Terabith Posted June 7, 2018 Share Posted June 7, 2018 I'm pondering an epic road trip of at least a month.... Would just be me and two girls, age 13 and 14. Start point is Roanoke, Virginia. Was thinking of driving to Denver, where we used to live and spending a few days there visiting my god daughter and her son. (We'd stop in West Tennessee where I have family on the way, and probably somewhere in Kansas.) Then going over to San Francisco via Salt Lake City/ Reno, Nevada route. Spend a few days in San Francisco, then up the coast to Portland (friends there), hopefully seeing redwoods and cool stuff on the way. Maybe orcas? Then from Portland up to Seattle, spend a couple days there, then over to Glacier National Park, Yellowstone, Mount Rushmore/ Black Hills of South Dakota (more friends), over to Chicago for a few days, and then back home. What would you include in your fantasy trip along or near that route? Trying to decide if Glacier is worth it or not. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
City Mouse Posted June 7, 2018 Share Posted June 7, 2018 No other suggestions, but that sounds like a great trip. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Acorn Posted June 7, 2018 Share Posted June 7, 2018 I get too carsick to play this game. There are amazing places to see but I can’t imagine the miles. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Calm37 Posted June 7, 2018 Share Posted June 7, 2018 The drive from Denver to Salt Lake City will be amazing! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carol in Cal. Posted June 7, 2018 Share Posted June 7, 2018 I'd slow down after Reno and stop at Lake Tahoe. It's one of the most beautiful areas in the whole nation, and very accessible. It's easy to see redwoods north of SF. Go toward Eureka on 101 and cut over to the Redwood Highway for a while. (I wonder if you could visit Luna? I don't know if it finally fell or not. It's up that way.) In SF, eat at Scoma's. That's the Fishermans' Wharf place that the locals go to. Other than that, there is the crookedest street in the world, riding the cable cars, view of the bay and the ocean from Twin Peaks, Chinatown, etc. My advice is to go in the early to mid-Fall. The weather is warmer then and not so foggy. Less crowded, too. If you tell us your specific interests, we can give you fine tuned idea. Gold rush stuff, Western stuff, scenery, ocean, mountains, city life, poetry, physics, biology, art, specific cultural backgrounds, what? CA missions are right on the way. Wine country? Sustainable ag? Cheese making? Weaving? What? Personally, I would not miss Powells in Portland. It is the best bookstore in the world. Also, not really exactly on the way but worth a bit of a side trip, Crater Lake is remarkable. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Terabith Posted June 7, 2018 Author Share Posted June 7, 2018 Fall would be great, but they go to school, so not in the cards as oldest one is starting high school. 14 year old is allergic to fish, so we have to be careful about restaurants, but 13 year old adores food and ice cream. No real interest in wine. Interested in science, nature, redwoods, tidepools, biology. We all love books. Powells was the only thing on my Portland list. I've never been west of Denver, so the whole Pacific area is new to all of us. It would be awesome to see a mission! I wouldn't turn down Gold Rush stuff, but the kids are pretty dim on history. Crater Lake sounds very cool. I guess we could go up 101 to Redwood National Park and then go west for Crater Lake. Was reading the website there and supposedly you can see the Milky Way from there. That would be amazing. Kids have never seen it, and I haven't since I was a child. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wintermom Posted June 7, 2018 Share Posted June 7, 2018 Sounds good. I'd have a Plan B of places to drop if you need to spend some time in one spot for a while, or if you need to make up time. I can see Glacier N.P. being an easy one to drop, as you'll have been through Colorado and Yellowstone already, and Glacier is a long way north. Also, a coast to coast return trip in 4 weeks is very ambitious. It's a really, really long way across the US and back again. That last return stretch through South Dakota and across the mid-west is a killer. By that point, with the excitement of the mountains and west coast behind you, we usually just want to get back home quick. Have a great time! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carol in Cal. Posted June 7, 2018 Share Posted June 7, 2018 1 hour ago, Terabith said: Fall would be great, but they go to school, so not in the cards as oldest one is starting high school. 14 year old is allergic to fish, so we have to be careful about restaurants, but 13 year old adores food and ice cream. No real interest in wine. Interested in science, nature, redwoods, tidepools, biology. We all love books. Powells was the only thing on my Portland list. I've never been west of Denver, so the whole Pacific area is new to all of us. It would be awesome to see a mission! I wouldn't turn down Gold Rush stuff, but the kids are pretty dim on history. Crater Lake sounds very cool. I guess we could go up 101 to Redwood National Park and then go west for Crater Lake. Was reading the website there and supposedly you can see the Milky Way from there. That would be amazing. Kids have never seen it, and I haven't since I was a child. Ok, wear layers, prepare for cold, heavy winds. Also be ready for hot weather, and everything in between. Biology (and physics)--best science museum bar none for these disciplines is the Exploratorium in San Francisco. Especially good for older kids. Additionally if you have time, the Academy of Science in Golden Gate Park is extraordinary, with a several story installed rain forest habitat (minus the snakes, LOL) and a living roof among many other things. The best mission in that general area is the one in Sonoma. Then over to 101 and up through the Redwood Highway. I wish I knew the area north of Eureka better. The coastline is really stunning and there are places where you can see it from Highway 1, like near Mendocino, just driving along this crazy curvy road and looking west frequently--the ocean is Right There. But I'm not sure what to suggest for a section--it's very slow going. Van Damme State Park is a nice little side visit if you go to Mendocino--naturally stunted forests from podzol soil, kind of rare in the world. Also, Glass Beach has had a lot of sea glass, don't know whether it still does, right there in Mendocino. I don't know the tidepools that far north well enough to advise you. If you decide on some Gold Rush stuff, when you're coming down from Reno you can go through Carson City on your way to Tahoe and stop at the State Historical Museum there. There is a great mining tunnel tour inside, plus some awesome exhibits. Last time I was there they had a wall sized painting of the Rock Cycle, which apparently I had never understood before, and tons of minerals. That was probably 7 years ago or so, but I imagine it's still there. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Terabith Posted June 7, 2018 Author Share Posted June 7, 2018 I actually went to high school in South Dakota, so it's actually something I really like the idea of showing to my kids. But yeah, the Chicago to home portion is kinda boring, and we've done it before, so not really all that interesting. Part of me would like to see Lake MacDonald, but I do find myself wondering if that's really worth the drive. It is out of the way. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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