Waukesha, WI to Newport Beach, CA – Needs Input

The times listed are purely drive times listed by Google, while planning in my head I generally leave a half hour to an hour of extra time for driving, and then a half hour to an hour of extra time for visiting stops. This trip is mostly just to see the area, it is not to spend lots of time in places. We know we will be back to certain locations in the future for longer periods.

I guess I am honestly confused where time is an issue, as there are only two days of long driving, and they are spread far apart and only one is over 600 miles (of the rta suggested maximum 750 miles per day).

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Originally Posted by erikendres

This trip is mostly just to see the area, it is not to spend lots of time in places.

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Even with your extra hour or so -- the reality is that you will be unable to stay on that schedule unless you approach this like a job. Traffic considerations in national parks in the summertime will mean that you will not be able to average more than 35 mph in the parks and those google times --for all of their sophistication are more-or-less fantasy. The rule of thumb we use here is over the course of a full day of driving you can average 57 mph on road west of the Mississippi River and 53 mph east of the river.

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I guess I am honestly confused where time is an issue, as there are only two days of long driving, and they are spread far apart and only one is over 600 miles (of the rta suggested maximum 750 miles per day).

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750 miles is the absolute limit for Speed Run with semi-professional drivers. 500 miles in a day is nearly nine hours in the car. I personally never recommend more than 500 miles in a single day and I personally prefer road trips in the 400 per day range.

Now, if you stuck to that schedule "like it were your job" -- think UPS guy -- you could probably do it -- it wouldn't be much fun. I've had that kind of job -- special events for CART racing -- we would do 1200 miles in a 24 hour period -- but we were professionals and we were not sightseeing.

If you look around this Forum -- there are plenty of posts from members who have completed trips on the scale and complexity of what you are considering -- in a near-similar time-span -- but you'll rarely (see the posts below...) see one of the Moderators recommending this.

Mark

Thank you Mark for your honest and thought out response, it is well appreciated and will be considered largely when the finalization of plans is created.

I certainly still think you are trying to pack your trip full, but I don't think you are totally out of line. As long as you are willing to be flexable and have things you are willing to skip if you realize you are just checking stuff off a list and not enjoying yourself, I think you'll be ok.

The only day I really think is really out of line is your last one. Actually, the first issue you'll have is that you won't gain an hour. Arizona is Mountain Time, but they don't take part in Daylight Saving Time, so in May they will be on the same schedule as Nevada and California. Regardless of that, you're looking at nearly a 600 mile day there, plus time to both see and get across the Hoover Dam (which can see major traffic backups), drive through Las Vegas, and then battle through traffic in the greater LA area. Driving from the Grand Canyon to LA is already a very full day drive, I would strongly recommend against trying to add an additional detour to "see" Vegas on this schedule.

One other red flag I see is your plan to sleep in a rest area on your first night. That just is not a good idea. I'm not sure of the laws in Iowa, but often it is illegal, but more importantly, its not very safe. Rest Areas generally aren't heavily patroled, are poorly lit, and (because of those things) have in some cases been known to attract a criminal element. If you can't spring for a motel (and I will say that a good night sleep is very important between two long driving legs like you've planned), then I would look at another place to stop, like a truck stop, which shouldn't be hard to find in the Omaha/Council Bluffs area.

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Originally Posted by Midwest Michael

Driving from the Grand Canyon to LA is already a very full day drive, I would strongly recommend against trying to add an additional detour to "see" Vegas on this schedule.

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Thank you for the input. We originally planned for a night stay in Vegas, yet we decided to take that out to save cash. Yet, we have now taken Vegas and the Hoover Dam out of the schedule. We play on going to Vegas in the future, so no need to rush it now.

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Originally Posted by Midwest Michael

One other red flag I see is your plan to sleep in a rest area on your first night. That just is not a good idea. I'm not sure of the laws in Iowa, but often it is illegal, but more importantly, its not very safe.

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Thank you, we found a truck stop to put in its place that seems to have raving reviews.


So following is the current plan to give a driving guideline for travel. Let me know what days just seem impossible to you, what attractions you feel might be worth while, etc. I really thank you for your input on this trip.

===DAY 1=====
-Leave by 1PM, Iowa-80 Truckstop by 5PM
-Rest for the night at Wings America Travel Centre, Avoca, IA
===DAY 2====
-Leave by 8AM
-Tourist Attraction, Great Platte River Road Archway Monument
-Mountain Time Zone enge of Nebraska entering Wyoming, move clock back an hour
-Rest for the night at Johnson's Corner Truckstop
===DAY 3==
-Rocky Mountain NP
-Rest for the night in Arches National Park, Need Reservations, $29
===DAY 4===
-Leave by 8AM
-Tourist Attraction in Mancos
-Mesa Verde National Park
-Tourist Attraction, 4 Corners USA
-BnB in Bluff, Utah
===DAY 5=====
-Monument Valley
-Petrified Forest NP
-Check-in at Wigwam Hotel, Holbrook
-Tourist Attraction, Rainbow Rock Shop and other Route 66 memories
===DAY 6===
-Meteor Crater
-Wupatki National Monument
-Rest for the night in Grand Canyon NP
===DAY 7=====
-Tourist Attraction, Delgadillo's Snow Cap Drive-In
-Pacific Time Zone entering California, move clock back an hour
-Arrive in Newport Coast
CALI FOR 4 DAYS, 5 Nights
===DAY 12=====
-Hearst Castle
-Night stay at Cambria hotel
===DAY 13===
-Fisherman's Warf, Alcatraz
-Night stay at friends'
===DAY 14=====
-Night Stay at Mill Creek Campground, Del Norte Coast
===DAY 15=====
-Night Stay in Salem, Oregon
===DAY 16====
-Dinner at Donnie Mac's Trailer Park Cuisine
-Night Stay in Boise
===DAY 17==
-Shoshone Ice Caves
-Craters of the Moon National Monument
-Night Stay in Yellowstone
===DAY 18===
-Night stay at Hotel in Byron
===DAY 19=====
-Devils Tower
-Mammoth Site
-Night stay options:
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in Hot Springs
Heritage Villiage in Crazy Horse
===DAY 20===
-Crazy Horse
-Mt. Rushmore
-Rushmore Alpine Slide
-Night stay Rapid City hotel, as too high of crime for a truck stop
===DAY 21=====
-Wall Drug
-Corn Palace
-Night stay in St. Paul
===DAY 22=====
-Back home

I think you're still about at the same level. There's no one day where you are totally out of line, but trying to do so much every day might be more likely to destract from your enjoyment of the trip. I certainly wouldn't look to add anything to this trip.

I would say that if you are planning to camp, I'd look at staying in Custer State Park in the Black Hills.

I'd also say on the way back, going from Rapid to St. Paul is a very long day, and the Twin Cities is a couple hours out of your way on an already very long trip. I'd stick to finding a place closer to I-90, perhaps Albert Lea or Austin, MN.

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Originally Posted by Midwest Michael

I would say that if you are planning to camp, I'd look at staying in Custer State Park in the Black Hills.

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I hadn't considered this park before, I'll look into it. Seems like a good alternative.

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Originally Posted by Midwest Michael

I'd also say on the way back, going from Rapid to St. Paul is a very long day, and the Twin Cities is a couple hours out of your way on an already very long trip. I'd stick to finding a place closer to I-90, perhaps Albert Lea or Austin, MN.

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The reason for the side track to St. Paul was simply for free lodging with relatives, yet we have been going back and forth on the idea because of the extra drive like you stated.