I am going on a roadtrip for 7-10 days from the East Coast to the West Coast. Any route suggestions?

Question

My friend and I would like to see landmarks, historical places, and nat'l parks. We are going on the trip in late October, starting in North Carolina and ending in California. We want a route that won't be a problem with the weather and won't be dull either. This is probably the only chance I'll have to take a trip like this so I want to make it memorable.

We will eventually end in Southern California. It doesn't need to be a straight route there though.

Answer 1

Why not dive Route 66?? Starts in IL and it really is a wonderful trip. There are a lot of things to see on 66 and some great classic roadside attractions. You can still drive a majority of 66 with some research. The people are nice, places are cheap and well you can just have a great time…

There are sooo many great places to stay see. I don’t even know where to start. Okay well first lets start with IL. There is a ton of good places to eat. There is Lou Mitchell’s in Chicago, Dell Ray’s Chicken Basket in Willowbrook. There is also the Cozy Dog Drive In in Springfield IL. The Polk A Dot drive in which is in Atlanta, Scoty’s in Hamel best Horseshoe on the Route! There is also DeKamp Junction which is cool Al Capone and his guys robbed the place. As for places to see in IL the Atlanta has a great Route 66 Park, there is also the Hall of Fame in Pontiac which is really nice. Henry’s Rabbit ranch is a visitors center and museum and yep they have rabbits and lots of them. Very cool place! There was the Pig Hip Museum but on 5/11/07 it burned down. Very sad had been on the Route since the start. Used to be a restaurant. Oh yeah and don’t forget about Funk’s Grove been here before 66 they make real maple Surip and yes that is spelled right. Still family owned today!
Okay MO. My favorite place to stay is the Munger Moss Motel. Very fun! Ted Drews of course has the best custard on the Route located in STL. There is also Route 66 state park which is new pretty nice. Who can forget about Merimac Caverns? You see sings painted on barns for this all over the Route. Very cool place. Also you get to drive through a town called HOOKER, very funny to take pictures of and who could forget a place called that. It is really funny to see the sing for Hooker Cemetery, we had a few questions when we saw this. Right by Hooker is Devils Elbow a very nice drive on the route. There is the Skyline Motel in Springfield MO still looks like it did back in the day. The people who work there are really nice. Oh Yeah and Fantastic Caverns is there, a drive through cave how cool is that. The drive through Animal Park used to be there. That was always fun you got to fee all kinds of things from your car. They sold it last Oct, now it is being turned into condos I think. In Carthage there is a very cool drive in theater that is still working. Very fun to go to. The Castle Court in Joplin is also a nice place to stay at.
Moving on to OK. OK has some of the best parts of Route 66 all over you will find one lane roads, parts of the old brick road and more. I love going to the Blue Whale and the World’s Largest Totem Pole. Don’t get more touristy than that! There is also Yukon which has a Route 66 Museum, also home to Garth Brooks as the let you know when you pull into town. The Metro Diner in Tulsa is great and Elvis ate there! They have some of the best food around! The Rock Café is also a great place to eat at, I believe the girl that owns it was used as a character in the movie “Cars”. In Clinton there is a really nice Route 66 Museum try to go to it each time I drive the Route. The Lincoln motel in Chandler has been there forever and it is a great place to stay. The round bar is crazy it is located in Arcadia, across from it is some restaurant and motel called Hillbilly something. They were closed when we went so we just visited the Barn. El Reno has a Route 66 Museum that is connected to the town museum and it is just cool! Huge fun and we spent hours there! Elk City is home the National Route 66 Museum a must stop for all Route 66 Travelers! Love the place!
Texas has the smallest part of Route 66 so I have never stayed there but, the Shamrock Restaurant in Shamrock has a killer chicken fried steak! You also must go to Amarillo, not only is the Big Texan Steak House home of the 72 oz steak there but also Cadillac Ranch. Wow you get to spray paint on these cars, 10 caddy’s nose in the dirt sticking straight up! I have never seen anything like this, we had a great time here! One on my favorite places to eat is the Adrian Café in Adrian this is the Midpoint of the route. They have the best everything here, get some pie! They also are very nice and answered all of my questions, and told us their stories of the route. Wonderful place!!!! Glenrio was this wonderful little ghost town on the border, we got some really cool pictures here. The old buildings are very neat to see.
NM is cool because if you do your research you can drive parts of Route 66 that are still unpaved. It did not start out being a paved highway that was added latter and here you can find old pieces of the road. The other cool thing that I remember as we were driving these parts in some places you could still see marks from the wagon trains and big ruts on the side of the road that were made by them. You will find yourself alone for hours just like it used to be. Okay there are a couple cool places to stay in NM. My favorite has to be the Blue Swallow. This place is still awesome! The blue neon will knock your socks off. It has been restored and you still even have your own little garage now that is cool! I will never forget this place. There is also the El Rancho Hotel very famous the old movie stars used to stay here and all the rooms are now named after a star. Located in the heart of downtown they also have a really good restaurant in the place. Tee Pee Curios is also in NM an old store still fun to go into! Gallup has the best shopping around and is home to the Native American Nations. They are always having a Pow Wow or something here. They also have the best shopping for Native American jewelry around! I also like Gallup because the El Rancho Kitchen wonderful eats! You also get to see the Continental Divide which runs on the boarder of NM and AR, something you will never forget.
AZ is also a great state for 66 they really have done their best to preserve it and the coolest part of driving Route 66 can be found here. I love the drive to Oatman which was a ghost town but they are bringing it back to life. The drive is very twisty and turny and there is nothing to keep you from falling off the side of the mountain this part of the road is one of the most photographed on Route 66 and is not for the faint of heart. With that said I just love to drive this part! My favorite place to Stay in AZ has got to be at the Wigwams, now how cool is that to sleep in a Tee Pee okay so they are not really but, you do get your own little wigwam made of concrete. Been here forever and still family owned, old and young love to stay here. I make it a must each trip! There is also the Museum club in Flagstaff been on the route forever, nice bar good music. The Petrified Forest, Painted Desert and The Meteor Crater are all breath taking. Well worth the time to see them. Glad I did. Seligman this whole small town is Route 66 Crazy! I love going to the Snow Cap, great food and a ton of stuff showing the pride of Route 66. This place is just hard to describe, they have old cars, signs and all kinds of things! The Route 66 motel is also a very nice place to stay here. Now the funniest part of Seligman has got to be the Roadkill Café, um yep that is what it is called and that is why I remember it! Oh yeah I almost forgot that I stood on the Corner of Winslow AR just like the song! Um it is a nice site to see, don’t know if I would call it lovely.

