Planning a trip from Buffalo, NY to Los Angeles (or however far we make it)

[NYtoLA2005]

Hi all,

I'm new to this forum, and my wife and I are planning a road trip for August of this year. Our plan is to drive west across the country in our Honda Civic (almost 40 MPG highway!) and see how far we can get with 16 days total for the trip out and back.

We're hoping to stop in Vegas at some point, and intend to use a combination of Camping and Hotels (or Hostels) for sleeping. I'm currently looking for as much information as I can get in regards to planning this trip, so any traveling/route/site-seeing/camping suggestions that anyone out there in Roadtrip America land can offer would be most appreciated.

Thanks in advance!!

[Mark Sedenquist]

I'm new to this forum, and my wife and I are planning a road trip for August of this year. Our plan is to drive west across the country in our Honda Civic (almost 40 MPG highway!) and see how far we can get with 16 days total for the trip out and back.

Welcome to the Forum! I like the approach -- with no firm destination and sixteen days you can see a lot of cool things. As an aside, are you aware of how many former residents of Buffalo now live in Las Vegas? Almost as many as can found in the Hawaiian community (can't really find a connection here). On a reasonable and still a quick run, you can make LA in four days which leaves just over a week for exploring and moseying.

We're hoping to stop in Vegas at some point, and intend to use a combination of Camping and Hotels (or Hostels) for sleeping. I'm currently looking for as much information as I can get in regards to planning this trip, so any traveling/route/site-seeing/camping suggestions that anyone out there in Roadtrip America land can offer would be most appreciated.

There are hundreds (thousands) of posts on this forum about possible routes between LA and the east coast. One easy way to look is to use the "Similar Thread" box on the bottom each page (of posts).

[NYtoLA2005]

Welcome to the Forum! I like the approach -- with no firm destination and sixteen days you can see a lot of cool things. As an aside, are you aware of how many former residents of Buffalo now live in Las Vegas? Almost as many as can found in the Hawaiian community (can't really find a connection here). On a reasonable and still a quick run, you can make LA in four days which leaves just over a week for exploring and moseying.

- Now that you mention it, I do know of quite a few people who moved to Vegas, but I wasn't aware that the same was true in Hawaii (must be the heat that draws them - we get pretty cold here :-) )

There are hundreds (thousands) of posts on this forum about possible routes between LA and the east coast. One easy way to look is to use the "Similar Thread" box on the bottom each page (of posts).

- Thanks for pointing me out to the similar threads, I was able to find some interesting info. I plan to use AAA for all my map/tourbook needs, but I would love some suggestions from other travelers on sites to see along the way (preferrably related to the awe of nature).

Again, any further input would be appreciated.

Thanks!

[Mark Sedenquist]

- Now that you mention it, I do know of quite a few people who moved to Vegas, but I wasn't aware that the same was true in Hawaii

Actually there are more Hawaiians here in Las Vegas than any other place (outside of the Hawaii) -- in fact they refer to LV as the Ninth Island It is easy to find Hawiian BBQ here -- they can do things to SPAM you could never imagine! Also the original (reputed) founder of Buffalo Wings lives here now.

As far as the trip goes -- make a circuit in Utah and Colorado -- there are more natural wonders in those two states than you can believe.

Mark

[Robert Schaller]

For "natural stuff," the first thing that comes to mind is a brewery tour at the Coors plant in Golden, CO... complete with samples at the end.

The most obvious area along your route of travel is I-70 west from Denver, with side trips into the Colorado Rockies, such as a run down US550 (The Million Dollar Highway) to Durango and Mesa Verde. Then, southern Utah -- see as much of that as you have time for -- Arches, Canyonlands, Monument Valley, Capital Reef, Bryce, Zion, Lake Powell... For even more excitement, see if you can book a short river float trip on the Green River at Moab.

As visitors who want to see the West, you'd be hard pressed to find anything more spectacular. Just as spectacular, maybe, but not more so. You could end up your Utah adventure at Zion, and Las Vegas is just a short run from there. Bob