Moving from MA to Seattle

I'm putting all of my possessions in a moving van, my cat on a
plane, and then I'm driving myself solo in my station wagon
across our great country to Seattle. The moving companies give
me about 10 - 14 days to get there. I want to get there but I don't
want to super highway it the whole time. I can skip through NY,
PA, OH, IN, IL but after that I'd like to explore. Suggestions for
shouldn't miss places? Any great motels or camp grounds along
the way? Any classic Americana sites? Folk art? Thanks!

Use the search function on this forum -- plug in "Seattle," "Black Hills," and "Great Plains" for starters. You'll find a lot of information on your route west of Chicago! (In particular, read the post by Lori Hein from a few days ago.) Reading all of the material that comes up with your queries will create a few more questions, so come back with those as they come up! Bob

I would encourage you to go through northern Minnesota and North Dakota, more remote, but gorgeous countryside. For more details check out our website www.seeamericabeforebushdestroysit.com.

We have just moved to Olympia, 60 miles south of Seattle, lovely area, you'll enjoy it.

I left upstate western NY (Rochester) in November 1999 & drove across the country, alone, to Burbank, CA via (W of Chicago) MO, KS, CO, UT, NV, with my car stuffed & most of my belongings given away, sold or in storage. In Aug 2000 I flew from LA to Seattle, met my daughter, and we drove back to LA via OR coast, Bend, Lassen, Yosemite. In December 2000 I packed up my stuff & drove to Seattle, where I have lived, with the exception of a 13 week stint just south of SF (by car, of course) since. You are making a good choice of a place to live!

Growing up, my dad took us on several cross-country road trips which included Yellowstone, Glacier, Rocky Mountain, Grand Canyon & numerous other national parks, forests & monuments & countless city, county & state parks in between.

You are leaving at a great time of the year, and have your choice of routes. The Dakotas are fantastic & if you can make the side trips, Yellowstone & Glacier are not to be missed. Stick to I90 (via I15 just west of Yellowstone) & check out Coeur d'Alene ID, then take Rt 2 via Spokane WA, through to Wenatchee WA, then drop S on US97 to I90 & take that into Seattle.

Enjoy!

Ahh, Isnt it exciting? My wife and I left Florida for Washington State 6 years ago. Welcome! Since you have a long period todrive, I figure the real must sees are all of the fun folk shops in Akron Ohio, and all of the surrounding towns. Take time to visit Northern Minnesota, and of course the dakotas. You can make the neatest little zig zags all over from Chicago to Montana. You might even want to jump north a bit when you get to Sioux City Sd, go to Fargo, then up to Winnepeg Canada for some real "Canadian Style" Farm cities. The Dakotas is where your best opportunity for folk art lies, so gear up to spend some time zig zagging through these states. You will love the rural roads, scenery, and if you are going in summer, the best chances to see the Northern Lights over the vast Dakota sky.
Welcome to Washington! (dont bring an umbrella...the rain stuff is all a myth)

<<dont bring an umbrella...the rain stuff is all a myth>>

And anyone using an umbrella up here, even on the edge of the Rain Forest, is automatically assumed to be a tourist.

In Washington, we don't tan, we rust! :-)