Aussies on the road - advice

[sydney06]

Hi
My husband and I are coming to the USA for about 6 weeks and are planning 2 drives

Trip 1 (Approx 4 weeks)
LA
San Francsico
Seattle
Vancover
Spokane
Yellowstone
Deadwood/Rapid City
Denver
Dallas
San Antonio
El Paso
Phoenix
San Diego
LA


Trip 2 ( have 2 frineds joining us for 10 days)
LA
Grand Canyon
Las Vegas
San Francisco
LA

The first trip starts near the end of March and the 2nd near the end of April. As our previuos driving holiday in the USA was in August/September 2004, I ahev the following questions;

1) What will the road conditions be like ? Is there likely to be snow etc and any road closures
2) Is Vegas to San Fran drivable in one day ? And what is the most enjoybale route to take ?
3) Any suggestions on the drive from Denver to Dallas ? We are planning on this taking a couple of days and interested in stopping at some unique places if we can find them ( rather than Albuquerque and Oklahoma city where we stopped last time).
4) We have a Dodge Magnum for teh 1st trip. Any one know if this is a comfortable car for a long trip ?
5( Any otehr tips or itinary suggestions ?

Thanks for you help

Sydney

[Mark Sedenquist]

Hi
My husband and I are coming to the USA for about 6 weeks and are planning 2 drives

Welcome to the Forum!

The first trip starts near the end of March and the 2nd near the end of April. As our previuos driving holiday in the USA was in August/September 2004, I ahev the following questions;

1) What will the road conditions be like ? Is there likely to be snow etc and any road closures

Yes, it is likely you will see some snow on both trips. Road closures are harder to predict, but we maintain a set of links that can provide information about every major road in America here. The one thing I can guarantee is that Tioga Pass over the Sierras into Yosemite NP will be closed for both trips.

2) Is Vegas to San Fran drivable in one day ? And what is the most enjoybale route to take ?

I have done it several times. By the fastest route, it is about 8-9 hours. The most enjoyable would require 2-3 days... There are scores of posts on this forum about routes between San Francisco and Las Vegas -- use the search to find them.

3) Any suggestions on the drive from Denver to Dallas ? We are planning on this taking a couple of days and interested in stopping at some unique places if we can find them ( rather than Albuquerque and Oklahoma city where we stopped last time).

What route did you follow last time?

Mark

[sydney06]

Thanks
Will check out the road links.

Our last trip we drove
LA
Vegas
Grand Canyon
Alburquerque
Amarillo
Oklahoma City
Dallas
Houston
New Orleans
Mempis
St Louis
Kansas City
Denver
San Francisco
LA

So interested in seeing a fre different places - and revisting some favoutites along the way.

Thanks for any advice