My wife and I are considering driving across the country from San Francisco to New York.

We have a month, a sturdy car and a dog. We'd like to camp a lot but we can also stay at hotels and motels along the way. We want to take a Northern route as opposed to the Arizona/Texas way.

Several questions:

*Has anyone done this? Did the marriage survive? How about the car?

*Are we nuts?

*Is August too hot to attempt this?

*Which route is the most interesting?

*What motel chains are pet-friendly?

*Any suggestions for towns, campgrounds or web sites to visit?

*What are we forgetting?

Thanks for any & all advice,

Steve

My boyfriend and I just completed a three month road trip, we drove 15,000 miles all over the US (and a bit of Canada too.) In answer to some of your questions:
*The relationship surely survived and is stronger, most couples don't get to spend this much uninterrupted time together until retirement. We did a short road trip prior to the big one and got along well. If you and your wife don't do well on short trips, chances are that you wont on a long one either. Enjoy the time together but do some things separately if necessary. Re: the car, only had one flat tire the whole time but AAA gave me peace of mind.
*No, you're not nuts and don't let family or friends tell you so. They're just jealous
*Hard to say what's 'too hot', you have a/c right?
*Which is the more interesting route? I'd have to think about that one, there were long stretches of boring road each way. Depends on what your interests are really. Also what have you seen already? I had never seen "the west" (grand canyon, monument valley, desert landscape) so seeing all that was a thrill for me.
*Don't know about pet-friendly hotel chains, check websites maybe?

If you want any specific recommendations on towns/attractions feel free to email me. Good luck!

I am the boyfriend that Emily mentioned. Do the trip, Steve, and try to do a little bit of driving in Wyoming.

My husband and I are planning a road trip together back to Indiana to see our daughter and family. We only have two weeks and would fly except we got a dog last year which has changed our lives. Check out a few websites for dog friendly hotels, Petswelcome.com is one that comes to mind. You can plot out your route and find out what hotels accept pets.

Please post a trip report when you get back. We don't plan to leave until mid September.

Steve, our transcontinental trips have been a ball, regardless of route. Go and enjoy this amazing chunk of real estate and the inhabitants thereof.

If we were doing it again (wish we were) I'd start from SF on I-80 but hang a left in Utah and go through the Tetons and Yellowstone, eventually connecting to I-90 across S. Dakota (our fave inland state) and on to Chicago, thence over to Mass. (following I-90 or maybe US 2 depending on your whim) then south into NYC. Extend to Washington DC, especially if you've never been there, even if your tires are at risk of melting (not dog-friendly weather in the heartland or on the east coast in July/August, so pay heed to the weather forecast.)

If it was me and if time allows, I'd strongly consider returning via the TransCanada Hwy. as far as Banff, then south across Montana to I-15, then down to I-80 for your return. Get some Gordon Lightfoot for the tape player.

Using all freeways (don't, just for comparison purposes) you can make the drive comfortably in 6-8 days each way, so with a month you have a couple of weeks to spend moseying around or taking alternate routes. Do so.

You will love it.

I can't give you advice on your trip but I'd be most interesting in hearing about it when you return. My husband and I would love to do this and would appreciate any information you can share. We aren't campers so would need to stay in motels and would love how to do this without breaking the budget. So send any advice or tips. Thanks.

Remember on your trip, NEVER to leave your dog in the car by himself. There are statistics available about how hot it can get in there in a matter of minutes. We're talking brain damage.

My husband and I have traveled cross country by car 3 times and loved each trip. First trip was in our 3rd year of marriage, took the southern route from PA to CA in June and last time was in our 25th year of marriage, took the northern route from PA to Seattle in August. These were some of our best and most memorable times together in 28 years. Listen to music, talk to each other, stop and see all the sights and enjoy. Taking the northern route we went thru Chicago, Minneapolis, Mt. Rushmore, Badlands, Yellowstone and Glacier.

I've been on 3 - 4week trips out West. For camping, the best thing was getting a KOA camping book. They have maps of all states with marks where the campgrounds are. They have phone numbers that you can call along the way to make reservations. Very conveinient, flexible. Sites may be small but they usually always have a store, pool, and good showers. We usually just call along the way since we don't run to a rigid schedule. They'll let you come to a site after hours if you're coming in late.

