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rteri0216,
All good stuff above in reply to your CC drive in April...
My add'l opins:
-get on one of southernmost west bound interstates, after winding out of NJ and avoid taking I-70 west, which can/does have snow in CO area any day of the year, esp west of Ike Tunnel.
-motels are cake. In 6 cross country m'cycle rides and a 13,000 mile car road trip a few summers ago we never had rez and always found several motels to pick from as we got into towns around 5 - 6 PM. Smart phone use, pulling up the usual motel sites, always provided best price on that brand site for reserving near late afternoon for that evening. I would avoid reserving ahead any motel in X town on a given day; one doesn't know how that all day drive will go, distance-wise. Not having that rez removes the having to push on to that location and allows for going farther if you choose to.
-'Safe' is relative, but in umptyseven miles worth of cross country trips we have never had a 'situation' or untoward/uncomfortable moment.
-GOOG Map embedded shows I-70 east of Mississippi to I-40 and across, and it get be connected from anywhere in NJ with some initial corrections out of NJ. I wouldn't pay attention to the construction stuff. It's Feb, and you are going in April. Spring time on the interstates is 'construction time'. If you wanted to, you could even dip further south to Dallas and run the most southern route of I-20 and I-10 into SD. GOOG Maps and Waze on your smart phone will be your friend. Pack in car charger cord for phone, as those apps eat batt life.
-Make sure your car is in good shape, drive carefully and do not push it, if you feel tired. That west bound run into the late afternoon sun for 5+ days can wear one out.
GL, mD
Through Missouri will probably be the worst part of the trip, quite busy, lots of curves, and feels narrow. Don't push it and realize that it will end.
Flagstaff is a place where you really can stay in town, walk around and go to a real restaurant. It's a college town so will probably feel very safe.
> That west bound run into the late afternoon sun for 5+ days can wear one out.
The GOOD news about driving west is that you cross a time zone most days, so the day is almost an hour longer than you think.
Good point on not locking yourself into hotels, as things can change. I was putting that out as a way to save a 10 or 20 bucks on your room, but whatever works for you is best. Personally, when I travel and have locked in my reservation, it becomes incentive to get there no matter what. But that is just me.
The route I pointed out is most direct, and I believe the fastest. However, depending on the time of year, a more southern route may make more sense. In April you should be OK. With my route you won't really be going through any high mountain passes, but I agree weather can change anytime of year, especially in the Rockies. (In 2009 I ran into snow in late June near Vail, CO.!)
I took 78 to 70 to 55 down to Memphis (my aunt lives in the area). When she wasn't going to accommodate me for a part of my trip I continued on the 40 until reaching the 15 down to the 10. This was back in 2007. I left Tuesday night and arrived Sunday afternoon in the middle of summer.
From my memories, I had hotels in PA, Indiana, Arkansas, New Mexico, Arizona, and Needles, CA. All were decent. I didn't pick out fancy hotels in metro areas. Just regular hotels. Didn't do any sightseeing as I had limited funds back then. Just enough to get across the country.
My best memories from the trip were seeing the sunset on the plateaus in New Mexico. The only place I regret that I did not stop in is Albuquerque. Still have not been there to this day.
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