Louisiana to Los Angeles

Hello! What a great find this site is!
My 20 year old daughter decided suddenly to drive from our home in Louisiana to Los Angeles where she has a friend living there and plans to work and stay a while. She wanted to do it alone which is out of the question for me- but I'm thinking about riding with her and flying back.
She was thinking about driving from here to El Paso in one day and then driving from El Paso to LA the next day. I was thinking because of the desolate areas and desert and how long the trip is that it needs to be broken up into 2 or 3 days at least. home to San Antonio, San Antonio to Tucson, and then to LA- or 3 days- home to San Antonio, to El Paso, to Phoenix, and then to LA-
I'd love some advice from people who have driven the route about where'd you stop based on how freaking long it is- and what a normal human could take driving all day!!!!!
I'd love to stop and see some sights but I don't know if we'll have time- but if there are things you wouldn't miss along the way that wouldn't take much time to visit- like if we wanted to take a driving break- let me know that too!

Thank you!

Welcome to the RTA Forum!

I'd say your insticts are right, this is a trip that you'll need at least 3 days for. 2 Days would require you to really push yourself to your physical limits.

You didn't give an exact starting point, but figuring New Orleans, you're looking at 1800 miles. Even at 3 days, that will require 10-12 hours per day on the road.

As far as places to break up the trip, I'd actually try to get farther than SA on your first night. Kerrville, TX would be about right. I'd also not try to get as far as Tucson on day 2. I'd be looking more at places like Lordsburg, NM or Wilcox, AZ.

Check out the Art of the Speed Run, and Safe Driving Distances in 1 day for a little more reading on the subject.

I'll also say that while there is nothing wrong with a mom/daughter trip, if your daughter is 20 years old, there really is no reason she couldn't make this a solo trip. It may even be more what she is looking for. This thread goes through the planning and execution of one woman who was very nervious about the thought of doing a solo trip, but happily told her tale at the end of it.