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Gonna do this in a couple months......anybody ever took this ride in a motorcycle/car? What advice or tips do you have? Thinking of making all of the cool stops, grand cayon, etc. Staying in Vegas a couple days and then hitting California.....and checking out all the fly spots....LA-SF and all in between....wanna hit the Porsche experience center/san diego zoo......and i'm working on getting a tour of space x. gonna have about 2-2.5 weeks to do all of this......
I have done the drive many times, but only in a car. On a straight shot, it takes 50 hours realistically, to Orange County CA. Vegas is about 4-6 hours less. (allowing for food stops, bathroom breaks, get our an run a mile to get your metabolism going again, and maybe a short nap). You need multiple drivers. A leisurely trip can take ten days if you meander a lot.
Depending on which route you take, a great stopping point is Meremac Caverns in Missouri. Take the cave tour, camp right on the river, and if you have time and money, run the zip line course. It is a really beautiful place and the cave is awesome. I have been there many times and I still try to stop and tour the caverns one more time when passing by. Also just plain awesome camping.
If you stay North, there is a cool air force museum in Omaha. Denver can be a fun stop. There is some fabulous camping along the way in the mountains outside of Denver.
You will likely past through Utah - Bryce Canyon, Zion Canyon (stop and hike! Best place there is). Grand Canyon, Hoover Dam.
If you go in or out the back way to the south rim of the grand canyon, there is an awesome ancient anasazi ruins area, a very cool native american reservation swap meet place and a weird natural phenomenon called breath of God.
Grand Canyon - North or South rim do not try to go down and back in one day unless you camp there and start at 6 a.m. Carry a TON of water. We did it in a day when we were in our 20s, but still nearly died (well partially because my brother cut a 2" deep gash in his arm when a switchblade in his back pocket popped open). There was snow at the north rim when we went down, it got to 104 degrees on the way back up.
Also to the south of Gran Canyon is painted desert, petrified forest, and the remains of Route 66. Santa Fe New Mexico is pretty.
Depending again on the route you choose you can go down to Mammoth caves in Kentucky, stay in a wigwam motel in Cave City (from the old Route 66 days).
It is best to just leave yourself some time so you can just stop off and see something on a whim.
We discovered Fruitia Colorado - home of Mike the headless chicken, completely by accident. Nothing there but a statue of Mike and a really nice little diner.
A couple of things to not bother with Meteor Crater (not worth the detour), London Bridge, Lake Haveseau (just a lake, the bridge is not what you think).
On your way into California (or out) stop at Joshua tree. Really neat even if you are not a skilled climber, you can crawl around on some of the less aggressive rock piles. There is also a neat hike to a desert oasis. A short and fun hike, not too hard, one time, I carried my son who weighed about 65 pounds the whole way back without too much trouble (only dropped him once).
My suggestion is not over plan. There are four routes you can take. Choose one, pick out a few must see things along the way. make note of a few other neat things and wing it as you go. take the time to meet people. One of the best times I had on a trip is when a waitress in a small town invited us to come to a community barbecue.
I also suggest you consider going out one way and come back a different way. Also if you can increase the time you have. 2.5 weeks will go fast. If you can take a month - better. To save moeny, skip hotels and just camp. Lots of nice camping.
In California, the possibilities are endless. LA is a madhouse. Orange County is more calm, but less exciting. be sure to see:
In LA - Venice Beach. I lived just south of LA for 18 years and never liked LA all that much. Hollywierd is kind of boring. Universal Studios has a hokey tour. There are some decent places to just hang out and people watch. Venice Beach is the best! Santa Monica Promenade and Rodeo Drive are kind of fun to watch rich people with misplaced values do their stuff. Skip the houses of the stars tours, it is stupid. There are a lot of iconic little places that are great to get a bit of local flavor. Do a bit of research, but do not waste a ton of time on LA.
Long Beach and Orange County.
If you get the chance, make a run out to Catalina Island (you have to take a boat and go all day). It is mostly a relax and have a drink kind of place, but you can rent snorkel gear and swim with lots of colorful fish. Bring some toast in a zip lock bag and open it underwater. The fish will swarm you. It is really cool. they bite you a little bit but it does not hurt. You can ride a bike or a tourise bus thingy out to see herd of buffalo that descended from some left behind when they filmed a western movie ont he island in the 1930s. The casino tour is surprisingly cool (plus it is physically cool which can be a relief).
In orange County, Laguna Beach is neat. Huntington beach - there is an off leash dog beach that is fun to go watch the dogs frolic. Balboa Peninsula in Newport beach is my favorite beach community to just hang out/chill for a day (or in my case a few years). You can catch the Catalina Flyer to Catalina in Newport Beach (Balboa).
Long beach has the Queen Mary and spruce goose. Both are interesting for a little while. Not a place to spend all day. There is a slower and cheaper boat out to Catalnia island from long beach. Downtown long beach has a bit going on.
