Baltimore-Seattle and back

[Breh]

Im planning a month long road trip from Baltimore MD to Seattle Washington. On the way we will be visiting Cleveland, Cinnci, St.Louis, Salt Lake City, then to Seattle. From Seattle we will be driving down the Coast of California to San Diego where we will be staying for a week. Leaving San Diego we will be heading to Phoenix AZ, then to Albuquerque, on the Austin TX, then to New Orleans, finally to Tampa Bay and then home.

We're estimating this to take a months time with 7-9 days traveling between coasts. We have a few things in mind as to what we want to do on the way. One of us wants to visit Baseball Stadiums, another wants to camp a few times, and all three of us will be contacting local Rugby Football Clubs and seeing if we can stop by for a practice. Are there any scenic routes or good camping grounds we could stop by or visit in or between any of the cities mentioned?

Here's our route http://g.co/maps/zrqxw. We would love suggestions of things to do or see in any of the surrounding areas we would pass through.


Thanks again!

[AZBuck]

Welcome aboard the RoadTrip America Forums!

That's already a pretty full itinerary you've got there. You'll need to spend about half your days j(or the equivalent) just driving full time. Add in the extra time for ball games, rugby practices, touring the cities you're doing all that driving to get to, and you won't have a lot of time for much else. So while we can give you a ton of options, the first thing you need to do is to come to grips with the fact that you don't have a lot of spare time as things now stand. And you will have to be very selective in picking any additional activities.

I would suggest for a start that you make the most of your time on the road by stopping every few hours at a local park and see what usually only the locals enjoy. This will also give you a chance to get some fresh air and exercise every day rather than just staying cooped up in the car. Also take advantage of the major parks and attractions that are right on, or very near, your route such as Cuyahoga Valley National Park outside Cleveland, the US Air Force Museum in Dayton, Indianapolis Motor Speedway, the Arch in St. Louis, the Oregon Trail in western Nebraska, Flaming Gorge National Recreation Area in southwestern Wyoming, Bruneau Sand Dunes in Idaho, Mt. Rainier National Park, Oregon Dunes National Recreation Area near Lakeside, Redwood National Park, Point Reyes National Seashore, the Coast Highway (CA-1) from San Francisco to Los Angeles, Balboa Park in San Diego, Petrified Forest National Park, Petroglyph National Monument in Albuquerque, the Creole Nature Trail in southwestern Louisiana, Gulf Islands National Seashore, and Cumberland Island National Seashore.

You clearly don't have enough time to hit all of the above, so that should give you enough to choose from depending on your individual tastes. If you do plan to hit more than 4 national parks/monuments, you should probably buy an annual pass at the first one you come to. They're $80 and are good for the entire car for a year. They do not, however, cover 'extras' such as camping site rentals or special event fees.

AZBuck