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Hello,
My family (two adults and a child) plan to drive our 2003 Toyota Camry (mileage: 38,000 miles) from Boston to San Diego late July in two or three weeks.
I think the first stop might be Buffalo, NY because we would like to see the Niagara Falls. The Grand Canyon in Arizona is also in our plan.
Are there any other places along the route that are worth visiting? Will there be problems with our sedan while we drive in the heat and especially when we climb the mountains?
Thank you.
Welcome to the RoadTrip America Forum!
Unless there is something amiss with your vehicle, you shouldn't have any problems in the mountains or in the heat with that car. It is fairly new and has quite low mileage on it for the year. As a general rule, it is a good idea to get your vehicle inspected by a competent mechanic before taking on a trip of any length, to keep your mind at ease.
In between Niagara and the Grand Canyon are so many great places to visit, it's hard to narrow them down. After all, much of the acreage of the US is in that range!
Are you looking to travel mainly on Interstates, or US routes, or county roads? What are the types of things that you and your family are interested in?
If you have three weeks to do this trip in, that will give you a much greater comfort level than trying to do it all in two weeks. It takes around five days to go from one coast to the other, so right there you have ten days of driving, without factoring in any multi-day stops en route.
Welcome to the RTA Forum!
Is there anything worth stopping at between Niagara Falls and the Grand Canyon? No, I don't think so.Quote:
Are there any other places along the route that are worth visiting?
I'm kidding of course, there are a million things to stop and see or do between New York and Arizona. The tough part is narrowing it down. The first place to start is by looking at the kinds of things you find most interesting, be it nature, musuems, historical sites, oddities, cities, whatever it is that you personally find interesting. Give us some help there, and let us know if you already have a specific route in mind for this journey, so we can give some helpful specifics.
If your car is in good shape with no mechanical problems, then there's no reason the heat or mountains will pose any problems for your car. Make sure all your routine maintenance is up to date, and have your car checked over by a mechanic before you go to make sure it really is ready for a cross country adventure.Quote:
Will there be problems with our sedan while we drive in the heat and especially when we climb the mountains?
Thank you very much! This forum is awesome.Quote:
Originally Posted by Midwest Michael
We are foreigners and do not know the U.S. well. We prefer seeing different nature in different places and some historical sites. This is a one way trip in two or three weeks. Actually, we are moving to San Diego.
I know one route is Boston --> Buffalo --> Cleveland --> Chicago --> Denver --> Las Vegas --> San Diego. But maybe this is not the best route and I do not know what to see in addition to the Niagara Falls and the Grand Canyon. To the Grand Canyon, maybe we had better include Flagstaff or Williams.
Thank you for your priceless advice.
Thank you very much! I find this site very helpful.Quote:
Originally Posted by Mass Tim
We would like to see different nature in different places and some historical sites. This is a one way trip in two or three weeks because we will move from Boston to San Diego.
One possible route is Boston --> Buffalo --> Cleveland --> Chicago --> Denver --> Las Vegas --> San Diego. But maybe this is not the best one and I do not know what to see in addition to the Niagara Falls and the Grand Canyon.
Is the Arch in St. Louis worth seeing? And how about the great sand dunes, and the Great Salt Lake? I look forward to your ideas. Thank you.
The route you have laid out is one of the quickest, most direct route at about 3050 miles. However, you do have time in 3 weeks to veer off of it and see other things. In my opinion, and most of us at RTA, there are few things that aren't worth seeing. The St. Louis Arch is always highly recommended. As is the Great Sand Dunes in Colorado. Salt Lake is interesting and Salt Lake City is definitely worth seeing for the tabernacles and other historical stuff. If these intrigue you, go for it!
Personally, I would advise you to skip the Grand Canyon this trip. It's only about 550 miles from San Diego and would make a great trip for a long weekend once you're living there. I would stick to sight-seeing things that aren't so close to San Diego on your trip moving out there.
Another interesting route would be Columbus, Indianapolis, St. Louis, Oklahoma City, Albuquerque, Flagstaff, Glendale, San Diego. It's about 3030 miles. So the difference in mileage isn't enough to be a factor. It just depends on what you want to see.
