Moving to Portland OR from Washington DC

Hi all, I am headed to Portland OR from the east coast around August 15th. My goal is to arrive to Portland on the evening of the 21st or the morning of the 22nd when my apartment is ready. My brother lives in Smyrna DE and he is driving with me so our departure place will be either Smyrna DE or DC. Our goal is to see some neat stuff while not to far off the way. We are hoping to keep costs down as well but because I am moving and space is tight I don't think I can fit camping equipment so its looking like Motel 6 or Econo Lodges or something like that. Right now nothing is on our agenda as must sees but am looking for some suggestions about good routes. It is looking like I-80 is the way to go, any other thoughts? What is worth the stop for?

Hoping to hear from you soon.

Chris

**To clarify, I am shipping most of my things so my car which while it will be full of books and stuff will not have a trailer, nor will I have a U-haul. My internship is for my doctorate so while its my first full cross country road trip its not my first all together road trip (I have road tripped from DC to Minnesota for the past 5 years every summer). I wouldn't mind seeing some scenic stuff but I know if I try to drag my brother only looking at flowers and mountains he will kill me, so something exciting along the way would be nice. I have no idea if I should take a northern route (about I80) or below, not sure the advantages and disadvantages of both. However, I have to say I can become paranoid about the thoughts of running out of gas**

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by c10wmc

................However, I have to say I can become paranoid about the thought of running out of gas**

---

No matter which route you choose, there is no way you are going to run out of fuel. It is difficult to go 50 miles without running into a gas station, anywhere between DC and OR. Just don't let it drop below quarter.

Welcome aboard the RoadTrip America Forums!

You can make the 2,900 mile from Smyrna to Portland in 5 days relatively comfortably, and I-80 is a generally scenic route (although for 100 miles more, I'd look at I-69/I-79/I-64 to St. Louis, then I-70/I-29 to Lincoln. So you have a day or so 'extra' to take some time to enjoy the drive and places along the way. but hand in hand with deciding which route to use is deciding what you want to see. You've only told us what your brother would balk at seeing, what type of attractions or sites would he really enjoy seeing? Maybe we can come up with some places that would make this a trip he'd actually enjoy.

AZBuck

Hi all, sorry for the delay, but trying to figure out with a 21 year old younger brother wants to do takes some time :)

Essentially, he is into the Wild West history stuff, music (I was thinking Rock and roll hall of fame), forensic and mystery stuff or old police mysteries, and definitly some Wild West stuff. I guess I am pretty comfortable with places up until about Chicago, but between Chicago and Portland I am trying to figure out what might be worthy a stop and the best route.

Any more advice you might have would be great.

christen

Well, the good thing about using I-80 west from Chicago is that through much of the plains you'll be following the route of the old Oregon Trail, But besides that historic route, some other places you might want to look into include the Pony Express Station in Gothenburg, NE; Fort Casper in Cheyenne, WY; Bruneau Canyon south of Mountain Home, ID; and the sites associated with Lewis and Clark along the lower Columbia River as you reach Portland.

AZBuck