48 in 2005

My daughter and I are planning the 48 in 2005, starting when she graduates college in May. We have a tenative course from Illinois to Wisconsin, then West and coming back the southern route. She did her sophomore college year in Australia, having gone to Thailand on spring break, and is taking this semester in Austria, having done London, Paris and other cities before starting school, and now wants to do the USA. We are thinking three months. Her timing may be altered by work possibilties though she wants to plan that around the timing need of the trip. My activity may be limited as a retired guy nearing 70 though I will have walked over 100 rounds of golf when 2004 is over. I do need stability under foot. We are the kind who will enjoy improptu diversions from our basic plan. Sleep may happen when the other drives, at a rest stop if we both need it, a Motel 6 every few nights and we have friends. We'll eat out of grocery stores though things like lobster dining on the east coast will happen. I have a golden age passport for national parks. We want to experience as much as we can. I am wondering if experienced "Roadtrippers" have any cautions, directives or encouragements. Thanks.

Bob,

Three months to explore the lower 48 sounds like heaven to most of us. It is a reasonable span of time to see much of the country -- it sounds like your and your daughter are experienced travelers. The first suggestion I would make is to check out the various sites we have listed on the <a href = "http://www.roadtripamerica.com/links/travelogs.htm">Journals<a/> page -- several of them document other cross country adventures and they will provide ample intel for planning your trip.

Mark

Mark, thanks for your reply and additional direction. It is most helpful. Two more thoughts. We want to hit Canada and Mexico while we are at it. I think will will go from Niagara Falls direct to Detroit. On the other end we will be in San Diego but think Mexicali would be a better entry than Tijuana. It makes it a little tougher to our next stop in Las Vegas but we are thinking it perhaps a better choice. Your thoughts would be helpful.

Hmmm. Htting Canada and Mexico as sidetrips is a little beyond what I can imagine. What do you have in mind? A shrimp dinner at San Felipe in Baja should be considered. But it would be easy to spend three months in Mexico -- ditto for Canada. I really don't know how to advise on this one. How long would such a "side trip" be?

Mark

Mark, We are not expecting to "do" Canada or Mexico. I think Courtney's idea is to be able to say, "48 plus Canada and Mexico" when we get back. When this girl gets back from this semester in Austria, she will only have three continents yet to visit. Not bad for a 21 year old. So a day each for a flavor is my guess. Our time table is pretty free. I am retired with a part time job on hold till I get back. We picked three months out of the air but unless she has a job lined up after college, this could extend to four or more. Thanks for your thought. Bob

For the Canada part, cross the border from New York on #138 to CORNWALL Ontario.
Drive #138 to #417 to OTTAWA (the capital city of Canada). (Cornwall to Ottawa - 1-1/2 hrs)
Lots to see & do here including a free tour of our Parliament Buildings.

From Ottawa, take #7 west to Peterborough (3-1/2 - 4 hrs). This is a nice drive, 2 lanes (1 each way) through several cute small villages & towns & farm country.
Then #7 / #115 to Hwy #401 west.

#401 will take you into TORONTO (2 hrs drive, depending on traffic).
You might want to spend a day in Toronto- go up the C.N. Tower (world's tallest)!

Toronto to NIAGARA FALLS is 1-1/2 hrs.

From Niagara Falls - go back towards Hamilton to #403 west, to #401 west, to #402 west, & cross back into Michigan at SARNIA Ontario (3-1/2 - 4 hrs).

If you need to skip Ottawa & Toronto & just see the Falls, cross at Niagara Falls - view from Canadian side, then follow the above paragraph to cross at Sarnia rather than Detroit.


You may also want to skip back over into Canada from Seattle to see Vancouver British Columbia,

OR from Glacier National Park, Montana, drive up through Calgary Alberta to BANFF National Park, YOHO Nat'l Park, COLUMBIA ICE FIELDS, & across the Okanagan Valley (Kelowna British Columbia area) to come back down to into Washington state at MT. RAINIER or SEATTLE.

Having just returned from a 3-month trip around the US, Western Canada, and Alaska, I can honestly tell you that I just skimmed the surface of whats out there. Buy a roadmap, and draw-up a list of cities, parks, and areas you want to see. Then look here for which routes are scenic. Then simply connect the dots on the map. Allow 1 day per point of interest, and usually 1 day of travel between each point (depending on distance). When you travel between points take the time to stop in towns. There are so many things to discover on the road between the usual tourist ditches. And it's usually those places that make the memories. 3 months = 90 days = 45 "Location Points" and 45 "Road-Trip Days". This is just from my experience.