Thank you, Judy!
In the hot summer, the northern part of the county might be a better choice than the southern part. So, how about going west to Nebraska/South Dakota, Wyoming and Idaho after Chicago, to see the great faces, glaciers, mountains, craters, etc. and then heading south to the Salt Lake and Las Vegas? This means we'll probably have to miss St. Louis Arch and the Great Sand Dunes.Quote:
Originally Posted by Judy
Any comments?
You really can't go wrong with any of those choices. As you are seeing, the hard part is narrowing down things into one trip.
But you also have a good amount of time, so while you won't have time to see everything, you don't have to worry about time preventing you from visiting any one plcce, if there is something you really decide you can't miss.
Thank you, Michael. This time we will focus on the nature in the north. Next time, possibly in winter or spring, we'll visit somewhere close to San Diego and other places in the south.Quote:
Originally Posted by Midwest Michael
I talked about my plan with two friends separately. Both of them said there was not so much to see at St. Louis arch. Therefore, we will directly go to South Dakota or Nebraska after Chicago.Quote:
Originally Posted by Midwest Michael
The St. Louis Arch is one of the most recommended places to visit here. Both by the moderators here and visitors to the forum. But we're all different and have different interests and expectations. Your might share your friend's opinions on the Arch but you might be pleasantly surprised by it, too. I encourage you to keep an open mind about it and try it this trip or another time. Enjoy your trip!
OK, Judy. I'll try to include St. Louis into our trip because I don't think I'll have other chances to go there.Quote:
Originally Posted by Judy
I've been to AAA's office and got all relevant maps and tourbooks. They even printed a color pamphlet for me using their "TripTik."Quote:
Originally Posted by lelefeng
The basic route is as follows.
Boston --I90--> Buffalo (2 nights: Finger Lakes, Niagara Falls)
Buffalo --I90--> Chicago (2 or 3 nights)
Chicago --I94--> Minneapolis (1 night)
Minneapolis --F169-S60-I90--> Mount Rushmore National Memorial, SD (2 nights)
Rushmore --I90--> Yellowstone National Park, WY (3 nights)
Yellow Stone --F20-I15--> Salt Lake City (1 night)
Salt Lake City --I15--> Zion Nation Park, UT (1 night)
Zion --S9-F89-S64--> Grand Canyon Village (2 nights)
Grand Canyon --F64-I40--> Flagstaff/Phoenix (1 night)
Flagstaff/Phoenix --I40/I8--> San Diego (1 or 2 nights)
There are 16 to 18 nights totally.
If we feel tired and want to get to our new home as quickly as possible, we may cancel the trip to the Grand Canyon after Zion and move on to San Diego with a possible stay at Las Vegas for one night.
Any comments are appreciated.
And I can see that going to St. Louis is very out of your way. The only leg that is really pushing it is Minneapolis to Mt. Rushmore at over 650 miles. It's do-able and you do have plenty of days built into your trip where you're not driving so you should be rested for the long drive. But you will want to leave Minneapolis quite early that day so you don't get into the Rushmore area much later than you'd like.
Grand Canyon is a 3-4 day weekend trip from San Diego. It makes sense to save this for another time.
And it's only about 500 miles from Zion to San Diego. You could stay another night in Zion and go all the way to San Diego the night day, or go to Vegas for one night. Whatever you prefer.
It sounds like you have a great trip planned. Enjoy!
I don't know whether it's proper for me to ask a question about moving at this forum but I did find friends here are very very helpful for me to make our plan to drive to San Diego.
In addtion to driving by ourselves, we would also like to have our other stuff moved by a moving company. I appreciate it very much if any friend here can give us any tips or suggestions on how to find a reliable moving company that can do the moving from Boston to San Diego.
[Editor's Note: That subject is beyond the focus of this Forum]
You can cruise the Mother Road from Chicago all the way to LA which would also include the Arch in St. Louis. You'll get to see a fine slice of Americana and their are plenty of guidebooks to help you along.
