Planning trip from my home in mississippi to seattle

[SDuch]

Hi Everyone! I am just new here and so glad to see all the wonderful posts. I live in Mississippi and have to attend meetings in Seattle the first week of January 2024. My hubby is a Christian pastor, so he has to preach on Christmas Eve but otherwise, we have a week or so to travel, and then coming home, we can go even slower. I have a dear friend in LA and other friends up near Berkeley but I have always flown to see them. We also have never seen the Grand Canyon or Death Valley. We have also heard many stories from people about Route 66 or what is left of it, and that is also a lot of fun. We have two dogs and one is a standard poodle we just got as a puppy this year so we are driving. I am from Philadelphia PA so we have traveled all up and down the east coast hundreds of times in all weather, but we have never driven these roads on the West Coast. I am wondering if I should be worried about the weather in northern California and Washington. Also, does anyone have advice about Route 66 ? Any thoughts - if we go that route, should we go that way on the way back so we can take our time? or is it something that doesn't necessarily need that? I also wonder about the coastal highway in the winter - maybe it is a bad idea - we haven't seen our friends since before covid and would love to visit with them in LA. In the past, we took the train up the coast when we lived in San Diego but this is a very different circumstance. Anyway, I didn't see too many articles on Route 66 or traveling up the coastal highway in winter, so I thought I would check here and see if the group could help me. I appreciate the help!

[Southwest Dave]

Hello and welocme to the RTA forums !

From central Mississippi to Seattle is about 2500 miles so you won't have a lot of time to sightsee on the way with a week for the journey. With shorter days and possible weather disruption I would recommend keeping to no more than 500 miles per day which in real terms would be 8 to 9 hours of travel with lunch and rest breaks etc. The other 2 days you will have the option to shorten your days travel and make short stops along the way for attractions, have a couple of days off from driving and sightsee, or you may just use them as a bit of 'wiggle' room should you have to shorten a days travel due to poor weather. Heading along route 66 on the way would add close to another full days driving giving you less time to stop.

You will need to keep an eye on the weather forecasts and road conditions but you shouldn't be worried in particular, just use common sense the same as you would elsewhere. The same goes for your drive home and how much time you actually have and what you most want to do will determine your route. Between Seattle and LA you could pick and choose between the coast and I-5 depending on conditions and the time you have. (The coast is amazing through Oregon and Cali but it is slow going and you will want to keep stopping for the views) From LA you could drive through Joshua tree NP and discover one of the best sections of route 66 through Amboy to Oatman and up to Kingman and through Peach Springs to Seligman to the Grand canyon. Beyond the Grand canyon are the '66 towns of Winslow and Holbrook and the Petrified NP. As I mentioned earlier, it will all depend on time and conditions (which you should check each morning) but hopefully that will give you some food for thought.

Dave

[DonnaR57]

Dave mentioned the best parts of old 66, so I won't do that. Much of the rest of the old 66 is under I-40 pavement, or it's labeled "Historic 66" or "(State route)-66".

It's your trip, but if it were me, the Grand Canyon would be calling (I've been 4 or 5 times), the South Rim is open year-round. You *may* see snow up there, as it's at higher elevation. Allow a full day at GCNP. As for Petrified Forest, it has no lodging or camping (both can be found in Holbrook, about 20 miles away), and can be driven in 2-4 hours depending on how much you stop, get out and walk.


Donna

[AZBuck]

Welcome aboard the RoadTrip America Forums!

Between "Mississippi" (I used Jackson as a starting point) and Seattle, there are two main options for routing. They are almost exactly the same number of miles, 2500, so five days at 500 mi/day. The alternative is to take I-55/I-555 north to Jonesboro AR, then US-63/US-60 to Springfield MO, MO-13/MO-7 to I-49 and Kansas City. Next, I-29 north to Sioux Falls SD and I-90 west to Seattle. The advantages to this routing is that it should carry a bit less traffic and it takes you through the Black Hills of South Dakota where there are a number of worthwhile attractions. Yes, you'll be farther north, but staying south is no guarantee of better weather and the Interstates do receive first attention during any winter precipitation. Hold your extra day or two until the end of this route and you won't be tempted to press on regardless.

I would also do this trip in a counter-clockwise direction, saving the LA portion for the return drive when you'll have more time. As you firm up your plans, please don't hesitate to come back and get some of the finer details of the route you've chosen

AZBuck

[BillyGr]

While you could visit items that are connected to Route 66 as already mentioned, for the most part the route itself is not so helpful.

Being that it runs from Illinois to California, and you are going from Mississippi to Washington, they are sort of opposite directions - 66 moves north to south as it goes west, while you are going south to north as you go west.

Think of the letter X - you are going from bottom right to top left, while 66 is going top right to bottom left. Thus, they cross, but really don't parallel each other too well.

[Ram4]

I'll add a little more to what everyone has said. To me 66 is a little more special driving from East to West as is the scenery changes from what I am more used to (from Chicago) rather than back to what I am used to. That being said you definitely would want to do it where you can spend more time (it's meant to be done in small pieces where you can take your time and live in the moment) so doing it on your way home is your best option here since you mentioned you can take it slower which is perfect.

66 is the best during the warmer months due to weather and much more daylight but is still great year round. I am driving to LA from here in Chicago in January (did it last January too) and my route is along/on Route 66 by default. The weather got up to close to 70 along the way which was great. While I am not "doing" a 66 trip, I am either on it or next to it the whole way so I like to take advantage of that. I also will avoid bad winter weather as much as possible so I am keeping my options open to taking a much more southern route if I have to. Since you are coming from Mississippi and I have no idea your experience with winter driving I will mention that I refuse to drive on any interstate or highway in a snow storm. Even if I take precautions I could still be caught in a pile-up or stuck behind one for who knows how long. I don't know why but I do romanticize about being at a truck stop in the middle of a storm talking for hours with strangers. I guess I've seen a few movies! But I love meeting new people on the road especially when we're in the same boat.

I love the national parks and can't believe I am saying this but I have yet to visit Grand Canyon. It is one of those places that I keep saving for another trip. I will have at least two more chances next year to see it. I did stop at Petrified Forest last January since I-40/66 runs through it and hiked for a couple of hours. It was a beautiful sunny day in the 30's - great for hiking. I hope to do that again. Note: The famous Blue Swallow motel on Route 66 in Tucumcarri, NM is closed in January (but the fun to visit Wig Wam Motel in Holbrook, AZ is open!).

[Lifemagician]

(The coast is amazing through Oregon and Cali but it is slow going and you will want to keep stopping for the views) From LA you could drive through Joshua tree NP and discover one of the best sections of route 66 through Amboy to Oatman and up to Kingman and through Peach Springs to Seligman to the Grand canyon. Beyond the Grand canyon are the '66 towns of Winslow and Holbrook and the Petrified NP. As I mentioned earlier, it will all depend on time and conditions (which you should check each morning) but hopefully that will give you some food for thought.

One of the most memorable drives. I'd make every effort to include it. Wishing I was there right now.

Lifey