. Is there anything else which we must NOT miss? Then good ideas for places to ea on a tight budget?

As our hearts desires is to see the beautifull nature of the US, we are planning to start our roadtrip driving north to the North Cascades National Park, on all the scenic routes to Spokane.We need to sleep over for one night on our trip to Spokane. Any awsome suggestions? And which towns are a MUST to stop at? Good places to eat along our road? We are camping, so no need for hotels etc, a cheap log cabin would be a real blessing though.

What is the weather like in Washington State mid August? I have no clue what clothes to pack.

We want to see all we can... we want to experience it all, your help would be much appreciated!

Oh yes, we need to buy camping gear in Seattle? Any good suggestions of place with GOOD prices?

August is summer-time in this area. It will likely be anywhere from nice & warm to very hot. We can always possibly get rain, any month. But generall it's a beautiful month for the weather.

I'm not sure how you will save money camping, if you have to buy all your gear in Seattle (and just for a 2 week trip). Do you mean tent, 2 sleeping bags, stove, etc. etc.? Would you consider second-hand equipment?

Do you have a car to drive to Minneapolis?

The budget those first 3.5 days in Seattle on a "shoestring" is going to be kind of hard. It's generally quite expensive in downtown Seattle for food & lodging.

suze in seattle

You should make sure of the rental car (assuming you are renting). There is a substantial 1 way fee. Its usually per mile so driving Seattle to Minneapolis will be a costly road trip. Definitely worth it but potentially more than you are looking for.

I would recommend Snoqualmie Falls near Seattle. I would also go the Air and Space Museum in Seattle if aviation interests you.

You can buy cheap camping equipment at any Target, K-Mart or large sporting goods store--but not REI. The cheapest camp sites are in National Forests where you will usually find a parking space, a table, a fire ring, and flat enough ground to place a tent. I do not recommend private campgrounds because they tend to cater to RVs. Click on my name and you will find my two reports on camping in the Northwest.

Even shopping atKmart if you have to completely outfit two people for camping + doing a 1-way car rental Seattle to Minneapolis, seems an awful lot of expense for a 2-week trip on a "shoestring" budget.

Also I'll gently say that Space Needle, Boeing, Pike Place Market, Mt St Helen, Mt Raineer, and the Underground Tour is a pretty packed itinerary for only 3 days.

For about $300 one can outfit a camping trip for two persons. Factor in the cost of the motel rooms and meals at restaurants instead of cooking at the campsite, and the investment in camping equipment definitely meets the requirements of a shoe-string budget.

Hey guys... thank you so much for all the replies, I really appreciate it. Maybe "shoestring" was the wrong word, but we don't want to go the hotel route, if you know what I mean.

We are staying with a friend in Seattle. We are renting our car from National, best prices I could find which includes a $200 one-way drop off fee. My husbands best friend lives in Minneapolis, so he is posting his camping equipment to our friend for us to collect, which we will return when we see him in Minneapolis. We will be bringing our own sleeping bags, self inflatable mattresses and whatever we can fit in along. So we actually just need a coller box, some cuttlery and plates, and a few other odd things. My husband has camped and travelled through some of the US, and we have planned to camp at State Parks.

Thanks again, your input is much appreciared!

That 1 way fee is definitely not too bad - I was expecting much higher. Avis and Budget use a $0.50 per mile charge so that would have been much higher.

For what you need, a Target, Wal-mart, etc would be your best bet. You can definitely get those items cheap.

Driving across the state on the North Cascades route (HWY 20), the only largish and interesting place to stay is probably Winthrop. It has an invented Old West theme which some feel is a bit tacky, but there are accommodations of all descriptions there.

I would also recommend Fred Meyer in addition to Target for shopping for a cooler, etc.

If you're planning to camp in August (especially if it's on a weekend) you may want to check ahead and see if you can get reservations to guarantee you have a campsite.

And as Suze mentioned, your list of must sees is a bit ambitious for a 3 day period in Seattle.

So how would you suggest our itinerary for 3.5 days? What would you do?

Consider Mt. Rainier and/or Mt. St. Helens as part of your road trip instead of the 3.5 days of Seattle time. Before leaving Seattle, pick up some shell fish at the Pike St. market, and that night, at your camp site, you can have pasta with shell fish pan fried in olive oil and with parsley--the small in the shell bay scallops were the best, if available. Ask them to wrap a piece of salmon for a two day journey and have that on the second day.

You could drive to Mt. Rainier, hike there (at Paradise) and camp at Cougar Rock campground that night instead of driving back to Seattle. Then you are well-placed for the drive to Mt. St. Helens the next day, returning to Seattle. On day 3, you could do the Boeing factory tour (which takes a half-day including travel time) and visit Pike Place market and do the underground tour. That is 3 packed days but it all fits in. (Don't bother with the Space Needle. You can see it from all over Seattle and you don't need to pay to go up the elevator.)