CA you get to drive through the Joshua Trees and that is really cool. You don’t even have to go to the park they are right outside of your window. Barstow is one of my favorite stops, sorry not because Route 66 runs through it but, this is the first In-N-Out Burger on the Route. If you have never had it I cannot even tell you how wonderful In-N-Out is! A California must the best fast food around, fresh really no freezers or microwaves, made to order simple yummy goodness! Victorville also has another good Route 66 Museum. I really liked it. The Santa Monica Pier is where Route 66 ends, although this was not true back in the day. Still the pier is fun and there is some great food, games and fun. Love ending the trip there. There really is just a ton of cool things to see on the CA drive, you go through LA, and Hollywood. There are a ton of old builds and wonderful restaurants.
Every time I drive Route 66 I see something new, and every time I make a new memory. There is just too much that I could list here! I have already gone on enough.
Hope this helps:

www.historic66.com
www.national66.com
www.route66.org
www.oklahomaroute66.com
www.missouri66.org
www.bygonebyways.com
www.route66university.com
www.theroadwanderer.net/route66.htm
www.azrt66.com
http://www.theroadwanderer.net/route66.htm

Answer 2

I-40 will likely be your main road, it's the most direct from North Carolina to California.

Is that 7-10 days round trip or one way? If it's round trip, just take I-40 end-to-end and back. You won't have time for much else.

If it's one-way, you have a little more time to play with. You can have maybe a day in the Smoky Mountains, but that's close, so you've probably done that already or can do it in the future.

