My Road Trip Fantasies

Message Bookmarked

Bookmark Removed

So a year or two ago when I had a lot of time on my hands (apparently), I came across a $3 Rand McNally road guide and started planning a series of several-week road trips that would take me to most of the places in the US that I've never seen but would like to (as well as some places I have been and want to go back to). I got obsessive enough about them to plan out every single day.

This thread is where I post the day-by-day schedules of the trips I planned out. Ideally, you'll post your own itineraries or indulge the extremely hypothetical nature of these trips (we won’t even talk about how little I’ve driven in my life) and take issue with my choices or give me useful comments. Like, are the driving lengths ridiculously ambitious? Are there too many driving days? Too much city time? Too little? Do the trips work conceptually? Is conceptual a bad approach? What places should I visit/am I missing along the way? Where should I eat? Is this much planning bad? On many of the trips there are portions where I’d have to reserve campgrounds or some such in advance, so this may be necessary. Soundtracks or driving/riding offers also encouraged.

Note: Several of the trips attempt to follow the paths of pioneer-era trails or historic highways, but they don’t stick to them strictly. I’ll list them in semi-geographical order, West to East. All of the trips are planned to be ~22 days (three weeks off from work – ha! – and one day to rest at the end), except for one particularly insane trip that takes 4 weeks. Most involve flying to a starting location, renting a car, and later returning to that location (though one has a different starting and ending point). This seems the most logical approach for me, as I don’t own a car, and in many cases I don’t want to waste time driving East from NYC to the places I really want see, many of which are in the West. However, I probably haven’t thought about how much gear would be necessary to do these and whether it would be feasible to fly with it, and I may not have adjusted for time to buy it once the starting destination is reached.

― g@bbneb (gabbneb), Sunday, 25 May 2003 16:23 (twenty-two years ago)

"The West Grand Loop"

Day 1 – Fly to Denver, rent car, drive South to Colorado Springs
Day 2 – Drive West across the Southern Rockies, past the Black Canyon of the Gunnison, to Moab, Utah
Day 3 – Visit Canyonlands and Arches National Parks and Dead Horse Point State Park
Day 4 – Drive South and then West, crossing the Colorado River at Halls Crossing, and following the Waterpocket Fold towards the Grand Staircase-Escalante wilderness area, camp.
Day 6 – Hike in the Escalante area, then drive to Bryce Canyon National Park.
Day 7 – Watch the sun rise at Bryce, then drive to Zion National Park and explore
Day 8 – More Zion, drive East to Vegas, stay out all night
Day 9 – Drive to LA
Day 10 – LA
Day 11 – LA
Day 12 – drive North up the coast through Malibu and Santa Barbara to San Luis Obispo and Morro Bay. Visit wineries in the nearby Edna Valley.
Day 13 – drive North past Big Sur to Monterey, visit the aquarium. Head north to San Francisco
Day 14 – Bay Area
Day 15 – Bay Area
Day 16 – Drive East to Yosemite National Park
Day 17 – Yosemite
Day 18 – drive north to Lake Tahoe
Day 19 – Detour North through Reno to Pyramid Lake and then East across Central Nevada’s mountain ranges to Utah
Day 20 – Drive East across Central Utah, past the San Rafael Swell to Grand Junction, Colorado
Day 21 – Drive East across the Rockies to Denver
Day 22 – fly home

― gabbneb (gabbneb), Sunday, 25 May 2003 16:24 (twenty-two years ago)

The Lewis & Clark/Pacific Northwest Loop

Day 1 – fly to Kansas city, rent car, drive north to Omaha, Nebraska
Day 2 – Drive West and North through the prairie and Sand Hills of Nebraska to Pine Ridge, South Dakota
Day 3 – Drive north through the Pine Ridge Indian reservation to Badlands National Park, Wall, South Dakota, and Mt. Rushmore
Day 4 – Drive West through the Black Hills National Forest to Devils Tower and on to Cody, Wyoming
Day 5 – drive north to Red Lodge, Montana and follow US 212 through the Absaroka-Beartooth Mountains into Yellowstone National Park
Day 6 – Yellowstone
Day 7 – Yellowstone
Day 8 – Drive North through the Gallatin National Forest to Bozeman, MT, and then east on I-90 to Missoula, MT
Day 9 – Drive South along the Bitterroot Range into Idaho, following the Salmon River South along the River of No Return Wilderness to the Sawtooth Mountains
Day 10 – Drive North to Hells Canyon on the Salmon River and then West through the Northwest Passage to Lewiston, Washington
Day 11 – Drive West through the farmland of Eastern Washington, via Walla-Walla and Yakima to Mt. Rainier National Park
Day 12 – hike at Mt. Rainier, drive to Seattle
Day 13 – Seattle
Day 14 – Seattle
Day 15 – Drive North and take the ferry to Whidbey Island (second largest in continental US), drive North on the Island to Anacortes, WA. Take the ferry through the San Juan Islands
Day 17 – Drive to Mt. Baker National Park, go hiking
Day 18 – drive East across Northern Washington State, through the Skagit Valley and North Cascades National Park to the Grand Coulee Dam and Okanogan National Forest, visit the farm of Sally Jackson (famous cheesemaker)
Day 19 –Drive East through Idaho and Montana to the Rockies and Glacier National Park
Day 20 – Glacier National Park
Day 21 – Glacier National Park
Day 22 – drive South paralleling the Continental divide and the Bob Marshall Wilderness, then turn East, crossing the Rockies on the way to Helena, MT
Day 23 – Drive East through the Lewis & Clark National Forest to the grasslands of Theodore Roosevelt National Park
Day 24 – Drive North through the Park to Williston, North Dakota, then East and South following the path of the Missouri River to Bismarck, ND
Day 25 – visit Lewis & Clark historical sites around Bismarck, then follow the Missouri River South through the Standing Rock Indian Reservation to Pierre, South Dakota
Day 26 – follow the path of the Missouri River Southeast to I-90, follow it East past the Corn Palace to Sioux Falls
Day 27 – drive South through the Loess Hills of the Missouri River Valley to Omaha
Day 28 – drive South along the Mississippi to Kansas City, fly home