San Diego - Cornoado Hotel is worth seeing. You can rent a sailboat and sail around the bay (watch out for aircraft carriers). At La Jolla beach you can walk right up to sea lions (don't be one of the idiots who pet them, they bite!). There are also some neat sea caverns at La Jolla. Downbtown San Diego is pretty neat. Ride the light rail around to check out different areas. Of the theme parks, I liked Sea World best.
If you are crazy, you can pop down to Tijuana. Do not bring anything with you that you care about. Crime there is off the charts. The sell lots of trinkets like fake rollex watches, fake cuban cigars, fake fancy colognes fake Iphones, etc. There are a lot of really raunchy sex shows, at least if you listen to the hawkers standing in front of the places. There is nothing I like about Tijuana, but maybe you will. You could aslo venutre down the coast a bit to Ensanada. It is a little better.
When you go North or come south from the north (ie. San Francisco). Take Highway 1 north. Start in about ventura. Take some time. If you pre-register and arrive on time (like 7 a.m.) you can take a really cool trip from ventura out to the channel islands and paddle around in a sea kayak. You will see loads of cool marine wildlife upp close (sharks, manta rays, sea lions, maybe even some whales, etc etc). About half way or a bit more to Monterey, there is a really cool inn on the bluffs. I forget the name, but it is the only thing ont he ocean side of Coast highway for miles. There is a stairway behind the inn that goes down to an unusual black sand beach. Pretty neat. Good place to get our (or off) and stretch your legs.
Monterrey has a neat aquarium. Great beaches.
Inland are some awesome parks. Yosemite is the most dramatic, but basically you will be waiting in line for a mile or two to get to a waterfall. The back sire of Yosemite is usually empty and very pretty but not as dramatic. I like Kings Canyon/Sequoia pakrs better. THat is where the giant trees ae. Great camping up there and another awesome cave tour (I like caves). If they still do it and you sign up in advance, you can go on a spelunking tour where you crawl through streams and such to see parts of the cave most people cannot get to. Hume lake campground is a fabulous place to chill for a day or two if you can get a space. It is a very small campground.
If you go up to Coloma where they discovered gold - you can go whitewater rafting on the American River. It is a blast. Do not take the calm route, take the most aggressive one you can get on. If you take the lower route, there is a place to jump out and shoot the rapids in a life jacket. The best route is the one with the chutes. Sometimes you can go hot air balloon riding out there as well. Very pretty.
Another option for a general route to the West is to go way north, swing down from Seattle. Stop in Portland, San Francisco, then go down Coast Highway to LA/OC and Sand Diego. That route takes a lot longer, but you can go through Montana, North or South Dakota, Yellow stone park, Virginia City (ghost town), Bear Tooth Highway (one of the prettiest drives anywhere). Wall drugs (gift shop the size of a city). Badlands. The big heads.
Last edited by Coldjensens; 04-03-2017 at 06:53 AM..
I have done the drive many times, but only in a car. On a straight shot, it takes 50 hours realistically, to Orange County CA. Vegas is about 4-6 hours less. (allowing for food stops, bathroom breaks, get our an run a mile to get your metabolism going again, and maybe a short nap). You need multiple drivers. A leisurely trip can take ten days if you meander a lot.
Depending on which route you take, a great stopping point is Meremac Caverns in Missouri. Take the cave tour, camp right on the river, and if you have time and money, run the zip line course. It is a really beautiful place and the cave is awesome. I have been there many times and I still try to stop and tour the caverns one more time when passing by. Also just plain awesome camping.
If you stay North, there is a cool air force museum in Omaha. Denver can be a fun stop. There is some fabulous camping along the way in the mountains outside of Denver.
You will likely past through Utah - Bryce Canyon, Zion Canyon (stop and hike! Best place there is). Grand Canyon, Hoover Dam.
If you go in or out the back way to the south rim of the grand canyon, there is an awesome ancient anasazi ruins area, a very cool native american reservation swap meet place and a weird natural phenomenon called breath of God.
Grand Canyon - North or South rim do not try to go down and back in one day unless you camp there and start at 6 a.m. Carry a TON of water. We did it in a day when we were in our 20s, but still nearly died (well partially because my brother cut a 2" deep gash in his arm when a switchblade in his back pocket popped open). There was snow at the north rim when we went down, it got to 104 degrees on the way back up.
Also to the south of Gran Canyon is painted desert, petrified forest, and the remains of Route 66. Santa Fe New Mexico is pretty.
Depending again on the route you choose you can go down to Mammoth caves in Kentucky, stay in a wigwam motel in Cave City (from the old Route 66 days).
It is best to just leave yourself some time so you can just stop off and see something on a whim.
We discovered Fruitia Colorado - home of Mike the headless chicken, completely by accident. Nothing there but a statue of Mike and a really nice little diner.
A couple of things to not bother with Meteor Crater (not worth the detour), London Bridge, Lake Haveseau (just a lake, the bridge is not what you think).
On your way into California (or out) stop at Joshua tree. Really neat even if you are not a skilled climber, you can crawl around on some of the less aggressive rock piles. There is also a neat hike to a desert oasis. A short and fun hike, not too hard, one time, I carried my son who weighed about 65 pounds the whole way back without too much trouble (only dropped him once).