You'll be very close to many parts of old US 66, so visit some of the small towns along that historic road. Visit http://www.historic66.com for more route info. You might find that a lot of that stuff is worth visiting. You'll pick up the old road starting around Oklahoma City.

Maybe stop by the Grand Canyon on the way, it's not far out of the way, and VERY MUCH worth the trip. STRONGLY recommended. If nature's your thing, you might want to stop by the Barringer Meteor Crater near Winslow, Arizona. Furthermore, there's Petrified Forest National Park between Gallup, N.M., and Holbrook, Ariz.

If you've always wanted to go to Las Vegas, that's not all that far away, add maybe an extra day or two if you really want to do that. Get U.S. 93 out of Kingman, Ariz., to get there, and take I-15 to Barstow, Calif., on the way out. That wasn't really my thing, but the option is there.

An altertative is to take a bit of a longer way, through Texas (Dallas). Get I-30 west out of Little Rock, then 20 out of Dallas. From western Texas, you can find your way up to Carlsbad Caverns in New Mexico. Pick up I-10 in Las Cruces, N.M., and from there, you can head west into Arizona's Saguaro National Park. Keep going west on 10 from there to visit Joshua Tree National Park before heading into Los Angeles. This alternative will, however, cut out the Grand Canyon.

If I think of anything else, I'll post it. Enjoy the trip, everything's so much different out there!!

By the way, if you're going via motels, get a look at AAA's TourBooks as well as their maps. Pretty comprehensive listing of approved establishments throughout the U.S. http://www.aaa.com for more. Don't bother trying to make reservations beforehand, because plans can change so quickly on a trip. When my family travels, we usually reserve ahead of time for main destinations, but call in along the way for the rest, often a few hours before the stay. More often, we just walk in and see what's there.

Answer 3

I drove from Tennessee to California, then to Washington State. I drove 40 West and I saw a bunch of awesome sights. Among my experiences:

Drove by Oklahoma City
Got lost (LOL) in a tiny Texas town called Allenreed
Camped out in Texas (Amarillo)
Saw the Sante Fe train in New Mexico
Drove on Route 66 in New Mexico and Arizona
Saw Grand Canyon (about 2 hours give or take from I-40)
Visited Flagstaff, AZ, a cool college town
Saw American Indians around Flagstaff and heard them speak in their native tongues (something I'd never had the chance to do before)
Saw the highest gas prices I'd ever seen in California

Awesome experiences. I'd highly recommend taking 40 and driving on Route 66 as much as possible.

Answer 4

I'm in the RV rental business, and we have a lot of great travel information on our website www.lightninrv.com that you might want to take advantage of while planning your trip.

Go on our site and click on Rentals. Once there, look at our menu on the left. First, check out the "Special Events Calendar" for a list of things happening all over at that time. But, also look at it for the entire year as the locations we have listed are great destination sites 12 months a year...even if you aren't there to see the event.

Then go on "Travel Links". Once there, you'll find some real fun ones..."The Wackiest Tourist Attractions" and the "Largest Roadside Attractions" in the U.S. You might also like "Watch it Made in the U.S.A." for some good times too. "Roadtrip America" and "Roadfood" might give you some good ideas too.

Then, you'll find some helpful links as well. Of course you'll see "MapQuest", but there is also a national D.O.T. link to see road & weather conditions nationwide...let's you pass up miles of road construction! "Mile-by-Mile Guide" will tell you what you can expect to find at every exit on every Interstate in the U.S.

Plan your route where you can see and do the most and have a great & safe trip!

Answer 5

East coast! there is SOOO lots to do in ny city - i've got no longer been there for no less than 8 years (super apple, thay is), yet there is SOOO lots to do there & ny has the perfect pizza (the slices are extensive!) & there is no longer something like a brand ny city pretzel for decrease than a $a million (i grew to become into in Queens like a week in the past, hadn't had a million in YEARS!) and there is no longer something like the buzz of observing a Mets interest (too undesirable Shea Stadium's long gone!)...there is Rockefeller midsection with ice skating & the super Christmas Tree & the Macy's domicile windows at Christmastime, the 4th of July fireworks, each and all the parades & the ball drop on New 3 hundred and sixty 5 days's Eve, then there is Broadway shows, museums & SOOO lots greater! I purely choose it grew to become into heat right here all 3 hundred and sixty 5 days long, I HATE snow & chilly climate!