As we continue designing our summer travel we plan to carry a small Coleman gas burner to cook a few simple meals along the way. Are you aware of any restrictions for carrying such fuel in the car in the states or if crossing into Mexico or Canada?

Bob,

Never heard of any such restriction.

Yes - slip across to the Canadian side of Niagara Falls. It is much better view, things to do, etc. Then go up to TORONTO for a day or two.

Or if in a rush to get back to Michigan - go across #403, #402 from Niagara Falls, across London, Ontario to SARNIA border crossing - instead of Detroit. This is a quieter, more scenic route - calm farmland -- especially if you get off the highways and take some sideroads.

Wish I could come...

Bob,

I know there are no such restrictions for Canada...I go north and south of the border with my camp stove very often and I never had any problem with that. I don't know for Mexico, but I'm pretty sure it won't be a problem.

Another thing, if you follow Syv's suggestion and cross the border in Cornwall, be sure to get a peek at the 1 000 islands. Ottawa, Brockville and Kingston are nice towns to visit too.


Gen

Wish to say "Thanks" for all replies since I first posted. All good stuff. Courtney gets back from Austria Monday and then our planning will take a more rapid pace as she completes her last semester and graduates college in May. We depart about the 15th.

Mark of RTA, you have been most helpful in your responses. We are about three and a half months from departure. As we review our plan I am wondering if there are any parts of the country, especially in the southwest, or other areas too, where we have to be particularly careful that we will have enough fuel for the car to the next area where fuel is available.

If you limit your driving to the major highways and/or Interstates, you will find fuel at the minimum every 50 miles or so. There are some two-lane highways in the SW and other sections of the mountain states where you could easily drive 100 miles between fuel stations, but those are well sign-marked and should prove no problem. A good plan is to fill the tank whenever it reaches the 1/2 point if you really concened about it. Personally, I like a little "fuel-risk" now and then. Driving into an unfamiliar area with a near-empty tank drives my principal roadtrip companion a little crazy -- but it is all part of the experience for me.

Seriously, I don't think that particular concern is justified in the USA.

Mark

OK Mark, you have been super. We are three months out and I have a new concern. Daughter and I are traveling by car and taking no gear to sleep outside. We are not opposed to tipping the seats back, locking the car and catching some winks. I have done this before, not for an eight hour stretch, but catching enough to refresh and then move on. We plan to use an inexpensive motel or stay with a friend many nights along the way - maybe every other night or as the need hits. I am concerned about being in some of the national park areas where we may want to stay over to the next day to see a little more. We have no time line so making reservations at this point is no good. In national park areas is it allowable or advisable to sleep in the car till sunrise?

According to a ranger I spoke with today at Death Valley National Park, it is prohibited to sleep in your vehicle or camp in ANY of the national parks, except in the designated campgrounds. Another possibility for you would be to camp in the national forest lands (where they exist) outside the parks, either dispersed or in a campground, or in nearby commercial campgrounds -- which are usually marginally less expensive than motels. Last summer, the typical charge I paid for private campground camping was around $18 or $20.

I have Microsoft's Streets and Trips so we have a general route planned. You can type a desination into S & T and it shows you how to get there. RoadtripAmerica.com has been super in our planning. But since Internet access will not be available in the car, is there any software on the market like S & T that would be like the Lonely Planet USA book, that would allow us to review what each state offers so we can review it on the road as we travel?

Mexicali as an entry point into Mexico is better if you only want to say that you were in Mexico. However, I would recommend that you enter at Tecate and follow Hwy 2 east then exit at Mexicali. You will be able to say that you were in Mexico and also see a great downhill road into Mexicali.

OK, we are two months from departure and I am reviewing a new concern - Big Cities. Being a midwestern guy I can handle Chicago pretty well even taking in the likes of Navy Pier. In New York we plan to leave the car in Connecticut and take the Transit in to the Big Apple. I think the closest stop is Stamford though we might use New Haven since I know a student at Yale. What about other cities like LA, San Fran or Seattle? Can one expect to travel in and find a place for the car or is there a place for the car and then use public transportation?

If you are fine with Chicago, then in my experience, there is no city that will bother you. Even Manhattan is easier to navigate than Chicago at rush hour. Parking rates are a little extreme in Manhattan, but those other cities are reasonably on par with Chicago.

Mark

You might want to park across the Bay and ride into San Francisco on BART. Traffic is heavy, lots of one way streets that can be confusing and parking is at a premium.