Solo Road Trip - California to Colorado - I need advice!

[asitshouldbe]

Sounds good, be cautious of strangers and your surroundings.

[Jak Blak]

I drove across country with my dog last summer and went about 11000 miles in two months. I camped quite a bit, and stayed in a lot of Motel 6s and Super 8s, generally spending $65 to $85 dollars a night. They allowed my dog and had internet. I camped quite a bit too. One of the motels I liked best actually was at Zion - the Canyon Ranch Motel. Very cute little bungalows for about $100 on the road going into the park. Highly recommend this place. You might want to consider stopping at Lake Tahoe if you haven't been. One of the campgrounds there might be a good place for your first camping experience. You camp next to your car in a safe / crowded campground that has showers and toilets. Zephyr Cove Campground was great. Follow their suggestions about locking your food and toiletries in in the bear boxes. The lake is beautiful. You mentioned Flagstaff. From there, drive down highway 89A to Sedona. Its a beautiful road. Sedona is very beautiful and relaxing. I stayed at the Sugar Loaf Lodge there for about $115 a night. Ask for a front room because they have a view of the cliffs across the road. Drive up to the airport in Sedona in the morning and at sunset for some amazing views of the whole town. You mentioned concerts. Google Red Rocks Ampitheatre and pick a concert when you will be in Colorado. It doesn;t really matter who is playing, because the venue is amazing. Any band will sound good there, and they do get some of the best acts in the country. Garden of the Gods is near Colarado Springs and is a very impressive park to walk around. You mentioned Albuquerque. I would suggest Taos and Santa Fe. Taos has the Taos Pueblo and is a very small, artsy, high-mountain desert / ski town. I stayed in a guesthouse in the earthship biotechture community near the Rio Grande Gorge (beautiful). An earthship is a solar and wind powered house built out of tires and other recycled materials. The house also gets all of its water from snowmelt and rain catchment. A very interesting place. South of there is Santa Fe - which has a lot of art, culture, history, and great food. They are near Albuquerque and were great places to visit for several days.

[Ol' Wanderer]

Explore, as other posters have told you, but at the same time, listen to Pilgrim. There is no reason you cannot have the time of your life while being safe. When our daughter backpacked alone through Europe at the age of 20, my wife did not sleep for six weeks. Be kind to your parents by exercising more caution than *you* think is needed.

[jaysuzanne]

Wow, thank you all so much for all the great advice, tips, and suggestions. After much consideration, I've decided to post-pone the trip. Although I'd love to take a solo road trip, I think I've decided to take this particular route with a partner. There are so many amazing sites to see, hikes to go on, and adventures to take and thinking about it...I want someone to witness those things with. And for safety purposes, because I want to do a bunch of hiking and other adventure-type activities, I think it's best to do it with someone else at my side (127 Hours, anyone?). However, solo trips are definitely something I want to experience and I'm thinking about taking one this year up the coast of California. It's more familiar, I have friends/family I can visit, and lower in money/miles. However, I do still plan to take this specific trip at some point in time when I have someone to accompany me and will take all that I've read into account. I do appreciate the comments.

[jdavid93225]

I know you are planning to postpone this trip, but I still wanted to give you some things to think about.

I know your plans included stopping in St. George (and Zion), but I wanted to suggest an alternative, in case you're interested. If you take US 93 North from I-15, you could spend the first night in Ely, NV. From there, you can then head east and stop at Great Basin National Park. I feel it is worth the detour. From there, getting to SLC on US 6/I-15 is fairly easy.

I was going to ask about your planned route because there is so much of interest to see in that part of the country. Salt Lake City is a bit out of the way for most folks traveling from SoCal to Colorado (many people travel I-15 to I-70), but is certainly doable. US 6 is a good route to travel from SLC back to I-70 near Green River. There are some other secondary routes that will take you back into Colorado as well.

There have been several recommendations to avoid the interstates, and in general, I agree with that concept. I do feel, though, that I-70 through Utah and Colorado is worth the trip, so I recommend it for the most part. The scenery along that route is spectacular, which is why I recommend it. Of course if you take US 6 from SLC to Green River, you'll miss about 150 miles of I-70 that I believe is one of the most beautiful stretches of Interstate highway in the country. I haven't driven most of that stretch of US 6, so I can't comment on that route. The part of I-70 from Green River to Denver is beautiful (IMO), too, though, so you'll still get to see some gorgeous scenery. Also, Arches and Canyonlands National Parks are just a short drive south of I-70 near Moab. A detour down to Moab, and back to I-70 on UT SR 128 is well worth the time it takes. SR 128 follows the Colorado River, and the scenery is spectacular. In my opinion, it is superior to the portion of I-70 that you would miss by taking this route.