― gabbneb (gabbneb), Sunday, 25 May 2003 16:26 (twenty-two years ago)

The Oregon Trail/Great Basin Loop
Day 1 – fly to Kansas City, rent car, drive Northwest through Kansas to Fort, um, Kearney, Nebraska
Day 2 – roughly follow the Oregon Trail Northwest past Courthouse Rock, Chimney Rock and Scottsbluff into Wyoming and on to Casper
Day 3 – Drive West through the Wind River Indian Reservation and Bridger-Teton National Forest to Jackson, WY and the Grand Tetons
Day 4 – Jackson
Day 5 – follow the trail West into Idaho, through the volcano lands of Craters of the Moon National Monument and Sawtooth National Recreation Area towards Boise
Day 6 – follow the trail Northwest to the Hells Canyon byway into the Wallowa-Whitman National Forest of Oregon
Day 7 – Drive West along the Columbia River to the Oregon Coast and the End of the Trail
Day 8 – Cannon Beach
Day 9 – Drive South along the Oregon Coast to Yachats, OR. Visit nearby Oregon Dunes National Recreation Area
Day 10 – Drive South along the Coast to the Southern border of the state, then turn inland and drive East through the Siskiyou National Forest towards the Cascade Mountains
Day 11 – drive North through the Rogue/Umpqua Wilderness Area to Crater Lake National Park, then continue North through the Cascade Mountains to the Three Sisters Wilderness Area
Day 12 – Go hiking in the Three Sisters area
Day 13 – Drive Northwest through the Deschutes and Mt. Hood National Forests to Portland
Day 14 – Portland
Day 15 – drive southwest past Mt. Hood through the Warm Springs Indian Reservation to Madras, OR
Day 16 – drive East to the John Day Fossil Beds National Monument, and then South through the Oregon desert into the Nevada desert
Day 17 – Drive East across the Great Basin of Nevada, passing through Battle Mountain (the armpit of America) and Elko, Nev (home of the cowboy Poetry festival) to the Great Salt Lake and Salt Lake City
Day 18 – Drive South through Provo to the Mt. Nebo Wilderness Area, then Northeast through the Uinta National Forest towards Vernal, UT
Day 19 – Visit the Flaming Gorge National Recreation Area and Dinosaur National Monument, then drive East through Northern Colorado to Steamboat Springs
Day 20 – drive to and hike in Rocky Mountain National Park, then continue to Boulder, CO
Day 21 – Boulder, Denver
Day 22 – fly home

― gabbneb (gabbneb), Sunday, 25 May 2003 16:26 (twenty-two years ago)

"The Santa Fe Trail/Route 66 Loop"

Day 1 – fly to Kansas City
Day 2 – follow the path of the Santa Fe Trail Southwest across Kansas, past Council Grove and Pawnee Rock to Dodge City
Day 3 – continue Southwest through National Grassland areas into New Mexico and on to Santa Fe
Day 4 – Explore Santa Fe, drive East through Pueblo areas to Chaco Canyon and Canyon de Chelly, Arizona
Day 5 – Drive West through the Navajo reservation to Page, AZ
Day 6 – Drive to and hike in Paria Canyon
Day 7 – Drive South to the South Rim of the Grand Canyon
Day 8 – Drive South to Route 66, follow it West through the Hualapai Indian Reservation to Kingman, AZ, then turn south to Lake Havasu City
Day 9 – Drive West through California to Joshua Tree National Park and Palm Springs
Day 10 – Drive West to LA
Day 11 – LA
Day 12 – LA
Day 13 – Drive South along the Coast to San Juan Capistrano, turn East to visit Palomar Observatory, then continue south to San Diego
Day 14 – San Diego
Day 15 – Drive East to Anza-Borrego State Park and the Salton Sea, continue East into Arizona to Phoenix
Day 16 – Phoenix/Scottsdale, AZ
Day 17 – Drive North to Flagstaff, AZ
Day 18 – Drive North and then East through the Hopi Reservation to Gallup, NM
Day 19 – Drive East through the Zuni and Acoma Pueblos and Albuquerque to Route 66 to Tucumcari
Day 20 – Drive Route 66 across the Texas Panhandle to Oklahoma City
Day 21 – Drive North through Kansas, via Chase County (subject of William Least-Heat Moon’s PrairyErth) to Kansas City
Day 22 – fly home

