One Tank Road Trips

[Mark Sedenquist]

For a couple of years I wrote a monthly article for the local NPR radio affiliate magazine, featuring some of the top one-tank road trips from the Las Vegas area. You can read the magazine article here.

Since that time, others have suggested their favorite one-tank road trips from their hometowns. What are your picks for your area?

Here is the directory list of articles I've written for the Desert Companion Magazine

May 2011... Five top picks from Las Vegas -- great photos!
Mesquite and wild west roads along the Virgin River, Rainbow Canyon at Caliente, Ely and vintage trains, Chloride Murals, Kelso singing dunes, Knob Hill, Nine-mile canyon road near Ridgecrest, More from Death Valley including Titus Canyon and Racetrack Playa -- home to the mysterious sliding stones!

Bluegrass, bazaars and the (actual!) London Bridge
US-95 to Blythe, east along I-10 to Dome Rock Road to Quartzsite, north along Arizona Highway-95 to Parker Dam Road, north once more on AZ-95 through Lake Havasu, Mohave Valley, Bullhead City, crossing the river at Laughlin. West on Nevada Highway 163 to Christmas Tree Road and return to Las Vegas on US-Hwy 95.

Ostriches Run Amok
Las Vegas: Exit I-15 at Jean. Take NV-161 to Sandy Valley Road. At Sky Ranch, go south on Kingston Road (there’s a stretch that’s unpaved). Keep heading south on Cima Road to Kelso, then take Kelbaker Road to Route 66, turning west on Amboy Road. At Twentynine Palms continue south through Joshua Tree National Park to Indio. Take I-10 west to Cabazon. The fastest route back to Las Vegas is through Victorville on I-15.

Lonliest Highway in America -- US-50
North on US Hwy-93 to NV SR-376 and then east on US Hwy-50, returning on US Hwy-93 to I-15 for a 775 mile round trip

Greatest Mule Show on Earth -- Bishop, California

Five more of my favorite trips May, 2012!
(Trips include: The Mt. Charleston Loop, Coral Pink Sand Dunes, The Tehachapi Loop, Whitney Portal, and Death Valley.

A Summer Delight along the Kern Plateau -- Southern-most Sierra Nevada crossing!
(US-95 to CA-190 to US-395 to Nine Mile Canyon Road to Kennedy Meadows Road to Sherman Pass Road to Kern River Road)
Map

July, 2012: A Southwest Road Food Jaunt featuring a photo by Peter Thody...

Sept. 2012: So much more than the Rose Bowl... A road trip to Pasadena.

October is a perfect time to go ghost hunting on road trips in the west! Ghost Towns, Haunted Hotels and children of the corn... await you.

For November, I didn't pen a road trip destination article, instead here are some gift ideas that might intrigue your favorite roadtripper!

Two articles in the December Desert Companion Magazine. First one was penned by Megan Edwards and she shares four of her favorite CAT bus routes for exploring Las Vegas!

The second article offers some tips and memories about favorite road food we've enjoyed over the last decade or so of roadtripping! One of Gerald "Mr. RoadTrip" Thurman's photos is featured too!

February, 2013 features an article I penned about the "Living Ghost Town" known as Randsburg, California.

June, 2013 was the first annual photography contest sponsored by Desert Companion Magazine and I penned an article about my favorite photo locations within a day's drive from Las Vegas. "Southwest Shutterbug: You'll Trip for these Pics"

September, 2013: There is an amazing collection of mass market paperbacks lurking at the Clark County Museum in Henderson, Nevada. Megan Edwards interviews Mark Hall-Patton, curator of the collection, in a new article published in the Desert Companion magazine. Read The Vegas pulp connection here.

[Southwest Dave]

Nice article !

A great thread starter to perhaps [hopefully] gain some useful local Intel from members hometowns.

Come on people !

[Lifemagician]

... local Intel from members' hometowns.

Come on people !

Not too sure that any I know would be too relevant, but it certainly has given some great ideas.

Great article!

[jcorb2d]

Nice article !

A great thread starter to perhaps [hopefully] gain some useful local Intel from members hometowns.

Come on people !

Well, I have two "homes."

From where I grew up near (near Auburn CA - about 40 miles E on I-80 from Sacramento) I have a favorite:

Follow CA-49 South through Coloma to Placerville and then East on US-50. Day hike into the Desolation Wilderness and back out. Continue East on 50 to Tahoe. Around the West shore of Lake Tahoe on CA-89 and CA-26 to CA-267 to Truckee (fun little town). West on I-80 to Colfax, then CA-174 to Grass Valley and Nevada City (past the Empire Mine where my Great Grandfather was a miner - get a pasty in Grass Valley, they are, IMHO better than the ones you tend to find in the UP of Michigan) Then return south on CA-49 to Auburn.

