Virginia to California, any tips/tricks to a great road trip. (1 Viewer)

[Comet]

My son will be participating in his final internship/co-op in Los Angeles from May to August of this year. Pending no major catastrophic events or restrictions, we will be driving out in our Camry. The longest trip I have taken is to Little Rock Arkansas for a Mission Trip training session back in 2013. Short road trips (300-500 miles one way) are a blast but cross country voyage is an uncharted experience. I have not begun planning the trip yet so I am asking for any insight on long road trips, sights to see, side trips, boredom busters you have used successfully, and encouragement.

We have eight days to get there after his school term ends. There would have been more time but he wants to spend some of it with his girlfriend before we leave.

I will fly home and then fly back in August. Probably the same timeframe for the return trip.

 

[JToobe]

Travis, this will be epic for you and your son's relationship! Our oldest daughter took a 90 day Road Trip between her Sophomore & Junior year of college...drove over 14k miles. My wife our youngest and I each joined her for a few of the segments. I was the anchorman, flew to Dallas and we hit Austin, San Antonio, Galveston, New Orleans, Birmingham then home over a week. By that time she was done with driving so much and it was a rich time of conversation of the past and future! Our youngest joined her in Portland, OR and then flew home from San Francisco where I have family. My wife flew to San Fran with her mom (who grew up in Malibu, CA and met my wife's father in Monterrey where she was teaching and he was at Ft. Ord. She dropped her mom off in L.A. to visit with friends and my wife and daughter continued on and my wife flew home from Las Vegas.
By nature, I need to know where I will be sleeping so I booked Airbnb's for us and had us on a fairly rigid timeline but she didn't do that for much of her trip as I learned that she and our youngest spent one night sleeping in the car on the Oregon coast and she also connected with a family in Glacier National Park that offered her the use of a cabin on their property adjacent to the park and she stayed there 2 nights. She also did some tent camping and had her bike with her to do some exploring vs. having to drive everywhere. She said this really worked out well in small towns like Jackson Hole. There are some really cool Airbnb's as my wife found an Airstream Trailer outside of Joshua Tree Nat. Park that had a cool retro space theme and several large trampolines suspended 15 ft. over the trailer for shade.
I would recommend going out one route and coming back another to maximize sightseeing....maybe a more southern route in May and a more northern in August? You and your son should list places you really would like to see to start. Hope that helps.

 

[Comet]

Thanks Jeff, I am looking forward to the time with him immensely. August for Moab was my only thought, rent something to hit a few trails. Reading other posts about people who did the trip in a 40 series and soaking it all in.

 

[JohnVee]

@Comet Because I know you, make sure to know the firearm laws of every state you pass through! And, be happy you don't have to drive through New York.

 

[Comet]

@JohnVee , Already shopping for a Nordic Battle Axe and accompanying sheath. 1.9 feet is the legal limit, correct? Applying for my Utah non-resident as I type.

 

[lt1fire]

@JohnVee , Already shopping for a Nordic Battle Axe and accompanying sheath. 1.9 feet is the legal limit, correct? Applying for my Utah non-resident as I type.

If you need to borrow a few let me know.

 

[lt1fire]

Do you know what route you are going to take? I've criss crossed the US quite a few times.

 

[Comet]

No sir I do not. I will be leaving from Roanoke, Virginia and arriving in LA. I have not researched anything yet.

 

[Comet]

Roanoke, Little Rock, Albuquerque, Flagstaff, LA is the first route that comes to mind Based on splitting up the trip over 5 days. Roanoke to Memphis, TN is about 9 hours.
Memphis to Abilene, TX is about 9 hours.
Abilene to Holbrook, AZ is about 10.5 hours.
Holbrook to LA is about 8 hours.
35-40 hours drive time.

I am absolutely open to scenic routes or side trips that fit into our timeframe.

Do I hit it hard the first two days and then relax the other three? Do I make reservations at specific stops along the way? How many nights is too many to sleep in the Camry or camp out in May? Drive during the day or drive at night? So many incredible sites along the way, too many to see in one trip.

 

[GLTHFJ60]

Have only driven out west once, but I'd say unless you're stopping in a cool place for the afternoon/night, you're gonna be bored. I'd look at more like 10-12 hours per day.

 

[lt1fire]

Going down to the 40 and then west would be the most direct and fastest route, but after doing that 3 times i'll say it is damn boring until you get to New Mexico. After that there are tons of little side trips to do and beautiful places to visit.

If I had 8 days to do the trip (I used Roanoke as a starting point) It would look more like this.

That gives you time to see one of our "great" (take that how you will) cities in Chicago, then Mt Rushmore (which is the one major thing in the US I have yet to see), Now after that I'd offer a few variations of the run. Go as printed or change it up a bit. Either way will take you through some beautiful scenery.