We did a 4 week cross country trip many years ago when we were just out of graduate school. One of the best vacations we ever had. We travelled in a large circle, starting in the east. NYC to Chicago, then through Iowa and Nebraska to Colorado (Rocky Mountain National Park, Pike's Peak, etc.). Then north through Wyoming to Grand Teton and Yellowstone National Parks. Next--southwest across part of Idaho to Utah and Salt Lake City, where we picked up I-80 west across Nevada to Lake Tahoe. Spent some time in the Sierras, then on to San Francisco. Drove Rt.1 south through the Monterey peninsula, Big Sur, and on to LA. Continued on to San Diego and started back east. First through Death Valley to Las Vegas, then to the southwest-- the Grand Canton, painted desert, puebloes in New Mexico, Albuquerque and Santa Fe. At that point, we had two days to getback to NY. Drove like crazy across the Texas panhandle, Oklahoma, Missouri, Indiana, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and New Jersey (did I miss a few states?) It was a fabulous experience. Of course, that was long before we had a dog. Certain of those places are not especially pet friendly. Yellowstone, for example, has fairly severe restrictions on where dogs are allowed because of the thermal areas and the wildlife, but you are also not allowed to leave a dog alone in your car or at your campsite.
Any route you choose, you are bound to have the trip of a lifetime.

Last year took 3-weeks and went from Wisconsin to Yellowstone, Teatons, Crater Lake, Mt St Helens, Mt Rainier, Olympic Park, Seattle, & Glacier Park. We found camping (tent) places almost every night without reservations. AAA helped alot with routes and driving times. I would really recommend getting information from them

You're not nuts. Driving cross country is a wonderful way to see America in a whole different light from what you get on the coasts.

Doing what my husband and I did last August for a variety of reasons = driving from LA - Las Vegas - Santa Fe - Austin - Memphis - Chicago in a week? Now, THAT's nuts.

You're not nuts at all. My wife and I did similar trips several times early in our marraige, and we're approaching our 26th anniversary next month and still love travelling (and doing everything else) together. I second the suggestions to see Grand Teton and Yellowstone. It's cool there, and great camping. Further east, it gets hotter and less interesting, though there's still much to see even in the midwest. The Black Hills, Mount Rushmore and the badlands are worth a visit. Since you like camping, why not skip Chicago and the increasingly urban environment you'll encounter as you go east from there. I'd suggest heading to Duluth, Minnesota, and then around the north shore of Lake Superior into Ontario, where there are many beautiful places to camp, some right on the shore of the great "unsalted sea". You can then drive onto Manitoulin Island in Lake Huron and take a ferry across to the south shore, and proceed to Niagara Falls, where the tackiness of the development only slightly dims the majesty. Then across upstate New York (the Finger Lakes) and either south along the Hudson to NYC, or, if you have time, head northeast toward New England (through the Adirondacks, and ferry across Lake Champlain into Vermont) and then down the coast to NY. This way, you could get a real sampler of the landscape and culture and history of the country (and some Canada, too).

Have fun. I envy you, and I hope my wife and I will get to do all this again some day (we are taking the kids to Yellowstone next week). On one of those trips long ago we met a retired couple who spent most of their time on the road with a small travel trailer. The fellow had a business card with his name and the legend, "No Job, No Prospects, No Nothin', Gone Fishin", and the address was, "General Delivery, USA, north in the summer, south in the winter." Not a bad fate to aspire to.

Have done this several times (never with husband--not sure marriage would survive Twice with grown son--SF-> SLC-> Cheyenne Wyoming -> Omaha-> Chicago-> Pittsburgh, Pa (family) ->Washington, D.C. Also SF-> I 90 (via I 25 at Cheyenne and through Custer battlefield, Devil's Tower, Black Hills and mt. Rushmore. Then a long boring drive to Chicago.Look at www.traveldog.com and always be sure to call ahead to confirm what you read. Friend and I took aged Newfoundland from San Diego to Chicago. Took 4 days, but we found some quite nice hotels that accept dogs. That was southern route--don't think you'd want to do that.

Traveling with a dog during August makes it all the more difficult b/c you can't just leave the dog in the car if you want to grab a quick bite to eat or stop and go shopping somewhere. I would recommend October or November, when the weather might be cool enough for a dog to be left in the car for a short while but you won't run into any snow. Red Roof Inns are a chain hotel that allows dogs.

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I agree with seeing the northeast country side first, then going back along the coastal cities (Boston, NYC, Phil, Baltimore, D.C.) Niagra Falls, as corny as it sounds is truly impressive. MUST SEE - drive thru the Finger Lakes in NY. Great wineries, and beautiful B+Bs. Ithaca, Hammondsport, Watkins Glen are great towns to visit.

Sounds like a great trip - here's a wonderful book to read on the way: "Blue Highways" by William Least Heat Moon - the story of a road trip he took some years ago, following the backroads of America. Enjoy!

You might want to consider getting books on tape for your trip.