tips for my road trip across america

metropolis - i love new york

As you drive from New Orleans to Houston, make sure to stop on Avery Island, where the Tabasco factory is, and take the tour.

In Houston, check out the Orange Show, http://www.orangeshow.org .

They are big and touristy, but do not miss Carlsbad Caverns.

If you can possibly take a swing through Chloride, Arizona, do. It's less than two hours from Vegas.

If you happen to be passing through Reno, NV, eat at the Pneumatic Diner, one of my favorite food-sources on the planet.

If you arrive in St. Louis early enough in the morning, take the tour of the Arch--it's space-age! (Too late in the day and the lines will be too long.) There is a microbrewery on "The Landing" (right next to the Arch) that has lovely fresh beer, and instead of doing french fries, they deep-fry little lumps of mashed potato, yum. Stay away from the official cheese of St. Louis, Provel, unless you absolutely must experience authenticity in the form of white velveeta. The other St. Louis specialties are fried ravioli (yum) and gooey butter cake, which is kind of like a baked pudding. Oh, and frozen custard. St. Louisans aren't big on the healthy eating.

glen campbell - wichita lineman
glen campbell - galveston

I love Roadside America!

i don't think we have a route set once we get past dallas. the things i listed are all the places we want to go, so i'll pass the advice by my co-pilot and maybe we'll be able to do everything!

p.s. if anyone wants tips for LA-->vancouver and over to chicago, let me know. that was my trip a few summers ago, and it was great.

This is on the way to THE THING?...it's the biggest natural lake in AZ and it's usually dry as a bone. There's a story about a payroll train full of silver dollars that got blown up with dynamite on the playa in the early part of the 20th century, but it worked so well that the silver dollars scattered for miles around. They say people still find them once in a while but you're not supposed to go out on the playa. The guy on that page was my high school biology teacher; we called him Papa Smurf. The pictures of the playa on that page don't do it justice.

My god, I do go on!

Anyway, no tips yet, but thanks for starting this thread. :)

Teeny, I was thinking the Grand Canyon would be too obvious and tourist-packed, and was going to skip it in favor of Bryce Canyon in Utah. Have you (or anyone else) been there?

If you find a Diner in the middle of nowhere, say, in a valley or on a plain or desert of some sort, do take pictures and let me know asap.

are you driving down the california coast?

The Cali coast: I'll be taking Hwy 101/1 all the way from Crescent City to LA, so if anyone has advice about where to go along here, feel free to share (the Hearst mansion is already first on my list).

Houston: I second the Orange Show. Other arty things (houston, one of the most arty TX cities next to Fort Worth) the Rothko Chapel and the Art Car Museum.

Austin: wowzers. . everything. I always eat at Curra's (Oltorf and I35- best migas) and Star Seeds Cafe (I35 and 38th for ambience). Visit Barton Springs, the 360 Bridge and have drinks at any of these bars: Ginny's Little Longhorn, Casino El Camino, The Horseshoe Lounge.

Dallas: Dealy Plaza of course, Fair Park if you get the chance, and if you want to email me I'll buy you a drink at the oldest bar in Dallas (Ships Lounge).

I *love* road trips.

Kris are you and your girlfriend moving to Boston or just going for a drive?

http://www.roadsideamerica.com/tour/94day6.html#palace

Seconded.

There's so much natural beauty in New Mexico, I personally wouldn't waste much if any time in a place like Roswell. However, going from Roswell to T or C (I'm so hip) you'll see some gorgeous scenery if you tak HWY 70 and go through Ruidoso--basically a resort for rich Texans, if I'm not mistaken. Coming down from the mountains there, you'll enter the Tularosa basin, surrounded by the San Andres Mountains to the west and the Sacremento Mountains to the east. I've crisscrossed NM and this is one of my favorite areas. Definitely check out White Sands, which is right on 70 past Alamogordo.

