Hey, all. I'm starting to plan a road trip for next month. I want to take a few (2? 3? 4?) weeks and drive out West. I live in Indiana, but I'll be departing from Upstate NY around the 2nd or 3rd week of September. I initially hit on the idea of driving Route 66 from end-to-end, and that was my motivation for doing this; now, I'm adding a drive up the PCH from LA to Portland, and I think I'm more excited for that! My goals for this trip are to see the country, take lots of cool pictures, and get my head together (been a tough year).

My coffee table's bowing under the weight of all the books I've brought home from the library about Route 66. I want to see lots of old, small-town America, and get a taste of what it was like when the dinosaurs roamed the Earth-- I mean, before there were Interstates. Nothing against the midwest, but I think the scenery I want to see is going to be in NM, AZ and CA, so I'm kind of thinking of just blasting West, without really trying to savor the entire route. I've got some acquaintances in IL, OK, NM, AZ and SoCal, so I'll make a couple of stops there along the way. There are also a couple of places I want to see in California, depending on how I'm doing on time and money: I want to go back to the Mojave Airport, as well as see some of the features of Death Valley that I saw about 10 years ago, more for photographic purposes than anything else. (I'm so starved for good scenery here in Indiana, it's hard to put into words! Ok, maybe I do have something against the midwest...)

There's a couple of things I could use help with. First is lodging; I've got a limited budget, and lodging and food are the two big variables. Once I'm in California and on the PCH, there are hostels I can stay at that are reasonably inexpensive (around $20/night). I can probably count on one hand the number of hostels that'll be along the rest of the route, however. Camping is an alternative, although I was pretty well shocked to see that a campsite at KOA in Joplin, MO (for example) is $22 a night... State parks might be an option, too. Are there other cheap-lodging alternatives I should check out? The MINI's a big small car, but I've slept in it, and don't really want to make a habit of that!

Ok, now for the fun part: what are some of the coolest, don't-dare-miss things and places to see along the way, or even "sort of" along the way? Cool drives, scenic places off the beaten path, hikes, hidden twisties, kitschy tourist traps, giant blue concrete whales, ***** of string, that kind of thing. Preferably free, of course! I've got a list (at home, natch) of some sites I've come up with from some guidebooks, but nothing trumps local knowledge. This could be a good outlet for all y'all who're doing MTTS coast-to-coast!

This is the overall Route 66 route (for those who haven't committed it to memory, yet), and one I'll probably follow from NY, even if I skip straight to Oklahoma. Once in LA, I'll take the PCH all 1,200 miles to Portland. From Portland, I'll probably swing up near Seattle, and then head back to Indiana by way of Mt. Rushmore.

Thoughts? :-)

 

A few years ago my wife and I drove from central Ohio to western Montana for a wedding, and then back to eastern Pennsylvania for a family reunion and music festival. We took our time going out to Montana, averaged about 8 hours on the road per day, and took in a lot of scenery. Driving through the mountains was great. We drove straight through from MT to PA after the wedding, 2200 miles in 32 hours (all done in a Dodge Neon).

We drove the whole length of Nebraska, and it was one of my favorite states, lots of rolling hills and the highway would just stretch out for miles and miles. We drove well out of our way to visit carhenge in Nebraska, I'd definitely recommend it. Full size replica of stonehenge made out of old cars. There were a lot of other sculptures there as well, all made from old cars. We also visited Mt Rushmore and Yellowstone. We mostly stayed in hotels in small towns, and they were very inexpensive, compared to what you'd pay out east. I think on average it was about $35 per night for my wife and I.

Have fun!!!

-Keith

 

On the PCH in California if you find BLM land camping is free all up the coast. I think if you want to have a fire you need a permit, but otherwise its first come. There's quite a bit in mendocino and north of SF into Oregon. Check out the BLM website. Nothing like going to sleep and waking up to the sound of the waves.

 

(don't meet many of us, do you??) and here is my suggestion:

Call ahead. Us fine folks in Denver love guests. Let us know when you are in town and we will take you on some Mother drives in Colorado. But it takes a bit of planning.

Contact Rick Gonzales, President of MINI5280.org www.mini5280.org at info@Mini5280.org and let him know. We will post in our MINI5280 and Rocky Mtn Forums. We will get you around Colorado, then hand you off to our friends in Utah.

BTW, there are great roads in WYOMING but nobody would ever say this since there are precious few pp in Wyoming. But they are there. The only two bad roads are I-25 and I-80. Well, not bad but not that scenic until you get out west.

Let us know. Call ahead.

Jonathan Souza
MINI5280.org

JPS

 

Thanks for the destination ideas, Keith! For some reason, I mash carhenge and the Cadillac Ranch together in my mind; they're not only different concepts, but in completely different parts of the country! :-)

bpetzold, I'd kind of forgotten about camping on BLM land; that's a great idea! Are there designated camping areas, or do you just kind of pull off and find a nice spot? There was an area in AZ I used to camp in called Christopher Creek; there were camp sites that were pretty much first-come-first-served, and I never had a permit of any kind (not saying they weren't *needed*, however; dunno).