― gabbneb (gabbneb), Sunday, 25 May 2003 16:27 (twenty-two years ago)

"The Midwest Grand Loop"

Day 1- Fly to Denver, rent car, drive south to Pueblo, Colorado
Day 2 – Drive East towards the Sangre de Cristo Mountains, then South past Great Sand Dunes National Monument to Taos, New Mexico
Day 3 – Visit Taos, Santa Fe, Albuquerque and environs
Day 4 – Follow El Camino Real south along the Rio Grande river to El Paso, Texas
Day 5 – Drive East to Guadalupe Mountains National Park, hike into the Park. Then drive South past the Salt Lakes to Marfa, Texas.
Day 6 – Drive south to Big Bend National Park, hike/camp
Day 7 – Drive East through the Park and North and East to Del Rio, TX
Day 8 – Drive South to Laredo, TX. Visit Nuevo Laredo, Mexico across the border.
Day 9 – Drive east to the Gulf and Padre Island National Seashore, and then North to Houston
Day 10 – Drive East through Mississippi Delta country, taking the "Creole Nature trail" detour to the North and Lake Charles, on the way to New Orleans
Day 11 – New Orleans
Day 12 – New Orleans
Day 13 – Drive north along the Mississippi, through Baton Rouge and Natchez to Vicksburg
Day 14 – continue North along the Mississippi to Clarksdale and Memphis
Day 15 – Memphis
Day 16 – follow the Mississippi North past its confluence with the Missouri and Ohio rivers to St. Louis
Day 17 – Follow the Mississippi North past Hannibal, Mo. (birthplace of Mark Twain), Nauvoo, Ill. (Mormons) and Hanover, Ill. (world’s largest mallard duck hatchery), and the Quad Cities to Dyersville, Iowa (home of the Field of Dreams baseball field)
Day 18 – Drive West across the length of northern IA, attempting to reverse the path taken in The Straight Story to Sioux City, IA
Day 19 – Drive West across Northern Nebraska, attempting to follow the Niobrara River to Valentine, drive South through Valentine National Wildlife Refuge to North Platte, Nebraska
Day 20 – follow the interstate west to Denver
Day 21 – Denver
Day 22 – fly home

― gabbneb (gabbneb), Sunday, 25 May 2003 16:28 (twenty-two years ago)

"The Great Lakes Loop"

1 – drive West from NYC across Northern Pennsylvania towards Cleveland
Day 2 – Cleveland
Day 3 – drive west to Chicago
Day 4 – Chicago
Day 5 – Chicago
Day 6 – Drive north to Milwaukee (with a stop in Racine at Frank Lloyd Wright’s Johnson Wax Bldg), and then West to Madison, Wisconsin
Day 7 – Drive West to Spring Green, WI (Frank Lloyd Wright’s Taliesin), and then on to the Twin cities
Day 8 – Twin cities
Day 9 – Drive North through central Minnesota, past Brainerd (home of Paul Bunyan) and through lake country to International Falls
Day 10-11 – hike/canoe in Voyageurs National Park
Day 12 – Drive East through Ontario to Thunder Bay
Day 13 – visit Lake Nipigon, Isle Royale NP and/or the Boundary Waters Canoe Area
Day 14 – drive Southwest along the shore of Lake Superior to Duluth, Minnesota, then East through Wisconsin along the shore
Day 15 – drive East along the Upper Peninsula of Michigan to Sault Ste Marie
Day 16 – Drive South through Michigan past Flint to Detroit
Day 17 – Detroit and Ann Arbor, MI
Day 18 – Drive East via Port Huron to Toronto
Day 19 – Toronto
Day 20 – Drive Southeast to Niagara Falls and Buffalo
Day 21 – Drive East through Seneca Falls, between the Finger Lakes to Ithaca, NY
Day 22 – return to NYC

― gabbneb (gabbneb), Sunday, 25 May 2003 16:28 (twenty-two years ago)

"The Historic East/Springfield/Country Music Loop"

Day 1 – take train to Baltimore, Maryland. Rent car and drive West on The Historic National Road (US 40) to Cumberland, Maryland
Day 2 – follow 40 into Southwestern Pennsylvania. Detour to Mill Run, PA and visit Frank Lloyd Wright’s Fallingwater. Rejoin 40 west to Wheeling, West Virginia
Day 3 – follow 40 West across Ohio to Springfield, OH
Day 4 - follow 40 West to Indianapolis, IN
Day 5 – follow 40 west across IN, then turn North to Chicago
Day 6 – Chicago
Day 7 – Chicago
Day 8 – drive South through Springfield, Illinois to St. Louis
Day 9 – St. Louis
Day 10 – Drive West and South on back roads to Springfield and Branson, Missouri
Day 11 – Drive South through the Ozarks to Hot Springs, Arkansas
Day 12 – Drive Northeast through Little Rock, follow Crowley’s Ridge Parkway to Missouri
Day 13 – drive East through Northern Tennessee and the Land of the Lakes to Nashville
Day 14 – Nashville
Day 15 – drive East to Middlesboro, Kentucky, through the Cumberland Gap, and into the Clinch Mountains
Day 16 – look for bluegrass
Day 17 – drive North up the Country Music Highway to Huntington, West Virginia
Day 18 – Follow the Midland Trail East/Southeast across West Virginia to the Allegheny Mountains
Day 19 – Drive Northeast along the Alleghenys to Seneca Rocks, WV
Day 20 – go rock climbing, drive East through Virginia Horse Country to DC
Day 21 – DC
Day 22 – take train home

