Full Spring Road Trip

[MeZKaL]

I'm going to the States for 89 days from April 5th to July 2nd, arriving and leaving from NY.

Until April 18th I will be looking for a used car in NY or any near state. Then I will wait with no planned route until April18th when a friend of mine will arrive to NY-JFK to start the BIG TRIP.

From April 20th to June 28th (approx) we will do a round trip from NY yo NY.

We have planned a route without dates or directions. The details will be decide on the road.

The Idea:
NY -> Miami (Philadelphia, Washington, Smoky Mountains, Everglades)
Miami -> San Diego (New Orleans, New Mexico, South Arizona, Joshua Tree Ntl Park)
San Diego -> Seattle (LA, Santa Barbara, San Francisco, Redwoods, Portland)
Seattle -> Yellowstone
Yellowstone -> South Utah (Salt Lake, Arches, Canyonlands)
South Utah -> LA (Bryce, Zion, LV Death Valley)
LA -> Chicago (thru old Route 66: Grand Canyon, Monument Valley)
Chicago -> Detroit
Detroit -> Montreal (Toronto, Ottawa)
Montreal -> NY (Maine, Boston)

This route will probably change a lot but it is an starting point to have an idea of what to do.

Now I'm trying to make a list of interesting places on each state we plan to cross. With a nice list we will be able to decide each day what to do.

Both of us have already been in the South West so we won't spent many time on some parks.

We thank any suggestions or ideas.

My most important worry now is where to look for the used car. Any idea on which state or city less than 400 miles from NYC could i look for?
--
I forget to tell that we have prepared a kind of blog site to report during the trip and to upload pictures. The site is in spanish only, but hey, the pictures have no language!
At the moment we only have the best pictures about our old trips to the States.
The URL is http://www.route79.net/

[MeZKaL]

Looking around old mails I found some answers I got on the old Forum when I first told about my 3 month Road Trip (on October).

I'm copying here one of them because Syv really worked on the reply.

Forum: Spring Break RoadTrips
Thread: 79 Days RoadTrip!
Author: Syv
Subject: wow - what an opportunity!

Check www.nps.gov/parks.html

This website will show you on a map where all of the national parks, national monuments, and historic sites are. These are great places to go to learn about the country and see all of the varying scenery across the country. Buy a National Parks Pass (about $50). This gets you entry into ALL of the above & expires in one year.

Be sure your rental car has unlimited mileage. What we call a "VAN" or "mini-van" might be best for sleeping in. You can lay out on the floor beneath the rear seats if you are too big for sleeping across a bench seat. A 4WD or SUV will not have much sleeping room.


Places you'll want to see:

Washington, DC - Smithsonian museums (all free entry) & walk about to see all the monuments & government buildings

Asheville, NC - Biltmore Estate
Charleston, SC - historic homes & plantations, beautiful "deep south" area

New Orleans, Louisiana - take a swamp tour while there, see the historic homes & plantations between New Orleans & Baton Rouge. Drive along the Mississippi gulf coast (Biloxi, Gulfport) into Texas.

Dallas/Fort Worth, Texas - historic stockyards, see a rodeo! San Antonio Texas - do the "riverwalk", the missions tour, the Alamo. Big Bend National Park, Texas.

Carlsbad Caverns, New Mexico.

Grand Canyon, Arizona, Las Vegas, Sedona, see cotton fields south of / near Phoenix, Arizona.

BRYCE CANYON, ZION Nat'l Park - are MUSTS!!! Beautiful, amazing, favourite places of many. Southern Utah. Also MOAB, Utah as your stopping point for a few days in this area (Arches National Park, Canyonlands, Capitol Reef, etc.)

Mesa Verde National Park, CO

Yosemite National Park California.

Drive the coastal route - Hwy 1 & Hwy 101 between Los Angeles, CA & San Francisco. See Redwoods National Park.

YELLOWSTONE National Park & Grand Teton, WY (this area also a MUST-DO). Take hwy 212 ("Beartooth Highway") out of northeast exit from Yellowstone. Go to CODY WY. See Buffalo Bill Historical Center.

South Dakota - towns of Deadwood & Lead ("wild west" historic towns), Mt. Rushmore, Crazy Horse Memorial, Mammoth Site, Custer State Park. Continue across to BADLANDS National Park in South Dakota.

Detroit Michigan has the Henry Ford automotive museum. NIAGARA FALLS New York is a must.

Lancaster Pennsylvania is a very nice farming area with lots to do & see.

Mammoth Cave National Park, Kentucky.

www.byways.org shows you where all the scenic byways are instead of using the freeways ("Interstates") everywhere.

I could go on & on...

[MeZKaL]

I forget on the original Post to say that my intention is to buy a used SUV to enjoy the 4wd options around the US National Parks.

About this, Utahtea replied me with some useful information abount 4wd-driving in Utah.


Forum: Spring Break RoadTrips
Thread: 79 Days RoadTrip!
Author: Utahtea
Subject: 4 x 4 roads

Arches National Park, Utah & Canyonlands National Park, Utah both have excellent 4 x 4 roads. In fact, the town of Moab, Utah is kind of a 4 x 4 hub. Inside and outside of the park there are all kinds of degrees of roads to take. For beginners I recommend the Potash Road, to the Shafer trail (with a short side trip to Mussellman Arch on the White Rim Trail) from Moab, Utah up to Canyonlands, Island in the Sky District, then stop at Dead Horse State Park before taking Long Canyon back to Moab.

Capitol Reef National Park and Dinasour National Monument both have 4 wheel drive roads.

Here are some websites with information on 4 wheel drive roads in Utah.

http://www.discovermoab.com/fourwheel.htm

http://www.utah.com/offroad/index.htm

http://www.4x4now.com/mu4wd.htm

[AZBuck]

Well, you're certainly the envy of pretty much everybody on these boards. Rather than classify anything as a "must see", I'll suggest some "must consider"s. What you MUST see is up to you.

NY -> Miami: The Blue Ridge Parkway, absolutely the most scenic way to get from DC to Ashville, NC

Miami -> San Diego: All the high spots have been noted

San Diego -> Seattle: The coast highway (CA-1) for sure, Monterey/Carmel, the Oregon Coast

Yellowstone -> S. Utah: Dinosaur National Park (the west entrance from Vernal, UT)

S. Utah -> LA: Scotty's Castle in Death Valley National Park, tour a brothel (they're legal in some counties in Nevada, and some do give free tours)

LA -> Chicago: Meteor Crater, Petrified Forest National Park, St. Louis (zoo, arch, river boat tours)

Chicago -> Detroit: Not much to recommend on this segment

Detroit -> Montreal: via Canada to Niagra Falls, via USA through Thousand Islands to Ottawa (Canada's capital)

Montreal -> NY: Franconia Notch & Kankamagus Highway in Northern NH, drive to the top of Mt. Washington; Cape Neddick Lighthouse (the Nubble) in York, ME; Boton Heritage Trail

Seeing these and the other suggestions you've gotten here, you'll have covered more of the best of America than most natives.