Hello I am going to try to drive from LA Cali to East Tennessee, can you all please make some suggestions? I'd like to see the Grand Canyon and the Caddy ranch and other roadside attractions like that.
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Hello I am going to try to drive from LA Cali to East Tennessee, can you all please make some suggestions? I'd like to see the Grand Canyon and the Caddy ranch and other roadside attractions like that.
Hi, and Welcome to the Great American Roadtrip Forum.
When are you planning on taking this trip, and how long do you have? These are crucial questions for us to be able to give suggestions.
At 2200 miles this can be comfortably driven in four days, sticking to the interstates, without any sightseeing whatsoever. So depending on how many more days you have you could venture off I-40 and drive the small remaining section of old Route 66 between Seligman and Kingman.
You could take a side trip to the Grand Canyon, which is a place that really deserves a day or two to explore. One of the great experiences at the GC is to watch a sunset or sunrise, or both. Exiting the GC along Desert View Drive (64) there is cameron trading post. Heading back to I-40 at Flagstaff, will see you near Wupatka National Monument and Sunset Crater Volcano NM.
A little further along I-40 is Petrified Forest National Park and Painted Desert. And that is only in AZ. You would want to have at least two extra days, preferably three, for those attractions alone.
These are just a couple I picked off the AZ map. If you get hold of some good maps you will be able to see most of the attractions along the way, or not far off. Some of the best maps you can get are those from AAA. For a trip like this I would recommend you take out a AAA membership for roadside assistance (unless you already have a roadside assistance package), The benefit of the AAA membership is that maps are free to members. I would recommend that you pick up one for each State through which you plan to travel.
As well as attractions, the maps also show which are scenic routes, when you feel like a respite from the interstates.
Meanwhile you might like to check out the roadside attractions on the green bar above, where there is also a selection listed.
Lifey
Welcome to RTA!
As Lifey said above, we really need to know whether you have more than 4 days for the drive, before we start handing you things to see, do, places to stay, etc. The drive itself: get yourself to I-15 north, then at Barstow, turn east on I-40. That will take you within short distances from the Grand Canyon and Cadillac Ranch. Grand Canyon is worth at least a full day of your time to really be able to SEE it, and do a sunrise or sunset view. Cadillac Ranch, OTOH, is an hour at the most (maybe even less than that!) and is visible from I-40 (so it's just a trek down a frontage road).
Donna