Great American Road trip advice needed
Replies: 8 - Last Post: Nov 16, 2012 12:00 PM Last Post By: tiltedflipcurves
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Great American Road trip advice needed
My sister is going to be in Kansas City in May 2013. We've decided to do a two week road trip across the States to get her there. She lives in Australia and I live in the UK so we'll either meet in LA/San Fran or New York. I've done a lot of internet research but the problem is the US is so huge and there are infinite options. I've never been to the States so it would be so helpful to have some advice/tips from native Americans or people who know the country well.Two options:
1. New York to Kansas City
Via Virginia/West Virginia/Kentucky and maybe Tennessee. I LOVE bluegrass, blues, old Americana music and it's been a dream of mine for a while to visit the Appalachians.
2. LA/San Fran to Kansas City
Via Route 50 or 66 (or any other route!). I love the desert and the idea of long empty dusty roads, and roadside diners. I'd also love to see Yosemite and Denver.
Our itinerary would be mixed - ie a few full days driving, some half days, others only a couple of hours, and others no driving at all. Our budgets haven't been set but we'd stay at cheap motels. Ideally we'd avoid expensive "touristy" stuff.
It's pretty vague I know, but if you have any advice on hidden gems or must-see sights along either of those routes please let me know! Cheers!!
2
Short version:The East is a mix, some history, an interesting mix of cultures, some really great nature spots etc.
In the West, the attraction is that the nature (mountains canyons etc.) is world class, heart drops into your stomach stunning.
Normally I'd recommend the East Coast route. In your case I don't know what to recommend.
Edited by: LongIslandBob
3
Here is a very rough map for the eastern route.There are four good places to get on the water, plenty of places to hike, and a few music stops.
4
As for your two options:The eastern option takes you through lots of colonial American sites as well as historical sites for the revolutionary war and the civil war. You could also travel along the beautiful Shenendoa Valley, see the Smoky Mountains, and yes, experience some good bluegrass music. In May, it may rain some, may be chilly at night, but the countryside will be "greening up."
But, good bluegrass music isn't found just in the east. In fact, some of the biggest bluegrass festivals are actually out west. For example http://www.fiddlecontest.com/ and http://www.darringtonbluegrass.com/
Unfortunately, those particular festivals are off your route, but there are others and your western option takes you through the vast, open mountain and desert lands of the western U.S. However, in May many mountain areas will still be under snow,. In fact, snow storms are still possible at higher elevations. The deserts will be getting hot. Along the Pacific coastline between L.A. and San Francisco will be nice - cool and maybe foggy at times, but nice.
6
I would opt for the LA to Kansas City version, especially if you like deserts. If you take I-70 through Utah and Colorado you could do side trips to the north rim of the grand canyon, zion, and arches national park. Even better, take a 'short cut' from I-15 to I-70 via UT highway 12, possibly the most scenic highway on earth (well, the most scenic I've ever been on anyhyow). Not really a short cut time wise, since it's a much slower road, but so worth it. Highway 12 would also allow you to visit Capitol Reef national park, a great little park if you like hiking and want to get away from the crowds.Southern Utah should be pleasant in May; warm but not excrutiatingly hot. And none of that humidity you'd have in the southeast.
Enjoy!
7
A couple of notes:North Rim Grand Canyon doesn't open until May 15 (give or take a day).
May is prime waterfall season in Yosemite. However Tioga Road (CA 120 east over the Sierra crest) will almost always be closed by snowpack much (sometimes all) of May, which complicates through-driving. Glacier Point Road in the park is also usually closed in earlier May (in rare years, all month).
Snowpack will likely limit at least some of the possibilities in the Colorado mountains.
US50 has lots of REALLY open country, minimal traffic, and some interesting deserty mountain-and-valley secenery, but few really good easy-to-find-out-about-and-access natural areas close along it in Nevada and Utah, except for Great Basin National Park (the higher part of which may still be under snowpack in earlier May) and the Moab, Utah area (Arches, Canyonlands, etc. - which is great, and May is a fine time).
Old US66 in California/Arizona/New Mexico is now mostly under the decidedly unromantic and rather busy I-40. There are still a few surviving stretches of the lonely old road, and I-40 comes reasonably close to Grand Canyon South Rim.
The suggestion about UT12 is excellent - it (and UT24 through Capitol Reef) is a world-class scenic drive. So is UT9 eastward out of Zion Canyon.
