driving cross country - questions for those who have done it

this is something that i'd loooove to do

can you tell me

when you went (time of year)

who you did it with (friend, b/gf, spouse, family, etc)

the route you took (i think i want to go along famous route 66)

how long it took to make the trip

your favorite parts/sights

thanks!!

Re: driving cross country - questions for those who have done it

I went from CA to NY in June and NY to CA in September.

I did it in 1997 with an exboyfriend in a JEEP

We took 70 across then 40 around the Utah/Arizona/CA area.

It took 4 days or so.

Favorite parts... the desert!! The rock formations in Utah. THe Rocky Mountains. Snowing in the Rockies in June. Kansas was FLAT AND BORING.

Re: driving cross country - questions for those who have done it

Re: driving cross country - questions for those who have done it

Message edited 9/19/2008 4:07:59 PM.

Re: driving cross country - questions for those who have done it

DH and I did this in the fall of 2000. We went from NY to CA to TX and spent 3 weeks on the road.

We didn't really have a pre-determined route, but there were places we knew we wanted to see. We stayed with friends or camped. I don't remember ever staying in a hotel.

Highlights were Rocky Mtn. National Park (Trail Ridge Road is the highest highway in the world), all of Utah but especially Zion National Park and the area near Moab, and the Pacific Coast Highway. Northern New Mexico is also really pretty.

If you're planning to spend a lot of time in the West (especially CO, WY and MT), I would recommend NOT going in winter. A lot of the mountain passes are treacherous (if not closed) in winter.

FYI, large parts of Route 66 have tons of traffic and stop lights and the speed limit is 35.

Re: driving cross country - questions for those who have done it

thanks for the responses!

and thanks for the tip about rt 66.

Re: driving cross country - questions for those who have done it

Posted by DirtyBlonde

this is something that i'd loooove to do

can you tell me

when you went (time of year): mid to end of november (came home for thanksgiving)

who you did it with (friend, b/gf, spouse, family, etc)- then boy friend, aka the bomb

the route you took (i think i want to go along famous route 66)- we drove along 78, 80, and 76 I think to chicago. we drove along the north interstates (PA, OHIO, IOWA etc) on the way there and southerly (TX, NM, Missouri, Indiana) on the way back. did route 66 on the way home that's for sure.

how long it took to make the trip- we too about 10 days I guess. 3 driving to, 3 driving from, and rest broken up by different stops

your favorite parts/sights- horseback riding in the Rocky Mountains outside of Denver, my mocha latte in Vail, visiting Chicago (1st time), driving through Nevada and Utah (scenary is certain parts was unreal) seeing the Grand Canyon again (was a child last time I was there), going to Vegas, tooling around in San Francisco, showing the bomb L.A., driving down the Pacific Coast Highway (awesome) experiencing snow in the mountain and then intense shorts-weather heat just a few hours later, having an awesome and memorable meal at some random roadside eatery in Nebraska, eating at this famous "eat the ridiculously huge steak and potao for a free meal" joint in Texas, understanding for the first time, the sheer size and beauty of my country, seeing the togetherness 9/11 brought with signs showing their love for NYC...and having people tell us that we, as new yorkers AND americans, were in their prayers (we went Nov of 01), seeing U2 in Oakland...standing IN the heart, with my heart was totally fabulous....seeing the elusive moutain ram!! I loved that...being stalked by a crow , the coyote begging for food near our car (don't feed them!)...I could go on., Oh and Joshua tree park!

It was a truly memorable and fabulous trip. It was just the two of us, and we had a great time.

thanks!!

Message edited 9/19/2008 6:10:10 PM.

Re: driving cross country - questions for those who have done it

1997 with a good friend. After July 4th we took off for the West. Drove around the country for about 3.5 weeks. It was the best trip. We really didn't plan it out we went where the maps took us. We went out along the Northern Part of the US, starting in Niagra Falls, then stopping at the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, out thru the Dakotas, Yellowstone, Grand Tetons, then thru Montana & Idaho, down to Arizona and back along the southern Route. It might have been I-40.

Re: driving cross country - questions for those who have done it

when you went (time of year) May - June (3.5 weeks)

who you did it with: actually, a bunch of college students. i led a trip to the Navajo Indian Reservation where we lived and work for three weeks.

the route you took: Going we went on route 80 (NYC-Jersey-PA-Ohio and stopped in Chicago.) Then we did Rt. 80 through Illinois, Iowa and Nebraska. Then down through the Rocky Mountains in Colorado to the Four Corners (where CO, UT, AZ and NM meet).

Going home we cut across New Mexico, the Texas panhandle, through Oklahoma and Missouri. North through Missouri to Ohio. And then OH, through PA to home. We slept a night Oklahoma and another night in Ohio.

how long it took to make the trip-- took us 3 days to get to Utah. Slept a night in Chicago and a night in Nebraska.

Took us about the same (3 days, 2 nights ) on the way home.

your favorite parts/sights: Rocky Mountains, Canyon de Chelle (AMAZING!) Colorado River and all the Navajo sites... mainly in the 4 corners area. Also enjoyed the arch in St. Louis, MO and the Texas panhandle. I don't remember all the roads, but we were on Rt. 66 through parts of New Mexico, Texas and Oklahoma.

Re: driving cross country - questions for those who have done it

FM!!

Re: driving cross country - questions for those who have done it

I drove from NY to CA (Los Angeles) in November 1999. My cousin was moving there and so we decided to drive instead of flying and I went with her.

We basically drove across the country at a downward angle, going through PA, OH, IN, IL, IA, NE, CO, UT, NV and then finally CA.

We took only 5 days (we were on a time constraint) and that is one thing I would change. It's not easy driving that distance in such a short time.

My favorite places were hands down CO and NV. CO for the Rockies. There has never been a place more beautiful IMO. We also had a great time in Vegas.

The people we met along the way were amazing. We actually broke down in CO and this guy stopped to help. Turns out he was a mechanic and he fixed our car for free.

I highly recommend doing this trip at least once in a lifetime.

Re: driving cross country - questions for those who have done it

I-40 is the new 66 - it runs parallel for a lot of it.


I have driven X-country more times than I would like to admit...

I have done 70, 40 and 30/20/10/8 - all during nice weather.

We were planning to go up to 80 the last time, but there was a snowstorm (March) and we ended up back on 40 (DH joke that we know all of the good spots on 40 - Tukumkari, NM has a really cool Denny's Diner and the largest cross in the US is on 40)

the fastest coast to coast was 3 days


There are so many things to see...I-10 for the desert AZ, CA)...I-25 to drive with the Rockies (CO)...I-70 for the plains (KS)...I-20 for the swampland (LA)...I-40 for the blue ridge mountains (VA to TN)

Re: driving cross country - questions for those who have done it

I went in Jul/Aug 97 with my Gf's.

We drove through the south on the way out and the north ont he way back. We took 5 weeks and stayed in motels (motel 6's mostly)

We stopped in
Nashville
Memphis
New Orleans
Houston
Dallas
Sedona, AZ
Grand Canyon
LA
Las Vegas
Boulder
Lake Tahoe
San Francisco
Rapid City, SD (Mount Rushmore)
Chicago
Cleveland

It was great but alot of driving. I'm so glad I took the opportunity when I had it.