Philly to San Diego in Sept

[symple246]

I am a traveling nurse taking a new assignment out in San Diego. I'm so excited to start something new. I would be out on the west coast for 3months and then returning to Philly in late December. I have about 10-14 days to make the trip cross country, both on the way out and on my return. I have places in mind where I would like to stop, but I'm not sure if it's better on the way out or on my return. I'm open to pretty much anything, however I am a young female traveling alone, so safety is an issue. Any added suggestions and stops would be greatly appreciated.


St. Louis
Chicago
Hoover Dam
Grand Canyon
Four Corners
Monument Valley
route 66

[AZBuck]

Welcome aboard the RoadTrip America Forums!

As you point out, you actually have two RoadTrips ahead of you, and you can certainly take separate routes out and back. Since most of the places you've listed are in the southwest, you'll probably want to take a more southerly set of roads on the way to San Diego. A typical set would be I-81 down to Tennessee and then I-40 west to Barstow, CA before finishing up on I-15 to San Diego. On the way back, you could use I-15 again but continue on up through Las Vegas into Utah to see Zion and Bryce Canyon, then take I-70 east past Arches and through the heart of the Colorado Rockies before crossing the plains to St. Louis. From there I-55 would get you to Chicago and I-80 and I-76 would complete the loop back to Philly. As far as safety goes, read through this thread started by a young French Canadian woman and then realize that Gen is now a pro RoadTripper and one of the best and most frequent contributors to these forums.

AZBuck