olive_oil

Hi Fodorites.

My dear husband has announced that he wishes to take (with me) a cross country car trip in the spring. In May, I'm thinking. For about four weeks.

He'd like to go from Atlanta to Seattle. I think this sounds great as long as we take our time and are not putting in long days driving or never getting off the interstate.

I feel a little overwhelmed by the thought of planning such a trip. I scarcely know where to begin. So far, I have bought a map of the US.

I have a feeling I'd like to see Mount Rushmore and I thought it might be interesting to head north via the Mississippi--I believe there are some scenic river roads.

Maybe it would be interesting to take the route of Lewis and Clark?

So, I am looking for resources and references. If you have made a trip like this, or even just thought about it, I welcome your thoughts.

How long did you travel? What route? What web resources did you find useful as you planned your trip?

Thank you for any suggestions.

Gardyloo

Heaps of fun.

I last did it this April, and wrote a trip report for Flyertalk, here: http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=685006

Not a typical trip (way too rushed) but it was a guy thing and we didn't have a lot of time.

Re the Great River Road, my wife and I did a Thanksgiving trip to NOLA a couple of years ago (pre-Katrina) and ended up in Memphis. Trip report here: http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...1&tid=34460759

Happy planning.

mireaux7

atlanta to seattle, eh? so youre looking to basically travel in a northwesterly direction. also, youve expressed interest in seeing rushmore and possibly recreating the path of lewis & clark. sacagawea would be proud.

looks like youll be stopping in kansas city,and omaha, among other points of interest.

heres a detailed description of the exact route taken by them, if you desire to keep your trip intact.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lewis_and_clark

while in the rapid city,sd area, i do recommend seeing crazy horse, sturgis, deadwood, rushmore, and also a strange exhibit entitled "cosmos".

olive_oil

Thank you both for the encouragement. I like car trips but always seem to take the same one: Atlanta to Miami, for family trips. This trip west would give me a chance to visit a lot of states I've never visited: including ND,SD,MT,NE,WY,ID and WA.

Gardyloo, I enjoyed both of those reports very much. I see you hold the site of the Little Big Horn in special reverence. I have read other accounts as well suggesting that it would be a wonderful place to see. And after reading your southern account, I think I should add Memphis to the list. I was only there once but it didn't count: all I saw was the a Marriott Courtyard and an office park.

Mireaux7, thank you for the L&C link. I think it would be interesting and give some shape to the trip to at least follow a part of the trail of the expedition. And I know almost nothing about Omaha, except that it is a good-sized city, and I like cities.

Tomorrow I think I will go to the craft shop and buy a piece of foam board and some color coded pins with the little flags on top. I'll glue my US map to the board and start sticking the pins in place...I know you can do this on the net but I like being able to look at the whole map at once...

nytraveler

Contact the tourism offices of each state and you'll be inundated with literature to help you make decisions. (My parents started to take road trips after they retired and they have en antire cabinet of iinfo - as well as listings of all their hotels from each of the major chains. (They would reserve 2 or 3 days ahead as they went.)

meservski

We did parts of the Lewis & Clark trail in 2004; there are lots of books that take you as close to the trail as you can get and give you some great landmarks. I agree that it gives you some structure to what otherwise might look like boring countryside. The highways tracking the trail in North and South Dakota are numbered 1804 and 1806 for the westward and eastward parts of the journey. Don't miss driving on them, even for a short while. Everyone needs to see Mt. Rushmore and the Badlands of South Dakota and Crazy Horse. I also recommend a trip to Devil's Tower, Wyoming (make sure you watch Close Encounters of the Third Kind again!).

In 2006, my husband and I drove from Seattle to Prince Edward Island and back--10,000 miles, six weeks. Your trip will be shorter but you will use every day of those four weeks in order to really see America. We liked AAA's TourBooks but every state has a visitor's center just across the border and you will have more written material than you can possibly digest.

Don't be overwhelmed! We had no reservations and no fixed plans and we had no problems. You'll have a great time.

olive_oil

Thanks, nytraveler. I spent part of the weekend emailing the various state departments of tourism. The mailman's gonna kill me.

I think that, like your folks, I can reserve lodging as I go along. It will not be high season yet and with cell phones and the internet that should be easy. I love the idea of not being bound by a timeline.

Meservski: six weeks is starting to sound like the right amount of time for this trip. How did you feel about your six-week trip?

I have my US map mounted on display board and I have begun sticking the pins in: Atlanta, Memphis, Little Rock, St Louis or Kansas City,????,then a lot of unknowns til I get to the Mount Rushmore area.
Then Little Big Horn Battlefield,Yellowstone.
I wonder if we should continue on from there?

DH says he wants to see Seattle and Vancouver but, sheesh, this is far!

Thanks, all for letting me "think out loud" on Fodor's.

Some reources I have found so far include

http://www.byways.org/ for information and lots of pictures of America's scenic byways.

http://www.roadtripusa.com for 11 interesting itineraries criss-crossing the USA on two-lane highways.

happytrailstoyou

Olive Oil,

The problem with official travel literature published by states is that it includes the "tourist attractions" from each town and county without letting you know which ones are most worth your time, effort, and money.

IMHO the best travel investment is a few good guidebooks, but if you don't want to spend money on advice you can go to your local library and peruse guidebooks to learn which destinations, sites, attractions, and activities are the highlights of the places you will visit.