My suggestion is not over plan. There are four routes you can take. Choose one, pick out a few must see things along the way. make note of a few other neat things and wing it as you go. take the time to meet people. One of the best times I had on a trip is when a waitress in a small town invited us to come to a community barbecue.
I also suggest you consider going out one way and come back a different way. Also if you can increase the time you have. 2.5 weeks will go fast. If you can take a month - better. To save moeny, skip hotels and just camp. Lots of nice camping.
In California, the possibilities are endless. LA is a madhouse. Orange County is more calm, but less exciting. be sure to see:
In LA - Venice Beach. I lived just south of LA for 18 years and never liked LA all that much. Hollywierd is kind of boring. Universal Studios has a hokey tour. There are some decent places to just hang out and people watch. Venice Beach is the best! Santa Monica Promenade and Rodeo Drive are kind of fun to watch rich people with misplaced values do their stuff. Skip the houses of the stars tours, it is stupid. There are a lot of iconic little places that are great to get a bit of local flavor. Do a bit of research, but do not waste a ton of time on LA.
Long Beach and Orange County.
If you get the chance, make a run out to Catalina Island (you have to take a boat and go all day). It is mostly a relax and have a drink kind of place, but you can rent snorkel gear and swim with lots of colorful fish. Bring some toast in a zip lock bag and open it underwater. The fish will swarm you. It is really cool. they bite you a little bit but it does not hurt. You can ride a bike or a tourise bus thingy out to see herd of buffalo that descended from some left behind when they filmed a western movie ont he island in the 1930s. The casino tour is surprisingly cool (plus it is physically cool which can be a relief).
In orange County, Laguna Beach is neat. Huntington beach - there is an off leash dog beach that is fun to go watch the dogs frolic. Balboa Peninsula in Newport beach is my favorite beach community to just hang out/chill for a day (or in my case a few years). You can catch the Catalina Flyer to Catalina in Newport Beach (Balboa).
Long beach has the Queen Mary and spruce goose. Both are interesting for a little while. Not a place to spend all day. There is a slower and cheaper boat out to Catalnia island from long beach. Downtown long beach has a bit going on.
San Diego - Cornoado Hotel is worth seeing. You can rent a sailboat and sail around the bay (watch out for aircraft carriers). At La Jolla beach you can walk right up to sea lions (don't be one of the idiots who pet them, they bite!). There are also some neat sea caverns at La Jolla. Downbtown San Diego is pretty neat. Ride the light rail around to check out different areas. Of the theme parks, I liked Sea World best.
If you are crazy, you can pop down to Tijuana. Do not bring anything with you that you care about. Crime there is off the charts. The sell lots of trinkets like fake rollex watches, fake cuban cigars, fake fancy colognes fake Iphones, etc. There are a lot of really raunchy sex shows, at least if you listen to the hawkers standing in front of the places. There is nothing I like about Tijuana, but maybe you will. You could aslo venutre down the coast a bit to Ensanada. It is a little better.
When you go North or come south from the north (ie. San Francisco). Take Highway 1 north. Start in about ventura. Take some time. If you pre-register and arrive on time (like 7 a.m.) you can take a really cool trip from ventura out to the channel islands and paddle around in a sea kayak. You will see loads of cool marine wildlife upp close (sharks, manta rays, sea lions, maybe even some whales, etc etc). About half way or a bit more to Monterey, there is a really cool inn on the bluffs. I forget the name, but it is the only thing ont he ocean side of Coast highway for miles. There is a stairway behind the inn that goes down to an unusual black sand beach. Pretty neat. Good place to get our (or off) and stretch your legs.
Monterrey has a neat aquarium. Great beaches.
Inland are some awesome parks. Yosemite is the most dramatic, but basically you will be waiting in line for a mile or two to get to a waterfall. The back sire of Yosemite is usually empty and very pretty but not as dramatic. I like Kings Canyon/Sequoia pakrs better. THat is where the giant trees ae. Great camping up there and another awesome cave tour (I like caves). If they still do it and you sign up in advance, you can go on a spelunking tour where you crawl through streams and such to see parts of the cave most people cannot get to. Hume lake campground is a fabulous place to chill for a day or two if you can get a space. It is a very small campground.
If you go up to Coloma where they discovered gold - you can go whitewater rafting on the American River. It is a blast. Do not take the calm route, take the most aggressive one you can get on. If you take the lower route, there is a place to jump out and shoot the rapids in a life jacket. The best route is the one with the chutes. Sometimes you can go hot air balloon riding out there as well. Very pretty.
Another option for a general route to the West is to go way north, swing down from Seattle. Stop in Portland, San Francisco, then go down Coast Highway to LA/OC and Sand Diego. That route takes a lot longer, but you can go through Montana, North or South Dakota, Yellow stone park, Virginia City (ghost town), Bear Tooth Highway (one of the prettiest drives anywhere). Wall drugs (gift shop the size of a city). Badlands. The big heads.
Thanks man!
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