ILBuckeye88

My wife and I have been wanting to do a cross country road trip. We have 17 days this summer free and that is about the most leave we will have at any one time until we retire in ten years or so. I have read many of the previous cross country questions and have decided we do not want to fly one way. I was intrigued by the idea of taking the train back but after looking at Amtrak's website it seems like it would take almost as long coming back as driving. Plus the cost to rent a car for two weeks and drop off on the west coast seemed rather pricey.

I would love to take US 50 or Route 66 and stay off the interstates but given the time it does not seem feasible. So I was thinking of going out I-70 and coming back I-40. The three main goals we would have are 1. Spend a few days in Vegas 2. drive through Colorado and 3. stop at the Grand Canyon. I would like to hit southern Arizona and possibly travel I-10 rather than I-40 but it is not the most direct route and seems a bit much.

Lastly we have two options for cars to drive. We have a hard top convertible (premium gas) and a mid-large size sedan (regular gas). I am intrigued by the thought of a cross country trip in the convertible but am not sure how much we would be able to travel with the top down, especially in the southwest, that time of year with the heat.

So my questions are:

Can a quality RT from DC to Vegas be done in that amount of time?
Which vehicle would you recommend we drive?
Which routes would you take?
Am I missing anything?

I appreciate any advice anyone can give. Thanks!

MmePerdu

It sounds to me like your main goals might be accomplished more efficiently, and more time spent seeing them, if you flew both directions to, say, Denver (Phoenix, Las Vegas), rather than drive the whole way.

tomfuller

You can still see parts of the old US 66 in Arizona and California. Much of the old route is under I-40 west of Amarillo TX.
My plan would be to fly to Las Vegas and rent whatever car you like based on the weather. I like the company that lets you take "any car in the aisle" in Las Vegas.
Leaving LV, on US 93, stop to see Hoover Dam and the new high bridge. In Kingman, take I-40 east to Williams and head north to the South Rim GC. Leaving GC it's back to Williams and west to Seligman (se-LIG-man). Take the old 66 past Grand Canyon Cavern. The old 66 will bring you back to Kingman. Take I-40 west through Needles CA. West of Needles, the old 66 goes south through Amboy and comes back to I-40 east of Barstow. Take the old 66 through Barstow. At the west end of Barstow it is called "National Trails Highway all the way to Victorville. In Victorville, there is a Rt. 66 museum across the street from the Amtrak station. If you're still into Rt. 66, you can go up over the "Grapevine" and end at Santa Monica across the street from the Queen Mary.
See what you want to see in CA and then return the car to LV.
Your Amtrak options from Las Vegas are these: Amtrak bus to Bakersfield and the San Joaquin to Sacramento (or Martinez). Take the California Zephyr all the way back to Chicago. Fly home from Chicago or if you really like Amtrak, take the Capitol Limited back to WAS.
Another choice from LV is taking the Amtrak bus to Los Angeles and the Southwest Chief to Chicago.
The other route from Los Angeles is the Sunset Limited (3 days a week) as far as El Paso or maybe San Antonio and fly home from there.
Car rentals in LV are cheaper than anywhere in California but don't try to do a one way rental.
If you spend some time in Chicago, stop at the intersection of Jackson Blvd and N. Michigan Avenue to see the east end of Rt. 66. I found a magnetic geocache at that very spot in Chicago. It was a bit tricky to find, sign and return without being spotted.

ILBuckeye88

Thank you for the replies. Flying is not an option. We really want to drive at least one way. My preference is to drive both ways; however, I am open to a return trip via train. I should have added our purpose for driving is to see the country. The train would in part satisfy that flying does not. The three goals I stated are things we were sure we wanted to do along the way. Sorry for any confusion.

MmePerdu

With just 17 days and a vast area to cover, why not fly at least 1 way? I think you're seriously overestimating the returns of driving both ways on a tight schedule. The less you drive, the more of the country you can actually experience (as opposed to seeing the countryside wiz by on interstates). I think you must either add days or approach your trip more pragmatically. Saying "Flying is not an option" at all undermines the object of the trip, to see a number of sites in a short time.

emalloy

We've done the driving trip and enjoyed the journey, but it is a long way. I would guess that it will take 4 days each way which leaves you with 9 days to visit things along the way. DH wanted to cross in the convertible, which was fun in the parks, but not really practical on the hwys - too much wind at 75 mph.

I would want to take 70 in one direction and 40 back. If you did 70 out, stop or at least drive through Trail Ridge Rd. at Rocky Mt NP in Colorado, in Utah drop down to Moab for a visit at Arches and Canyonlands, then Bryce and Zion and on to Vegas. On the way back, visit Hoover dam, Grand Canyon, any of the other NPs along the way in Arizona (Canyon de Chelley, Petrified Forest, etc) and in New Mexico perhaps Acoma Pueblo, Albuquerque, maybe up to Santa Fe.

If you're planning on hiking in the parks, you will have to eliminate some. BTW the most fun part of rt. 66 we found was the section from Kingman AZ up over a ridge then through Oatman (a funky mining town now mostly tacky shops but with fun to go through).

If you're thinking of this summer, be aware that some of these places are very hot. Check about events, festivals etc. that may make finding lodging difficult.

tomfuller

The train and rental car route would be Capitol Limited WAS to CHI (overnight) than a 6 hour layover in Chicago. (Go see the Willis Tower and the east end of Rt. 66.).
Take the Southwest Chief from CHI to Albuquerque (a Rt. 66 town). The train from CHI to ABQ takes 26 hours. Rent a car from Albuquerque and cover the old Rt. 66 west from there.
I-40 and I-15 split in Barstow. Head north on I-15 to Las Vegas. US 93 will take you to Hoover Dam and Kingman through the Mojave desert.
I favor Amtrak because the train rolls on through the night getting you closer to your destination. You also don't have the expense of motels and gas for the nights you are on the train.
I'm taking a trip next month from Oregon to Galesburg IL on Amtrak in roomettes. I'm returning from Galesburg on the SW Chief via Los Angeles to the Coast Starlight to Oregon.

jayne1973

Here's a vote for the convertible. Covering that much territory, serendipity will offer some great "top down" opportunities.

Study up on Route 66 and pick a couple of areas that strike your fancy, then just work those into your routing on the I-40 leg of the trip.

I like your idea of I-70 and I-40 as the main routes.

utahtea

I'm only going to address driving both ways. DC to Las Vegas via I-70, the Grand Canyon and returning on I-40 is 5100 miles. It's a good idea to add 10% to the milage so let's say you are going to be driving 5,600 miles. You want 2 days in Las Vegas and at least one day at the Grand Canyon so that only leaves 14 driving days. That means you are going to have to drive 400 miles each and every day for two weeks except for the two days in Las Vegas and the one day at the Grand Canyon. You could drive longer on a few days but that really doesn't give you much time for any other sight seeing except for what you will see on the road.

Here are a few pointers if you decided to go. Pick the vehicle that is the MOST comfortable to drive for the driver and the passenger. Forget the gas mileage and convertible...go for COMFORT! The second most important will be space for your luggage.

I-40 is more scenic than I-10 so stay with the shorter route. If you decide to go, I'd be happy to point out easy to get to scenic places on your routes.

Utahtea