Portland, OR to Phoenix in early March

I just found this site and am impressed with how helpful and informative you folks are.

We're planning a road trip from Portland to Phoenix in early March to visit friends and attend a couple of Spring Training games. I've got the Phoenix end covered, but could use any suggestions for destinations to visit/stay along the way or way back.

So far, here's what we're thinking.

1. Destination and return trips could be different (i.e. down through CA one way, back up through NV, ID the other??)

2. A relatively leisurely trip each way (spend up to three nights each way).

3. We've got friends in Boise we could visit on one leg. A night in Las Vegas could be fun. The Grand Canyon and other natural wonders would be great, but are there weather conditions to be aware of in early March?

4. We are interested in good food along the way, also brewpubs.

That's a lot to process, and I don't expect anyone to come up with a complete itinerary. But if anyone has any "you shouldn't miss this" or "this would be an interesting town to stop at" type of comments, they would be greatly appreciated.

Also, I've been using some of the travel sites to get ideas on routes (yahoo, AAA, mapquest). To me, what is missing is some kind of engine that lets you say "I'd like to go from A to B and travel about 500 miles a day. Where should I stop each day?"

Welcome aboard the RoadTrip America Forums!

It's not often that I recommend that people spend less time on the west coast, but in your case that might be best. Even at a moderately steady clip with few stops, you're looking at 2½ days to get to Phoenix via I-5 and I-10. While there are places worth seeing going that way, including Yosemite and Joshua Tree National Parks, the route through NV, UT, and ID is a bit longer and has quite a few more 'must see' stops including the Grand Canyon, Las Vegas, Zion and Bryce Canyon National Parks, the Great Salt Lake and the Snake River valley. All of those should be accessible in March, if a bit on the chilly side, so I think you should at least consider spending more of your available round-trip driving time on that route.

And here's a little help with brew pubs.

AZBuck

Thanks, AZBuck. I think we will spend both legs away from the coast. One question, is the route through Nevada (US 93) a four-lane?

No, it's almost all 2 lane. It's a fast road though except near and through Las Vegas.