Once you get to Albuquerque, get off the interstate and check out one of the pueblos. Never been there, but I've heard that Jemez pueblo is cool one to check out. This area is also very pretty: probably not what you'd typically expect to encounter in NM, ie more alpine than desert. Never been to Shiprock (in the Navajo Reservation) either, but check out this picture: http://www.mulliganphotography.com/Media/shiprock.jpg
It's pretty desolate around here (the main attraction is the lack of attractions/civilization), and even on the interstates in NM gas stations can be few and far between: always fill up when you get the chance.

After entering AZ, you can either stay on HWY 160 and check out Monument Valley (turn north at Kayenta) and a bit of the Painted Desert OR take HWY 191 down to Chinle, then head west on 99 and you'll enter the Hopi Nation--another reservation within Navajo Nation. The Hopi tribe are said to be one of the most traditional tribes and their religion is fascinating, much of which centers on the three mesas that they live on and around.

Grand Canyon is usually pretty crowded, but mostly with people who have no sense of adventure. So, if you want a little seclusion, just drive a little bit further into the park. Get to a spot where there aren't any railings and sit over the edge. Whoa, scary. The canyon is obviously stunning but the thing I remember most about being there was the night sky. There's no industry or civilization of any size around for miles, plus you're at about 8000 feet above sea level. Gooey clusters of stars fill every inch of sky.

I am SO fucking jealous. Hope you have a buttload of fun.

Gonna have to disagree. You have enough time: get off the interstate. From Amarillo, take HWY 60 to HWY 70, which goes through Roswell.

but could still be cool to meet up and share our tips and photos...

Thanks a ton, Oops. I was in Albuquerque & Santa Fe for a week last winter; saw some pueblos and did a lot of hiking, so I was trying to find some new things to explore (Roswell = tacky and off the interstate, which is why I thought of it). The places you describe sound great; I'm sure we'll be hitting them up.

I kinda disagree about the Mexican food, I didn't think it was anywhere near as good as what I've had in SoCal (let alone Mexico), but maybe I didn't go to the right places (I never got south of Albuquerque either).

Real, shameful reason for avoiding the grand canyon: I'm afraid of heights. :(

see also my crazy road trip thread. all of those trips are probably doomed to failure, because not enough time is allowed for anything (and anyway i can't really take three weeks off work).

In West Texas, I'd be interested in seeing Big Bend and Guadalupe Nat'l Parks, though the latter evidently requires hiking to see the good stuff.

If you've never been to the Grand Canyon, go, absolutely. I don't think you need to spend more than a day/night there, unless you want to hike to the bottom or something. And there are far more beautiful parts of the Southwest. I highly recommend going West through at least part of Southern Utah. Past the Four Corners is the extraordinarily beautiful San Juan River area - the Valley of the Gods, Natural Bridges Nat'l Mon, the Goosenecks, etc. That's the part I've seen (as well as the Dark Canyon area immediately to the North). You can then turn South through Monument Valley (not all that special if you've already seen it on tv, which you have, surely) and the Painted Desert (fantastic) to the South Rim of the Grand Canyon, but if you keep going West, you can go to the North Rim of the Canyon (most people visit the South Rim, which is a shorter drive) and also visit the Paria Canyon wilderness area, perhaps Bryce, and Zion on the way to Vegas. Or even deviate North across the Waterpocket fold through the Escalante area (the part of the US I'd most like to visit) on the way to Bryce.

Also, if you do go West from Santa Fe/Albuquerque through the Pueblos/Navajo/Hopi, do check out one of the oldest homes of the Navajo - Canyon de Chelly and its sister canyon, Canyon del Muerto.

chester, yeah, this is my real email address.

thanks for all the tips, everyone. i'm going to print it all out and take it along with me so that i don't forget anything...

-Eat at Blueberry Hill when visitng your great grandma (I gotta imagine it's still there, even though I haven't been to St. Louis in almost 10 years).

-I second Gabbneb on going to Bryce and Zion National Parks in Utah on the way to Vegas... some of the most beautiful areas of the country, really.

-When are ya gonna be in Meechigan? And yes I-94 on the way to Chicago is really boring and you'd do best not to get out of the car.

thanks to everyone that's made suggestions!

(and if anyone actually wants to meet up along the way, let me know this week, and i'll make a note of it)