Inner Circle US Roadtrip

fuck, I don't know. Most of the non-Americans here have seen more of America than I have. Gas be high.

The cities are more for illustrative purposes, although the definite stops are Henderson, Flagstaff, Phoenix, Delray Beach, and Indianapolis for family. And we both really want to spend some time in DC and Memphis.

Ha! I've been craving Sonic lately - we could do the footlong chili cheese dog with tots and limeade tour!

Then I'd be thinking about a methane conversion kit for the car! Think of what we'd save on fuel.

I know, so sad! We encircle you.

I'm not surprised by the exclusions of California, NYC, etc., as they mentioned having been there before... although I'm sure Jaq will appreciate any "why doncha check out _____?" type things, even if they've been there, because.. well.. maybe they haven't. :)

I have, several times. He hasn't. We'd both rather skip it on this trip. Though I know tourists are being encouraged to bring their $$, I am not a fan of devastation.

Hi Dom iNut! We also got a suggestion from Kingfish in Portland about the wonder that is satellite radio. And, absolutely, specific suggestions, because even if I've been there it's great to be reminded!

It'll suck in September, but still better than Dallas.

there are four principal areas I'd consider changing: the Las Cruces->Memphis leg, the Memphis->Delray Beach leg, the Boston->Cleveland leg, and the Chicago->Richland leg.

For the Las Cruces->Memphis leg, I'd consider moving either North or South. the Southern route would take you down to El Paso, Marfa, Big Bend?, Del Rio, San Antonio, Austin, Hope, AR, and Hot Springs/Little Rock (maybe via Houston if you haven't been). the Northern route would take you up along the Jornada del Muerto to Santa Fe, then East to Amarillo, Southeast to Childress, Archer City, Paris, North and East to Mena, AR and Hot Springs/Little Rock.

for the Memphis->Delray Beach leg, I'd skip Atlanta (I'm sure there are good points, and it's probably pretty sociologically interesting, but you really want to go to LA without palm trees, Hollywood, Mexicans or the beach?), and I see no reason to keep Birmingham. Instead, I'd head South through Mississippi to Meridian, then turn East through Selma and Montgomery, then South or Southeast (consider detouring slightly to Apalachicola, FL if you haven't been) into Florida, through Ocala, Tampa and Naples to Alligator Alley across to Ft Lauderdale and up to Delray.

For the Boston->Cleveland leg, I'd consider only a slight modification. Instead of taking I90 to Rochester, I'd take Mass 9/US 20 to Buffalo.

For the the Chicago->Richland leg, I'd seriously consider moving either North or South. the Southern route would skip the Twin Cities, going through Southern Wisconsin (Madison, SPring Green), Northern Iowa, Northern Nebraska into Southwestern South Dakota (Pine Ridge, Badlands, Mt Rushmore), Northern Wyoming (Devils Tower, Yellowstone, Tetons), South-Central Idaho (Craters of the Moon, Sawtooths), and Northeastern ORegon (Wallowa-Whitmans). the Northern ROute would go up to the Twin Cities, but then go further North to Williston, ND, whether first up to Grand Forks and then along 2, up through the Fort Mandan area from Bismarck, or through TRNP. Then along 2 or 200 through Montana, detouring to the Missouri Breaks, to Glacier. then on to Spokane via Sandpoint.

I think the other concept we be traveling with is route flexibility along segments, as long as we hit close to our endpoints. Then we can modify the route on the fly, sort of.

And Dan - Glacier, yes definitely! I've never seen it and RJM's ready to go back.

why Las Cruces, btw?

Yeah, also, Phoenix is a must. Business contacts at the WIPP site for Las Cruces (not critical, I don't think).

Andy, most of the cities are markers or endpoints of the segments, though some are destinations.

The music thing. Apparently there's a museum in Clovis (ex-studio?) Memphis = Sun Records studio, and Chicago = Willie Dixon's Blues Heaven (visited 2 years ago, really enjoyed)

Also don't miss the Liberace and Nuclear Test Site Museum in Las Vegas.

