11 national parks, one massive Grand Circle road trip
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Good morning. It’s Saturday, Oct. 7. I’m Julia Carmel, a West Coast experiences reporter. Here’s what you need to know to start your weekend:
- Visit the Southwest’s national parks on the Grand Circle road trip.
- Nine concerns the Dodgers should have going into the playoffs.
- How one woman went from middle class to homeless in her 50s.
- And here’s today’s e-newspaper.
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What it’s like to visit 11 national parks in two weeks
My work schedule often sounds like an overly ambitious trip itinerary: take an Amtrak from L.A. to Seattle; check out three bars in Silver Lake; stay at the Madonna Inn; jet ski from Long Beach to Catalina; attend back-to-back drag brunches in West Hollywood.
So at the beginning of June, I laid out some hopes and dreams for my first full California summer in this very newsletter. Many came true (I made it to Yamashiro, OstrichLand USA, the Petersen Automotive Museum and even my first drive-in movie) while others didn’t (Madonna rescheduled her tour and I realized my stomach cannot handle as much ice cream as my heart desires).
But my biggest conversation piece this summer was undoubtedly the two-week road trip that I took with my partner, Reanna. Though we planned it around seeing Big Thief at Colorado’s Red Rocks Amphitheater in late July, the trip ultimately became a national park marathon. We drove more than 3,000 miles to visit 11 of the southwest’s national parks.
We crowdsourced wisdom from some very lovely readers, who suggested places to eat pie; shared their favorite state parks and small towns; and warned us about tourist traps and that long stretch of the I-70 with no bathrooms or gas stations. I also spent absurd amounts of time scouring various National Park Service pages, hunting for the best entrances, lookout points and gentle hikes in each park until they all seemed to blend together.
Though the Grand Circle road trip usually just includes a handful of parks around the Colorado Plateau, we expanded our trip to include a few extra parks in Colorado and a little bit of California on the way home. All in all, we stopped at five national parks in Utah (Zion, Bryce Canyon, Capitol Reef, Canyonlands and Arches); three in Colorado (Black Canyon of the Gunnison, Great Sand Dunes and Mesa Verde); two in Arizona (Petrified Forest and the Grand Canyon) and one in California (Joshua Tree).
And despite one car breakdown and two urgent care visits, our trip around the Grand Circle was still full of Elysian wonders and sweet treats. We drove alongside speedy pronghorn and woke up to wild horses wandering by our hotel room balcony. When thunderstorms rolled in, we saw massive rainbows against the most stunning landscapes. After sunset each night, many of these areas fell so dark and quiet that it was a bit disconcerting, but we shook off any fear as soon as the Milky Way emerged or the moon rose over the horizon.
There were surreal sand dunes and prehistoric petrified wood; spiritual enclaves and sparkling waters. We spent many long days on the road to get from one park to the next, traversing forest-laden scenic routes and stopping to check out a UFO watchtower or eat another slightly burnt diner burger. But all of the early mornings and vault toilets were worth it to see some of the greatest sights the American West has to offer.
The whole story is already online, so you can see the most spectacular vistas, learn about our favorite roadside attractions, and experience the digestive highs and lows of indulging in too many gas station snacks. (If you’re just curious to see the expanded Grand Circle route, a more sparing map can also be found here.)
I also want to hear from you: Where do you want to travel next? Are you hoping to read about more national parks? Cross-country train trips? Adventures abroad? Let me know where Californians want to go.
The week’s biggest stories
Politics
- Inside Dianne Feinstein’s final day in the Senate.
- Kevin McCarthy’s hometown supporters called Matt Gaetz “evil,” “delusional” and “Benedict Arnold.”
- An unexpected check on the Supreme Court’s sharp move right: Justice Kavanaugh.
Environment
- Environmentalists hate plug-in hybrids. Do these cars get a bad rap?
- Invasive mule deer are pushing native plants to the brink on Catalina Island. Officials want to hunt them from helicopters.
More
- Can pets join their owners in stores? Here’s what you should know.
- Nine concerns the Dodgers should have about facing the Diamondbacks in the NLDS
- Tupac Shakur’s killing brought ’10 days of hell’ to Compton. The bloodshed helped crack the case.
- Cher engineered the abduction of her own son from a N.Y. hotel, court documents say.
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The week’s great reads
Fallen from the middle class: 60, living in an RV and fighting to be housed. As L.A. officials and residents push to get rid of RV encampments, one woman’s story reflects the mountainous obstacles faced by those who try to find housing.
More great reads
- ‘The tenant from hell’: She refused to pay for her luxury Airbnb for 540 days. She says she has a legal right to stay.
- The most important things we know about the cosmos were discovered in the mountains above Los Angeles. ‘You don’t just throw away a historic place,’ says one of the volunteers trying to save Mt. Wilson Observatory.
- They trusted the Beverly Hills watch dealer. Then their luxury timepieces vanished.
How can we make this newsletter more useful? Send comments to essentialcalifornia@latimes.com.
For your weekend
Going out
- 🎉 Take part in the Indigenous Peoples’ Day celebrations across the city
- 🏠 Eleven iconic L.A. homes you can tour in real life: Frank Lloyd Wright, Neutra, Eames and more
- 🎤 U2 has always been an ambitious band. It met its match and then some at Las Vegas Sphere.
- 🍂 Eleven California hikes to see spectacular fall foliage — before it disappears.
- 🍹 The ultimate guide to tiki bars across Southern California.
Staying in
- 👴 There’s nothing ‘courageous’ about ‘The Golden Bachelor.’
- 📺 How ‘The Morning Show’ re-created the Jan. 6 insurrection, leading to Bradley’s big lie.
- ⚾ Dodgers vs. Diamondbacks in NLDS: How to watch, start times and betting lines
- 🧑🍳 Here’s a recipe for Sweet-And-Sour Pork Tenderloin
- ✏️ Get our free daily crossword puzzle, sudoku, word search and arcade games.
L.A. Affairs
I help people learn to love well. How could I fall for a con man? I hadn’t thought about him in 25 years until his email arrived. On our second date, he told me that he had adored me since we were teenagers.
Have a great weekend, from the Essential California team
Julia Carmel, West Coast Experiences writer
Elvia Limón, multiplatform editor
Laura Blasey, assistant editor
Karim Doumar, head of newsletters
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