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2022 Road Trip Plans

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Rothman:

--- Quote from: vdeane on December 13, 2021, 12:53:26 PM ---
--- Quote from: Bruce on December 13, 2021, 01:17:00 AM ---I'm thinking of doing a cross-country drive in the early summer, starting from my corner and making my way over the East Coast via the Southwest, then looping back via the northern tier. I've done some long trips around the Northwest (but always within a day or two of home), so hopefully I'm prepared enough to try this.

So far, my draft route looks something like this: Seattle > Astoria > Crescent City > Sacramento > San Francisco > Sequoia NP > Los Angeles > San Diego > Las Vegas > Grand Canyon > Phoenix > Tucson > El Paso > Albuquerque > Denver > Cheyenne > Rapid City > Sioux Falls > Omaha > Lincoln > Kansas City > Oklahoma City > Dallas > Houston > New Orleans > Memphis > Nashville > Louisville > Cincinnati > Indianapolis > Chicago > Cleveland > Pittsburgh > Philadelphia > Atlantic City

--- End quote ---
Glad I'm not the only one with some anxiety over the idea of a cross-country trip.  I'd like to do one at some point (should the stars ever align for it... between work, family, and roadmeets, finding a large enough gap in my schedule that isn't in the middle of winter is hard), but the longest I've ever done was seven days (Florida and back) broken up by my cousin's wedding in the middle.  Between driving that many days in a row, the mileage on the car, and chaining that many hotel stays, cross-country trips are certainly a class in and of themselves.  Perhaps a specific thread on general tips for them could be useful.

--- End quote ---

Having done all sorts of different kinds of road trips, I can't think of how cross-country trips are different than thinking about them as elongated multi-day trips (i.e., 3-day trips).  Yes, they are different than daytrips, but I do the same preparations for longer multi-day trips than I do for shorter (e.g., keep the air compressor in the car, have AAA, reserve lodging, keep oil changes in mind, figure out laundry, etc.).

Yeah, you're right.  Maybe a separate thread is necessary.

Bruce:
Yeah, my week-long trips around the Northwest taught me my limits in terms of daily driving and what I should/shouldn't prioritize. Also, definitely should bring along backup glasses!

Scott5114:

--- Quote from: Bruce on December 13, 2021, 01:17:00 AM ---I'm thinking of doing a cross-country drive in the early summer, starting from my corner and making my way over the East Coast via the Southwest, then looping back via the northern tier. I've done some long trips around the Northwest (but always within a day or two of home), so hopefully I'm prepared enough to try this.

So far, my draft route looks something like this: Seattle > Astoria > Crescent City > Sacramento > San Francisco > Sequoia NP > Los Angeles > San Diego > Las Vegas > Grand Canyon > Phoenix > Tucson > El Paso > Albuquerque > Denver > Cheyenne > Rapid City > Sioux Falls > Omaha > Lincoln > Kansas City > Oklahoma City > Dallas > Houston > New Orleans > Memphis > Nashville > Louisville > Cincinnati > Indianapolis > Chicago > Cleveland > Pittsburgh > Philadelphia > Atlantic City

--- End quote ---

I had to see this on a map because I'm pretty sure you're insane.





I've found that the best way to plan a roadgeek trip of any length is to try to build a loop, i.e. identify the destination furthest from home, and then try to draw two routes, one there and one back, both of which hit as many of your travel goals as possible while maintaining reasonably straight lines. If possible, I like to have the trip "there" be the more indirect and contain more points of interest, while the trip "back" is a reasonably straight shot. This is operating under the assumption that on the way back I will be less inclined to wander and looking forward to getting back home. (It also means that if something happens where I have to abort the trip midway, or something like a breakdown occurs and puts a damper on the mood for the rest of the trip, I am likely to have gotten more of my goals accomplished.)

Thus I would suggest, that instead of doing them all in this sine-wave order that you have now, you perhaps draw an east-west line and get all cities of interest south of that line on the way there and all north of them on the way back. As it is now, you're going to be spending more time going back and forth north-south than east-west, which I guess works if your life goals include clinching I-25 and US-73, but is probably not what you want to do for your first-ever trip of this length. (A good chunk of the experience of a trip like this for most people is seeing the gradual change in scenery from the familiar to not-so-familiar as you go from the West to the East and back, and that experience would be lost with a routing such as this.)

Bruce:
Again, this is a draft where I try to solve the traveling salesman problem. I'll probably split this up into better chunks as I get closer to seriously planning this.

I do want to hit up as much as I can, as I'm probably not going to have time to take a month or so off for travel for at least a few years (if not longer).

TheHighwayMan394:
I've been considering a springtime trip to the Texas Hill Country and then up into New Mexico to chase away the winter blues.

14 years and counting I've said I'll go back to New England, so we'll see where time and money comes out.

Regionally, I should do more trips across the Dakotas, maybe into eastern Montana too.

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