― gabbneb (gabbneb), Sunday, 25 May 2003 16:29 (twenty-two years ago)

"The Southern Loop"

Day 1 – fly to Atlanta, rent car
Day 2 – Atlanta
Day 3 – visit Athens and Macon, Georgia
Day 4 – drive East to Montgomery and Selma, Alabama, visit civil rights sites
Day 5 – drive Southeast along backroads to the Gulf of Mexico in the panhandle of Florida
Day 6 – drive East and then South along the Gulf coast to Tampa/St. Petersburg, Florida
Day 7 – drive South through Big Cypress National Preserve in the Everglades to Miami
Days 8-10 – Miami/The Florida Keys/Palm Beach
Day 11 – Drive North to Cocoa Beach and Cape Canaveral, take the NASA tour.
Day 12 – Drive north through St. Augustine and Jacksonville to Savannah, Georgia
Day 13 – Explore Savannah and visit Hilton Head and Parris Island, South Carolina
Day 14 – Drive North to and explore Charleston, South Carolina
Day 15 – Drive North to Cape Fear and Wilmington, North Carolina, and then on to Cedar Island at the foot of the Outer Banks, take the ferry to Ocracoke Island
Day 16 – drive North along the Outer Banks, visit Roanoke and Kitty Hawk, then turn East and drive through the Great Dismal Swamp to Raleigh-Durham
Day 17 – drive East to Boone, N.C., then South through the Appalachians to the Great Smoky Mountains
Day 18 – Great Smoky Mountains
Day 19 – rafting/kayaking on the Nantahala River
Day 20 – south to Atlanta
Day 21 – Atlanta
Day 22 – fly home

― gabbneb (gabbneb), Sunday, 25 May 2003 16:31 (twenty-two years ago)

Damn, you're sick.

I used to do this a lot when I was a kid, which is altogether curious because back then I had no intention of ever learning how to drive a car, and I still can't drive to this day.

My dream road trip went something like: down the Northeast Corridor, through the rust belt cities, up to Chicago, Milwaukee and Minneapolis, then down the Mississippi, zig-zag through the main Texas cities, a crazy bonanza of national parks in New Mexico, Colorado, Utah and Arizona, then onward to San Diego and up the coast all the way to Seattle. Returning home would be a problem in this scenario, but I didn't like the idea of not seeing St. Louis, Kansas City or Memphis (where I was born) and a satisyfing cross country loop approach would make that impractical.

― Michael Daddino (epicharmus), Sunday, 25 May 2003 16:44 (twenty-two years ago)

Damn, you're sick.

yes, I should have prefaced the whole thing, but I'm trying to be less consistently self-deprecating

actually, I also came up with a one-way cross-country trip that would hit many of the places that the above trips miss and it's somewhat similar to yours: NYC to Philly, across Pennsylvania through Amish country to Pittsburgh, then follow the Ohio River southeast (perhaps detouring along the Red River Gorge to Lexington) to Louisville, turn South to Nashville and follow the Natchez Trace to Jackson, Mississippi, then go West to San Diego through Shreveport, Dallas, Oil country, Carlsbad Caverns, White Sands, Tombstone, Nogales, Tucson, Organ Pipe National Monument, Mexicali and Tijuana

― gabbneb (gabbneb), Sunday, 25 May 2003 17:00 (twenty-two years ago)

I don't know any part of America well enough to talk usefully about this, but I very urgently want to warn you against the notion you mention of driving East from NYC, unless you get some sort of James Bond car that can handle the ocean.

― Martin Skidmore (Martin Skidmore), Sunday, 25 May 2003 17:36 (twenty-two years ago)

Perhaps that's the fantasy element?

― Martin Skidmore (Martin Skidmore), Sunday, 25 May 2003 17:36 (twenty-two years ago)

gabbneb you really need to start a booking agency NOW

― J0hn Darn1elle (J0hn Darn1elle), Sunday, 25 May 2003 17:38 (twenty-two years ago)

for myself or someone else?

West v. East - haha. I think I did this a lot when I first typed these up. (though in fact you can drive East from NYC for a whole day. I refer you to Long Island).

― gabbneb (gabbneb), Sunday, 25 May 2003 17:56 (twenty-two years ago)

Long Island is that long? Yeah, I know there is stuff sort of to the East (obviously New England is East of NYC, albeit north as well). Depends what bit of NYC you start in - lower Manhattan and you're in trouble pretty quickly.

