Need a few ideas on trip - NYC to Vegas

[Reno-Raines]

Hello everyone.
My wife and i will be spending 3 weeks in America in October-early November 2007, and have decided to spend 5 days in NYC before driving across country to Las Vegas. We will have between 10-12 days to drive there, and we're wondering about which places between the two cities are worth visiting. We're pretty flexible about going a little out of the way to visit a worthwhile attraction. We were wondering if anybody has any suggestions for us through middle America as far as sights go. We're still in the early stages of planning but would appreciate any thoughts or suggestions. Thanks alot.
Simon and Gabby.

[Mass Tim]

Welcome to the RoadTrip America Forum!

You have a tight, but reasonable driving schedule in there, and that will allow you the flexibility to see some truly great sights:

The Jefferson National Expansion Memorial
Grand Canyon
Spend some time on Route 66.

These are just a few- what are your interests? Are you more into nature, urban life, or a mixture of the two?

A search (green bar under your user name) of these forums will give you many ideas as well.

[Mark Sedenquist]

We're still in the early stages of planning but would appreciate any thoughts or suggestions. Thanks alot.

Simon and Gabby, like Mass Tim suggested, it can be helpful to think about what the goals for this upcoming adventure. Around RTA, we refer this, in part, as being part of a roadtripper's profile. Here is a little more about that and you might find our essays about choosing a style of road trip helpful as well.

Mark

[KingofJacks]

I am driving from NJ to San Diego with a stop in Vegas on the way. I am leaving on January 3rd so i will let you know if I saw anything interesting...

[Reno-Raines]

Great, thanks alot KOJ.
I should have been a little more specific in what we hope to achieve during our trip. I figure in NYC and Vegas we'll be doing the touristy things (We're from Australia and haven't been to the U.S before) so i guess driving between NYC and Las Vegas i'd kind of like to see the not so famous attractions. I like the idea of small towns with interesting histories rather than the run of the mill big bright lights and over hyped attractions that i'm sure we'll be overloaded on in the other two cities.

[Jon Morris]

Hello there.
I am an ex-pom who has travelled extensivly across USA. My suggestion would be to plan a bit of a zig-zag between traditional Northern and Southern routes.
Including perhaps: Niagara Falls/Washington DC/Shanandoah Valley/Carolinas (my home)/Tennessee Mountains/Kentucky/Mid-West/Great Plains/Black Hills (awesome!)/Mt Rushmore/Yellowstone/ Salt Lake/Grand Canyon/Vegas.
You would miss New England and the Deep South - but could you plan another trip?
Great travels!
Jon

[Jon Morris]

After reviewing my map realize it would be difficult to step back to DC after Niagara - so either miss the falls, or miss DC?
Jon

[Midwest Michael]

Narrowing down the choices is always the tough part of a trip like this, there is so much you can see, yet a limited time to see it.

As far as finding the small towns with history, sometimes your best bet is just to get off the Interstate and talk to people in the towns you drive through.

I suggest you read one traveler's trip through South Dakota as an example of this. While the Dakotas could be a great place to find it, there are countless other places and routes where you could find a trip that is just as enjoyable.

[Reno-Raines]

Thanks for the read, that was a great recount of a trip i'd love to experience. I think our trip will be similar in that we'll have to find alot of the simple joys of middle America by stumbling upon it. That in itself is an exciting thought. We're planning another trip down the track sometime where we'll spend 3 months seeing the entire country which will be sensational. This trip in October will be an experience where we'll have to feel out America and get an idea on what to expect somewhat when we have the big trip. I think not knowing what is out there and simply running into it is a pretty good way to go right now.