There are some nice campgrounds on Highway 20 (Colonial Creek is especially nice), but if you want a cabin, you might try these near Mazama:

http://www.rollinghuts.com/the_herd.htm

http://www.lostriverresort.com/

Or this just outside of Winthrop:

http://www.chewuchinn.com/reserve.html

Lots of places around the Methow Valley are pricy or have a 2-night minimum.

Another place to camp---a spectacular one- would be to drive up to Hart's pass and camp at the campground there. You need to carry your water up.

Thanks for the details. That all sounds good!

I might suggest Value Village or Goodwill for 2nd hand kitchen stuff.

As already suggested, if you move Mt Rainier & Mt St Helen to be part of your road trip heading out of town, that would make more sense.

I would skip Boeing, but maybe that has special interest to you? Definitely Pike Place Market, Pioneer Square historic district, International district (Chinatown), the Waterfront. Either the Space Needle or the Smith Tower to get up high for a city view.

Enjoy!

Thanks all... you are great!!!!! If you ever come to South Africa, go to Mozambique, Zanzibar, Singapore or Thailand, I will be glad to assist you aswell! Be blessed!

Hi, lets see if I can help you with Spokane since I live here. I'd stay in Riverside state park at the Bowl and Pitcher it's lovely there along the Spokane river and 10 minutes from downtown. Try and go to Riverfront park in the middle of Spokane it's beautiful and fun.It's the only town in te USA that has a falls right in the middle of town in fact two of them. The name Spokane is an Indian word meaning children of the sun. There are lots of good inexpensive places to eat around and I'll be happy to give you some examples if you'd tell me what kind of food you like. Yes it's much hotter on this side of the state tems can be in the 90's easily and usually are in August. Feel free to ask me any questions and I'll be happy to answer. Google Riverside state park and the bowl and pitcher and it will give you the web sites or I can do that for you.

cheers

Donna

Dear Donna

Thanks a million... absolutely gorgeous! We like all kinds of food, anything except brussel sprouts and any funny animal, eg frogs We do prefer healthy food over fried unhealthy, but we are not picky at all.

You have been a great help!

Hey girl, well that leaves a whole lot of good inexpensive plase to eat so your choices will be good.
I'll think about some that are easy to get to and not very expensive, also I'll be happy to give you simple and explicit directions to the park if you'd like and I'm thinking you may need to book a spot at the camp grounds, you might want to check on that but if you have trouble doing that I'll look into it for you.

Please feel free to e-mail me at [email protected]

and I'll be more then happy to help if I can.

Since you aren't taking the shortest or fastest route (congratulations on that wise choice) and are going up to the North Cascades, how about a more convoluted route to give you a better feel for this part of America. Highway 20 will take you over the North Cascades and lead you through Mazama and Winthrop on your way to Twisp. Notice the change in the forest as you cross this area. Continue on 20 through Twisp, then veer off onto highway 153 through Methow. At the intersection with highway 97, turn north to Brewster and watch for a turn onto highway 17 just beyond Brewster. Take highway 17 until it intersects with 174 and follow that to Coulee Dam. Take a tour if they still offer them, it's an impressive piece of engineering. There is a campground just beyond Coulee Dam off 174. Continue on 174 (maybe the next morning) until it intersects with highway 2 and take that to Spokane.

When you leave Spokane, stay on highway 2 toward Glacier National Park. If you like to hike, this is a great place and if not the mountain scenery is impressive. The park has campsites too.

Upon leaving Glacier National Park from the east side at St. Mary, head south on highway 89, following it south until it intersects I-15, then go south on I-15 through Great Falls to Helena, turning onto highway 12, then onto highway 287 to end up on I-90 heading east toward Bozeman. Before you reach Bozeman, turn south on highway 191 to West Yellowstone and enter Yellowstone National Park, your home for 3 or 4 days as you explore this natural wonder. Exit toward Cody, Wyoming on highway 14. Stay on 14 all the way to Ranchester, Wyoming where you will get onto I-90 and head toward Minneapolis again. At Moorcroft, Wyoming, take highway 14 again (you never really left it, it merged with I-90) and make your way to Devils Tower. When leaving Devils Tower, go south and then east to rejoin I-90 at Sundance, Wyoming. Turn off I-90 at Spearfish and follow highway 14A until you come to Lead, South Dakota. Just past Lead, turn south on highway 385 and stay on that until you see signs pointing the way to Mt. Rushmore. Leaving Mt. Rushmore, head to Rapid City and get back on I-90 heading east toward Minneapolis. Stop in Wall, SD at Wall Drug (there will be signs). It's a tourist trap, but a fun one to investigate. Turn south here on highway 240 to drive through Badlands National Park. This road will bring you back to I-90 and off you go again toward Minneapolis. You will cross the Missouri River at Chamberlain, South Dakota. Stop at the top of the hill beyond at the rest stop for a view of this river valley. Get back on I-90 east and stay there forever (well it seems that way) until you intersect I-35 and take that north to Minneapolis. Hope you make it in time.