10 day roundtrip with Dog from NYC to Florida

[glc]

The most direct route from Tusayan to Big Sur does not go through LV or SLO, and it's too far to do in 1 day - but 2 days is very doable. That would be I-40 to Barstow, CA-58 to Bakersfield, CA-99 to CA-46 to pick up the PCH in Cambria.

[Southwest Dave]

With an extra day and a desire to visit Vegas, you could take a trip across the fascinating landscape of Death valley. You could spend the night in DV at Stovepipe wells , other options would include Panamint Springs, Ridgecrest and Lake Isabella /Bakersfield area on the way to the coast.

[dogtripper]

Hey guys,

I'm open to either option i.e

Tusayan>Las Vegas>Death Valley>Barstow>San Luis Obispo>Big Sur>San Francisco.

or

Tusayan>Barstow>Bakersfield>San Luis Obispo>Big Sur>San Francisco. -- can add another location in this option. Maybe somewhere between San Luis Obispo and Big Sur?

Death Valley is a detour and I'm not sure what it's like in Dec, any ideas? What is a better route from the above?

[glc]

From DV, you don't go through Barstow, you take 190 to 395 and 14 and either take 178 through Lake Isabella to Bakersfield or stay on 14 to Mojave and then 58 to Bakersfield.

SLO is a bit of a detour - you go through Paso Robles to get to Cambria.

Are you sure you will be spending a night in Big Sur? There is no lodging there to speak of. Your choices along the PCH are pretty much Cambria, San Simeon, or Carmel.

[Southwest Dave]

We really don't do best here as it comes down to individual tastes and goals for each trip, that's the beauty of the roadtrip, getting to decide for yourself. For me Death valley would be a worthy detour, especially if I were visiting Vegas. If you want to stay in SLO that's fine but as glc pointed out, Cambria might be a better option and then consider Monterey for another overnight stop. It will give you time to stop and explore as you make your way around Big Sur but will have a larger selection of lodgings.

Some consider December to be among the best times to visit DV as the summer highs of 120f [+] drop off to a rather pleasant average of 65-70f. From Vegas you can take 160 to Pahrump and then just north of town take W. Bell vista ave/Bell vista/Ash Meadows Rd to Death valley junction where you turm right and immediate left onto 190 across Death valley. You have viewpoints such as Zabriske Point, stops such as Furnace creek [where you can detour to Badwater basin which happens to be lowest point in the USA] and view/walk in the sand dunes near Stovepipe Wells.

[dogtripper]

So we are on the roadtrip right now and wanted to let you all know its going fantastic. Thanks for all the suggestions. We made it to San Antonio today and are on this route:

NYC>Roanoke>Asheville>Nashville>Memphis>Natchez>La fayette>San Antonio>Carlsbad>Las Cruces

We have decided to change the route after las cruces and go towards tuscon instead up to Sante Fe/Gallup/Flagstaff as the weather conditions are very severe. So what do you guys recommend how about las cruces>Tuscon or Phoenix>palm springs>los angeles>death valley>sequoia>cambria>monterey?

What do you think?

[Mark Sedenquist]

So we are on the roadtrip right now and wanted to let you all know its going fantastic.

That's very good news.

So what do you guys recommend how about las cruces>Tuscon or Phoenix>palm springs>los angeles>death valley>sequoia>cambria>monterey?

What is the time frame for this section of the trip? This route would have you zig-zagging over covered territory. When you're in Palm Springs you much closer to Death Valley than you'll be when departing from Los Angeles. And where exactly are you going to that you've called "Sequoia"? It's pretty much close to a full day of driving (in winter) to drive from DV to anything near Sequoia NP. So, if you really went to all of these places from Tuscon, you'd need most of four days of driving.

Is that the plan?