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I'm planning my move next May. I've bought a road atlas, studied the terrain I'll be crossing, and found a few national/state parks and monuments of interest.
My route will be:
S I-35 to I-90 all the way to Rapid City, SD
Go through 16, to 85, to I-25 all the way down to Cheyenne, WY and Denver, CO
West on I-70 past Grand Junction until I get to 128 so I can follow the Colorado river all the way to Moab
From there go down 191 all the way until I hit Arizona
Continue down 191 then cross to 89 until I hit Flagstaff
From there take 89A, through Sedona, Jerome, and the Prescott area
That'll then take me to 69, then to 169 on which I can continue south on I-17 to my desired destination on Phoenix
I'm going to plan about 3 to 4 days for this trip so I can stop and check out some of the interesting places (Rushmore, Arches, Monument Valley, etc)
My question to you all is, do you think this is a good route? And if so, are there any more points of interest I should check out along the way?
I just moved from Minneapolis to Phoenix and I took a slightly diff route. 35 down to Des Moines, 80 across Nebraska into Denver, 25 down to Albuquerque, 40 to Flagstaff, and 17 down to Phoenix.
I don't know if you've done this route before, but it doesn't start to get exciting until Denver. Denver to Phoenix had AMAZING scenery all the way through with tons of wayside scenic rest stops. There were a few tourist traps coming into Flagstaff which I would avoid, but I do remember you could see a meteor crater just off of the 17. Sorry, I don't have a whole lot of suggestions, but the scenery was worth the trek alone.
I just moved from Minneapolis to Phoenix and I took a slightly diff route. 35 down to Des Moines, 80 across Nebraska into Denver, 25 down to Albuquerque, 40 to Flagstaff, and 17 down to Phoenix.
I don't know if you've done this route before, but it doesn't start to get exciting until Denver. Denver to Phoenix had AMAZING scenery all the way through with tons of wayside scenic rest stops. There were a few tourist traps coming into Flagstaff which I would avoid, but I do remember you could see a meteor crater just off of the 17. Sorry, I don't have a whole lot of suggestions, but the scenery was worth the trek alone.
I considered the 35 route, but just decided that I'd spend a whole day driving and wouldn't see much of what I'd be interested in seeing. To me, the route I planned seems to get interesting around Rapid City, SD. Though, I may consider the 35 route. It's just, with the route I planned, I get to drive through Southern Utah, and I'm looking forward to that BIG time.
I'm planning my move next May. I've bought a road atlas, studied the terrain I'll be crossing, and found a few national/state parks and monuments of interest.
My route will be:
S I-35 to I-90 all the way to Rapid City, SD
Go through 16, to 85, to I-25 all the way down to Cheyenne, WY and Denver, CO
West on I-70 past Grand Junction until I get to 128 so I can follow the Colorado river all the way to Moab
From there go down 191 all the way until I hit Arizona
Continue down 191 then cross to 89 until I hit Flagstaff
From there take 89A, through Sedona, Jerome, and the Prescott area
That'll then take me to 69, then to 169 on which I can continue south on I-17 to my desired destination on Phoenix
I'm going to plan about 3 to 4 days for this trip so I can stop and check out some of the interesting places (Rushmore, Arches, Monument Valley, etc)
My question to you all is, do you think this is a good route? And if so, are there any more points of interest I should check out along the way?
Thanks in advance!
Hey, acrylic, in my former job I've driven all over MN, so know lots of good short cuts. If you want to shave some time and miles off your trip, I'd jump off 35 just south of Hinckley and take 23 to 90. Look at the map and you'll see it's a diagonal, as opposed to the 35/90 "L" shaped route you've described. It'll drop you off at 90 just short of the SD border. I've driven it before, and it is a fast route because it bypasses just about every town.
If you are not comfortable on two lane highways like 23, then jump off 35W at 494 in Bloomington, head over to 169 and turn south to Mankato, where it joins up with Highway 60, which joins 90 at Worthington. This road is mostly 4 lane, but not as much of a diagonal as 23. Still, more direct and faster than the 35/90 route.
PS: 89A will take you through (near?) the Oak Canyon area north of Sedona. It's gorgeous and will pretty much be your last glimpse of deep green forest wilderness before you hit the desert. And Jerome is a unique, fascninating little town perched on top of a mountain. If you are into native American art, check out the Heard Museum in Phoenix.
Thanks for the replies! It looks like the route may have changed a little bit, because we may be including a Uhaul truck in the mix now. I'm thinking 89A would definitely NOT be a good idea for that, but would the rest of the route I described be okay for that?
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