ROAD TRIP! iddqd goes to Oregon!

1ddqd

The Girlfriend and I are really excited that I will be getting a raise soon. Coupled with moving back to my parents for a bit, I'll be able to afford an actual vacation (haven't had one in...oh, 3 years?). We want to take a road trip up to Oregon after seeing some really inspiring landscape prints at the State Fair. Looking at TravelOregon.com, I can find plenty to do once we get there. Given that driving the whole state takes only a few hours (I'm in Texas, long drives are like going to the store for milk) I don't have a problem working my way around the state to do stuff.

SO! I'll be heading from Dallas to Oregon. There are a few possible routes to take, so I need some help!

Route Part 1: Dallas to Salina (6:30) Salina to Denver (6:15)

I like route 3 the most - should give some great Rocky Mountain views as well as interesting roadside vistas. I've been through SD and CO, but no where else that far north. However, I've never seen CA (and might even take Hwy 1 if I head down the first route. Will that add a significant amount of time to the trip? Also, route 2 is the shortest, and fastest, but also one I've been down before.

Any thoughts, PA? How would you want to approach OR if you were in the car?

Dunadan019

as far as rt 1 goes, you are looking at a long drive through the desert for about 1000 miles or so. not much scenery at all although once you get into CA it'll be nice for the rest of the way

why can't you take one rt there and one rt back? if so, then go rt 3 first and then rt 1 back.

Fats

I agree, if you can only do one route take number 3 (and if you have never been to Glacier National Park, cut north by Missoula and go there -- seriously), otherwise route 3 there and route 1 back would be nice. Make sure to see the coast at least a bit through Oregon and California, it's a lot more appealing than the I-5 corridor.

1ddqd

Well, the other alternative to your suggestion is Rt 1 there, then Rt 3 or Rt 2 back, based on how I feel. The first half of Routes 2 and 3 I've driven before, so that should make the drive go faster. The desert shouldn't be too bad as neither of us have driven that route before, and it's the start of the trip, so it should feel faster.

That's a good idea though, I like it.

JebusUD

route 3 is beautiful, but a little bit of a hairy drive. I would do 3 then 1 or 2. Though, you may want to take 3 back too, as there will be all kinds of things you will want to stop at on the first way, but will miss or won't have time for the first time.

Metalbourne

Being familiar with I-5 I would not recommend route 1 unless you modify it to use highway 1/101 along the coast. If you do that you will see some goddamn amazing sights. I did that exact same thing on a vacation.

I-5 will feature the occasional wrecked car if you're lucky

Honestly, though, highway 1 is not nearly as fast as I-5, as you'll be driving along the coast and mostly through the mountains, so consider that into your driving time.

elfdude

For route 1. Attempt to take pacific highway(101)/99w all the way north if you can. It can get some pretty bad traffic but it was designed as a tourist highway. It's not as fast (65mph/55 in oregon) but it's a lot more interesting than I5 which tends to be as interesting as hitting your head on a wall.

Route 2/3 you might want to swing a bit further south and go through the utah area/yellowstone. Very nice place with a lot of nice people. If you can convince them you're mormon you get special perks.

Route 1 will have a lot of emptiness on the drive up there, route 2/3 will be more interesting but you'll miss a lot more of california which has so much to see and do that you might want to detour down there even if you take route 2/3.

If you like the outdoors and beautiful sights go 2/3 if you prefer the entertainment humanity has to offer route 1, but california has almost as many beautiful sights to see.

As others have suggested doing a loop is preferable.

As far as the people go, california and oregon are very liberal so you probably won't have any problems with intolerance as far as they go. In idaho there's a very anti-nonmormon culture, utah is a bit nicer to tourists (given it gets them) but mormons still tend to treat you as less important. Depending on your ethnicity you can get a lot of negative comments from the locals especially in idaho. I hate Idaho since I have an olive skintone I look mexican/middle eastern and they're very happy to ignore you in restaurants and what not. If you are ethnic stay away from rural towns the cities are more accepting. Keep in mind a major tenet of the mormon belief is that darker skin is a curse from god.

