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One of the best parts of American culture and tradition is the great American road trip. Heading out on the open road with no itinerary other than your destination and perhaps couple of general points of interest along the way is the epotime of freedom.

In the past, I've found my way to Deadwood, Yellowstone, and Arches National Monument. Those were shorter trips speeding down highways to get to there and back in time of the long weekend. This trip I'm planning on taking several more days and making my journey a quality one. My little Ford Fiesta means gas prices aren't oppressive and I generally sleep in my car when I go on the road, showering at local community centers. I tend not to do actual camping because I like to keep moving.

I plan on heading from Seattle, WA down I84 through Utah, over to Colorado via Rt6/I70, down through northern New Mexico on the Million Dollar Highway, across to northeast Arizona (through the Navajo reservation) on I160 and back up through Utah before returning home. My main objective is to drive the Million Dollar Highway and to see the Grand Canyon from the northern view point. I've been looking at possible side-trip stops that aren't too far off course. Maybe a viewpoint or a ghost town, or something else. For those who are familiar with the areas I've mentioned, what points of interest should I make an effort to see? I've got the entire week and both weekends to make this trip but while time isn't an issue, I'd rather not stray too far off course - half a day at most.

Is anyone else planning trips this summer? Where are you going and what are you intending to see?

I'm taking the road trip from Pennsylvania to Virginia. Truly it will be a perilous journey XD


Automatically Appended Next Post:
EDIT: Though I do know a guy who'se doing the Appalachian Trail this year. He's starting at Pine Grove Furnace, hiking up to Baxter in Maine, then taking a plane back to PA to hike south to Springer in Georgia.

I forget what they call it but there's a term for people who walk the hole trail middle to north then middle to south.

Road trip!!!!! Road trips are something that Americans just don't appreciate. Our country is h-u-g-e and has pretty much every type of climate imaginable, so even a modest trip can seem like a visit to a foreign land.

I threw my hands in the air back in the mid-90's and hit the road for two full weeks after hitting burn out at work. Chicago - St. Louis - OK City - Albuquerque - Grand Canyon for 2 days - Dallas - New Orleans for 3 days - Memphis - Chicago. I had no itinerary other than wanting to see the GC and visit NO on the way back. I'd never seen the GC at that point in my life...mid 30's...and NO is one of my favorite cities. I took off and basically used a map...yeah, old school...to look down the route for a relatively big city where 8-10 hours of driving would take me and then used the concierge at my club in Chicago to find a reciprocal club I could stay at. It worked out great. For food, I used a book...which I would highly recommend to everyone in this country, seriously..."Eat your way across the USA" by Jane Stern, to guide my culinary visits. It has a great list of the off-the-beaten-path places the big tour books don't cover and man, did I dine at some great mom-and-pop joints!

For driving, I rented a brand spanking new Cadillac Sedan de Ville from Avis which was a big ass couch on wheels with only 5,400 miles on it. I paid a discounted weekly rate through my firm's contract with them and it came with unlimited mileage. I'm not much of a car guy, but this ride was sweet and made the long driving days just pass by. Great side story...you should have seen the look on the clerk's face when I returned the car with over 14,000 miles on it! Priceless!

So, moral of the road trip story.

A - Road trips are awesome!
B - I'd say get a guide book to point out spots you'd miss using the cookie cutter sources.
C - Road trips should be done with a proper set of wheels beneath your feet.
D - For your trip Bre, I can only recommend really putting some time into the GC...it's amazing. Also, just outside of the GC is the Petrified Forest National Park...massively cool and you can purchase a multi-million year old cross section of a petrified tree as a keepsake!

Have a great trip man!

I think a lot of rental places swap cars out by 15,000 miles, and most people put under 200 on them, so you potentially knocked nearly a year off its rental life

 BigWaaagh wrote:
Also, just outside of the GC is the Petrified Forest National Park...massively cool and you can purchase a multi-million year old cross section of a petrified tree as a keepsake!

I hadn't considered going south of Farmington but the Petrified Forest doesn't seem that far off my track and most of the Navajo Trail is flat desert anyway. Hmmm. Something to think about. Thanks.

I just did a road trip down to Las Cruces, NM last fall from Denver. The highlight of the trip was Fort Union National Monument in New Mexico which was a random stop because our legs were sore. It's about 10 miles off of I-25, just north of Las Vegas NM (NOT NV!). What struck me most about the location was the silence. The only noise is the wind in the grass and you really get a feel for the American west at the time of the earliest wagon trains. It's also free, which is a bonus. One of the best things about NM is the fact that a four hour drive is relaxing because the scenery is incredible and there are very few people on the road, so you can just set cruise control and enjoy.

If you're looking for more Colorado stuff to do, check out Estes Park (Rocky Mountain National Park, in particular Trail Ridge Road) or plan ahead and get tickets for a show at Red Rocks. It's arguably the best concert venue in the US, with the only real competition being one that's on the Columbia river someplace. You can also check out Buffalo Bill's grave at Lookout Mountain (US6 in Golden, CO), the Sand Dunes, Old Bent's Fort, Garden of the Gods, and Manitou Springs (which runs a cog railway to the top of Pikes Peak). I'm a particular fan of St. Malo's Chapel on the Rock in Allenspark, CO. Regardless of your particular denominational affiliation or lack thereof, it's a breathtaking piece of architecture in a majestic setting. It's also free and happens to be on the Peak to Peak highway 7 between Nederland (just west of Boulder) and Estes Park. Speaking of Boulder, check out Pearl St. for shopping & people watching and then grab a burrito at Illegal Pete's. Depending upon your timing, you could also run up to Cheyenne, WY for Frontier Days (the largest rodeo in the world as far as I know). Oh yea, and there's stuff to do in Denver too. In particular we have excellent local beers (please don't compare us to Coors, they suck) and we're a foodie's dream. The Denver Art Museum houses an enormous collection of western art, and it's right across the street from BurgerFi, which is worth a road trip by itself. There's also tons of places to go cycling, rock climbing, etc. Wherever you go, make a point of enjoying sunrise and sunset. Because of the weather conditions along the Front Range, you'll often find yourself in the middle of the colors rather than looking at them off in the distance.

Finally, you can go hike the Flatirons in Boulder from any number of trailheads or go for a bike ride to enjoy the view. I am biased though, since this is home sweet home. Gotta say I love living in the West

The fam and I are going from Michigan to Kentucy to watch the total eclipse this summer. Its going to be awesome fun

I had one planned out, from San-Fran to the tip of Washington for Lock and Load
Silly Podcasts, Weird food destinations, a few detours
But it sadly got canceled when the new job came around.
My friends are now just flying.
Sure, its faster and less of a hassle, but there is nothing like 4 guys in a car driving

Okay, I've got a couple of possible side-trips in Idaho. The first is Craters of the Moon which I can easily incorporate into the early days of my trip. The second is Bruneau Canyon Overlook which I can do either early on or at the tail end as I head back to Washington.

Side trips in Utah are a little more iffy. There's Nine Mile Canyon but I'm not sure what the road conditions northwest of Wellington are and if they're friendly to a small economy car of if you need something designed for off-roading.

I'm going to deliberately skip Arches since I went there last year but if anyone is interested, you can easily make a week's worth of vacation out of that place.

We're planning a road trip for later this summer, probably philly to Maine.. Or maybe driving up to Toronto since we've never been.. We like to pick a place up to a day's drive then take a day off on friday to drive wherever, hang out all day saturday, and then drive home sunday.