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Road Trip : Usa
Big Mutant
Registered User regular
Registered User regular
I'm a 32 year old man from Montreal, looking to go on a 4 to 6 weeks road trip covering the four corners of the States. I'm a nature lover, am not above visiting a museum or two, and also interested in the historical side of life.
I'll probably hit and run most of the cities I come across, since it's seeing as much of the country as possible that I'm looking forward to.
Roughly, what I'm looking at right now is leaving Montreal in early September, go through the Adirondacks, to Philly to see a bit of the city and eat a cheesesteak, Gettysburg, Washington D.C.
From there, the Blue Ridge Parkway (debating whether it's worth cutting across to see Norfolk, and going down the coast to Savannah, or saving a bit of time, finishing the Parkway, and then Savannah), down the coast to the Keys, see some everglades, and back the other way to see New Orleans.
I'm now looking across the southwest, where I don't know as much about the land. I obviously want to see the Grand Canyon and Vegas, but what's the best way to get there? There's a stretch of highway 170 between Presidio and Lajitas near the Mexican border in Texas that's apparently worth it...
Then, California (is L.A. worth a few days?), up the other coast to Seattle, the Rockies. I've seen the Canadian side, and fell in love with it. Since I want to go to Chicago after, what's the best way of seeing them? Definitely Yellowstone, but then? Going as far down as Colorado?
Afterwards, maybe Detroit, seeing the Great Lakes, and back to Montreal.
I'm minding myself that I'll be doing all this alone, but I'm hoping that at least one of my friends can tag along. Given this, I'll try and limit the 8-10 hours consecutive days of driving.
Having said all this, what is your advice? Things to know, to look for? Others to avoid, or be weary of? Any and all information is welcomed.
Thank you in advance!
I'll probably hit and run most of the cities I come across, since it's seeing as much of the country as possible that I'm looking forward to.
Roughly, what I'm looking at right now is leaving Montreal in early September, go through the Adirondacks, to Philly to see a bit of the city and eat a cheesesteak, Gettysburg, Washington D.C.
From there, the Blue Ridge Parkway (debating whether it's worth cutting across to see Norfolk, and going down the coast to Savannah, or saving a bit of time, finishing the Parkway, and then Savannah), down the coast to the Keys, see some everglades, and back the other way to see New Orleans.
I'm now looking across the southwest, where I don't know as much about the land. I obviously want to see the Grand Canyon and Vegas, but what's the best way to get there? There's a stretch of highway 170 between Presidio and Lajitas near the Mexican border in Texas that's apparently worth it...
Then, California (is L.A. worth a few days?), up the other coast to Seattle, the Rockies. I've seen the Canadian side, and fell in love with it. Since I want to go to Chicago after, what's the best way of seeing them? Definitely Yellowstone, but then? Going as far down as Colorado?
Afterwards, maybe Detroit, seeing the Great Lakes, and back to Montreal.
I'm minding myself that I'll be doing all this alone, but I'm hoping that at least one of my friends can tag along. Given this, I'll try and limit the 8-10 hours consecutive days of driving.
Having said all this, what is your advice? Things to know, to look for? Others to avoid, or be weary of? Any and all information is welcomed.
Thank you in advance!
Big Mutant on
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Ok, this should be in Help and Advice, but kindly shut the fuck up. Boston offers a lot of stuff to do in the daytime, and the college kids will be gone. Did you even read his post?
Coming from someone living in NYC, the most fun city in the world, Boston's fun times.
Partialartist: Since I'm from Montreal, I can see the northeast pretty much whenever I have a week off. That's why I'm going straight to Philly. Given that logic, I might even bypass the Adirondacks in favor a faster roads and make a weekend of it another time.
Philly, from the two times I've been there, is kinda meh. Interesting, but there's better places to go. I hear St. Louis / Kansas City offers some interesting things, and they might be a little different from Philly, which would be much more similar to Montreal.
I'm from south of Boston.
Seriously, Boston Gardens, State House, Harvard Square, just the general beauty of Boston.
Fuck, it smells great!
I see this stuff all the time, so I consider it mundane. I love that it's such a great walking city though.
PS. From Grand Haven I'd advise taking 96 across the state the whole time.
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That said, on the Seattle-to-LA leg, try to hug the coast. Try this route: Seattle to Portland, down the Oregon coast, redwood forest, San Francisco, then take Highway 1 (e.g. Big Sur) to LA. Once you get past Big Sur, your call- you can keep on the coast after that, try the Central Valley, whatever. (This is assuming that you DO go counter-clockwise, just flip the order going clockwise.)
As for LA itself: skip it. I'd perhaps advise passing right on through and hitting San Diego instead.
As mtvcdm said, you may consider reversing your route, as you'd be htting the modwest around late fall/winter if I'm following it correctly. Chicago is pretty cool in the winter, lots of events, etc., but driving, not so much fun. Obviously you're not all, "OMG, snow!" being from Montreal, but just something to think about.