Toroweap Overlook on the north rim of the Grand Canyon is pretty amazing - it's a 3000 vertical drop down to the Colorado River and much more striking than the usual south rim view. I'd actually go there instead of Bryce or Zion if I was pressed for time.

If you're going that far west, check out the Wendover installation of the CLUI.

Here's a guide to one of their area tours, including the Jetty and some dead mining remains. part 1 and part 2

I had no idea about the CLUI installation in Wendover, and I've been there quite a bit. Sounds pretty cool, will have to check that out. Wendover's worth a side trip anyway--VERY surreal, on the edge of the salt flats, 4 resort/casinos and a trailer park, that's it. If you've got friends + not a lot of money, it's more fun to gamble and get wasted here than in Vegas. totally trashy + weird + cheap fun. If you're there at night, you might wanna try camping on the salt flats. Just drive east of wendover on I-80 about 15-20 miles, spot a u-turn gap and flip around. You can literally leave the freeway at any point, no fences or anything, take off to the north and go wherever the hell you want for like fifty miles in any direction. it's like you're on a giant, white, salt-encrusted parking lot. especially cool at night: run around frantically with your eyes closed for a while, lay out a tarp, crash. WARNING: if there's any rain the day of or the day before you try and camp, be careful: the flats can get soft. just test the edge of the freeway with your tires before you take off. some kind of 4-wheel-drive vehicle helps, but i've driven 50-60 mph on the flats in a kia sefia a couple of times before and had no trouble. also, don't try and take off south of the freeway: there's a big man-made barrier right after the parallel railroad.

not mentioned yet but IMO a really big highlight: Great Basin National Park, one of the least visited national parks in the nation. it encompasses an isolated, very high range with a paved road that takes you up to 10,000 ft, at the base of wheeler peak (13,000 ft). AMAZING views of the surrounding basin for hundreds of miles in any direction. at the top of the road, you can take an easy 1-2 mile hike to a bristlecone pine forest. you HAVE to see these trees at some point in your life. there are a couple of other bristlecone forests in the west, but this has pretty easy access and some very old, very beautiful specimens. also in the park: lehman caves, which i've heard are fantastic but haven't visited myself.

Also, I-15 kind of sucks. It's pretty in parts but getting crowded these days--I imagine on Memorial Day Weekend you'd be battling RVs and big-ass Excursions a lot more than you'd be enjoying the drive/scenery.

this is what i meant by great basin

Then, I'm taking some days off and we will return to the Tri-Cities via US 93 from Las Vegas to Twin Falls, stopping wherever.

Also, many many Sonic stops and several In-n-Out burgers :)

I grew up in the Bitterroot Valley to the south of Mizzoo. It is beautiful if you want to stray a little from your route.

I think there are hot springs to be found not far from Missoula.

i still keep thinking this, when i see this thread....

I don't think we have a Buc-ee's thread or a truck stop thread. I guess the Buc-ee's biz model is profitable enough for competition, in this case with Dolly Parton as the famous name to draw the crowds.
https://www.dollystravelstops.com

The funny thing there is that the 2nd-largest Buc-ee's in the known universe is in Dolly's own home of Sevierville.

Buc-ee's is ridiculous imo. I've stopped at a couple, including that one, and it's all just too much of everything. If all I need is gas, a bathroom, and a snack, I don't want to navigate an acre-and-a-half superstore just to do it.

i legit had a panic attack trying to deal with the sevierville buc-ees - tbf i had been driving a lot and was stressed about it raining while we were on the windier roads between there and north carolina, but it's also just a crazy place, so huge and loud and crowded

Yeah. The whole concept of "gas station as tourist destination" has a certain logic to it as a manifestation of the USA, but not in any way I need to experience over and over.

The brisket was good that one time I went to a Buc-ee's, but the far side of Birmingham is not worth the drive.

there is one other buc-ees between my house and my parents house that is not in sevierville, and it's not as insane but i still don't find it particularly pleasant or worth stopping at. good on them for paying decent wages though.