― Martin Skidmore (Martin Skidmore), Sunday, 25 May 2003 18:00 (twenty-two years ago)

Well, lower Manhattan (where I work) is directy across the East River from Brooklyn (you can go across the Brooklyn Bridge), which is part (geographically if not politically) of Long Island, which is about 120 miles end-to-end and runs ENE.

― gabbneb (gabbneb), Sunday, 25 May 2003 18:13 (twenty-two years ago)

I mean for touring bands, your routings are to die for

― J0hn Darn1elle (J0hn Darn1elle), Sunday, 25 May 2003 18:23 (twenty-two years ago)

I need to fish out a map and plot out the extended road trips I actually took.

― Chris Barrus (Chris Barrus), Monday, 26 May 2003 06:11 (twenty-two years ago)

Gabbneb, the first, middle and last parts of the West Grand Loop are almost exactly what I'll be doing in 10 days time!! I'm visiting my gf in Denver, and we're heading out to Santa Barbara to visit her friend, but doing it true road trip stylee. I'll let you know how it goes :)

― Mark C (Mark C), Tuesday, 27 May 2003 07:00 (twenty-two years ago)

three months pass...

tell me about between DC and knoxville. i want to know about charlottesvilee, roanoke, knoxville and environs, what is the country like there?

― gareth (gareth), Friday, 29 August 2003 13:24 (twenty-two years ago)

I'm not the best person to answer, but I've been to C-ville to see Monticello and UVA which are worth the trip. Also been down the Blue Ridge b/w DC and Bristol, TN. I don't remember many impressive views - the "mountains" aren't quite like Vermont, say, let alone anything in the West - but I think we took the less scenic road and maybe partially at night. Stayed in Staunton, VA, which freaked me out a bit at the time (high school) in its non-urbanity within suburban trappings, but which has some charm and history. There was a recent NYT travel section article about it. I remember eating at Shoney's and in TN at a roadside store that I deemed very Southern (this wasn't a good thing). The road south through the mountains in TN is supposed to be the best stuff - between Boone and the Smokies. And to the west are the Clinch Mountains, where bluegrass/mountain music was born.

― gabbneb (gabbneb), Sunday, 31 August 2003 04:23 (twenty-two years ago)

many of those trips involve expensive flights and stuff. roadtrips should be cheap. you need to cut the cost down by a lot to make iot really a good fantasy trip. THat's the way to do it.

― A Nairn (moretap), Sunday, 31 August 2003 04:57 (twenty-two years ago)

well, as long as i'm in my current job/career, i can't take off more than 2 weeks at a time at best anyway, so i've totally given up on these trips. but hypothetically, what expensive flights? you can pretty much fly anywhere in the US for $200 RT or less if you purchase sufficiently in advance though you may have to go with a low-cost carrier, and gas money alone would make that up from where i live to many destinations, i would think. (also, as long as i'm in my current job/career, i don't have to worry about cheap)

― gabbneb (gabbneb), Sunday, 31 August 2003 05:37 (twenty-two years ago)

Plus the rental cost once you get there. Driving around America's highways in a rental 4-cylinder econo-car = not fun.

You can save money for lodging by spending some nights in your car (or, in my case, on an air mattress in the back of your truck), and showering/changing at a truck stop, if at all possible.

I'd like to head west from D/FW, spend four or five days crossing Texas to El Paso, run up to Lake Tahoe for a couple of days, down through California and back. Driving around the US sounds like a lot more fun than the stereotypical riding-around-Europe post-collegiate trip.

― miloauckerman (miloauckerman), Sunday, 31 August 2003 05:43 (twenty-two years ago)

I live in NYC. I don't own a car and would have to rent anyway.

― gabbneb (gabbneb), Sunday, 31 August 2003 05:46 (twenty-two years ago)

That's a bummer. Haven't most car rental agencies limited rental use to a single state (how they'd enforce that, of course, is anyone's guess).

― miloauckerman (miloauckerman), Sunday, 31 August 2003 05:49 (twenty-two years ago)

i regret flying from dallas to LA, i wish i had caught the greyhound instead, or at least gone to el paso

― gareth (gareth), Sunday, 31 August 2003 06:27 (twenty-two years ago)

boo. dallas to el paso=eh. el paso to LA=must experience at least once.

― oops (Oops), Sunday, 31 August 2003 06:45 (twenty-two years ago)

Dallas to El Paso is classique. Nothing all that interesting to see, from a touristy perspective, but I'm more interested in bringing along my cameras and wandering around rural West Texas.

― miloauckerman (miloauckerman), Sunday, 31 August 2003 18:20 (twenty-two years ago)

what about stuff between memphis and new orleans?

― gareth (gareth), Monday, 1 September 2003 13:56 (twenty-two years ago)

Gareth, can you drive?

― oops (Oops), Tuesday, 2 September 2003 14:36 (twenty-two years ago)

no:(

― gareth (gareth), Tuesday, 2 September 2003 14:42 (twenty-two years ago)

If it's at all feasible for you to learn how, I would. IMO, it's the easiest way to improve the quality of your experiences here, and increase the amount of places you can see. Renting a car wouldn't be that much more expensive than taking Greyhound, and you get to explore the non-interstate roads which are where you'll find all the interesting little towns with there interesting people and places.
But you probably know this already...

