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I've dreamed of taking a trip across the US (maybe by RV) staying here and there and taking my time. What small towns or rural sights have you been to, heard about or that are in your area that would be a "must see" on such a trip? I'm a sucker for scenic natural beauty, charming towns, quaint country vistas,out-of-the-way locales, unique spots, great places to eat or just to sit and look over the water somewhere. This is your chance to tell me where to go.HA!
Wow! With so many interests, you should be very easy to please. I don't really know what to tell you about where to visit, since there are so many great small towns all over this country. My main piece of advice to you is to avoid the interstate. In this manner, you can visit many small towns all over the country. Some of the places I've been that I would recommend are:
Western Idaho - Highway 95 Gorgeous scenery, and lots of neat, small towns along the way.
Southern Utah - Highways 12, 24, 89, 191, etc. Breathtaking scenery and several friendly small towns (though not many due to low population in the area)
State of Wyoming - All over. Lots of beautiful scenery, and nearly every town in the state is a small town (Only two have more than 50,000 people each - Casper and Cheyenne)
Black Hills of South Dakota - Quite a few wonderful, historical, small towns (Lead, Deadwood, Keystone, etc.) and Mt. Rushmore, too. Need I say more?
Southern Colorado - Highway 160 has Durango (Durango & Silverton RR), Mesa Verde N.P., Pagosa Springs, Wolf Creek Pass, and Alamosa (near Great Sand Dunes N.P. and Cumbres & Toltec RR). Lots of wonderful things to see along the way.
Northern Arizona - Rt. 66 "The Mother Road" Lots of history and beautiful scenery along the way.
I could go on and on about the many wonderful places I've seen, but I've given just a taste, so far, in the interest of keeping this post fairly short. Enjoy all this country has to offer!
I rode a motorcycle across this country back in the day as well as a camping trip to Alaska that took the entire summer. There are way too many places to see in a lifetime!
suggest starting with simple route and contacting all the state tourist departments and getting their guidebooks. I also suggest joining AAA and using their trip planning services and guides. They are useful for cost estimating. Another suggestion is to fly to someplace like Denver, Salt Lake City, Albuquerque or Seattle and renting a camper (actually as most of the west is fairly dry in the summer a tent will do) and exploring some specific regions. In any case take the time to stop at the small towns, roadside markers, scenic parking areas and smaller parks. The enjoyment is in the details and not the distance.
Most of the western US is really RV friendly. If you head out to the Southwest, definitely check out northern NM. The Enchanted Circle encompasses Red River, Angel Fire/Eagle's Nest and Taos. There are mountains, the Red River and the Rio Grande. We're close to southern Colorado (and all the sites posted by JDavid) and we're also close to Santa Fe/ABQ. On the ride down to Santa Fe, you can white water raft on the Rio Grande. Beautiful scenery and plenty of spots to park the RV and explore!
Location: Life here is not an Apollo Mission. Everyone calm down.
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If I had to do it all over again I would combine trips I take often with a trip I took years ago.
I'd cling to the west coast of Michigan (lovely beach towns as well as a great state park camping system), up into the U.P. and enter Canada via Sault Ste Marie. From there I'd re-travel my most memorable road trip, Ottawa, Montreal, Quebec, along the coast of New Brunswick, ferry over the PEI, ferry over the Nova Scotia and then down the east coast of the U.S. to Miami.
I realize that the bulk of this trip is not in the U.S, but found the majority of the eastern Canadian providences to be fantastic for beautiful sights.
The other thing I hope to do someday is ferry over to New Newfoundland.
I found New Brunswick and PEI to be beautiful areas and so pleased I've been able to travel the area more than once.
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