Cross country road trip

A

andrew7978

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I am potentially planning on making a cross country road trip this summer from Connecticut to California. I think it would be a real good life experience as it will be the last time I can do this before I enter the real world (1 more year left of college). I have not really set a course yet and am not sure what I want to visit, so I figured why not ask you guys.

Please list what state your from and a few of your favorite attractions. They can be outdoors related or not. National Parks are always good. Hopefully this thread will be of interest to others. Also feel free to share any experience you guys have had with something like this.

Thanks.
 
The Q that must be asked is how are you travling?? Do you want to visit the cities or the outdoor attractions?? Maybe both.. How much time are you going to take off?? A friend of my dicided to see the country.. He been at it for the last 5 years now. Still driving around.. i see him twice a year or so..When he comes to see the his family...

Sasha
 
sasha said:
The Q that must be asked is how are you travling?? Do you want to visit the cities or the outdoor attractions?? Maybe both.. How much time are you going to take off?? A friend of my dicided to see the country.. He been at it for the last 5 years now. Still driving around.. i see him twice a year or so..When he comes to see the his family...

Sasha
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Good questions. I plan to drive and would enjoy seeing both cities and outdoor attractions. With such a large trip, I think a good balance is needed. I admire your friend for being able to decide so much time to seeing the country but unfortunately, I plan to take only a month or a month and a half for this trip (each way), only spending a day or two in each particular location. I would like to make the trip out there in the lower half of the country and the return trip in the upper half so that I get to see more.
 
I wish you a safe journey bro, If your ever in Missouri, Ive got some neat places I can tell you about. OR... just a free meal and place to rest for a bit. Mi casa es su casa bro.
Have a ball dude! Thats something I always wanted to do, but military life, and then a family kept me pretty sidetracked. Ive been on a couple road trips though, its life altering.
 
I think a drive through Utah should be on the list. The entire state if filled with some of the craziest geology in the States.

I guess it depends on which route you plan on taking. Are you gonna go south through Texas/New Mexico and Arizona or through Colorado/Utah/Nevada?
 
Here are some places I think everyone should see:

Wyoming - Bighorn Mtns, Devil's Tower, Yellowstone
South Dakota - the Badlands, the Black Hills
Utah - Moab
Montana - Little Bighorn (if you like history), Glacier NP
Colorado - Sangre de Cristo Mtns. The drive up Mt. Evans is interesting too.
Arizona - Meteor Crater, Grand Canyon
 
Andrew,

Have a great trip. I'd suggest making it out to some of the national parks for certain. Just a quick question, what kind of car are you taking out there? With gas nearing $4 a gallon here, it might be a costly trip.
 
I have done it many times. It is awesome.

Colorado is a beautiful place. Go to the Mesa Verde, it is an ancient Native American cave dwelling in the southwestern part of the state. It is one of the sites I missed. I will make it soon.

Hwy 101 along the coast of Cali to Oregon is easily the best drive in the world.

Goodluck
 
Best part about driving from one end of this country to the other is, no matter which route you take, you can do it without driving through Michigan.

Consider yourself lucky.

Chris
 
ilbruche said:
I think a drive through Utah should be on the list. The entire state if filled with some of the craziest geology in the States.

I guess it depends on which route you plan on taking. Are you gonna go south through Texas/New Mexico and Arizona or through Colorado/Utah/Nevada?
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I'd vote for the colorado utah nevada route. Lots of good stuff to see. There are lots of awesome stops along i-70. Then head to moab area heading south off I-70. Lots of good stuff between denver and moab. I've got a list of interesting places to stop.
 
Once you have gotten your feet wet in the Pacific Ocean at Malibu, start north and spend a day in Yosemite. It will be hideously crowded, but the breathtaking views are worth it. Head west and then head up the coast on Hwy 1. As already mentioned, this drive is amazing - especially when compared to the ugliness of I-5. Along the way, stop at Big Sur and taunt the hippies, take a hike in Julia Pheiffer State Park and look for trolls and hobbits among the redwoods. Check out San Francisco. Continue up the coast and stop at Patrick's Point, a grove of redwoods on the coast near the Oregon border. The Oregon coast is cool, and Cannon Beach might make a good stop. In Washington, check out the Hoh Rain Forest on the Olympic Penninsula, as well as Mt St Helens and Mt Rainier NP. When you're done with Washington, head east into Idaho and check out Coeur D'Alene & the surrounding area. Head into Montana and plan on spending at least a couple days in Glacier National Park.

Whew! that should give you some things to check out.

-- FLIX
 
Stop in Bloomington, Minnesota and marvel at the Mall Of America. I can't stand it personally, but it is a popular monument to overindulgence.

We have many great lakes and outdoor related activites here. If you plan to make it this way, shoot me an email.

Rocky
 
Nebraska. Get your bum off I-80 and go to the Sandhills. The Valentine National Wildlife Refuge is very cool. The national forest near Halsey is also great. If you have the opportunity while you're there, canoe down the Dismal River. That's an amazing trip. Many will recommend the Niobrara river, but it's getting to be so full of drunks tubing down it that it's not much fun. But GET OFF I-80 whatever you do. Don't go to carhenge, it's pretty lame.
 
In addition to places, you might consider events to visit that coincide with your travel timeline. A few that come to mind would be the air meet at Oshkosh, WI, the bike meet at Sturgis, SD, the National Rifle Matches at Camp Perry, OH, and of course any of the survival/primitive skills events. For something totally off the wall, how about the Burning Man festival in the Black Rock Desert in NV? There are also countless smaller local events of interest. Point is that the culture of our nation has as much to offer as the natural wonders, and you will definitely meet some interesting people.
 
Must see the Grand Canyon, whatever else you want to see. I would want to see the Giant Redwoods, too. Stone Mountain near Atlanta. Gulf of Mexico. Warm Atlantic waters off the coast of Florida.

Make a circuit -- don't go back the way you came, so you can see more places and stuff.
 
Definitely make it to Utah and Colorado, we have some of the best scenery around. 1000s if not 100,000s people visit Zion/Bryce/Grand Canyon canyons. This stuff does not exist anywhere else on this planet. A must see!
 
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