East to West: Food and Scenery

Hi All. Some great information on the site! Thanks in advance for your advice and ideas.

I'm planning a road trip for August 2011, from DC to somewhere out west. I'd like to take an RV west and fly back to DC. Here's the planned route:

DC --> Hickory, NC --> Memphis, TN --> New Orleans, LA --> Hodgen, OK --> Amarillo, TX --> Albuquerque, NM --> ???

Food is a very big part of why I'm taking the trip. I love food and want to make sure I get some of the "eat this before you die" stuff. The southern and south western states I think may have the biggest offerings in this regard. What in your experience have been some of the best food experiences you've had on the road?

Is the weather in the Southwestern states mild enough in August to make touring the state parks, etc enjoyable? We love the outdoors and plan to do some hiking, bike riding, etc.

We plan to see more than just the camp sites and state parks. We would like to drive around in the cities/towns we drive through. Moving an RV around on small and crowded streets doesn't seem like a bright idea. Can you recommend some alternatives? I'm thinking of hauling a motorcycle for getting around, but have heard that RV rental companies will not let you haul another vehicle. Is this your experience as well?

Are there any major food related events in any of the states I mentioned that you can recommend?

Any suggestions for after NM? Would like for it to be state park where we'll spend maybe 2 full days. This would be the last stop on our trip. We'd be looking to drop off the rv and make my way to the airport after that.

Thanks a ton!

Welcome!

If you are going to be in Amarillo, you should plan on having dinner at the Big Texan.

The Southwest is going to be HOT in August.

Have you considered driving a car instead of a RV and doing tent camping? The money you save will get you an occasional hotel room when you need it.

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Have you considered driving a car instead of a RV and doing tent camping? The money you save will get you an occasional hotel room when you need it.

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How many of you are there travelling ? If there are four or less, who don't mind sharing the one Hotel room, the car and Motels would be the cheaper option, full stop. Not only do you have the rental cost to consider but also campground fees, high gas consumption [9-10mpg], extra mileage charges, and a hefty one way drop off charge etc. If it's the lifestyle choice you are after then that's fine, but as you have noted they are not particularly 'City friendly.'

If you get as far as Albu, it would be a real shame not to spend a night at the Grand canyon.

You would need one of the major rental Co's for a one way drop off rental, such as Cruise America, El Monte and Roadbear etc, so they would be the places to check about towing.

One possibility you might want to check out. Cruise America has a refurb centre in Phoenix and they sometimes offer low rates to get vehicles 'delivered' there from other parts of the Country. Although these seem to be transported out of high season when there is less demand, it's got to be worth a look.

How much time have you for your trip ? If your route represents 'per day' you really haven't a lot of time spare other than to spend a few hours at the places listed.

There will be 6 adults travelling. We're not necessarily tied to the RV lifestyle (we've never been in an RV), but renting a big enough vehicle for all 6 of us and our gear, plus paying for hotels/motels is going to be ridiculously expensive. I figured renting an RV would be cheaper, but that leaves us wil no way of getting around in the cities/towns we visit. How do regular rv'ers tackle this dilema?

I thought of the Grand Canyon, but it apparently gets really hot in August. Thinking of going north instead. Colorado and maybe Yellowstone.

We're working with 2 weeks. Planning to more or less eat and run through the first half of the trip. Then start slowing down towards the end to enjoy the scenery and do some mtn. biking, etc.