Keep on Down that two Lane Highway. --RoadDog
Thank you RoadDog. I decided to save St. Louis for another trip in the future and go to Rushmore and Yellowstone instead after leaving Chicago.Quote:
Originally Posted by RoadDog
I, however, saw the aerial map of Rushmore on mapquest.com and found that the road is only thin thread winding through huge mountains. Now I really doubt whether we can make it. Or, should we simply take the easiest way to San Diego and arrive there safely?
Aren't you still driving your Camry? I can assure you that all sorts of vehicles drive to Mt. Rushmore on a regular basis. It's not even really a mountain in the typical sense. It's only 5725 feet high. In my part of the country, this is just a big hill. I can't imagine any scenario where the elevation or the roads will cause you any problem.
Yes, we'll still drive our Camry. It was good to know there shouldn't be any problem. I'll consider Rushmore again and try to finalize the plan early July. Thank you.Quote:
Originally Posted by Judy
Will there be any safety problem if one drives through the "republican" states with a Massachusetts plate?
me thinks you have read too many sinister end-of-the-world dime novels.Quote:
Originally Posted by lelefeng
Mark
During 2004, I went on a road trip from WA to New Mexico and back with several political bumper-stickers taped to my back window showing my presidential preference. I went through places that have a reputation for being totally opposite my choice. I had no problems. People were nice, friendly and helpful. I can't imagine a license plate would make any difference.Quote:
Originally Posted by lelefeng
Quote:
Originally Posted by Editor
I haven't read any end-of-the-world novels but was just too cautious when the long journey is only a month away.Quote:
Originally Posted by Judy
I'm also concerned about getting lost so GPS should be a must. I have DeLorme's Street Atlas USA 2007, but it is inconvenient to always have a laptop in the car and I have to say the map is out of date.
Therefore, I plan to buy a GPS. My budget is $500. Which brand and model is good? How about Garmin Nuvi 360, which is $435 on Amazon?
There are a lot of opinions about efficacy of GPS units -- I have one of the first units ever produced for consumers (as well as some brand new ones) -- but I would never rely on one to keep from getting lost for that common sense and a good map is a better strategy.Quote:
Originally Posted by lelefeng
Here are some opinions and ideas:Quote:
Therefore, I plan to buy a GPS.
John Booth has field-tested just about every unit in the USA
Moderator Craig also field tests some -- here is one his reports.
Mark
Thank you, Mark. I have read those pages and also made some search. It looks like Garmin is the only option, but still some people say its map is not good in San Diego and the southeast.
Garmin produces some nice units -- but Craig really likes the Tom Tom Go-910 -- One huge caveat!!!!
North American databases are no where as sophisticated as Asia or even Europe. If you are used to the GPS experience in Asia and expect the same here -- you will be gravely disappointed. USA is about four years behind implementation of the scope of the databases found in France or Japan...
Mark
Quote:
Originally Posted by Editor
The map is always out of date, even in the latest models, so I ordered a Garmin nuvi 350 and saved more than a hundred bucks to buy a refrigerator and an adaptor, which are also necessary for a long trip.
I've been testing my new GPS in greater Boston area these days. It's very good. The map is up to date. 2008!Quote:
Originally Posted by lelefeng
I've also bought two national flag stickers and put them beside the MA's license plates to show that I'm also conservative.
That is pretty interesting. How did you manage to get a map that is six months in the future?Quote:
Originally Posted by lelefeng
I don't think anyone would draw that conclusion -- posting USA flag stickers is just an example of nationalism and/or an expression of national pride. I have such a flag on my vehicles and no one would ever confuse me with being a conservative...Quote:
I've also bought two national flag stickers and put them beside the MA's license plates to show that I'm also conservative.
Mark
(1) The "Map Info" shows "City Navigator North America NT 2008." But maybe as you said, the real map is also four years behind?Quote:
Originally Posted by Editor
(2) An American friend said that meant conservative. Anyway, the flags look beautiful, and people in those areas will know that we love this country as they do.
The trip is only six days away! I've begun to make a detailed itinerary. I won't drive more than 500 miles per day.
Click here for the field report as this member drives from Boston to San Diego.