Dallas to Vegas for Texas Spring Break (Week of March 9th) Lots of Questions!

[ajarruda]

My wife and I have made annual trips to Vegas the last three years, however, like most people, we have always flown.

This year the flights were so expensive, since everyone goes on Spring Break the same time in Texas. So I decided we would drive and see some scenery.

The most direct route is I-40, and we have driven I-40 in the summer to Santa Fe before, but never in early/mid march. Now I am reading horrible things online about the trip from Albuquerque to Flagstaff, and how horrible Flagstaff can be even in March with SNOW!

I am also reading that I-40 is the old route 66 basically, and there is not much in that stretch of road other than a bunch of meth towns.

Also read there are long barren areas with no cell service?

So is this a bad idea? Should I reconsider driving? Is there another route better, would taking a little extra time and going I-10 be better? Is I-10 a more pretty or ugly drive? Is driving through El Paso as bad as most people say?

Please Help!

[Southwest Dave]

Hello and welcome to the RTA forums !

Sure it's possible you will see poor weather on route, but you can see poor weather just about anywhere. Unfortunately that can't be predicted untill a couple of days before you leave. I dunno where you are getting your info from but I40 is a well travelled Interstate carrying thousands of cars every day and is well serviced, it also has some lovely towns along it, sure there are some quirkey route 66 towns that are pretty unique and what most folk find interesting and actually get off Interstate to find. For people to call them "Meth towns" is a pure insult to those that live and work in these places and need to get out more ! You will find many interesting places along the way including the likes of Petrified forest, the Painted desert and the Grand canyon, as well as those route 66 towns !

You might want to take a different route coming home to see different things if you have the time, you could drop south or if you went to the GC on the way you could go through Monument valley. I would get the map out and see what appeals to you, it's a bare minimum 2 day drive with no sightseeing each way, but it's a great opportunity for a little adventure where you will get to see far more than when flying.

[glc]

Also read there are long barren areas with no cell service?

Not these days. There are very few stretches of Interstate highway and major US routes without service anywhere in the country. If you take US-287 to Amarillo to pick up I-40, then US-93 to LV you should have near-continuous coverage. However, once you get off the major highways and away from towns in the West that can be a different story. Your carrier should have coverage maps online.

From a civilization and scenery standpoint, I'll drive I-40 before I'll drive I-20/I-10 in a heartbeat unless the weather is known bad on I-40 at that particular time and 20/10 is known good. West Texas is pretty desolate and it's usually pretty windy out there. Getting through El Paso on I-10 is a piece of cake as long as it isn't rush hour.

Going south adds about 150 miles and at least 3 hours, and Phoenix can be difficult to get through in rush hour. This would run the trip into a 3rd day if you are in a hurry to get there.

[ajarruda]

Hello and welcome to the RTA forums !

Sure it's possible you will see poor weather on route, but you can see poor weather just about anywhere. Unfortunately that can't be predicted untill a couple of days before you leave. I dunno where you are getting your info from but I40 is a well travelled Interstate carrying thousands of cars every day and is well serviced, it also has some lovely towns along it, sure there are some quirkey route 66 towns that are pretty unique and what most folk find interesting and actually get off Interstate to find. For people to call them "Meth towns" is a pure insult to those that live and work in these places and need to get out more ! You will find many interesting places along the way including the likes of Petrified forest, the Painted desert and the Grand canyon, as well as those route 66 towns !

You might want to take a different route coming home to see different things if you have the time, you could drop south or if you went to the GC on the way you could go through Monument valley. I would get the map out and see what appeals to you, it's a bare minimum 2 day drive with no sightseeing each way, but it's a great opportunity for a little adventure where you will get to see far more than when flying.

Thanked for your help!

[ajarruda]

Thanks for your help!