Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Location: East of Seattle since 1992, 615' Elevation, Zone 8b - originally from SF Bay Area
44,576 posts, read 81,167,557 times
Reputation: 57808
Advertisements
One of the best summers I ever had, in 1972 was 2-1/2 months on the road in a 1964 Skylark Wagon. A friend and I took off from the SF Bay Area, went north to Seattle, east to NY with stops in Montreal, Toronto and Quebec, down the East Coast to Florida and across the south. In all we only missed
4 states in the middle of the US (and of course Alaska & Hawaii) while racking up 18,000 miles on the odometer. The whole thing cost about $500 each, with gas as low as 25 cents a gallon, a lot of camping and staying with
friends or "friends of friends." A great way to spend my nineteenth birthday.
Have you ever done a road trip across the country? What was the primary interstate highway that got you across, or what interstate were you on when going across the Rockies? (I-90, I-80, I-70, I-40, I-10). What did you see along the way? What were your favorite stopovers? Did you have fun? Would you do it again?
I did one in '09. Best thing I ever did.
From Boston, I took 90 west throught Chicago to 94 to Fargo. Spent a night in Fargo and had a great time. Continued on 94 west to 83 north to 2 west on into Montana. Followed 2 to Glacier NP then took 287 south to 90 north into Missoula where I spent a couple nights. From there I took 12 west through Idaho and Washington into Oregon where I picked up 84 west, through Portland to 5 north back into Washington. From there I took a local road (rt 4) which followed the Columbia R then over the bridge to Austoria where I spent a couple nights. Even stopped to see the Goonies house . From there I took the 101 stopping at Cannon Beach and the Rogue brewery in Newport before heading back east on rt 20. Followed 20 all the way through Idaho and hit Yellowstone. Continued on 20 through the Big Horns (which IMO were almost as scenic as Glacier) before picking up 90 east. Stopped at Devils Tower before getting into S Dakota. I took 16 south from Rapid City and stopped in Sturgis, Mt Rushmore and the Crazy Horse Mem. At that point I got back on 90 and headed east to Boston as fast as possible.
High lights of the trip I'd say were Glacier NP, Missoula MT, Austoria OR, Connon Beach/the Oregon coast, Yellowstone, Devils Tower, the Bad Lands. Also, as I mentioned, Fargo was a suprisingly good time, and N Dakota was far more scenic than I imagined.
I went from NY (where I am from) to California eight different times. You start out in NY, go through Ohio up towards Chicago. From Chicago straight down and across to Colorado. From Colorado, through Utah, Arizona and eventually Nevada, then straight through Las Vegas it's about four hours to LA. Where I lived for a bunch of years. I took this trip four times back in forth. The midwest is very flat. You see miles and miles of cornfields. You see and understand the appreciation for farmers. You don't see any mountains on that route until Colorado. The eastern half of Colorad is plains, flat.
Then once you go through Denver about ten to fifteen miles you fall off the earth. It just drops, taking you into the Colorado Rockies where you never get out. From that point til Las vegas is mountains. Going through Las Vegas is actually the only time from Denver to LA that you aren't up in the mountains. You can see them on the side, but the dramatic effect is not there. The first time I took this route, I lost feelings in my first and half of my second finger. I hate heights and was freaked out. Never take this way in the winter unless you want to die. The mountains are too dramatic. Not like the mounatins back east. If you have never gone through the mountains out west, you will never understand. Anyhow, from pushing my arm down for that long, I hit a nerve and lost that feeling to my left hand. I had my arm permanately planted against the side door. I was so afraid the door would open and I would fly out. What can I say, I hate heights. I personally have to push myself to make this jourey every time. I almost went back the first time through. I remember asking someone in Colorado when do the mountains end,--she was like they don't. Boy was she right. Like I said, pretty much from Colorado to LA is all mountains..
Best route to drive in my opinion though. You see a bit of everything. You will not miss anything scenic on this route. You get it all. You get city NY-Chicago-LA, and Vegas and you get complete mountains. You see some of the coolest little ski towns in Colorado, Aspen, Telluride, etc. There are so many cool ones.
Coming into Las Vegas with no very large cities (though Grand Junction, Colorado and St. George, Utah and Moab, Utah were major regional cities) was a big change after all the mountains and deserts. From Las Vegas it was a very short drive to Los Angeles, especially since California's Inland Empire streches very far eastward into the California desert so the area felt very built up.
There was also a very long isolated stretch between Abilene, Kansas and Denver/Colorado Springs in the Great Plains.
This is long but it was the adventure of a lifetime, period.
I did Baltimore to Los Angeles and back, 14 days with 2 friends. We followed Interstate 70 (with some off the freeway driving on US 40 which paralleled I-70) from Baltimore to its end in Utah, then took Interstate 15 into San Bernardino and I-10 west into Los Angeles. Coming east it was I-40 from California to East Tennessee (with detours on Historic 66 in Arizona), then I-81 up through the Shenandoah Valley, then I-66 east to Washignton DC and back home to Baltimore! We saw a mix of small town, tourist areas, and some pop culture stuff, especially cause so many of our favorite singers hometowns were on the way!
...
I am currently planning a trip similar to yours. I'm coming from Ontario, halfway between Detroit and Toronto, but a lot of the places you talk about are places I hope to hit (Amarillo, LA, etc.)
