TravelDay buddy

Arlene Whitcomb

@parkloop · she/her · Las Vegas, United States

Leave before six, be at the overlook before the tour buses, nap after lunch.

  • National parks
  • Early mornings
  • Gateway diners
  • Slow pace
  • Mid range

Arlene Whitcomb is a drawn, fictional companion written by TravelDay. The places below are real entries in our catalogue, and each one names the guide it came from.

How Arlene Whitcomb travels

I retired, bought a small truck, and started driving to the parks on weekdays. That is the whole biography.

My day is simple. Out of the motel before six, first viewpoint to myself, a walk while it is cool, then lunch in a gateway town and a long flat afternoon. I do not hike far any more. I get further than most people because I start earlier.

I pay for the annual pass, I book the campground the day the window opens, and I read the park's own alerts page before I read anyone else's advice. Roads close, shuttles change, and rangers are right.

  • National parks
  • Road trip
  • Nature
  • Photography
  • Solo

Cities Arlene Whitcomb keeps going back to

  • Las Vegas

    United States

    Cheap flights, cheap beds, and the start of every loop I drive into Utah and Arizona.

  • San Francisco

    United States

    Where I land for the Sierra. Two days of coffee and hills, then east to the granite.

  • Vancouver

    Canada

    My way into the Pacific Northwest. Ferries south, rain gear on, and the Olympic coast by evening.

What Arlene Whitcomb recommends

Elsewhere

  • Grand Canyon National Park · Nature

    The South Rim runs all year, which is why I go in February. Buy the pass online before you drive so you are not sitting at the gate.

    • Seen in National Park Service. The South Rim operates year round with camping, lodging and food, and every visitor needs an entrance pass

  • Yosemite National Park · Nature

    For 2026 there is no season-wide timed entry any more, so the gate is open, but the valley parking still fills by eight. Nothing replaces leaving early.

    • Seen in National Park Service. As of 2026 Yosemite no longer requires timed reservations to enter the park

  • Yellowstone National Park · Nature

    Plan around the roads, not the sights. Most of them are shut to cars from early November to late April, and the northern road is the only one that stays open.

    • Seen in National Park Service. Most park roads close to regular vehicles from early November to late April, while the North to Northeast Entrance road stays open year round

  • Olympic National Park · Nature

    Three parks in one: mountains, rain forest and coast. Do not try them in a day. Pick one, and take the rain seriously on the coast side.

    • Seen in National Park Service. The park protects glacier capped mountains, old growth temperate rain forests and over 70 miles of wild coastline

  • Redwood National and State Parks · Nature

    The tallest trees on earth, and the fog is part of the point. Some of the best groves need a free permit, so sort that before you leave phone signal.

    • Seen in National Park Service. Renowned for the world's tallest trees, with prairies, oak woodlands, rivers and coastline

Las Vegas

  • Carson Kitchen · Restaurant

    Downtown, not the Strip. Small room, reserve ahead, and order the bacon jam if you have been in a truck all day.

    • Seen in Time Out. Four star Time Out review of the downtown gastropub, open since 2014

  • mon ami Gabi · Restaurant

    The one Strip meal I keep. Eat outside, order the steak, and watch the street instead of the room.

    • Seen in Time Out. Time Out reviews it as a casual French spot on the ground floor at Paris Las Vegas with alfresco seating

San Francisco

  • Caffe Trieste · Cafe

    First stop off the plane. Espresso standing up, old photographs on the wall, and you are awake for the drive tomorrow.

    • Seen in Time Out. Time Out calls it one of the city's original Italian coffeehouses, at the centre of 1950s North Beach

  • Sotto Mare · Restaurant

    Family run, loud, and the cioppino feeds two whatever they tell you. Expect to wait and do not fight it.

    • Seen in Time Out. Time Out describes the family run North Beach seafood place and its crab cioppino, large enough to serve two

  • Molinari Delicatessen · Restaurant

    Sandwich counter, not a sit down. This is where the car lunch comes from on the drive east.

    • Seen in Time Out. Time Out calls it the oldest deli west of the Rockies, opened in 1896

Plans you can copy

Six nights from Las Vegas to the Grand Canyon

6 nights · March to May, or late September to early November · Slow pace · Mid range

Two nights in town at either end, and four driving the canyons in between. Every day starts in the dark.

  1. Day 1

    Pick up the truck

    • Welcome to Fabulous Las Vegas Sign · Afternoon · Sight

      Five minutes, a photograph, and a free car park south of the Strip. Then go and buy water.

    • Carson Kitchen · Evening · Meal

      Downtown dinner, early night. Reserve before you land.

      • Seen in Time Out. Four star Time Out review of the downtown gastropub, open since 2014

  2. Day 2

    Zion

    • Zion National Park · Morning · Nature

      Two and a half hours from Vegas. From March to November private cars cannot drive the Zion Canyon Scenic Drive, so park in Springdale and take the free shuttle. Not yet in the TravelDay catalogue.