Answer 6

Be sure and see Mt. Rushmore. Crazy Horse monument and Custer park are close too. All are near Rapid City South Dakota. It will be cool that time of year. Glacier National Park is nice if you take the northly route.

Answer 7

Round trip ? or ending at a specific place in Cali ?
Edit
Two more questions before I give one of my long but extemely accurate answers
Do you have any problems with driving on 2 lane US highways though the middle of nowhere ?
Do you have any problems driving on perfectly safe roads that just happen to have 9-10% grades and 1000'+ drop -offs
next to them .
Camping out an option ?
Edit 2 Saturday morning
For the Rt 66 -romantics,Please take a couple of hours out of your busy lives and listen to Woody Guthrie and read the Grapes of Wrath-see the movie too
Edit 3
This is a spectacular routing that I have personally driven many times and in all seasons. I used to live in Northern AZ and have over 100 days hikng below the Rim of GCNP
Get an Annual National Parks Pass because I'm going to be sending you to about 10 of them and the NPS Pass allow you to get into all the Patks w/o paying any more fees.
Procede on I-40 to Gallup NM -which can be nice and also very seedy -especially on weekends.
I'm just going to give you towns and you can enter them onto your internet mapping provider -or you could just use a Rand Mc Nally Road Atlas
From Gallup to Window Rock AZ- Capital of the Navajo Nation
to Chinle AZ &Canyon de Chelly NP
to Mesa Verd NP-Stop by Four Corners
to Mexican Hat UT- cross the San Juan River and head south thru Monument Valley to the Gouldings Trading Post
Back thru MV to Mexican Hat -do the side trip to Goosenecks of the San Juan
then to Moab UT -Arches NP
Note : Alternate Routing to Moab If you make a left when you come out of Goosenecks SP and head for the jct of Rt 95 you will have climb up Moqui Dugway [ find an image ] to get there. You will either fall in love with it or it will scare the crap out of you and you will be cursing me for the rest of ths trip.
It's barely 2 lanes, 8-10 %grade , washboard gravel, no guardrails ,and gains about 2500' and the views are almost indesribable.It's just beautiful
When you get tothe jct of SR 95 & US 191 make a left and proceed as usual to Moab
From Moab
to Torrey UT via Capitol Reef NP
to Escalante UT
to Mt Carmel Jct UT via Bryce NP
To Hurricane UT via Zion NP
to Colorado City AZ-don't stop there
to Lees Ferry AZ via the N Rim of GCNP
to Grand Canyon National Park-use the airport code of GCN
To Flagstaff AZ - via making a left onto Rt 180 at Valle AZ .You don't have to go to Flagstaff you can go to Williams and straight on to Vegas-but I think that Flag is worth checking out and lodging will be a lot cheaper than GCNP
Note : Having driven these roads I'm gong to strongly suggest to you that you drive all the roads from Window Rock to Valle in daylight.
to Las Vegas
to Death Valley Jct CA
to Lone Pine CA via Death ValleyNP to Bakersfield CA -if you're comfortable on beautiful twisty, elevation changing roads use Rt 178 from US 395 otherwise take the normal and very much flatter routing
to Bakersfield
to Visalia CA
do the loop thru Sequoia / Kings Canyon NP
to Fresno Ca
to Kettleman City CA
to Paso Robles CA
to Cambria CA-finally' "Welcome to the Pacific Ocean"
I would allow a maximum of 3 days to Gallup
I personally have driven from Amarillo TX to Memphis TN driving a 26 U-Haul in a day . I left Amarillo at sun-up and got into W.Memphis in time to have dinner at the Cracker Barrel on I-40
So that should give you a reference point.