Chicago to Canada to AZ

[1SIC335]

Buying a new car in Chicago. I want to go to Canada to see some scenery and hit some of the best roads...outside the nation. :) I then want to straite shot to AZ w/ minor stops and some good roads. I need recommendation. I have navi in the BMW and will be using Microsofts Roadmaps package. Plus I know AZ and WA, OR, and Montana like the back of my hand, not sure if we will go that far out of our way though. I am going to be w/ a friend.

I need so advice, help, maps, routes whatever you are interested in giving.

Thanks everyone, glad I found this site and can't wait to contribute!!

club1sic

[Midwest Michael]

Welcome to the RTA Forum!

I think we might need you to be a little more specific in your request. "Canada" is a pretty big place. Are there some parts of the country you are most interested in seeing.

I'd say just as a rough starting point, there are lots of great things to see in the Canadian Rockies, like Banff and Jasper National Parks (among many others). The Trip through Northwest Ontario is also a favorite of mine. I could see going up through Sault Ste. Marie, then using the Trans Canada highway all the way to Alberta, and then zip back south to Arizona via I-15.

[1SIC335]

Sorry for not being specific at all, I was not sure what I was doing. Ok, here is breakdown.

Starting at: Luxury Auto Xchange
4737 W. 120TH ST
ALSIP, IL 60803 Friday in the afternoon.

Driving north thru Duluth MN into Thunder Bay Canada, then W to Winnipeg then south taking random highways to Rapid city SD to see Mount Rushmore then S all the way to Denver Colo then back into Phx.

P.S. Thanks for quick respons so far, this trip starts Friday morning and ends roughly Tuesday afternoon-Wednesday. hehe. Fast trip.

Thanks again. All I am looking for now is if you guys have any input as to a particular highway that is awesome, good drive, scenic, good eats or whatever, let me know. Here is link to Googlemaps travel plans, dunno if link will work but here goes.

http://maps.google.com/maps?f=d&hl=e...78&ie=UTF8&z=6

[PNW Judy]

That should be a great way to 'break it in'. LOL

With the time you have, I think you should just stick to the quickest route. Your mapped trip is 3000 miles and will take about 5-6 days to drive, just the time you have allotted for it. I wouldn't add anything else. But it should be a really fun drive! Enjoy.

[Midwest Michael]

You might already be out on the road, but I would caution about how much you are trying to bite off here. You "only" need to cover about 500 miles a day on your plan, but many of the roads you are looking at are 2 lane roads that will add some significant time to your trip. For example, the trip from Duluth to Thunder Bay along the North Shore is only about 200 miles, but it takes close to 5 hours because of the road and the terrain.

Actually in that section, the north shore is a nice drive, but instead I might go from Duluth to International Falls, taking a trip through the Iron Range, and then going north over the top of Lake of the Woods. I've done that drive before and found it to be a very fun trip. It too took some extra time, however, as I know we were on the road for a very full day getting from Duluth to Winnipeg.