Portland to Albuquerque and Back

[Mahukaawe]

We're planning on driving from Portland to Albuquerque in 3 days with stops in Twin Falls and Moab. With 3 kids (7 to 8) are we crazy?
Any suggestions on stops, stays or sights on this trip?
May add a day to slow up a bit or if there is something fun for the kids.
I was in Moab years ago and wonder if that would be good place to stay an extra day or would it be better to just add another 1 night stop along the route.
Thanks

[Midwest Michael]

Welcome to the RTA Forum!

The kinds of drives you are looking at are very reasonable and certainly can be done as part of a family trip.

You're going through some incredibly scenic areas, and could easily add in a stop at any of at least 4 national parks that could be right along your route. If you spent a full extra day in Moab, you could certainly look at exploring either or both of Arches and Canyonlands. You could also do a stop at 4 corners, and let your kids say they were in 4 states at once which they might enjoy. You might also think about stopping in Durango and spend a day taking the train to Silverton, just as a couple of ideas.

[glc]

With 3 days, you have picked the 2 logical overnight stops. Without sightseeing, you are looking at reasonable 10 hour driving days. If you want to do any exploring, you may want to add a day or more to your trip.

[Tony J Case, Super Genius]

We're planning on driving from Portland to Albuquerque in 3 days with stops in Twin Falls and Moab. With 3 kids (7 to 8) are we crazy?
Any suggestions on stops, stays or sights on this trip?
May add a day to slow up a bit or if there is something fun for the kids.
I was in Moab years ago and wonder if that would be good place to stay an extra day or would it be better to just add another 1 night stop along the route.
Thanks

I drove from Seattle to Four Corners last year - more or less the same trip - with five days, and it wasnt nearly enough. Oh we got there and back and did a fair amount of siteseeing, but there was so much more that I could have done. Another 2 or so days would have been ideal.

So if you're just driving through - yeah, 3 days isnt a problem. My friends record from Seattle to Vegas is 13 hours, so 3 days is plenty. If you want to look around tho, you might be limiting yourself.

As for things to see. If I were a kid, I'd love seeing the Golden Spike, up in the north end of Salt Lake. Doesnt take much time to see, but if youre doing it in the summer, time it so you get to see the replica trains roll out. That and on the way up, you pass by a aerospace factory with a ton of rockets and boosters on display out in front. That's hella cool to check out (and a pretty quick stop, too).

If you need more convincing, check out some of my photos of my trip.

[Midwest Michael]

My friends record from Seattle to Vegas is 13 hours, so 3 days is plenty.

1250 miles in 13 hours? I think your friend may be exaggerating things a bit. Unless they were spending most of their trip driving around 140 mph, there simply is no way you can average 97 mph for that kind of distance.

[Tony J Case, Super Genius]

1250 miles in 13 hours? I think your friend may be exaggerating things a bit. Unless they were spending most of their trip driving around 140 mph, there simply is no way you can average 97 mph for that kind of distance.

Whoops - typo. I dont know why I put 13 hours. It should have been NINETEEN hours. I blame my dislexic fingers for that snafu.

[Midwest Michael]

Well that sounds more like reality. Still, it is a pretty impressive pace, as you have to spend a good chunk of time traveling 80-90 and really keep your stops as short as possible just to get your average time up around 64/65 mph. My personal best for a full day travel is about 62, and that involved spending much of the trip traveling at or above 80.

[Mahukaawe]

We are driving from Albuquerque to Las Vegas in one day in July. No way we can do the Grand Canyon this trip but is there anything along the way we shouldn’t miss. We will have a van full of kids so a few stops to break up the drive will be needed since it will be a long one. We gotta do it in one day so we will have 2 nights in Vegas before we head on up to Oregon.

[Midwest Michael]

You're already looking at a good 10 hours on the road for this trip, so you don't have a ton of time to stop. However, the Painted Desert/Petrified Forest is right along your way. I remember making that stop as a kid and finding the petrified wood to be pretty cool. You'll also be heading right over the hoover dam, so you can spend some time there too!

[glc]

You would have time to take the stretch of old 66 between Seligman and Kingman. This is only about 15 miles longer, and wouldn't add more than half an hour plus stops to the drive.