Plus you can change it up to see Denver, drive through the rockies, Moab, Jackson's Hole, Glacier, Yellow Stone, Vegas, the large meteor crater, the painted desert etc.......
I've been to all of those places and they are all worth a stop, it all depends on what you most want to see and spend time doing.
These maps offer some fun places to stop at.

Also we have found that for the long drags if it gets boring.... books on tape (well through the audible app) is the way to go. Problem is you and your son may not find the same interest in books.

 

[Hokie LX]

@Hokierig (my brother) just did the cross country trip from NC to Los Angeles in his FJ62 and may be able to provide some insight

 

[Comet]

@lt1fire i will forward the routes to my son so we can start some dialogue. @Hokie LX id like to know your brothers route.

 

[Hokierig]

@lt1fire i will forward the routes to my son so we can start some dialogue. @Hokie LX id like to know your brothers route.

Hey @Comet

My route was Wilmington, NC to LA. I did the drive in 5 days total over two weekends due to work restraints. I have done the drive a few times, so I cannonballed to Oklahoma City via I-40. That side of the country is a bit boring so I wanted to maximize our time in the west. From OKC we went to four corners to stay the night. We headed north from I-40 through Sante Fe, staying in Farmington, NM. I really wanted to see Monument Valley and Zion National Park so those were the two big destinations on the second weekend. We ended up routing past Lake Powell so we stopped to see horseshoe bend while we were there. We stayed outside of Vegas, but I would have picked St. George, UT if I were to do it again. Our last day was just getting to LA. COVID traffic wasn’t bad for us getting into the city.

If I had a few more days to do it, I’d spend my time in Southern Colorado and Southern Utah. Durango, CO, Ouray, CO, Moab, UT are all breathtaking. I’d probably aim to go the northern route on the way west then the southern route on the way back. Either way, enjoy the time out west and pack your longest days on the Eastern half of the country.

Regrettably, I have a bad case of Get-There-Itis so getting through the eastern half of the country was key for spending more time out west.

 

[Comet]

Tennessee on 40 was mind numbing. Cannon ball sounds like a great option. I could sleep while my son gets us past the Mississippi.

 

[Hokie LX]

Tennessee on 40 was mind numbing. Cannon ball sounds like a great option. I could sleep while my son gets us past the Mississippi.

Pro tip from my brother...pick a really slow truck to start with and then load it up with all of your gear. From there, you spend your time stressing about gaining enough momentum going down a hill to make it up the next hill without dropping below 30mph. Keeps you on your toes and keeps it from being too mind numbing

 

[lumbee1]

We did a two week road trip in July 2017. While I40 was boring, the mix of audio books and the gradual change of scenery was amazing. 4 days out and 4 days back with approximately 8 hours of driving each day. We planned everything ahead of time and made interesting stops along the way.

• Lost Sea Adventure in TN
• Big Texan Steakhouse in TX
• Oklahoma City bombing memorial
• South Rim of Grand Canyon
• Tucumcari NM
• Musical hwy in NM (doesn't work with mud terrains)
• Beale Street in TN
• Slot canyon tour in AZ
• Glen Canyon Dam in AZ
• Lowell Observatory in AZ
  Bicycle Museum in Statesville
• Williams AZ
• Page AZ
• Sunset Crater in AZ
• Petrified Forest
• Schulz Pass in AZ
• Slide Rock
• Sedona AZ
• Wukoki Pueblo AZ
• Horseshoe Bend AZ

BTW, The Martian on audio book is fantastic and we were itching to get back into the Cruiser after breaks for gas and restrooms just to hear more.

Tucumcari

 

[Comet]

Thank you for posting the stops along the way. We will definitely be looking for reasons to take a break.

 

[SFROMAN]

In our 30 day western state trip we hit all of the places that Jonathan hit in Texas and NM.
we went all the way to LA for business but also made the best of it by hiking up to the Hollywood sign and going to the labria tar pits - kids were small so that was interesting for them.
If you are feeling real adventurous and have the rig for it. You can do the Mojave road (east to west) from the AZ/CA border and come out on I5 near Baker. Then head north a bit and be in Death Valley. That is the route I took on my way into LA. I entered Death Valley from the south through dirt road and could of continued on dirt for a better part of two days but due to time constraints and wanting to keep the kids entertained we got on pavement and did some sight seeing at the usual spots in Death Valley. Again due to time constraints I circled back south through panamint valley to come back south to get on I 5 to continue west into LA

on our way back we weaved through Utah and Colorado and hit what cool trails we could do with my big ass f250 with trailer.

IOverlander app is a good app I use to find cool camping spots when I’m traveling

 

[Comet]

Thanks Del. I do like the Hollywood hike idea. Get a picture before i can no longer get back to CA.