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When I lived in Tucson for 7 years, I did plenty of road trips throughout Arizona, southern Nevada, southern Utah, New Mexico, Western Texas using mostly non-interstates/freeways.
Why, because the places I wanted to explore and see didn't have those as an option!
How were the trips, great!
It's a lot easier to avoid interstates/freeways in the Intermountain West, since the states are huge and have a limited supply of those types of roads.
Almost same trip, 21 days. Short Interstate hop Las Vegas to Zion NP exit, cant remember highway, then Zion, Grand Canyon N Rim, Page, AZ, up tp Monument Valley, Valley of the Ancients,Black Canyon of the Gunnison, Mesa Verde, Hovenweep, Great Sand Dunes NP, Canyonland,Arches, Escalate, Capitol Reef, Cedar Breaks then Interstate back to Vegas
Lots of stops in-between like Antelope Canyon near Page, Colorado NM and more
I was born in 1992, so interstates have been ubiquitous my whole life. I could ask my mom, she's been on cross country road trips a few times in her life.
We were visiting relatives in Orlando and wanted to visit other relatives in Big Pine Key down in the southern end of Florida. We started out on the interstate but it got too friggin' scary the way they drive on the mainland! We were doing eighty miles an hour and traffic was passing us and there was a big Winnebago on our tail and all we could see of the driver was a bit of gray hair over the top of the steering wheel. Plus it seems every time we visit Florida we see some sort of horrific wreck. Cars turned into unrecognizable twists of metal types of wrecks. We took the next exit ramp off the interstate and found the small old two lane highway.
It was a joy! There was a roadside pick your own farm place where we got lovely tomatoes and melons.
We stopped by an everglades park and looked at alligators and took an everglades tour. There had been a road built in the everglades and there were drainage pipes going under the road to let the water go through. I think they were more alligator cafes than drainage tubes, every one had a 'gator inside waiting for something tasty to swim through.
There was a HUGE fiberglass lobster on the side of the road. Probably fifteen feet tall and who knows how long. I think it had been built as part of a tourist trap but then the building behind it got bought by a montessori school. I hope they adopted it as their team mascot.
There was some sort of chowder shack which had exquisite soup. Not much to look at, but we'd asked someone at a local gas station - a small by the side of the road one, not one of those big mega-stations on the interstate - and they'd recommended the chowder shack.
There were some friends who had a house halfway in between so we stopped and visited with them for half a day and didn't get to find a fun old side of the road motel, so I think we may have not had the full 'off-interstate' experience.
On the way back up, we stayed off the interstate some more and met some interesting folks with air boats. Wandered past the inland side of Florida and went to the beach there. Saw an old fort which was part of a park. Found a yard sale which was interesting. Got some more side of the road produce. Then we thought we'd take the interstate again for the last little bit back to the Orlando relative's place and there was a horrific traffic accident off on the other side of the split interstate but both sides were backed up because everyone was looking at it. The pieces of what was left of the car were spread out over hundreds of feet. Possibly further for one of the tires. So we took the next ramp off the interstate.
It sounds like a fun adventure unless you're towing a travel trailer and get off on the wrong road going up a steep hill and can't turn around.
It happened to us towing our 26 foot travel trailer and I was a wreck. Hubby was driving and we had to keep going. There were NO side roads and only 2 feet of gravel on each side of the road, so there was NO place to turn around. It was pitch dark and I could see these little tinkling lights of houses WAY down the mountainside outside our truck window. No guardrails!
I was never so thankful than when we finally pulled into a campground at 11pm that night.
Picked up a car in St. Louis and drove it to Los Angeles on Route 66 ("The Mother Road"). Parts of 66 have been covered over by various interstates, but a lot of it still remains.
Fun to see a zillion helium tanks in Amarillo, the Cadillacs sticking out of the ground, the vintage drive-ins, etc. etc.
Two trips. From Colorado Springs to Big Bend National Park was mostly off the interstates. West TX is very scenic with big mesas and such. Saw some "interesting" tourist attractions (e.g., Fort Davis and someone's rattlesnake farm). When we used to drive from Colorado Springs to Omaha, we would drive the backroads through the farmlands of southern NE. Most towns has some tourist attraction (e.g., the Prairie Museum and Willa Cather's Marker).
For many years, we would take most of the month of April and drive US routes (not interstates) throughout the lower 48. My husband liked to drive them from beginning to end. First trip was US 6, from the tip of Cape Cod to California. Up the coast and then US 20 back east, from the Pacific Ocean to Boston MA.
Also US 1 from Ft. Kent ME to Key West FL, US 41 from FL to Copper Harbor MI. And so many more. Along the way we would stop in at local Chambers of Commerce to see what the attractions were in the area. Met so many nice people and saw interesting sights. I still have the journals we kept.
I just got home from a 2500 mile trip that was mostly two-lane highway through Kansas (just shoot me next time). One thing to consider is the flying gravel when a large truck passes you. I ended up with three cracks running across the windshield. On an interstate the median keeps debris from hitting your windshield unless it is thrown up be someone in front of you. For the most part I was alone on the highways with very little traffic. You need to be careful for deer and pronghorn and little furry critters I couldn't identify.
I usually get off the interstate for a few miles every few hours to get away from the boredom and see something other than pavement.
I just got home from a 2500 mile trip that was mostly two-lane highway through Kansas (just shoot me next time).
Same way I felt driving through Nebraska.
At one point, I looked straight ahead down the center line to the horizon. The same view to the horizon through the rear view mirror. Same thing side to side!
At one point there was ONE tree, I took a picture and titled it The Nebraska National Forrest!
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