Sept/Oct Cross country and back?

[jennverr]

Hi all, new to the forum here, but VERY excited to be planning my first trip this coming fall. I plan on leaving around September (beginning to middle) and taking about 2 months to drive across the country (from VA/DC area to maybe Portland, or something?) and then back again.

I'd love to hear from people who might know of where to start. I've been looking at maps of where I want to go and I just have no idea. I am not very well traveled here with the exception of up and down the east coast, and parts of Cali. So - don't know a thing about the middle states.

As I said I will be coming from VA/DC area and wondering the best routes to travel (such as going across the top states and then coming down from OR through Cali and traveling back through the lower states?) I really have no idea. Colorado seems to be in the middle/middle and I feel like I definitely want to pass through there at some point! I just feel stuck. thinking of buying a giant map and just closing my eyes and sticking pins in various places. hah!

anyway, any help would be appreciated!

[Southwest Dave]

Hello and welcome to the RTA forums !

Well actually you have the right idea of how to get started, but what you need to do is determine what places really interest you. Once you have some dots on the map the rest will start to take shape with a little reading and research. If you took a northerly route out [which would make more sense as winter can come early to places ] you would have places like Badlands NP, Mt Rushmore Custer State park, Yellowstone and the Tetons to consider amongst many others. Once you have gone south to California you could make your way to the Grand canyon and perhaps the wonderful scenery and National Parks of Southern Utah before heading into Colorado.

You will find a lot of info just searching around the forums and using the planning resources in the tool bars above here at RTA. There are just too many options to make meaningful suugestions for a trip this size and with a blank canvas.

Once you have those dots on the map we can certainly help to fill in the blanks and answer questions. Enjoy the planning, it's where the adventure begins!

[Lifemagician]

Thinking of buying a giant map ...

That is probably one of the best moves you can make. Put it up on the wall, where you will see it every day. My preference is the National Geographic Map, for the detail it has, especially about the natural features. Get it laminated, and put sticky notes all over it as you find places which interest you. It is amazing how then, a route will develop before your eyes.

Lifey

[jennverr]

thanks everyone. Yes this is what I will do then. get a map first. I was just looking at the giant one we have on the wall here at work, and getting ever more excited (unfortunately it belongs to my colleague and i can't stick anything on it, plus no one here knows yet what my plans are)!

I've been reading about common routes too. Like rt 70 could be good... through colorado, then I could go up from there to S. Dakota over to montana/wyoming/idaho and to oregon that way. then come back down through nevada then utah then go south to new mexico, texas, oklahoma, alabama, etc etc.

[Midwest Michael]

It doesn't hurt to read about routes as part of your research and figuring out what you want to do. Certainly there can be roads that are destinations all by themselves, but I generally find it works best for me to first figure out what places I want to see. Once you've got at least your primary destinations figured out, then the routes that connect those places can become a bit easier than trying to shoehorn things to see around pre-picked roads.

[jennverr]

Hi all

I've been thinking about some of the places I want to go on my trip. But still need to fill in some gaps. Question: which is more interesting to drive through, Kansas? Or Nebraksa? Or are they both just long drives with lots of nothing?

I def want to stop in Kansas city MS, but then I am wondering if I should go up thru Nebraska and then back down to Denver/Boulder/Rocky Mtn park, or should I just go straight thru Kansas?

Heading to the book store at lunch today to see if I can find some good books on sights and routes too!