Trouble is, coming from a city that isn't near the coast. I'm trying to make a logical, linear route and hit as many places as I want to see as possible, but it's hard starting in such a central location. Should I try and do it all (ex. New York/Charleston, SC/Myrtle Beach, NC and Los Angeles, CA/Yosemite Nat'l Park/Las Vegas, NV? Or should I do separate trips; one trip in the east, one out west?
I love your descriptions of the small diners and interesting things you saw on the way. The diner in Barstow, whcih my route currently travels right through, sounds great, and I am definitely adding that to the list!
Yes several times. I80- i70-73 thur Colorado - stop at Idaho springs, nice little town, see Aspen, Moab, UT., salt lake city, cedar city ut if you are heading to i15 south toward Vegas or if not see Wyoming, yellowstone nat park area, Cody wy then don't miss deadwood SD, all beautiful country either on way out or back. So I would go 80 to 70 out and 90 on way back. Also absolutely do not miss Sedona AZ
This trip, to do it right will take 28 days leaving u a couple days in each spot...the fast version 21 days
Ps. Bring the camera as around each turn there is a post card picture
Back in '03 my friend and I left Charlottesville for the west coast. We took i64 west to St. Louis. We stopped in Centralia Illinois the first night and then went to the St. Loius arch the next day. From there we took i44 to Oklahoma City and got on i40 to Amarillo, Texas where we spent the second night. From there we kept on trucking through New Mexico to Flagstaff, Arizona where we spent the night. We thought Flagstaff was a pretty cool town! The next morning we left and went to the Grand Canyon where I had a fearless squirrel climb up my leg. My friend got a picture of it to prove my story. It was weird because it was in an area with a lot of other tourists and once one person saw it, I was surrounded by at least 50 people. I guess it wanted nuts or something! You MUST see the Grand Canyon in person! Pictures do not do it justice!
From there we went to Las Vegas. We stopped and checked out the Hoover Dam. I thought it was cool to walk across state lines and a time zone concurrently. But I'm a bit of a geek. We stayed in Las Vegas that night and checked out some of the casinos and the strip. But no gambling. I'm broke and don't need to lose more. The next morning we headed off to Los Angeles on i15. We spent a few days there doing all the typical tourist things.
We then left for San Francisco. Took the Pacific Coast Highway part of the way, which was beautiful, and i-5 the rest. I totally want to do that again.(not i-5) The next day as we're driving into San Francisco, my friends car breaks down! So that day is spent looking for a shop to fix it, and we used mass transit to get all over the city. We walked over the Golden Gate Bridge and went to Alcatraz. We did so much walking there I think I sprained my ankle. I don't know, but i could hardly walk and we used a bus to get back to the train station. We rode one of the trolleys and I was amazed to see in the middle of San Francisco a plaque detailing the history of the trolleys which actually named Richmond, VA as the birthplace of the modern streetcar!(my inner geek coming out again) We were stuck in SF for a week, but it gave us more time to explore the city. I also found the people there to be very friendly. While the homeless were kind of scary. But my friends car finally got fixed $800 later and we were on the road again. We left on i80 and stopped in Reno for the night. We left and actually stopped on the shoulder of the interstate to check out the salt flats. We wandered around a little bit. Someone else saw us and I guess got the same idea and stopped too. As we were pulling away a state trooper pulled up behind those other people. Busted! We were lucky we left when we did! I don't think that was entirely legal. We drove into Salt Lake City which was beautiful! We didn't have time to stop though. We then stopped in Green River, WY for the night. Wyoming was beautiful, but it was also where I ran out of money. But we were making up for lost time and had to keep moving. We got to Lincoln, NB and went off the interstate to cut over to i29 down to Kansas City where we stopped. From KC, we took i70 to St. Louis and basically backtracked the way we came from there. Kansas City to Charlottesville, VA in one day!
We were initially going to take i80 to Chicago and Cleveland, but the car breaking down took up our extra time. There was so much more I wanted to do! But hopefully I'll be able to make it back out there. Now that I'm married, it'll be something to do with my wife.
In addition to my above essay, I have also been up and down the east coast. From VA to Tampa in one day, and VA to Connecticut in one day. I have used all available interstates here too.
I've driven from Miami to Los Angeles and from Los Angeles to New York. I stopped at every single National Park, quite a few cities, many State Parks, and several other sights along the way since this was while on a long vacation (three months the first trip and six months the second trip). Thus, I also don't quite recall the exact route that I took - it's just too much to remember.
Of course, I've driven up and down both coasts as well several times and have also made my way up and down the nation somewhere in the heartland, all in all having seen 48 states (I didn't make it to Alaska and haven't been to Hawaii, either).
I did the same in Canada...
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
. From there I took the 101 stopping at Cannon Beach and the Rogue brewery in Newport before heading back east on rt 20. Followed 20 all the way through Idaho and hit Yellowstone. Continued on 20 through the Big Horns (which IMO were almost as scenic as Glacier) before picking up 90 east. Stopped at Devils Tower before getting into S Dakota. I took 16 south from Rapid City and stopped in Sturgis, Mt Rushmore and the Crazy Horse Mem. At that point I got back on 90 and headed east to Boston as fast as possible.
But we were making up for lost time and had to keep moving. We got to Lincoln, NB and went off the interstate to cut over to i29 down to Kansas City where we stopped. From KC, we took i70 to St. Louis and basically backtracked the way we came from there. Kansas City to Charlottesville, VA in one day!