I feel like I've got California pretty well covered; I like the idea of staying in a hostel, especially since I'll be traveling alone. I've never stayed in one before, but the vibe sounds cool and it'll probably be nice to talk to some people. :-)

Packing the MINI to include camping gear will be a challenge; I really want to pack *light* and keep the back seats up. That may be a pipe dream, but I'm gonna try!

 

Thanks, Jonathan! Unfortunately, I don't think I'll be passing through either CO or UT on this trip, as much as I'd like to. Hopefully I can see more states the next time I get wanderlust and quit my job!

Oh, and thanks for piping up, Jonathan; you've reminded me to pack a torque wrench. ;-)

 

I recommend "Road Trip USA, Cross Country Adventures on America's Two-Lane Highways" by Jamie Jensen. Great non-interstate roads and interesting stops along the way, plus lodging phone numbers. I plan to pack it when I go pick up my new MINI in Boston next month, and two-lane it back to Seattle... break in period, here I come!

 

Hey B,

Turn South when you hit Flagstaff. 2.5 hours south you have a free place to stay. If you can time it on a weekend maybe we can go camping or hiking or just tear up some twisties.

Let me know. You have my number.

Matt

 

^^ Second on the book recommendation. I did what you're doing 3 years ago -- 6 weeks, 10,039 miles of awesomeness.

Don't sell the midwest short, though, or you'll miss some great scenery and stuff. Iowa is really lovely, as is South Dakota (wide-open spaces, Badlands, Needles Parkway, Crazy Horse... didn't care for Mt. Rushmore). I kind of missed the real middle of the country, but plan on going back and re-doing it.

I would not miss White Sands in NM, or Sedona in AZ (and the drive on 89A). Pagosa Hot Springs in CO is entirely disappointing if you want to stay there but rewarding if you're just looking for some hot spring strangeness. I seem to have been the only person in the whole world who couldn't find Cadillac Ranch (Amarillo, TX) and instead wandered around on unmarked ranch roads looking for it. Chaco Canyon in NM is also fantastic BUT it's something like 21 miles of unpaved road, so be warned.

I drove down PCH/101 from Coos Bay, OR to LA -- it was great. And I would personally avoid the "scenic drive" that passes Pebble Beach (Carmel, CA) like the bloody plague: you have to pay to see people's compound walls and the only thing of real interest, besides occasional scenic moments, is feeding the Beachy Ground Squirrels. So if you do it anyway, take lots of cereal because it'll be the highlight. I'd definitely stop at a retaurant that appears to sit on an artichoke farm and eat lots of artichokes.

Also, the drive from LA to Vegas was fun - through Death Valley, skirting Joshua Tree. And somewhere in Baker, CA is a restaurant called The Mad Greek, which I recommend any time I hear anyone headed in that general direction.

That road trip was the BEST vacation ever.

Oh -- and as far as lodging; if you're avoiding interstate you can usually find some nice mom'n pop motels. Otherwise, Motel 6's are usually clean and, in the middle of nowehere, also cheap. Actually, they're cheap in the middle of somewhere, too...

 

Excellent recommendations, all. Thank you! And, Matt, I was *planning* on crashing on your couch, I just hadn't told you yet. ;-)

Actually, it looks like this trip's getting put on hiatus; looks like I'm going to be moving East and can't to both right now. I still want to do this trip, however; maybe next summer, or the next time I quit my job and have some time and money to spare. :-)

Hey, rosarugosa, be sure to give us a little write-up of your trip when you get back! That sounds like it'll be a fun trip!

 

I bought my one-way ticket to Boston today, and hope to pick up Gertrude all shiny and new at the dealers, in 3 weeks. I have Road Fever! All I can think about is being on the road...I love it when nobody knows where you are...

 

The Cadillac Ranch is comprised of about 8-10 vintage Cadillacs installed in a line on a hay ranch on the frontage road that is parallel to I-40 near Amarillo. It is a very modest site, and easy to miss because it is RIGHT THERE OFF THE HIGHWAY, but it is fun to visit and read the graffiti on the Caddies!

Chaco Canyon is a spectacular ancient Anasazi site, with a number of fabulous ruins. The road there is really rugged, washboarded and rutted, so I agree with Toastie: be warned!

Sedona is nice, but avoid it like the plague on weekends. It is a very popular destination for art-lovers, spiritualists, and rock-lovers. The amazing red rock formations are beautiful, and as the sun moves over, they seem to shape-shift!

As for traveling with the backseat up...what is the reason for doing that? I take a 6-8 week road trip every spring, and put the seats down. Why not pack a small pop-up tent, a sleeping bag, and a spartan mess kit? It will give you more options on your journey. Best of luck with it! It's fantastic to motor cross-country in the MINI...very comfortable and other people love seeing our babies.