As for our parks, I've been to Yellowstone, Glacier, Bad Lands (South Dakota), and Great Smoky Mtns in Tennesse. Glacier National Park was the most wild; fuckin' bears are real wild bears, not like the Kodak Bears in Yellowstone (get it, Kodiak...). Bad Lands was incredible if you love dry heat, horrible smells and lots of bugs.
TheLong: I'll keep Grand Haven in mind, thanks.
mtvcdm: For some reason, your counter-clockwise idea never occured to me. I'll give some thought. Any clue when the fall colours start to show in Virginia/the Carolinas? How about in the northwest? Considering I'll be coming back at very latest late October, is there really a risk of me seeing some snow? We started having some here only around New Year's, so...
MichealLC: You're right; snow fails to impress me.
Coming from somebody else living in NYC: WHAT?
I mean New York has more than its share of amusing things to do but still...no.
(if you do, shoot me a PM/e-mail when you come through San Luis Obispo and we'll grab lunch or something)
San Francisco is probably worth seeing, if only for the touristy stuff (cable cars, Alcatraz, etc).
Definitely hit San Diego. The beaches are cleaner than LA, the traffic is better, and there are tons of historical spots to hit. I recommend Balboa Park and also checking out the Hotel Del in addition to some of the missions in the area. If you like water sports, there are plenty of places along the bay and the beach itself you might want to check out. If you do want to include LA, some interesting areas to hit are the La Brea Tar Pits, Griffith Observatory, the Santa Monica Promenade, Universal Studio Walk and if you're feeling like going to a night club or being touristy, Hollywood Blvd.
I also recommend hitting Colorado at some point. It's gorgeous up by the Boulder area and the drive from that area through Utah and into Vegas (if you so chose) is one of the most beautiful in the country.
Other sites of interest I would recommend would be Devil's Tower in South Dakota (very interesting lore around that), Mono Lake near Yosemite in California(some of the most interesting biology I've seen), and of course, the Grand Canyon.
And, just outside of the city, is even more historical fun... Concord/Lexington and Revolutionary War battle sights, for instance.
And if you're in it for natural beauty, there's no better place than New England (specifically the White Mountains of NH, Green Mountains of VT, Berkshires of MA).
Do it on a motorcycle.
Seattle area; definitely try to go to the Pike's Place Market, and also the Aquarium, lot's of weird looking fishes and you occasionally get to see them fed. These one's are close together, as in walking distance. Space Needle, just go up to the top, nice view.
East Coast; yeah, go to Boston, it is cool. When you are in Gettysburg try the Blue Parrot, It has shortish hours tho, so mid-day is the best time, even if it is busy. One of the museums has a narrated thing with a light-up board to show the positions of everyone- don't do it, it's boring. Go for the walking or driving guided tours of the area, as those were the best.
Have fun!
Where exactly south of Boston?
OP, you have to visit Boston. It's one of the springboards that started the country. Lots of old colonial stuff to visit. If you go, go on the Duck Tours. Don't settle for anything less.
I won't say not to do this, because it obvious is great for a lot of people, since they are so popular. But, I want to say, don't base your opinion of the city on these tours. I didn't like the tour when I did it so many years ago and I love the city.
As far as History goes, Philly is full of it, Independence Hall, Liberty Bell, etc etc.
And because you're a nature man, Pennsylvania is home to the Pocono's which is a popular resort/preserve. It's this HUGE chunk of woods in Eastern-Mid PA that's about 2 to 3 hours from Philly (I would suggest hitting it on the way to Philly). Just do a google search for it, grab a cabin for a weekend, whatever your nature pleasures are, they have it. Everything from bird watching to archeology events at different camp grounds and whatnot.
I drove a big 6500+ mile loop last fall from Seattle through the middle of America in a little less than two weeks and by the end I felt like if I had tried to go anywhere else I wouldn't have been able to appreciate it. I have pictures and whatnot up here. YMMV, but especially if you're wanting to visit cities I could see it getting to be too much.
I will say that I liked my trip enough that I'm planning on doing something similar again and spending some more time in cities like SF, LA, and San Diego in addition to the national park thing, but I'm going to make it a trade-off and cover less ground overall.
Whatever you end up doing, I think you will enjoy it, just keep in mind that you're describing an epic distance to travel.
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I think you're underestimating this by saying it'll be a challenge. I haven't even started yet, and I'm already dissapointed with all the things I won't be able to do. I'm sure that what I do end up seeing will more than make up for it, though.
Thanks for the tip about Minnesota. I won't be as nervous if I drive through there and it happens.
As for the rest of the suggestions, thanks to all. It only adds to my ever-growing list of things to do/see, but I wish I had more of these problems in my life.
I'll post an update when I've got a more solid itinerary figured out.
Hah, actually I originally wrote something a little more strongly-worded, but the more I thought about it the less sure I was. I do think it will be a challenge, but I also think you'll end up with a trip that's jam-packed with interesting things.
Obviously there's no way to cram in everything of note on a trip like that. Even now I'm finding out about things that would have been interesting for me to check out on the last one I went on. But I got to see all of the things I'd wanted to on that route for years.
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