7 days on the road...Kentucky to Arizona...Route 66

[sabogg01]

I have 7 days to go somewhere but the thing is it is short notice and is going to be from May 2nd - May 8th. I have always wanted to go on a real authentic road trip so my best friend and I are headed out west. I am aware it won't be a lot of time and some of it might be rushed. But we do want to make stops specifically in Oklahoma City to see the bombing Memorial, a balloon ride in in New Mexico, stop by the Grand Canyon and see some random things on route 66.
My plan is to visit the more northern central states on the way out...crossing through missouri into Kansas and Colorado then through Utah down through Arizona, New Mexico, Texas and Oklahoma on the way back.
7-8 hours of drive time per day is what we are counting on.
Anyone this this is possible?
Thanks a bunch

[AZBuck]

Welcome aboard the RoadTrip America Forums!

What you've laid out is well over 3,500 miles of driving. If all you did was attend to moving on down the road, you could accomplish that in 7 days. You might even be able to spare a few minutes to get off the freeway in Oklahoma City and see the Memorial, and pause long enough to take a brief glimpse over the rim of the Grand Canyon before turning around and repeating the 3½ drive to get home. You would not have anywhere near enough time for a balloon ride, to go poking around for 'random things' on Route 66, besides which US-66 was decommissioned nearly 25 years ago. You do not have any time for detours to Colorado and Utah. That route, while technically shorter, involves two-lane roads over 11,000 foot passes and will go considerably slower than you are imagining. Even if you put in 14 hours a day driving (which includes fuel stops, bathroom breaks, meals, traffic slowdowns, etc that mapping software ignores) you would be hard pressed to make this happen. I'm certainly not trying to come down on you for having a dream, but reality will rise up and bite you if you don't take a bit more hardheaded approach. So I strongly suggest that you and your friend go back to the drawing board and find a destination closer to home that will still satisfy your wanderlust.

AZBuck

[Midwest Michael]

Welcome to the RTA Forum!

You've got a bit of a problem here. The route you've outlined is about 3600 miles, and with only 7 days to work with, that means you're going to be looking at driving more than 500 miles a day every day. Realistically, if you stick to the interstates and make the minimum of stops, that's going to be 8-10 hours on the road every day. That time also doesn't include the extra time you'll need to visit the places like the Grand Canyon, do things like take a balloon ride, or get off the interstate and take a slower going route like Route 66. To do all of those things, you're going to have to probably make some days even longer.

If you're up for a go-go-go trip, you can make this work, but know, you'll be driving 7-8 hours on your short days on the road. You'll need to have a few days where you'll be on the road for closer to 12-14 hours to fit in the kinds of things you want to do.

[sabogg01]

I have traveled quite a bit nut never an actual "road trip" most drives are just to places within 12 hours or so. Another option we are considering is to fly to Oklahoma City and renting a car from there. That would shave off a lot of time. Or perhaps we will take trip up to Maine. Thanks so far for the suggestions and input.

[AZBuck]

Well, Maine is a bit closer and can be done in the time you have, including a couple of days there. But it would probably be a good idea for you to take a good hard look at why you're doing this and what you hope to accomplish. You've now picked two almost completely different destinations. Both of them are far enough away that you'll be spending most of your time driving rather than having new experiences or meeting new people. Now that's fine, and I've done RoadTrips myself that were more about the journey than the destination. But even then, you'll have to have some idea of what you're after before you can decide where to go. So what's your goal? Scenery? History? Cities or country? Time to reflect or being entertained? The why will drive the where.

AZBuck