Coast to coast in 4 weeks

[jkvist]

Greeting!

Me and my girlfriend is planning a road trip from las vegas to new york.
We start in San Fransisco and will travel highway 1 down the coast of california to Las Vegas.
We'll spend 3 weeks travelling from Las Vegas to New York and we are looking for some advice.

First: which way would be most "scenic", we are wondering if we should travel the southern route through new mexico and texas or we should travel the northern route over dakota idaho and dakota.

We are planning to travel up the east coast.

Second: any tips on what to see.

[Midwest Michael]

Welcome to the RTA Forum!

I'm always a little perplexed when people ask about using "the northern route" vs. "the southern route", as if there were only 2 options for crossing the country.

3 weeks for a one way trip across country gives you lots of time to explore and see the things you want to see. If you are also hoping to travel up the east coast and finishing in New York, it might make more sense to stay somewhat south so you don't have to do a lot of zig-zagging.

Otherwise, I'd do a little research and figure out what things you'd most like to see. There are millions of great things across the country, be it natural features, amazing cities, or unusual landmarks. Find a few things would be highlights for your taste and start building a route around them.

[jkvist]

Thanks, Michael!

We're coming over from Norway - and having read "Road trip USA" - a great book - we are left with the impression there are only certain routes to go see.

Me and my girlfriend are probebly leaning to going through Arizona, New Mexico and Texas, hoping to see some of the historical sites of USA, personally I want to see Flagstaff, Indian reservations, and ghost towns.

Parts of route 66, and Memphis kind of go hand in hand, and is what I think of as a must on a road trip.

I guess what we are asking for is some pointers to some "gems",so we don't end up driving on the state higways.

On the road up the east coast, we would like to catch the sites, of Wilmington, Appomatox, Washington D.C., Gettysburg.

[AZBuck]

Velkommen! Welcome aboard the RoadTrip America Forums!

Get yourselves a good map of the US. Better yet, an atlas with a page devoted to each state. There are literally dozens of major cross-country highways and hundreds of possible combinations. Just look over the maps and start noting the places you'd like to see, Grand Canyon, Memphis, whatever. When you have enough 'big' things that you think you can spend a week seeing them and another week driving, play connect the dots by whatever roads best get you from point A to point B. Do NOT worry about driving on US or even state highways. The Interstates (motorways) are fine for covering distance, but it's the local highways that will get you where you want to go. Sadly, Route 66 does not actually exist anymore, it was decommissioned over 20 years ago, and even when it did, it did not go to Memphis. Again, pick the places you want to see and let the roads work themselves out.

Some personal favorites of mine that seem to be along the lines of what you're looking for. Monument Valley with a native American guide, the Taos Pueblo in New Mexico, Beale Street and Sun Studio in Memphis and Shiloh just east of there. Also, as someone who grew up in Wilmington, I am both surprised and gratified to see that it made your list. Be sure to check out the traces of its Scandinavian roots: Old Swedes Church and the Kalmar Nyckel.

AZBuck

[Midwest Michael]

Ah, Road Trip USA, now I understand. While it is a good book, it can give the impression that roadtrips are about following specific paths, which is the furthest thing from the truth, IMHO.

Saying that, it sounds like the places you want to go are mostly in the southern half of the US, and in that case, that's where you should travel. The advice and recommendations given by Buck are, as usual, spot on.