― oops (Oops), Tuesday, 2 September 2003 14:55 (twenty-two years ago)

I-40 is a much better freeway to take, IMHO when going between the west coast and Texas.... Route 66! Flagstaff! Grand Canyon! Meteor Crater! Painted Desert! The Navajo! Santa Fe (just an hour north of it)! Albuquerque!

― donut bitch (donut), Tuesday, 2 September 2003 16:14 (twenty-two years ago)

better than what? I-10?

― oops (Oops), Tuesday, 2 September 2003 16:17 (twenty-two years ago)

yeah.

― donut bitch (donut), Tuesday, 2 September 2003 16:18 (twenty-two years ago)

duh. (not duh, it's better--thought it is--but duh, that's the only other interstate)

― oops (Oops), Tuesday, 2 September 2003 16:20 (twenty-two years ago)

and I-20 and I-30 are chopped liver?

― donut bitch (donut), Tuesday, 2 September 2003 16:32 (twenty-two years ago)

20 and 30 don't make it to the west coast. I-20 hits I-10 outside of El Paso, and I don't know where 30 stops and starts.

― miloauckerman (miloauckerman), Tuesday, 2 September 2003 16:36 (twenty-two years ago)

I have all the free time in the world now but no car. When I had a car, I had no free time.

― hstencil, Tuesday, 2 September 2003 16:38 (twenty-two years ago)

I have a car and free time, but no money.

― oops (Oops), Tuesday, 2 September 2003 16:39 (twenty-two years ago)

My best friends are on a road trip as we speak. Without me!

― oops (Oops), Tuesday, 2 September 2003 16:40 (twenty-two years ago)

I used to have a Honda Civic, so I didn't need much money (great gas mileage).

― hstencil, Tuesday, 2 September 2003 16:40 (twenty-two years ago)

20 and 30 don't make it to the west coast. I-20 hits I-10 outside of El Paso, and I don't know where 30 stops and starts.

aaah, thought we were talkin' Texas in general.

― donut bitch (donut), Tuesday, 2 September 2003 16:41 (twenty-two years ago)

I have a Honda Civic! Can't go very far on two tanks of gas though. And then I'd still need money for food and lodging.

― oops (Oops), Tuesday, 2 September 2003 16:43 (twenty-two years ago)

Anyone stayed in the tee-pee hotel on Route 66?

― miloauckerman (miloauckerman), Tuesday, 2 September 2003 16:44 (twenty-two years ago)

http://www.roadsideamerica.com/attract/SDCUSbedrock.html

I give my highest recommendation to the Flintstones theme park. I spent a day there with my grandparents 16 years ago, so it's probably a good deal more run down than my 5-year old memory thinks.

― miloauckerman (miloauckerman), Tuesday, 2 September 2003 16:49 (twenty-two years ago)

two tanks of gas in a Civic would get you around 700 miles, at least in the one I had. Food is cheap and y'know you can like either camp out or sleep on somebody's couch.

― hstencil, Tuesday, 2 September 2003 16:52 (twenty-two years ago)

I'm in Chicago. There's no where I'd wanna go within 700 miles. Well, except for, you know, Chicago.

― oops (Oops), Tuesday, 2 September 2003 16:57 (twenty-two years ago)

quit making excuses. NYC is only 800 miles from Chicago.

― hstencil, Tuesday, 2 September 2003 16:57 (twenty-two years ago)

Which one did you go to milo? I went to the one in AZ and even as a kid I knew it was shitty. The SD one looks a little nicer.

― teeny (teeny), Tuesday, 2 September 2003 16:58 (twenty-two years ago)

One reason I'm excited to get my Volvo running & lose the Chevy truck = the near-exponentially greater gas mileage. The other = whatever the weather I can sleep in the back (it's a station wagon).

― nickalicious (nickalicious), Tuesday, 2 September 2003 17:02 (twenty-two years ago)

SD, on the way back from a visit to my great-grandmother in Saskatchewan.

We also stayed in this fantastic cabin in the woods. There was a thunderstorm, the power went out, I spotted deer in the morning and yada yada yada. I have no clue what state that was in. It's depressing that the best vacation I've ever been on was when I was five.

― miloauckerman (miloauckerman), Tuesday, 2 September 2003 20:01 (twenty-two years ago)

three months pass...

http://www.merrittbooks.com/new_images/staff/lawton_schuyler_small.jpg

― Dada, Sunday, 7 December 2003 04:44 (twenty-two years ago)

one year passes...

did gabbneb ever do any of these? or was he distracted by visions of pie and mash?

― charltonlido (gareth), Tuesday, 11 January 2005 14:00 (twenty-one years ago)

I want to do a SoCal-Nevada-Tucson-Santa Fe-Colorado loop.

― .adam (nordicskilla), Tuesday, 11 January 2005 16:03 (twenty-one years ago)

This has always been one of my favorite gabbneb threads. Especially this line:

Day 16 – look for bluegrass

I only hope that when he does travel these routes, he either has a blonde in a red ferrari following him or a poodle named Charley accompanying him.