1ddqd

I think I may do Route 3 to Route 1. Any specific sights worth seeing, along either route?

The driving route is really flexible at this point. I have read some stuff on Hwy 1 and I think I'd much prefer that drive, either going to or coming from OR.

I've also read some driving reviews of cars who've taken the "Oregon Trail" route and apparently in the fall, it's amazing (leaves turning, etc). I can't find the articles right off, but I think it's I-84?

Re: ethnicity - good to know. I'm white, but my g/f is Hispanic. She doesn't speak Spanish at all, really, but her heritage is obvious. We're pretty used to random acts of bigotry, but thanks for pointing that out.

2nd Edit: updated OP with starting route info (Dallas -> Salina, KS -> Denver, CO) I'd like each leg to be done in 6 hour increments - makes it easy to break the drive down into shifts (switch with G/F) and figure out things to do en route (sightseeing, you know).

Speaking of, is there a place where I can look up sights near a given route? Besides using images with Google Maps?

Eat it You Nasty Pig.

The pacific coast highway is a beautiful drive, but it will add a lot of time to your trip. Even if you take I-5, though, there are some really pretty views as you go down into the valley (shasta, etc.)

On the other hand, the drive across arizona is murderous.

Depending on how late in the year you go, route 3 could cause trouble for you. Snow and ice make the pass up there impassable with fair regularity.

Jragghen

How much time will you have to stop along your way to see things? If you're just trying to see the sights as you drive and get there and do a bunch of stuff in Oregon, that's one thing, but if you're looking to hit some National Parks along the way or something, that's another matter.

For example, a fourth route (which according to google maps is about the same amount of time as 3) would be this:



which goes near Arches and Canyonlands National Parks (two I haven't been to, but heard great things), and goes up a corridor in the middle of Utah which had some nice landscapes from what I recall (weather was poor when I was driving through there, so I may be blurring impressions with the next day when we got to Bryce Canyon, which will be out of your way. Similarly, Zion is gorgeous, but too far out of the way).

Other than that, I've not been to Montana, you're avoiding the portion of Idaho I've been to, and I've been east to west over norther Wyoming (which was nice, but once more - Yellowstone is the highlight which stands out. Well, and Devil's Tower, which is well worth a detour).

I'll echo the "I-5 is boring as fuck" sentiments, but if you do end up doing route 1 and want nice views, go east from Sacramento up to see Lake Tahoe, then take 395 south behind the ridge (mind you - depending on how late in the year you do this, snow might make this infeasible, but it opens up the options of Yosemite, which is gorgeous, as well as Death Valley). However, note - there are passes on this route which are closed in winter, and I've seen snow up there as early as the first weekend in October.

Regardless, if you do route 1, I'd recommend cutting east at I-40 - don't go down to I-10. You'll avoid the Los Angeles traffic, avoid Phoenix, and get to pass through Flagstaff which is a nice little town with lots of stuff to see around it (Grand Canyon, Meteor Crater, Petrified Forest will be right along the way, Monument Valley and Painted Desert to the north if you want to take a detour - AZ's got a surprising amount of stuff to see). If you do go on I-10, a potentially interesting detour would be to the Salton Sea, which is a short bit south of I-10 - inland salt lake where there's a lot of dying communities and abandoned buildings nearby. I got some interesting decaying pictures there:

So...yeah. Is this a road trip where you're looking for pretty scenery while driving 16 hours a day, or something where you're thinking about a stop or five along the way to see stuff?

Edit: Also, Crater Lake is worth taking the minor detour to see when going south in Oregon, provided you're not taking the others' advice and doing the coastal route.

Heh. That's a lot of National Parks I recommended. If you go outdoors nuts like me, might want to look into a Parks Pass :P

1ddqd

It could be both - I was eyeing the Utah route for the next leg of the trip - definitely think that could be great.

