jordirr, add a day to San Diego-you only hava one overnight here now, and a day to Yosemite-you will need that to see the part of the park you didn't see driving in over the Tioga Pass.

Be sure to drive from Carmel to Santa Maria on CA 1-that is the road that goes right along the coast/Big sur. US 101 does not, it's a bit inland.

Here's a site with lots of info about Big Sur:

http://www.bigsurcalifornia.org/

What an adventure. I've been following along and think you've gotten some good advice so far. As for the two extra days, I'd add an overnight in Monument Valley (Gouldings Lodge) and in Zion (Desert Pearl) to slow the pace a bit in the first week. It is wonderful country you are driving through, be sure to take some time to just sit back and breathe, take a walk, follow a detour...

You are right POlson. I must overnight in Monument Valley (or near). Do you know cheap hotel or motel chains? I've heard that we can book a double room with two beds and sleep four. Is it posible? What about the food. Is it expensive? I've seen that there is an anual pass for the national parks. Is it valid for all the parks that I have in my route. I think that one pass is valid for all the passengers of the car. Isn't it?

Thank you again.

Gardyloo

Having read your contribution I don't need to post my question!!. You've answered all/any queries I may have had!

Thank you.

The best place to stay, at Monument Valley, is Gouldings Lodge, by all accounts. There are some more (maybe cheaper) places in nearby Kayenta - Holiday Inn etc. Good chains in America are Best Western, Marriott (look for Residence Inns and Courtyard), Comfort Inn and Holiday Inn Express. Cheaper motels are plentiful. Yes, most American hotel and motel rooms have 2 double beds, and you can sleep 4 to a room (if you want to share beds!). My husband and myself generally travel with one of our sons, so we go for the king bed option with sofa bed, which is usually available. Food in the USA is cheap, by European standards. It depends what you want though! Denny's is very good and there are fast food places EVERYWHERE (McD etc). Yes, the National Parks Pass is a MUST to buy. It costs $50 and will get you into every national park.

Actually, the national park pass is now $80, but it includes entrance to all federal parks, including national forests, national seashores, etc. Bear in mind that Monument Valley is a Navajo Park, and thus your national park pass isn't good there.

Yup, a double room with two beds sleeps four. Though, there are campgrounds at Monument Valley - Gouldings has one that isn't bad, and there's one run by the Navajo's at the enttrance to Monument Valley - I think Goulding's campground is much better.

Thank you

As others have suggested, I think Goulding's is the way to go in Monument Valley. We enjoyed the Navajo-led tour operated out of Gouldings.

I also strongly suggest getting the National Parks Pass. We used it several times on our Southwest trip.

You have gotten a lot of good suggestions already, but so many of the places mentioned are just not places to visit in the summer. Not only are they unbearably hot, they just don't look their best at that time of year. The Pacific coast is just so pleasant temperature-wise in summer. If you could do an open-jaw flight why not start in San Diego and work your way up to Seattle? The Olympic National Park scenery is some of the best anywhere in the world. Mt. Rainier National Park is fabulous, but a word of caution, severe flooding last fall has destroyed many of the access roads. Many of the areas are still under feet of snow so the extent of the damage is not fully known yet. But the Cascade National Park further north in Washington is wonderful. On your way up the coast uou will pass thru old growth Redwoods, see wine country, Big Sur, as well as big city cultural sights in Los Angeles, San Francisco, Portland, OR, and Seattle. I would certainly recommend stopping to see the William Randolf Hearst Mansion. Of all the parks that you mention, Yellowstone is my favorite, but it is a bit out of the way and crowded and hot in summer. Arches is probably my second favorite, but not in summer. Come back and visit those places in October, or April.

That's very interesting to me, hotzim - about the flooding in Mt Rainier NP. Last year I did my finals degree research on the lahar threats to the valleys surrounding MR (and used that as a very good excuse to fly over and visit from the UK - we made a 3 week trip of it! - these weren't lahars (mudflows) were they?