Road Trip

[Lorizael]

So the chick Kid's ex-wife said I had no chance with and I are taking a road trip out west this summer. I've never been farther west than Indianapolis and I've never really been on a road trip before, so despite the fact that my finances are in rather poor shape at the moment, I'm committed to doing this. We're leaving in late July and we've got about 17 days to play with.

We're starting in Maryland, going southwest through Virginia and then west across Tennessee, following the Mississippi River down to New Orleans, driving west all the way through Texas, and then going north into New Mexico.

Once in New Mexico we're going to slow down and start visiting interesting places, from Roswell to Taos Pueblo and the like. We'll drive west into Arizona from there to visit the Grand Canyon, Meteor Crater, and the Petrified Forest. Then we'll head into Nevada, possibly check out Las Vegas, head over to the Hoover Dam, and if I can convince the lady friend, drive up to Rachel and take a peek at Area 51. From there it's north to Utah to see the Great Salt Lake, north to Wyoming to see Yellowstone, and then the long drive back east where we may or may not check out the great lakes.

Anybody have suggestions of other sights to see in the states we're driving through? I've not mentioned everything on our list, but we're probably going to have to cut out a lot in order to make this work.

Anybody have any advice on how to keep costs down and ensure that the lady and I don't hate each other by the end of it all?

[OzzyKP]

I did a 33 day road trip back in 2000. Went from Michigan down to Texas, along the border to San Diego, then up the coast to Seattle, and back down through Utah and Colorado back to Michigan.

To keep costs down I slept in my car, in a tent, or with friends I visited along the way. I also brought food with me and cooked it on the road with a little portable gas stove.

[onodera]

Anybody have any advice on how to keep costs down and ensure that the lady and I don't hate each other by the end of it all?

Whore her out for food and shelter.

[Ming]

Anybody have any advice on how to keep costs down and ensure that the lady and I don't hate each other by the end of it all?

First... make a list of EVEYBODY you know that lives in places you want to go. Plan your trip around being able to stay with them for a single night. Also, bring camping gear and look for national camp sites.

As far as not hating each other by the end of the trip... sit down up front and discuss what both of you would like to get out of the trip and what you want to see. Make sure both of your agendas are included in the planning.
Also, plan on a few stops where you are NOT going to do things together. If you visit one of her friends, plan on doing something else when they chum around. You will need some time apart during the trip, or you will end up wanting to kill each other

[Theben]

As long as you have money for gas and food, finances shouldn't be a problem.

[Japher]

Sedona, AZ
Zion National Park
Lake Powell/Rainbow Bridge
Park City, UT
Alamo, San Antonio, TX
Mt. Rushmore and Deadwood in ND

[Tuberski]

I've been in San Antonio 8 years and still haven't seen the Alamo.

ACK!

[MOBIUS]

We did a trip from New York to San Francisco (and Hawai'i) a few years back, which took almost 3 months - I could give you tons of advice of what to see for the leg from New Orleans as far across as Death Valley...

Piece of advice #1: Double your trip time - or get waaaay less ambitious!

[Blaupanzer]

Mobius' advice is good. In the time alloted you wouldn't have time to drive to all those places and just see the signs on the entrances. Also Las Vegas is not a low-budget town. Ever. You can get a great room rate during the week by calling a couple of months ahead and some casinos have very cheap food. However, nothing else fits low-budget, and the town is very hot outside those casinoes. Just doing the two things I have described is the moral equivalent of those aforementioned entance signs.

Sounds like Tuberski might be volunteering a place to stay?

[MOBIUS]

And an excuse for him to see the Alamo...

[Jonny]

No way you're going to do all of that in 17 days, at least not if you want to really enjoy it (or maybe unless you don't plan to stop to see anything east of the Rockies, and cut out some of the stuff on the other side too).

In my (albeit limited) roadtrip experience, you'll often end up spending longer than you plan to at places, and if you're always racing to make it to the next place on the list, there will be more stress than enjoyment. Not to mention there's no flexibility if you plan too tightly: you might see something cool along the side of the road worth stopping at, but not have the time to.

I'll second the recommendation for Zion National Park; it truly is astoundingly beautiful. IMO it's even better than Grand Canyon... while GC is amazing due to its enormous size, beyond that its really no different from any other desert river canyon, while Zion is really something else. Also, if you visit Zion, Bryce Canyon's not too far away from there and worth a stop too.

And this point is probably fairly obvious, but it's worth stating as a warning: I-70 through Kansas is ****ing boring.

[Zkribbler]

If I were thee, I'd stop by and see the St. Louis Arch. It's an architectural wonder, and I'm sure will one day be a Wonder of the World in a later edition of Civ.

BTW: You do have air conditioning in your car, don't you. If not, you're gonna die! You're headed into the desert in the summer time.

[Aeson]

I'll second the recommendation for Zion National Park; it truly is astoundingly beautiful.

Thirded... one of the most beautiful places on earth.

Though it (and all the other sites in that general area) are likely going to be rather hot in July.

Hiking up the narrows is a good way to cool off though, since you're hiking in the river... and there's generally enough shade if you stay in the bottom of the canyon that it's not too bad even in the summer. Emerald pools and weeping rock are also nice spots on hot days, not much of a hike to either, and well shaded. Angels landing is one of the better views of the canyon, but do it really early in the morning, or it'll be very hot (and there's very little shade up there).

Everything up to the canyon rim, or above the tunnel, is going to be very hot.

[Tuberski]

Mobius' advice is good. In the time alloted you wouldn't have time to drive to all those places and just see the signs on the entrances. Also Las Vegas is not a low-budget town. Ever. You can get a great room rate during the week by calling a couple of months ahead and some casinos have very cheap food. However, nothing else fits low-budget, and the town is very hot outside those casinoes. Just doing the two things I have described is the moral equivalent of those aforementioned entance signs.

Sounds like Tuberski might be volunteering a place to stay?

If he needs one, I'm here. Maybe the "Eight Heads of Lori"........

ACK!

[Drake Tungsten]

My advice is to not go to the Southwest during the summer. The northern Rockies and Pacific Northwest would be a better idea.