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HI, you have some great postings on this site!!! Im travelling from DC to Sac in about 4-5 days. What are my choices of routes? It looks like 50 is the most direct. I was thinking of catching part of 66 from MO to TX but im not sure how much longer that will make my trip or if thats even a good idea. Im open to any advice or tips. Thanks in advance!!
Tony,
The routes you have specified allow (& require) a mosey 'tude when traveling. Because they pass thru small towns, (with rigidily enforced speeding laws), you have to allow an average speed ~50 mph. There are places, of course, where you will reach normal highway crusing speeds (70+) but there are significant sections where you will be going 30 mph.
A professional team just did the entire Route 66 trip from Santa Monica to Chicago and back. Their site is excellent for choosing what you want to see. For more information check out Route 66 pages: http://www.roadtripamerica.com/links/route66.htm (look at the third link in the list).
The fastest route would be I-70 most of the way and then follow US-50 thru Nevada (this stretch is nicknamed "The Loniliest Highway in America") and then past Tahoe, over the Sierras and into Sacramento.
Mark
Mark,
Thanks for your help!! Are there any resources I can check to find out what I can expect to see along I-70 and I-50 (the route you described)?
First, US-50 is a two-lane highway. If you try and find a I-50 to drive on, you will need to seek directions to an alternative universe.
Jamie Jensen's book "RoadTrip USA" is a good source for US-50 information. The on-line version is at http://www.roadtripusa.com/us_50/index.html
General information about I-70 is available at http://www.ihoz.com/I70.html
Photos of scenic views along I-70 = http://protophoto.com/subject.html?subject_id=314
We haven't worked on scenic drive list for I-70 per se, but I can recommend a stop at Idaho Springs, Colorado: http://www.roadtripamerica.com/places/indsprgs.htm