Fly-n-Drive RoadTrips....

[Mark Sedenquist]

For many of us, and certainly for anyone whose home is not found North America, Fly-n-Drive road trips are the primary mode of access we use when planning trips in the USA, Canada and beyond.

I thought it would be a nice addition to the resources on this forum to keep an listing of some of our favorite Fly-n-Drive road trip reports over the last decade or so. The format of the list will identify the hub city/location and a brief sentence about where trip went to, who went, the dates and how long a trip it was. As successive posts are made to this thread, I will update this initial post to create an on-going list. (Obviously, there are dozens and dozens of field reports that could make this list.... We'll go through the archives and add the ones with the best photos and descriptions -- if one of your trips is not [yet] included in this list, drop us a line in a post below, and we'll add it).

As many of you know, I'm a contributing writer to the NPR-affiliated Desert Companion magazine published every month in Las Vegas, Nevada. In the October, 2013 edition I wrote about Allegiant Airlines which provides direct, non-stop service to a number of 2nd and 3rd tier airport cities from Las Vegas, Phoenix and Orlando. "...Allegiant manages to offer a diverse lineup of tantalizing destinations at “good old days” prices..." A couple of the field reports now being published on RTA started, in fact, as fly-n-drives using Las Vegas as hub. Read more about my just-published article about some of these Fly-n-Drive trips here.

And now the list....

Albany, New York

AZBuck: July, 2013: "Family Reunion RoadTrip" New Hampshire, Vermont, Canada and the Hudson Valley

Atlanta, Georgia

Peter and Carole Thody: August, 2008. A hub trip starting and ending in Atlanta. 14 states, DC, Natchez Trace, Blue Ridge Parkway and more "Coco-Cola and Elvis Presley", Atlanta to Tupelo. "Graves, Guns and Great-Great Grandmothers on the Natchez Trace", Mississippi and Tennesee. "From Bible Belt to Bourbon on the Old Kentucy Turnpike" Kentucky along US Hwy 31E. "James Deans' Grave & Other Good Reasons to Visit Indiana," "Across Ohio, the Wrong Way, on the Historic National Road" and more of the trip here.

Denver, Colorado

David & Lezli Gomm: September, October, 2009: "Denver through Four Corners Loop" Estes Park, Rocky Mountain NP, Leadville, Continental Divide, Black Canyon of the Gunnison NP,

Las Vegas, Nevada:

More than 20 -- One Tank trips undertaken by Mark and Megan 2010 to 2013.

David & Lezli Gomm: September, 2013: Highways of Happiness Great Basin of Nevada into Idaho, Glacier National Park, Yellowstone National Park and southern Utah. 6 states, 7 national parks.


Los Angeles, California

John Waters: May to July 2013: "2013 Lap around the USA" 30 states and xxx provinces in Canada. Entire distance of Route 66... for a total of 13,946 miles

Dangermouse: February 2009(?): "From the UK to the UK via CA, NV, UT and OR" 5812 miles, Hollywood, Big Sur Coast, Santa Barbara, San Francisco, Eureka, Central Oregon, southern Idaho, Salt Lake City, Las Vegas, Flagstaff, San Diego.

Rook: September, 2011: "Southern California to North Dakota and Back". Barstow, Petroglyph NM, Albuquerque, Trinidad, Pike's Peak, Pony Express monument in Sidney, Nebraska, Scotts Bluff, Oregon Trail, Wall Drug, Badlands NP, Cody, Buffalo Bill Historical Center, Cathedral Gorge, ET Highway,


San Francisco, California

David & Lezli Gomm (& family): October 2008: "San Francisco Loop" Yosemite, Zion, Bryce, Capital Reef, and Grand Canyon national parks, Little A'Le'Inn, Moki Dugway, Las Vegas. 4 states.

Eris: May(?) 2011: "American Rocky Mountains Road Trip". Ketchum, Idaho, Jackson, Wyoming, Grand Teton NP, raft trip in Hells Canyon, Missoula, Montana,

AZBuck: September, 2013: "Northern California Coast" Technically, the Fly-N-Drive Hub city was Oakland, but we'll call this the greater San Francisco area. A very charming route to Sebastapol, Mendocino, Arcata, Avenue of the Giants and returning to Oakland.

Seattle, Washington

Dangermouse: August, 2012: "From Seattle to Yellowstone and points in between" 5260 miles. Truly awesome photos in this report! Boeing Factory Tour, Snoqualmie Falls, Pend Oreille scenic highway, Garnet, Montana, Helena, Little Bighorn National Monument, Buffalo Bill Gallery in Cody, Yellowstone NP, Shoshone Falls, Bruneau Sand Dunes, Redding, Mount Shasta, Crater Lake, Salem, Multnomah Falls, Mt. Saint Helens, Trolls of Seattle.