X-country in 9 days -- can't decide on the best route

[bluenote]

Hi

Me and my husband are relocating to Pasadena, LA from Boston, MA. We want to drive across the country in 9 days at beg-June but are overwhelmed with the information we have come across and the feedback we have received and therefore are unable to decide on which route to take. We want to drive maximum 400 miles a day and have a good night's sleep in safe hotels preferably in cities. We have made great use of the information posted on this website and the forum and therefore would be very pleased to get your advice on which route to take to make a safe trip during which we can do great US sightseeing... Would appreciate prompt feedback!

[Utahtea]

Do you want to do some site-seeing in the National Parks?

Utahtea

[Robert Schaller]

I would use I-70 and I-15. Work your way west and south out of Boston until you get to I-70 over in Ohio, then take that west all the way to I-15 in Utah. Then use I-15 into the Los Angeles area. There is plenty to see and do all along that route, both east and west. Especially west. You can get off the interstate for a day of exploring almost anywhere along this route and find WAY too much to do in 9 days.

Personally, I'd choose a general route (as above, perhaps), and then see what I find along the way. Just remember, if you stick to the interstate, and don't get off on a side-road safari or two, you won't see much of anything unusual except gas stations, and fast food places. Not discounting the scenery, of course, which is wonderful. But find some of those little attractions printed in red ink on your map -- and then get off the main road and check them out! Bob

[Mark Sedenquist]

Me and my husband are relocating to Pasadena, LA from Boston, MA.

I am assuming you meant Pasadena, California?

We want to drive across the country in 9 days at beg-June but are overwhelmed with the information we have come across and the feedback we have received and therefore are unable to decide on which route to take.

Well, you could always adapt the "MMR" (Mark Routing Rule) and decide to make no decison on routes until the moment you get in your car each day. (Granted I rarely have that much mosey luxury, but it is my PREFERRED option when planning a road trip).

We want to drive maximum 400 miles a day and have a good night's sleep in safe hotels preferably in cities.

By and large you have to go looking to try and find "unsafe" motels in any city.

We have made great use of the information posted on this website and the forum and therefore would be very pleased to get your advice on which route to take to make a safe trip during which we can do great US sightseeing...

Nine Days, Eh? One more thought about safety -- Travel in the USA & Canada is the safest place to road trip in the world. I have driven well over a million miles in the last few years and I can only think of two incidents that were dicey (from a human-with-bad-intentions-point of view) and in both of those situation I put myself in harms way as part of an article I was preparing. That being said, roadtripping is not Disneyland -- weather, wild animals and the normal everyday hazards of travel constitute some risk. And it is that very element of risk that makes roadtripping so very appealing at some level.

OK. Enough soap box oration. If it were me, and I was headed for Pasadena (my former home town) from Boston...I would be sorely tempted to drive the eastern seaboard and then explore Georgia and Alabama as I made my way west through the deep south. Except this is JUNE and I am not really thrilled with the increased humidity, on the other hand I really like lightning and thunderstorms and this is the begining of the big T-cell storms in Tornado Alley of Oklahoma and the mid-west. Choices. Choices. OK -- I would route myself through Pittsburgh -- I have always enjoyed that city. Louisville is another place I would go and certainly stop in St. Louis and go up in the arch! Now, because I love "Big Weather" I would probably diagonal down to Joplin and Tulsa with the hopes of seeing a tornado or two (from a safe distance, of course) Since I still have plenty of time left, I would zig-zag around I-40 and check out the remants of old Route 66 as it meanders its way through Oklahoma and New Mexico. Upon reaching US-285 I would zig north to Santa Fe and Taos and probably go visit the chapel at Eagle's Next and soak up some of that relaxing energy I have always noticed in that area.

Without question, I would then pick up US-64 and drive through the San Juan mountains headed more-or-less to the NW. I would pick up US-160 and drive to Durango and then maybe would take the time to go to Mesa Verde NP, but probably would drive north up the Million Dollar Highway and take the walking tour of Ouray and soak in the public hot pools there.

