Amherst, MA to Las Vegas!

[mshaf]

What a great forum...My partner and I are moving to Las Vegas and have decided to make our move a part of our roadtrip this summer. We have approximately 20 days of travel time. We have about a week planned out from MA to Chicago. What we are looking for are some suggestions around the trip from Chicago to Las Vegas. Neither of us has really seen the West so we are really excited to see some of the sights. Here is some info about us so you can offer some suggested routes:
1) Both in our late twenties
2) Plan to camp to save some money but are also willing to stay in a nice hotel from time to time.
3) After gas, we have about $3000 to spend on whatever
4) Driving in a new car so not worried about breakdowns
5) Bought a membership to AAA for the convenience mainly
6) Thinking about getting an electric cooler for the trip (Any recommendations?)

I'm still reading many of the posts and the suggestions for others are very applicable. Thanks in advance for your help!

[Mark Sedenquist]

What a great forum..

Thanks and welcome to the Great American RoadTrip Forum!

My partner and I are moving to Las Vegas and have decided to make our move a part of our roadtrip this summer.

Las Vegas is our home town and here are some cool things we enjoy about living and working here.

What we are looking for are some suggestions around the trip from Chicago to Las Vegas.

Well, I would think since you are headed west, you ought to go to the arch in St. Louis (go to the top, and feel that "sway") and then head to Kansas City -- awesome BBQ and cool blues clubs in KC. The Grand Emporium is a good place to start. Then I would jump on I-70 and go explore as much of the Colorado Rockies as you can. US-50 up to Grand Junction would be my choice and go drive around the Colorado Monument for a day or so. Then it is hard to beat I-70 through the San Rafael Swell area with detours to Arches NP and Moab

and see the wonderful hoodoos at Goblin Valley.

At US-89 you can head south and see Byrce NP and the drive through Zion on SR-9. If you have time, it is really fun to stay over-night at the cabins in Zion! Before heading on down to Las Vegas.

6) Thinking about getting an electric cooler for the trip (Any recommendations?)

Here are some other "essentials" for your trip.

Happy Planning!

Mark

[PNW Judy]

I have an inexpensive one that can carry the equivalent of 9 cans of pop. It works pretty well. However, if you're traveling in a very hot area, don't count on it keeping things like meat cold enough to last a long time. Here's what I usually do. Maybe this will help.

If I have food that could easily spoil if kept too warm too long (mainly meats and eggs), I keep most of it in a regular cooler with ice. But I don't want to deal with ice when I'm on the move and just want to grab a quick snack. So I'll just move up into the electric cooler enough for that day. And any drinks that go into the electric cooler have usually spent some time with the ice so that they're quite cold before going in. This helps keep everything in the whole unit colder. If it's really hot out, I will sometimes put a bit of ice into a small sandwich-size ziplock bag. That extra ice can make a huge difference in keeping the stuff in the electric cooler cold enough.

Since I often travel solo these days, this is a good system for me. That way I don't have to reach into an ice chest while driving to get a cold drink. Or fish through a wet ice chest to grab some meat and cheese rolls, etc. It makes it a lot easier since I don't have an extra person that's not driving to do the fishing around. And then the electric cooler can sit on the passenger seat, or on the floor in front of the passenger seat, where I can easily access it.

However, if two or more of us are going, I often leave the electric cooler at home since it's relatively easy for the navigator to reach around in the backseat and get something out of the cooler.

Also, don't make the mistake of leaving your car for hours with the cooler turned on. It can be a real battery drain. I've had a dead battery because of it. If I'm going hiking or something for several hours and don't want to risk a dead battery or spoiled food, I either (1) just move everything back into the ice chest; or (2) put an additional ziplock sandwich bag of ice in the electric cooler, turn it off, and then put a jacket or blanket over it to give it a bit of extra insulation. Whichever method I choose depends on what kind of food is in it, how long I think I'll be gone, and how hot it is outside.

Hope this helps.

[mshaf]

Great suggestions! Thank you very much for taking the time.