There is a lot to see and do in and around Denver, and Rocky Mountain National Park is relatively close by, as well. This is another place I would recommend you visit. From the Denver area, it is a reasonably short drive down to Colorado Springs, where, again, there is a lot to see and do.

From there to Flagstaff, there are lots of routes to explore, and it would be hard to pick what would be considered the "best" one. Something you might wish to consider is taking SR 115 to US 50, and visiting the Royal Gorge. From there, you could head south and take the route over Wolf Creek Pass (US 160) between Alamosa and Durango. This route takes you past both Great Sand Dunes National Park and Mesa Verde National Park, as well as through some beautiful country. From Durango, you can head through Cortez, then over to "Four Corners." Not far from there, along the Utah/Arizona border, you can see Monument Valley. From there it's not terribly far to the south rim of the Grand Canyon, which is not all that far from Flagstaff.

From Flagstaff, you could head north on US89/89A to see the north rim of the Grand Canyon, Zion National Park, and possibly even Bryce Canyon National Park, if you don't mind a short detour. If you drive through Zion from east to west, you would come out not far from St. George, where you could take I-15 south back to SoCal.

These are just a few of the suggestions I have for places to see on your trip, when you decide to take it. If you visit several of the national parks, you will want to get an annual "America the Beautiful" pass, which is good for admission to most (if not all) federal lands that charge entrance fees. It doesn't cover parking fees or camping fees, however. It costs $80, but is well worth it if you plan to see multiple national parks.

Something else to consider, is viewing some of these areas online with Google Maps. If you use the street view, you can see what some of the scenery is like.

I think you are making a good choice by postponing this trip until you can have a partner to travel with. I feel the scenery around that part of the country is worth sharing with others, and you will forever have a special bond with your travel partner after taking that trip.

As for camping, there are many wonderful places to camp all through the areas you plan to visit. If your travel partner is into camping, I'd heartily recommend it, even if you're not too skilled at it. IMO, camping is a much better way to connect with nature while on a trip like this, than staying in hotels is. If you have the opportunity to camp, and your travel partner is comfortable doing so, I'd suggest you camp as much as possible while you travel.

[stepka]

While I won't go so far as to recommend that a woman camps alone, I have done it and have some pointers for any woman who might want to.

Stay in well populated campgrounds.

Camp near other people--pick out a nice family to camp near, and don't go off by yourself for solitude or a prettier spot. Also, stay as close to the bathroom as you can get.

Do talk to strangers. Pick nice people of any age and strike up a conversation, b/c they are more likely to help in emergency if they remember you as a nice lady. Besides, it gets really lonely if you don't and you're more likely to make new friends while camping alone b/c it forces you to jump out of your comfort zone. If you're shy and can't think of anything to say, just start by asking for advice or directions.

Dress modestly--sports clothes are fine but don't show a lot of skin b/c some men see it as an invitation. The younger you are, the more important this becomes. I could walk around in a string bikini and not get pestered, but back in the day. . .

Be on the lookout for groups of young people to talk to b/c they may invite you on a hike or a float trip and groups are generally safe (using your best judgment of course.)

If you have a dog, they're great little companions to travel with and they're great protection. Keep in mind that they always have to be on a leash and some parks are not friendly to them and won't let them on trails, even on a leash. I just got back from a week long camping trip with my Korean exchange student and we went to the Grand Canyon, Bryce Canyon, and Arches NP. The first two were fine with the dog, but Arches wouldn't let my dog anywhere except around the bathrooms and there was no shade to park in, so we had to split up to hike and cut it short. There were so many people at all the parks and trails though that I wouldn't have felt unsafe hiking alone at any of them. I would only be concerned in isolated areas where there aren't many hikers. I was more worried about bears.

[Becca8377]

Even though you're postponing, just wanted to give you a piece of advice - CouchSurfing - Participate in Creating a Better World, One Couch At A Time

Best thing I could've ever gotten into. I solo traveled to the Bahamas last year and it was one of the best experiences I've ever had - can't wait to solo travel some more!