And now, since I have spent a little too long in the Colorado rockies (to still reach Pasadena in time) I would zoom up to join I-70 at Grand Junction (pausing long enough to sample some of that mead at the Meadery and a few bites of fresh fruit at Fruitia) and then join the Interstate for one of my favorite Interstate Highway road trips. I-70 through Utah is amazing, I would be sorely tempted to stop at every single scenic pull-out. If I was approaching Green River, Utah around lunch, I would stop and have a quick meal at the motel River Cafe on the eastern side of the Green River (nice view). Green River has some nice motels as well for over-night (you want to have daylight hours when you drive that section of I-70 through Utah).

Probably I would stop over-night in Cedar City so I could drive past Cedar Breaks the next morning enroute to Utah-9 and drive through Zion NP (don't pass this up!). Overnight at Las Vegas (this is our current home town and there is so much to see here)

From Las Vegas it is an easy four hour drive (five if you stop for snacks and to wander around in Barstow or Baker).

Anyway, this is what I would do...

[Robert Schaller]

Thunderstorm chasing, eh? Now THERE'S an idea for a RoadTrip Rendezvous!

[Mark Sedenquist]

Thunderstorm chasing, eh? Now THERE'S an idea for a RoadTrip Rendezvous!

True and an idea I have tossed around a little. It, is by the very nature of the enterprise, rather risky. The biggest challenge, is that most of time, storm chasing is an excercise of EXTREME WAITING. Unlike the Wyoming meet, where a certain level of activity was guaranteed throughout the day, storm chasing is often characterized by being parked for extended periods of time, drinking bad coffee and eating fast-food snacks for hours and hours and hours with the chance of managing to be in the wrong place at the wrong time and getting seriously hurt or worse. It would probably never qualify as an Official RoadTrip Rendezvous but, it is possible that one of these days, there might occur an ad hoc gathering in Tulsa...

[Quebec Gen]

Personally, as someone who also lives in the north east, I would drive as fast as I can through the plains:o), but be sure to stop in St. Louis to see the Arch and visit the French quarter (Soulard). I'd drive through NE and WY on highway 26 (which follows more or less the path of the original Oregon Trail), there are plenty of things to see along the way : small towns, historic sites, beautiful scenery (Scottsbluff, Chimney Rock), museums.

Then I would head south, see Denver and drive on I-70 through the CO Rockies. Then you'll have plenty of time to fool around in UT (SLC, Bryce, Zion), AZ (Monument Valley, Canyon De Chelly, Grand Canyon, desert, Tombstone, Phoenix, Tucson, etc.).

If you decide to take a southern route, you should definitely take highway 60 through NM and AZ. In NV, drive US50 (loneliest road in America) and if you're lucky you will be able to swim in these Spencer Hot Springs for me in Austin (it was snowing when I got there a few weeks ago:oP). If you go to Las Vegas, don't miss the old downtown area and if you have some extra time, drive to Great Basin and Valley of Fire SP.

Gen:o)

Ps-I personally think small town motels are usually safer than big cities'...Maybe I'm wrong but they usually seem more welcoming and charming to me anyway...Just an opinion!

[RoadTripper Brad]

If you guys ever decide to do a Rendezvous to a hurricane, let me know. I would love to spring a few days of PTO on a hurricane. (Yes, I know I would be the only moron heading TOWARDS the hurricane... but I have my reasons).

[Mark Sedenquist]

Brad,

What is PTO? What it says to me is: "Power Take Off" (used to be an auxilary function on our fire engine pump).

[Mass Tim]

I think he's talking about Paid Time Off (the best kind!)

As far as hurricanes...I'll let the crazies at the Weather Channel go on-site so they can say "See! We told you there was a storm coming!" ;-)

To the original poster: That mileage/day rate and timeframe lets you explore quite a bit. And being from Boston, as you head further West, the idea of a "city" gets a little looser - St. Louis is definitely a city, but Cheyenne, WY? Seems like a mid-size town to us Megalopolisonians.

Rubs aside, I have to side with I-70 and second Zion NP. The ride out of Denver is spectacular, and Eastern Utah is like a completely different world.