― Pleasant Plains /// (Pleasant Plains ///), Tuesday, 11 January 2005 16:55 (twenty-one years ago)

Barcelona (or just starting from the South West corner of France) to Rome

― Stevem On X (blueski), Tuesday, 11 January 2005 16:59 (twenty-one years ago)

Next time, more of US-90

― Gator Magoon (Chris Barrus), Tuesday, 11 January 2005 18:11 (twenty-one years ago)

It looks the number of wineries in the Edna Valley would make it a natural choice, but I really like Qupe Syrah.
Here'a a review: http://www.wilderonwine.com/Reviews/review_98.shtml (And, in fact, the reviewer describes it as 'oily'!)

This also seems like a neat place to visit: http://www.lecole.com/index.htm

― youn, Tuesday, 11 January 2005 18:29 (twenty-one years ago)

I have never done any of these. I won't be able to any time soon unless I take on a new job, and don't intend to do so. Also, I don't have enough driving experience. Also, they are insane.

I'm not necessarily more drawn by pie (croissants maybe), but it seems more appropriate to my situation at the moment. And I think in general I'm thinking more of destinations than travel right now.

However/Somewhat relatedly, I also revised these trips into smaller, more homogenous loops rather than great journeys. Maybe I will dig the revised versions out and post them. Maybe I will do one of them say two years out.

― gabbneb (gabbneb), Tuesday, 11 January 2005 18:47 (twenty-one years ago)

Perhaps PCH will end up being my first road trip (now might not be a good time < / gallows humor >), given my LA connection (though if I go to LA, I should probably stay there). But I think I'd want to start out more local. And would I rather take the train? I'd certainly like to go to the Edna Valley someday.

― gabbneb (gabbneb), Tuesday, 11 January 2005 18:55 (twenty-one years ago)

a blonde in a red ferrari following him or a poodle named Charley accompanying him.

I don't get the reference, I don't think. I like blondes but not the red-ferrari kind. And I'm afraid of even small dogs.

― gabbneb (gabbneb), Tuesday, 11 January 2005 19:03 (twenty-one years ago)

I've always wanted to buy either a really old (80s) Mercedes or Peugeot 504 in Europe. one that runs on diesel.

1. Drive down thru Spain
2. Take the car ferry to Morocco
3. Drive down the coast of Morocco and Western Sahara to Dahkla. But not buying any of the hash. Get a visa for Mauritania.
4a. From the Mauritanian border, hire a local guide and team up with other cars to drive along the beach (around the minefields) from Nouadibhou to Nouakchott.
or
4b. Take the safer and cheaper route, putting the car on the iron ore train to Atar (the world's longest train!) , then driving down from there
5. Continue on past the Senegal River to Dakar.
6. Enjoy the rhythms of African music..
7. Then drive East towards Mali, stopping in Bamako.
8. Hire someone to guide us to Timbuktu
9. Take photos, buy t-shirts
10. Drive south to Ouagadougou. Visit my friend's friend's father who is like the ambassador to Burkina Faso.
11. Sell the damn car
12. One-way flight back to Paris. One-way flight back to New York
13. home!

― phil-two (phil-two), Tuesday, 11 January 2005 19:30 (twenty-one years ago)

who wanna come with?

― phil-two (phil-two), Tuesday, 11 January 2005 19:30 (twenty-one years ago)

a blonde in a red ferrari following him or a poodle named Charley accompanying him.

National Lampoon's Vacation is a funny movie, but you really need to check Travels With Charley out of your local neighborhood library.

― Pleasant Plains /// (Pleasant Plains ///), Tuesday, 11 January 2005 20:00 (twenty-one years ago)

My family had a couple of the diesel Mercedes. Bought them in Germany and shipped them over.

― Mary (Mary), Tuesday, 11 January 2005 23:26 (twenty-one years ago)

phil i'll go cept y no hash??

― John (jdahlem), Wednesday, 12 January 2005 00:03 (twenty-one years ago)

Phil-Two apparently wants to relive The Passenger

― Gator Magoon (Chris Barrus), Wednesday, 12 January 2005 00:18 (twenty-one years ago)

yikes, id like to stay as far away from guerilla freedom fighters as possible.

and hash because moroccan jails dont sound nice. anyways, my body doesnt agree with hash or pot very well

― phil-two (phil-two), Wednesday, 12 January 2005 00:53 (twenty-one years ago)

i'd totally do guerilla freedom fighting.

i'm not sure this is going to work out phil.

― John (jdahlem), Wednesday, 12 January 2005 01:14 (twenty-one years ago)

i drive, you shoot. perfect.

― phil-two (phil-two), Wednesday, 12 January 2005 01:17 (twenty-one years ago)

My family had a couple of the diesel Mercedes.

a couple?

you really need to check Travels With Charley out of your local neighborhood library.

or my local neighborhood bedroom bookshelf, monument to collecting nice things to look at from afar

i want to go to all the places on phil's list. but not in a car. certainly not a diesel one.

― gabbneb (gabbneb), Wednesday, 12 January 2005 01:54 (twenty-one years ago)

two months pass...

Has anyone been to the Mini Graceland in Roanoke, VA?

