Dutchman in the USA (coast-to-coast) :-: Philadelphia to San Francisco
In september/october we'll be crossing the Atlantic for a coast to coast roadtrip.
I recently joined this forum and are overwhelmed by it's treasure of information. We will do our own research on routes, POI's and the many articles and information from other travellers, but we'd appreciate any referrals to other threads, articles and of course the advice you can give us based on the route we've roughly planned so far, based on some waypoints.
http://i92.photobucket.com/albums/l3...dtripUSA-1.png
Philadelphia-Washington-Blue Ridge Parkway (VA)-Tail of the Dragon (TN)-Nashville-Memphis-New Orleans-Houston-San Antonio-Albuquerque/Phoenix-Flagstaff-Las Vegas-Los Angeles-San Francisco.
We already have some special roads included Blue Ridge PKWY (VA), Tail of the Dragon (TN/NC) and Highway 1 (CA) + 17 Mile Drive (Carmel, CA)
But we're looking for more information regarding our planned route: road suggstions, accomodations, points of interest and so on.
So please feel free to tell us everything about your state and promote your favourite POI's !!!
Meanwhile will be updating this thread to create a detailed itinerary for future reference ;-)
Odds and Ends, Here and There
Welkom! Welcome aboard the RoadTrip America Forums!
Since your trip is still a work in progress, let me just offer some random suggestions that should fit in with what you seem to be trying to do (scenic roads, national parks, major cities). Between Memphis and New Orleans consider a bit of a detour, especially if Graceland is your reason for going to Memphis. First head east on US-78 to Tupelo, MS for another Elvis shrine, his birthplace, and then take the Natchez Trace Parkway down to Natchez and tour some of the stately old plantation homes before finishing up on the Blues Highway (US-61) down through Baton Rouge to New Orleans.
Between San Antonio and Albuquerque, you should try to work in a visit to either Carlsbad Caverns National Park, White Sands National Monument, or both. And in Northern Arizona, there is far more than 'just' the Grand Canyon. Take a look at Petrified Forest National Park; Walnut Canyon, Sunset Crater, and Wupatki National Monuments; and a bit farther afield - Canyon de Chelly National Monument and Monument Valley Navaho Tribal Park.
AZBuck
'Edit' time limit and use.
Any alterations to your route/itinerary should be noted in a new post to save confusion, especially after responses have been given. There is a fixed amount of time to edit each post to correct typo's/errors, but the edit function should not be used to alter text that has already been responded to.
Also, by editing an older post it won't update the thread and therefor could go unnoticed.
Limited Edit - For a Reason
Users of these forums are allowed to edit their comments and questions for a short while after they post in order to allow them to make minor corrections, clarifications and the like - so that they can get more meaningful and useful answers. That ability makes no sense after they already have gotten answers, as you have. Rather, we encourage a dialogue where you respond to the answers you got. Otherwise you force everyone who has responded to your original question to either re-edit their answers or look foolish.
As I've already indicated, I would suggest going from Houston to Carlsbad, White Sands, Petrified Forest and then Flagstaff. I think that's a much more interesting route than the others and you have the time for it. On the other hand, how much time you spend in individual cities is entirely up to you and your preferences.
AZBuck
For every minute spent in organising, an hour is earned
I'm aware time is of the essence here and I'm going to make every hour in the day count for sure!
Some project management is needed here. Let's split the route in four stages for now:
1. Philadelphia-Lancaster-Front Royal-Skyline Drive:-:Blue Ridge Parkway:-:Tail of the Dragon => 9 days?
2. Nashville-Tupola-Natchez Trace Parkway-Baton Rouge/New Orleans => 4 days?
3. Houston-San Antonio-Carlsbad Caverns:-:White Sands-Silver city-Petrified Forest/Tonto NP-Flagstaff => 5 days?
4. Las Vegas-Los Angeles-Pacific Coast Highway:-:17 Mile road, Carmel-Santa Cruz-San Francisco => 8 days?
-Left out Washington D.C. and replaced it by Lancaster, but only as a pitstop on our way to Front Royal to do some of the Skyline Drive before checking into a hotel/lodge.
-Memphis replaced by Tupelo
-New Orleans, maybe replaced by Baton Rouge?
-Petrified Forest or Tonto NP? Not sure yet which roads to choose to Las Vegas.
-Pacific Coast Highway: you're right let's reserve enough time for it (2 days).
I've got 3 months to work this plan out, so I've got enough time to make something great.
At the moment I'm using the wonderful 'Roadtrip routes' to plan the 1st stage in more detail.
More detailed advice on time planning please...
Okay, I get the point about my time planning and are trying to optimise my route.
But I'm afraid I need some more detailed advice. Distances and average speed are good indications for experienced travellers, but I'd rather have some more advice how many days to divide per segment, since I haven't planned such a big roadtrip before.
I've done a trip in China -3000 miles in 28 days- but that included, two nighttrains and one flight.
I've read the article about the Southern section of Natchez Trace PKW; I noticed that Jamie didn't follow the whole route on the trail itself. Maybe I should do the same to win some time?
Suggestions for Houston - Las Vegas welcome!
A good night's rest and off we go in less than 12 hours!!!
.
A good night's rest and off we go in less than 12 hours!!!
.
+Update on third part of the trip Houston - Las Vegas: http://g.co/maps/bjfm2]MAP