HTTY

Gardyloo

Bozeman (an hour from Yellowstone N. boundary) to Seattle is just under 10 hours, less an hour time change, so coming all that way and not getting to the coast would be a real shame.

Yellowstone might well be snowy or partly inaccessible if it's early May, or at least some of the higher passes. One of those "play by ear" cases.

If you get to Seattle or Vancouver, I'd add 3 days to the return portion and go down US 101 along the Oregon coast and through the Redwoods, then return across country via I-80 from San Francisco. That would give you a different view of the Great Basin and the Rockies than you'd get by retracing your steps, not to mention Lake Tahoe and the High Sierras in early spring.

mireaux7

honestly, this thread, and the op's deep desire to want to recreate the path of l&c, makes me wonder why the u.s. govt never constructed a scenic highway that exactly traces it. ala route 66, if you will. i would pitch in my donation to help get the highway built, and im sure others would too. maybe a larger than life bronze statues of lewis & clark and sacagawea at the end of the road waiting to greet everyone who completes the journey. this is fodors, and many people read it,.anyone feel like contacting their senators to try to see if this thing can cometh to fruition?

Anonymous

Unless you plan to sell your car in Seattle and fly back, you should be planning a more circular route, with a southern half first, then returning through the Northern states that you want to see.

HunyBadger

I'd like to suggest a stop at the Badlands National Park (www.nps.gov/badl). As a college student, we drove a northern route from SFO through Reno, Wyoming and stopped at Mt Rushmore. Then as an afterthought, we headed onto the Badlands. I wish we had had more time. I thought I would hate the wide expanses but I was mesmerized by it all and the colors, especially near sunset were amazing. Mt Rushmore, too surprised me in that I really enjoyed it (I thought I would be bored staring at a few rocks). Granted I was a jaded, cynical college student at the time, but these stops made immpression enough to remain with me now for 20 years.

BayouGal

I agree with adding the Badlands, and I hope you're not too early for Yellowstone. Also, since you'll be there, definitely go the Grand Tetons NP, and don't forget Utah. Seeing at least the Moab area and maybe Bryce Canyon NP would give you scenery you wouldn't see anywhere else.

I think a circular route, like Anonymous suggested, would be wise planning too. Unless you are renting a car and flying back home, which would be an option.

Like mireaux7, I think scenic highways tracing routes like L & C would be wonderful. And what about paths like the Oregon Trail . . . there are places in Wy where you can still see the ruts from the actual trail.

Olive oil, it sounds like you are in for an incredible trip!

bbqboy

http://www.octa-trails.org/about_octa/index.html
here's a good start-
they have a list of hotels along the trails.
You definitely need to get to KC, as it was trail central.
Don't forget Portland in addition to Seattle- the end of the trail center in Oregon City is cool.

ksbeem

Whatever you do, get off the interstate. The blue highways are often more enjoyable to drive and often less traveled. We just returned from the southwest. Drove from Santa Fe to Kansas City almost entirely on state and federal two-lane and four-lane roads. It was nice and really, hardly any traffice.

LindainOhio

I love road trips but I don't think I would follow the Lewis and Clark Trail on your drive. I would focus on the state and national parks along the way. I would also skip major cities in favor of areas with beautiful scenery--but that is our personal preference. We so love the mountains, lakes, parks and hikes out west.

We live in Ohio and have driven west several times. We have headed across the US on 90 to Badlands/ Rushmore/Yellowstone/Tetons/Rocky Mountain Nat'l Pk and then driven back on 70, making a loop. The drive on 70 Columbus/Indianapolis/St. Louis/Kansas City/Denver is one long boring ride. We do have family to visit along the way. We have never had the time though to dawdle and enjoy the off roads. Almost everything we want to visit is a much easier drive from Denver and we now fly to Denver and then rent the car. We love everything out west and could easily spend the whole 4 weeks sightseeing between Denver and and Seattle. We want to drive the California coast, which would be great for you. Perhaps your route could include some of the following: Atlanta/St. Louis/KC/Denver/Rocky Mtn Ntl Park or Mt Rushmore(love Custer St Pk)/Tetons/Yellowstone/Seattle/California coast/Yosemite/Las Vegas/Grand Canyon and back Rte 40 to Atlanta.

Have fun planning.

olive_oil

Thank you, everyone, lots of great advice here. I am giving serious consideration to a circular route, but right now I am just sticking pins in the map. I'll see if a logical route emerges from that.I have a bias for visiting areas I have not ever visited before.

We will be driving our car the whole way, round trip, so I want to make it as interesting as possible.But I am interested in a wide variety of things--both city and countryside--history and what's new.

I feel like an idiot for not realizing that many of the mountain areas could be inaccessible so early in the year!

And yes, I hope to explore some smaller highways and am particularly interested in scenic and historic byways.

Again, thank you all for your help and I'll keep you posted as the plan develops.

RedRock

You will have the time of your life on the cross country road trip. We just completed our road trip thru the New England states and that completed all 50 states for us. Start here for some of the best places to see..http://www.nps.gov/.

More places for your map.

http://www.campdubois.com/

http://www.cahokiamounds.com/cahokia.html

http://www.ghosttowns.com/states/wy/southpass.html

http://www.blm.gov/or/oregontrail/

Gretchen

The Badlands are a fascinating area. And sticking pins in a map is a great way to begin planning.
A grand circle is the only "logical" way to optimize your time. For a May trip, starting south and returning North might be an excellent strategy.