― Mary (Mary), Wednesday, 30 March 2005 02:01 (twenty-one years ago)

I couldn't find it and I was with my brother and we got lost and started arguing.

so....no

― blahblahblah (nordicskilla), Wednesday, 30 March 2005 02:06 (twenty-one years ago)

We found it. It was nice, but in disrepair. Overgrown with grass and branches and crumbling. We argued a little bit on the way. We also saw a nice big star and a giant tea kettle. Wait, I think the tea kettle was in Staunton?

― Mary (Mary), Monday, 4 April 2005 04:41 (twenty-one years ago)

In Staunton, eat here:

http://2000.shenandoah.com/710.jpg

― Mary (Mary), Monday, 4 April 2005 04:53 (twenty-one years ago)

thats almost exactly the same photo i took!

― charltonlido (gareth), Monday, 4 April 2005 07:24 (twenty-one years ago)

we did dc-richmond-wilmington,nc-raleigh-durham-chapel hill-roanoke-staunton-front royal-dc.

and, it was good!

― charltonlido (gareth), Monday, 4 April 2005 10:38 (twenty-one years ago)

We also went to Wake Forest but Wake Forest wasn't there.

― Mary (Mary), Monday, 4 April 2005 14:04 (twenty-one years ago)

wake forest is in winston-salem. maybe winston-salem is in winston-salem too

― charltonlido (gareth), Monday, 4 April 2005 14:23 (twenty-one years ago)

Did you go to the Outer Banks?

Do you rate the bridge in Wilmington?

Did Staunton live up to the recommendation?

― gabbneb (gabbneb), Monday, 4 April 2005 14:40 (twenty-one years ago)

I grew up in Roanoke and never even heard of the mini-Graceland!

If you're ever near Lexington, VA, go to The Pink Cadallac. It's a silly 50s themed diner that all my relatives are obsessed with.

― Sarah McLusky (coco), Monday, 4 April 2005 14:42 (twenty-one years ago)

I drove to Wimington once just to see I-40 end. Wrightsville Beach was nice, too.

― Pleasant Plains /// (Pleasant Plains ///), Monday, 4 April 2005 14:52 (twenty-one years ago)

Both years I've made Victoriaville plans, I've fantasized about driving there (Mississippi to Quebec and back) and letting J. & M. Stern's Roadfood determine much of the itinerary. Some year.

― Curious George Finds the Ether Bottle (Rock Hardy), Monday, 4 April 2005 15:02 (twenty-one years ago)

We skipped the Outer Banks, but the beaches by Wilmington had a similar feel. Cape Fear Bridge excellent, as was seeing the wall where Pacey wrote "Ask Me to Stay." Wilmington a bit more precious (historic old town, riverfront seafood restaurants) than I imagined--but excellent for WB scoping.

Staunton was good for the Wright Dairy drive-in, but the thrifting there was more antiqueing than thrifting. Mary Baldwin College pretty and passed Woodrow Wilson home/museum, but what were those big buildings on the hill? More MBC or a former penitentiary?

I will research the Lexinton Cadillac. Is Lexington where Washington and Lee is? That campus is pretty, wooded. And VMI? Or is that Lynchburg?

Mini Graceland is just these doll house sized repliacs of Graceland & Tupelo home in the side yard of some dudes house. G. could tell you the streets.

― Mary (Mary), Monday, 4 April 2005 15:06 (twenty-one years ago)

ivy and riverland, i think

― charltonlido (gareth), Monday, 4 April 2005 15:29 (twenty-one years ago)

five years pass...

So it's time for me to start planning this southwest thing. Looks like it's going to be a solo trip, couple of weeks on the road, mid-September, no plans except maybe a resolution not to let any chain-restaurant or fast-food pass my lips. ILXor meetups? Crazy detours? Waking up in Maine without knowing how I got there? You tell me.

― My totem animal is a hamburger. (WmC), Friday, 6 August 2010 22:57 (fifteen years ago)

(re:upthread) road tripping with philtwo is an insanely awesome time. miss ya boo.

― _▂▅▇█▓▒░◕‿‿◕░▒▓█▇▅▂_ (Steve Shasta), Friday, 6 August 2010 23:02 (fifteen years ago)

two weeks pass...

OK, this is starting to coalesce into Vegas + Albuquerque.

Days 1-3, drive to Vegas (night one Oklahoma City, night 2 Albuquerque, arrive LV end of day 3.)
Days 4-5, sightseeing, eating and possibly playing poker in LV
Day 6, LV ---> Santa Fe
Day 7, a couple of touristy things I'd like to do in NM: Georgia O'Keefe Museum in Santa Fe and the Sandia Peak Tramway north of ABQ. I think I could do those both in one day...?
Day 8-9, this thing I've signed up for: an eating tour of New Mexico with Jane and Michael Stern and whoever else signed up for it through roadfood.com. 2 days of nonstop chiles and barbecue.
Day 10, either start on the drive back home or spend a day recovering.
Get home day 11 or 12.

Come home and fast for the rest of the year.

― My totem animal is a hamburger. (WmC), Saturday, 21 August 2010 17:47 (fifteen years ago)

You must be logged in to post. Please either login here, or if you are not registered, you may register here.