What city? I'm in Klamath Falls-

Good point on checking roads - especially back country

They almost has rim drive open - but still a lot of snow around

A lot on good suggestions on hwy 138 waterfalls - most are toward the I-5 side -
- If you are coming down 97 from sister there are 2 lakes on hwy 58 (comes before 138.

If staying in Mt. Hood area check out Timberline lodge on Mt Hood . They're several waterfalls in the Mt hood area.

If heading south on 97 take 138 and take the back way to crater lake.


Which way are you headed inAnd out of the Sisters area?(I live in Klamath Falls)

I'm in sort of same issue
I have a D90 that I bought new (2008)
Still works good - but feel it is time to move ahead.
The D500 - that has been recommended is a great camera! But a body runs about $1700

I'm considering a D7100 body at about $700

You might consider renting a body first and see if upgrade is worth it to you - 7000 series body rents for $50-60 for a week.

Very nice!
I shot there about 2 years ago. Unfortunately it was at the peak of the California drought and the garden waz beginning to show the result.
Looks like things have perked up!

Nice to see!

I shoot both. - bracketed and raw (actually camera is setup to shoot raw &jpeg at same).

I try for the best exposed shot to go into LR/Ps -
I bracket 1 stop each way.

Your points are very good!
Raw is a tool - nothing more.
If I KNOW I'm shooting an event, or subject that I won't be doing any post processing on, or very little. Why force myself to go through the process?
But what IF there'S that one image that could be a KILLER image? Now I would shoot myself for not shooting raw to get the MOST out of that image!

SO I do CYA - Shoot with camera set to record both RAW & fine jpeg.
Storage is cheap!

I have mine set to both jpeg & raw.
Main reasons I want both
- I'm not accomplished on Lr & Ps yet
- many times I want to review them on my tablet or laptop
- I do have the codex loaded to view the raw.- but many times want to give a set to family or friends while traveling

I agree with previous comment - all drives will fail - period - the question is WHEN.
So multiple backups are best - and I have to add I send one of my backups to an off site location.

As far as magnetic vs SSD - I have not heard SSD'S losing data after time - doesn't mean it isn't true.
The points I consider are;
1 - ssd'S are faster & more stable from physical impact.
So ideal for both internal and portable use.
If you choose to use a SSD as an external drive the access speed will drop down to that of a spinning drive because of ISB conection.

Hope that helps and doesn't confuse things more

For your budget the 150-600 mentioned seems like a good fit.
I rented the Tamron version and absolutely loved it for Eagle season here.

It is a big lens so make sure you have a good tripod if racking it out to 600mm

I mainly rent lenses - but considering a full frame body soon.
I always use Borrowlens and have never been disappointed.

If you have a local store that does rent (I don't) you may be better with that - no shipping, support readily available, and maybe apply some of your rental fee to purchase

SO many choices - so little time! -lol.
So much of a personal decision based on WHAT YOU like/want to shoot.
Whatever focal length works for you a bigger question (for me) is whether to get a DX lens - designed for the crop sensor in your camera - or to embrace the upward compatibility of a non-DX lens.

I shoot a crop sensor D90. I lean toward larger telephoto for wildlife and sports. But also on a budget so mainly rent the lenses.

I have used the nikon 18-300 twice (a DX lens) and love it!

Sure there is a point where the glass Performance will exceed the performance of your sensor in the camera.
Whether you'll notice it is the big question.

Using Good glass on any camera will allow you to get the most out of that camera - and allow you to move up in camera bodies while keeping the glass..
You'll see this best when/if you move from crop sensor 5500 to a full frame sensor

I dont have to on my d90.

As previously stated I also keep me e 8n burst mode. But I only bracket +/- 1 stop.

For my shooting (scenics and wildlife) I leave it on all the time.

I've rented both the Tamron 16-300 & the 18-300.
I prefer the Nikon - picture quality wise very close. The Nikon felt better - sturdy and quieter.

But if I was in a crunch and only could afford the Tamron I would go for it!

If you're traveling - and that is main reason for the lens - having one lens that covers this range would make life a lot easier.

Another point - especially if traveling - is size and weight. From a handling standpoint I seem to recall the Tamron was smaller and lighter than the nikon.

For me----
I wouldn't alter my shooting method -
Getting them off the SD cards to the laptop is great idea!
But I would take it the next step and backup to an external drive too. I use a Toshiba 1TB - it's compact (1/2" thick & roughly 3x4").- it's also USB 3.0 so if your laptop has usb 3 makes transfer faster.
For greater reliability you could consider a SSD extra drive - a little pricey for 1 TB - but better speed and reliability.
I would carry the backup drive separate from my laptop.
Cloud storage may be an option - but Internet connectivity while traveling is usually poor.