I've been trying to keep each "leg" about 6 hours - I figure thats enough for a 2-3 hours in the car, 1 outside of it (so 2 stops for about an hour each).

I have 12GB combined in SD storage (and will probably get another 8 before leaving) and a Canon G10 to document this, so driving scenery plus stops here and there should be good.

Pheezer

1ddqd wrote: »

I have 12GB combined in SD storage (and will probably get another 8 before leaving) and a Canon G10 to document this, so driving scenery plus stops here and there should be good.

man what
are you going to be videotaping the entire thing or just take fifty frames of every single thing you find? I'm just thinking you're never going to actually find the time to process through 20gb of photos afterwards nor will you or anyone want to look at 20gb worth of photos from one drive across a few states. Not to mention that you'll never find the time to take that many photos that aren't 99% rubbish.


Just sayin, try to spend some time enjoying the scenery rather than documenting every inch of it. Five photos, each from a super fun or memorable stop along the way will mean more to you in ten years than 5000 frames from a trip where all you did was take photos. Do picnics! Wander! Really get something out of it.

As for the driving, I'd agree on stopping every 2-3 hours. Driving longer than that sucks.

PracticalProblemSolver

If you're going route 3 next leg I'd recommend you go to jackson and grand teton/yellowstone, I'm not sure what you think is in billings or bozeman but it's nothing special as compared to two of the most scenic places in the world. From there you can join up with either route 2 or 3, unless it snows

webguy20

As an Oregonian who grew up in Florence *right in the middle of the Oregon coast* and now live in Eugene I would suggest taking route 3 up and then heading through Portland making sure to stop at voodoo donut along the way then head over to the coast through Astoria then rock 101 all the way down through Oregon, then through part of Northern Cal making sure to see the redwoods, then hopping back on I-5 to get you going again. you WILL see amazing things along the Oregon coast. Its rated one of the best coasts in the world for a reason. Its Breathtaking.

This will probably add some time though, FYI. Also if you take 101 down make sure to stop in Depot Bay and eat at the Sea Hag. Great seafood that's caught locally in a lot of cases! Also Aquarium in Newport. The dunes in Florence(stop at sandland adventures and take a giant dune buggy ride out. I remember it being dirt cheap and lots of fun), Jet boat rides in Gold beach, but that's a day excursion right there. That's not counting all the natural beauty and things like that. Heceta head lighthouse. Devils Cauldron, Sea Lion Caves, Cape Perpetua, etc etc.

Edit: Check Out the Tillamook cheese factory for delicious delicious cheese and also the blimp hanger air museum for awesome historic planes.

Mr. Pokeylope

If your interested in CA your going to miss most of the best sites heading down I-5. After south of Sacramento it's just going to be barren hills all the way to LA.

I would atleast suggest going through San Francisco really the most beautiful city in the state. Depending on time you may want to see Yosemite or go through Carmel and Montrey. Driving down the California coast you will see some awesome sights but will increase your driving time.

I would avoid LA if your not interested in any of the attractions (Disneyland, Universal Studies, Hollywood walk of fame etc...)

MetroidZoid

I'm just going to reiterate that I-5 is for 'let's get the fuck out of [STRIKE]Dodge[/STRIKE] Oregon. Quick, efficient, lacking in scenery except Shasta and it's lake and crossing the Sacremento River a few times. When I head out of Grants Pass down south to see family, the only stops I make are the truck stop in Weed (it's like take-a-picture-of-the-sign tradition), the Wal-Mart in Williams, the In-N-Out in Redding (I may have those two mixed in order ...) and Old Town Sacramento. Obviously only one of those is for fun, the others are for walking and double-double necessity.

Also, I didn't see what time of year you're doing this, but if it's any time past late Spring, and before well damn late fall, and you choose I-5, try to make it past Redding by morning. Redding gets hot as fuck. Seems worse than all of the Central Valley. Think it's built on a shallow portal to hell or something.