Hi again zelien, i totally agree with peterboy. Everyone should do a trip like this at least once in their lives! You will love it!

We've enjoyed going cross country so much that we've done it EIGHT times, (3 wks each) and are looking into doing a ninth next summer! (we asked the kidlets if they wanted to fly across the big pond again - for only the 2nd time - and they said NO, they want to go out west yet again.) So we will go if schedules allow, etc.

Anyway, rkkwan is right on target. You can do all of that in two weeks, including drive time. Some here will say its a drive by. Not totally true, but so what? You will see tons and love it all. Despite the fear of flying, which i somewhat share (don't we all to some degree?) IMHO there is NO other way to see this great country than by driving.

Road trips rule! Happy planning!

Zelien,

I don't have further good information for you but I just wanted to be another person here that says go for the road trip!! I'm totally excited about mine!

My husband and I are making this same trip this Sept/Oct. We are starting in NJ though and traveling by motorcycle :) I had figured 4.5 to 5 days of travel to get to AZ doing ~8 hour driving days. We will have the unfortunate possibility of severe weather slowing us down but the gains of the open road will make up for it :) I too am glad to see the info from others that have done this trip it is always very helpful.

I second the suggestion of taking the loop of going I-70 out and I-40 home. I wish we were able to take that route (I have concerns of bad weather, ie snow/ice in the passes going out I-70 at the time we are going). This would be my dream route!

Have a great trip and definitely report back when you get home. I'd love to hear your experiences! :)

Enjoy!
Cheryl

gracieb, I wouldnt take a trip without using freetrip.com. The hotel listings work great. If you don't see one you want, plan a little longer or shorter drive. Once I decide on the hotel, I compare prices between AARP and Hotels.com. It worked out great for an upcoming trip to San Diego.
I just finished plans for our drive next year to the Cananian Rockies and found four Holiday Inns to stay in using priority club points.

Oh, ronkala, please, please, please consider splurging a night or two at one of the Canadian Pacific RR hotels! I can't tell you how much we enjoyed the Empress in Victoria and the Chateau Lake Louise in Banff. Believe it or not, we alternated with KOA Kamping Kabins! What a trip! One of the best ever.
We were also amazed how gorgeous the picnic areas and campgrounds were. Beautfully landscaped and clean. Canada was such a delight.
Have you ever heard of Standing Buffalo Jump outside of Calgary?

Thanks again for the freetrip.com hint!

The four nights at HI are in the states, two going and two on the return trip.
We're seeing Standing Buffalo Jump after we leave GNP with a stop in Waterton Lakes NP.

If you use mapquest be careful!! I recently went to philly, and while i am farmiliar with the general area, i was going somewhere that i was kind of unsire of, so i did the mapquest thing. Well the first thing i noticed is that they never told me to get off the pa turnpike (luckily i knew what to do because i have driven this wany before), but for somone who is not familiar with this route they would have been totally lost, just double check. I love Az! I have only ever flown there, but a good freind of mine had made the Az to centeral Pa trip several times (driving)

Mapquest is useless as a driving direction tool. Do not use it, especially in cities with and freeways with lots of ramps. YOU WILL GET LOST.

However, it's a good tool to figure out distance on various routes.

New rep. Enarmored of mapquest. One of three in a caravan of 3 cars. We MUST get to the appointment on time. Would not listen to the others on the best way to drive the next 1.5 miles to the destination.

Any guesses who was 20 minutes late for the appointment?

I agree. Mapquest is good for gross distances, but once you get within 2 miles, call your destination for specific directions!