4 Day Getaway - Starting in Austin TX

I work in sales and every 3 months we go through end of quarter- a very stressful time where we make a last ditch effort to hit our quotas. September is the end of quarter for us, and it ends on a Wednesday. This leaves me a two day window that I could take off before things start back up again plus the weekend. I live in, and would be leaving from, Austin TX

I love road trips- after I graduated from college (May 08) I took a road trip from Houston to LA, up to SF, then back through Utah, CO, and the Texas panhandle back home and then packed up everything I owned and drove out to take a job in Boston, driving through the South and stopping in DC and NYC along the way. This all took place in a 3 week Window, the first leg with my best friend of 18 years and the second leg with my father- an unforgettable experience and among the most enjoyable and freest I've ever felt.

On the weekends, I often enjoy 4-6 hour drives on country roads through the Texas Hill Country, stopping at local eateries and sometimes bars (at least, when I don't bring my dog along for the drive). I even enjoyed the admittedly dangerous 32-hour marathon from Boston back down to Houston during my move back home.

I'd love to take a drive somewhere interesting in these 4 days. I'm okay with spending long hours alone in the car as I find it quite stimulating unto itself. After talking all day at work and living a fast, non-stop life I enjoy the silence, solitude, and reflection that time on the road allots me as well as fulfilling my natural wanderlust.

I want to drive somewhere- particularly in the west, and ideally out of the state- that is visually and culturally interesting. I'd love to take a different way there than I take back. I have no real intention of spending a day or two in one place- I like to keep moving and wandering, stopping at safe-looking truck stops or what have you to nap when I feel tired, eat when I feel hungry, etc. Driving through the night and watching as day eventually breaks is somehow enlightening. My time restriction, however, is pretty solid- I have to hop on a plane for some meetings the following Tuesday and need Monday at work to prepare.

I know I sort of wrote an essay here- but does anyone have any ideas or suggestions on where I could go?

The only problem I see with heading west from Austin is getting across West Texas - that will eat up a lot of your time and you have probably seen a lot of that already. There are all kinds of things to see in the NM-AZ-CO-UT area once you get there. For culture, you may want to concentrate on the Native American heritage in NM, possibly head for the Santa Fe area. Austin to Santa Fe is about 700 miles via shortest route which is through Abilene and Lubbock, no need to do the I-10 grind.

Hello and welcome to the RTA forums !

You could consider Carlsbad caverns and Whitesands NM in a loop trip to Santa Fe or even head further West to Gila national forest.
Although there is plenty to do in the Abuquerque and Santa Fe area with some more great ideas here.