From St. Louis (where I live now - a half-tank trip. This is less than 200 miles of driving.):

South on I-55 to Ste Genevieve, stopping for pie at the Blue Owl in Kimmswick. If you want, get off 55 and follow US-61 South. (Either from Kimmswick or (better yet) from somehwere around Crystal City.) Stop in Ste Genevieve for the night if you are hotelling (it's a fun town) or, if camping, take MO-32 West to Hawn State Park. Hike depending on your ability/interest there (whether you camp there or not) and then be sure to do the ~2 mile loop hike nearby at Pickle Springs. Continue West on MO-32 to Farmington. Hang a right and get on US-67 N. Pass by St. Joe State Park and stop at St Francois State Park. Back on US-67 N. At MO-110 cut over W to MO-21 and follow back N to St. Louis. As I live about a block and a half off of MO-21, this leads almost to my doorstep.

FWIW,
Jon

[Mark Sedenquist]

I've got to look into these routes -- thanks for posting!

Mark

[shirohniichan]

Yikes-- I just spent about half an hour typing out a one-tank trip from Anaheim to Anza Borrego State Park to Julian to Oceanside to Anaheim, but it all went "poof" when IE stopped responding and I had to shut it down.

I'll redo it in Word and paste it here later.

[Mark Sedenquist]

Lots of problems with browsers these days. I see Firefox has a new one 5.0 -- Gets more and more tricky for us to create software that works in all of these platforms.

Mark

[shirohniichan]

This may be a nice side trip for those visiting Disneyland or other attraction in Orange County.

Day 1 (total driving time: approx. 2 ½ hours)
Head east on CA-91 to I-15 south to Temecula. Temecula is Southern California’s wine country, and wine tasting opportunities abound. As drinking and driving don’t mix, it’s best to eat lunch here and keeping the wine tasting within reasonable limits. If you avoid rush hour traffic (roughly between 3:00 and 7:00 PM) it should only take an hour to get from Anaheim to Temecula.

The next leg of the trip from Temecula to Borrego Springs is about a 1 ½ hour drive through oak-studded hills on CA-79 south. Spring is the ideal time for scenery as the chaparral comes alive with colorful wildflowers. Right beside the road in Oak Grove is the last complete Butterfield Stage station.

From 1857 through 1861 the Butterfield Stage ran between St. Louis and San Francisco, and this California historic site reminds us of times when travel took longer and lacked comforts we take for granted. Passing through Warner Springs you will see a sailplane field and golf course. When you head east on San Felipe Road and Montezuma Valley Road you will gain a bit in elevation before descending into the desert climate of Borrego Springs.

Anza Borrego State Park surrounds the town, and the park offers many hiking and sightseeing opportunities. Campgrounds and a nice B&B are near the park’s visitor center, and you can expect to easily spend an hour at the visitor center learning about the area’s history, climate, flora and fauna.

Day 2 (total driving time: 2 ¾ hours)
Take Borrego Springs Road south to Yaqui Pass Road south, and then head west on CA-78. As you head west you will climb from the desert through chaparral and up into evergreen forests by the time you reach Julian. This is about a 45-minute drive. Julian once attracted gold miners in the 1870s, but now it is mostly known for its apples and antique stores. Take a mine tour, stroll through town, and eat lunch and a slice of pie before heading down CA-78 west toward the coast.


After you pass the town of Ramona you will see citrus groves near San Pasqual County Park. Citrus groves used to blanket Southern California, but now they stand out as scarce reminders of an agricultural era from the 1880s until the 1960s housing boom led to their demise. A small group of American soldiers and Marines under the command of General Stephen Kearny suffered defeat at the hands of Californios at San Pasqual in one of the few battles of the Mexican American War in 1846.

Take CA-78 west through Escondido and into the city of Vista. Turn right on El Camino Real and head north to San Luis Rey Mission Expressway. Turn right again, and in about ½ mile turn left onto Rancho de Oro Drive. This will take you to Mission San Luis Rey de Francia, about a 1 ½ hour drive from Julian. Franciscan missionaries built it as the 18th of 21 missions in 1798, but the current structure was built in 1811. After a brief tour it will be dinner time.

Follow the San Luis Rey Mission Expressway (CA-76) west into the city of Oceanside. It’s only about a 10-minute drive to the pier in Oceanside, and there are many places to eat nearby. If you want to eat on the pier itself, there’s a Ruby’s Diner at the end. The drive back to Anaheim will take a little over an hour if I-5 north isn’t crowded, so you may want to spend some time on a stroll along the beach before heading back.

The trip takes about 275 miles, and that is well within the range of my Subaru Outback.

More photos taken by shirohniichan from this trip here.

[Lifemagician]

... but it all went "poof" when IE stopped responding and I had to shut it down.

I feel for you. Can't count the times that that happens to me. Not just on this site.

Lifey

[Mark Sedenquist]

This may be a nice side trip for those visiting Disneyland or other attraction in Orange County..

Very nice suggestions... Now you just have to learn how to map 'em!

Thanks,

mark