      • Seen in National Park Service. During shuttle season, March through November, private vehicles are not allowed on the Zion Canyon Scenic Drive and the shuttles are free

    • Springdale, Utah · Evening · Stay

      Sleep at the gate so you are on the first shuttle. Rooms here cost more than anywhere else on the loop. Not yet in the TravelDay catalogue.

  3. Day 3

    Up to Bryce

    • Bryce Canyon National Park · Morning · Nature

      The rim sits above 8,000 feet, so it is twenty degrees colder than Zion and snow lingers into May. Sunrise Point at sunrise is not a clever idea, it is just correct. Not yet in the TravelDay catalogue.

    • Highway 89 south to Page · Afternoon · Getting there

      Long, empty, and worth the fuel stop before you commit. Not yet in the TravelDay catalogue.

  4. Day 4

    The canyon itself

    • Grand Canyon National Park · Morning · Nature

      In at the east entrance and stop at every pullout on Desert View Drive. The South Rim is open all year and the pass is per vehicle.

      • Seen in National Park Service. The South Rim operates year round with camping, lodging and food available, and all visitors must buy an entrance pass

    • Desert View Watchtower · Afternoon · Sight

      The tower at the east end of the rim drive. Ask about ranger talks at the desk. Not yet in the TravelDay catalogue.

  5. Day 5

    Rim walk, then west

    • Grand Canyon National Park · Morning · Walk

      The paved Rim Trail west from the village. Flat, shaded in parts, and you can turn around at any shuttle stop.

    • Kingman, Arizona · Evening · Stay

      A cheap night on the way back rather than driving into Vegas tired. Not yet in the TravelDay catalogue.

  6. Day 6

    Back in town

    • Las Vegas Springs Preserve · Morning · Nature

      The springs the city grew from, with real desert planting and shade. Better than anything on the Strip before noon.

    • mon ami Gabi · Evening · Meal

      Outside table, steak, and an early flight tomorrow.

      • Seen in Time Out. Time Out reviews it as a casual French spot with alfresco seating on the Strip
  • Seen in National Park Service. Zion's shuttle season and vehicle restrictions set the shape of the first half of this drive

Five nights from San Francisco to Yosemite

5 nights · May to October · Slow pace · Mid range

Two days of city coffee, three days of granite, and a deli sandwich eaten at a viewpoint.

  1. Day 1

    Land and stay awake

    • Caffe Trieste · Afternoon · Coffee

      Stand at the counter. It is the cure for a morning flight.

      • Seen in Time Out. Time Out calls it one of the city's original Italian coffeehouses, at the centre of 1950s North Beach

    • Transamerica Redwood Park · Afternoon · Walk

      A grove of redwoods behind the pyramid, in the middle of the financial district. Free, and almost nobody sits in it.

    • Sotto Mare · Evening · Meal

      Put your name down and wait with a drink. The cioppino is enough for two.

      • Seen in Time Out. Time Out describes the family run North Beach seafood place and its crab cioppino, large enough to serve two

  2. Day 2

    City day before the drive

    • Cable Car Powerhouse and Barn · Morning · Museum

      Free, and you watch the cables running under the floor. Twenty minutes well spent.

    • The Beat Museum · Afternoon · Museum

      Small and cluttered in the right way. Pair it with the coffee house across the street.

    • Molinari Delicatessen · Evening · Meal

      Buy tomorrow's sandwich tonight and keep it cold. Nothing in the valley is open when you want lunch.

      • Seen in Time Out. Time Out calls it the oldest deli west of the Rockies, opened in 1896

  3. Day 3

    East to the granite

    • Highway 120 to the Big Oak Flat entrance · Morning · Getting there

      Four hours with a stop. Fill the tank in Groveland, because fuel inside the park is scarce and dear. Not yet in the TravelDay catalogue.

    • Yosemite National Park · Afternoon · Nature

      Tunnel View first, then down into the valley. There is no season-wide timed entry for 2026, but valley parking still fills by eight in the morning.

      • Seen in National Park Service. As of 2026 Yosemite no longer requires timed reservations to enter the park

  4. Day 4

    A full day in the valley

    • Yosemite National Park · Morning · Walk

      The flat loop to Mirror Lake before the shuttle gets busy. The falls are loudest in May and often dry by August.

    • Glacier Point · Evening · Sight

      An hour's drive up for the whole valley at sunset. The road is closed by snow from around November to May. Not yet in the TravelDay catalogue.

  5. Day 5

    Back to the coast

    • Dragon Gate · Afternoon · Sight

      Walk up through Chinatown to stretch out four hours of driving.

    • Caffe Trieste · Evening · Coffee

      Last espresso, same counter. On some Saturdays the family still sings.

      • Seen in Time Out. Time Out notes members of the Giotta family still perform Italian songs on select Saturdays
  • Seen in National Park Service. Yosemite's reservation page sets out the 2026 entry rules this drive depends on

Arlene Whitcomb is a TravelDay buddy: drawn, fictional, and not an account in the network. Research edition 2026-09-17.