Moving from east coast to west coast!...looking to spend 2 weeks on the road, help!!

[ryan172410]

So im new to this forum and I guess im pretty new at these long drives. ive driven from pa up to montreal and also down to florida, btu thats as far as Ive ever gone so this 3,000+ mile roadtrip is completely new to me and could use some help!

First, what direction would you take? Im leaning towards heading up central/north going towards the bad lands and yosemite, but thats about as far up as Id be heading so Id then go down towards la to settle. Thoughts?
im also traveling by myself so Im not gonna be driving 14 hours a day. Theres too much to see so I wanna take time to see the sights.

Im also very interested in taking more byways then highways. I know itll take a lot longer, btu im willing to put in the extra time since it seems to be worth it from what ive read. Again, ANY advice or recommendations are greatly appreciated!!

thanx

Ryan

ps- also im leaving mid-late sept

[Midwest Michael]

Welcome to the RTA forum!

For a fairly long first post you've given us pretty little to go on - I mean you haven't even told us your starting and ending points beyond the vague East and West coast! it looks like you are ending in Seattle? But you also mentioned LA, which is a very big zig-zag if you are going from the badlands to Seattle.

The other element is that trying to have someone else narrow down what things you should see when you've got the entire country available is just not a reasonable task. There are millions of things you could see and do, and with 14 days available, your options are nearly endless. Having said that, you are looking at 5-7 days of pretty hard driving to make the trip depending upon your starting and ending points, and if you start zig-zagging north and south and spending time on 2 lane roads that time will get chewed up pretty quickly.

I'd say to start, just take a look around this site, get a feel for where it is you want to go, at least some more of the major points, and once you've got a better idea of what it is you are looking for, we'll be in a better position to fill in the gaps.

[ryan172410]

Sorry about that, I guess a little too much excitement, wasnt really thinking when i was writing that ha. But i am traveling from Philadelphia and ending up in los angeles. Now i know my initial trip takes me way out of the way, but I still feel that it can be done. I would leave philly and head towards lincoln nebraska. not really sure what to hit on the way there as I dont know what would be exciting to see in ohio/indiana/Illinois/Missouri. From ne, head north west towards upstate wyoming towards yellowstone. From yellowstone, i would head south through idaho and nevada then finally getting into california. Again, this is a VERY basic and general idea. But this is what I was thinking....now I have to figure out what to see and what roads to take. Again, if possible I would love to stay off highways as much as possible and take more of the scenic routes if possible. Thoughts?

[Rook]

The National Scenic Byway Program (NSBP) list many highways to visit:
http://www.byways.org/explore/

While traveling through Nebraska, I suggest that you travel towards the northwest to the Black Hills of South Dakota. There are many things to see: Mount Rushmore National Memorial, Wind Cave National Park, Jewel Cave National Monument, Chief Crazy Horse Memorial, Custer State Park, etc. Continue west through central Montana and work your way northwest up to Red Lodge on Highway 212. That will take you to the northeast entrance to Yellowstone National Park, over the spectacular Beartooth Mountains.

[glc]

Exactly when are you going? Roads such as the Beartooth are not maintained in the winter - it generally closes around mid-October.