On the way to Lincoln, be sure to stop in Cawker City, Kansas to see the world's largest ball of twine. Don't worry if it's dark out, they keep it under lights.
Yah, and if you try to donate to a bum the locals will accost you. Solvang is bizzare. Don't know how it landed in SoCal.
Very True, SB has some of the most unfriendly locals in the world. Enjoying some shellfish out on Stern's Wharf is great though.
i thought about doing a roadtrip with a buddy of mine to the west coast as well. i just didn't know how to go about it and where to go on the way. i'm real interested in replies in this thread. Jeff, if you can keep track of cost, from gas to food to lodging, i'd appreciate it. it's just so i can guage how much it might cost us, if we do it. one place i'd love to make it to is the New Grand Canyon Skyway. Skyway
I am thinking of a road trip too, right around the same time frame. I'm glad this thread came up. macalu: that's an awesome link. I'm gonna wait until you visit it first though
Thanks for all the suggestions. I've been to Colorado several times, which is why I'm not going through there. I've been to many of the places mentioned. I've been to SF once and LA several times. Fortunately, I have friends in both places who are acting as tour guides there. I appreciate the mentions about some of the weirder things in Nebraska and Kansas. That's cool. If you have in odd stuff in any of the cities, let me know. Definitely looking for photo ops.
Man, if I was doing this trip, I'd drive up to South Dakota and drive through the badlands, then through the Black Hills with Mt. Rushmore, then over to Yellowstone and exit south Yellowstone to get into the Tetons. From there you could go on down through Lake Tahoe and Sacromento into Yosemite. It would take you an extra day or so, but it would sure make you wonder why you didn't give yourself three or four weeks for this trip. You'll definitely want to go back. Talk about photo ops.
I'm actually thinking about doing a northeast road trip at the end of summer - just driving all the way north of Nebraska and going across that whole area into Washinton and up to Vancouver. Looks like the band is doing a small tour on the east coast, so that will be my photo ops for that part of the country. I'd ultimately like to visit all 48 by car and parts of Canada.
Link This site might be what your looking for if you want odd Jeff. Click on electric map and then on the state you want and you can see all the odd places along the way. Since it looks like you'll be on I-80 for a good portion of the trip, it looks like your in luck to see some odd things. The Lincoln head in Laramie, WY looks very interesting.
Wow.....Vancouver is so awesome. If you do that, plan for some time to take some of the BC ferries out to some of the islands, and of course, plan to spend a day or two on Vancouver Island/Victoria. GREAT phot ops there.
Let me know if you need restaurant or club recommendations in SF or LA. For the restaurants...I know you are a veggie....the places I would recommend definitely have veggie options.
I've driven the Nebraska to Portland, OR trip a few times and there's some interesting stuff along the way. Definitely go through Yellowstone, Craters of the Moon nat'l monument is out in the middle of nowhere in Idaho, but pretty cool. The Snake River and Columbia River gorges are worth going out of your way for. If you go down 84 west through Oregon cross over to Washington to see the Stonehenge replica. You can even turn north here and head to MT St Helens, but you'll miss the best part of the gorge and Multnomah Falls. Definitely stop at Mt St Helens though wherever you decide to turn North. Mt Baker and North Cascades Nat'l park also worth seeing on the way into Canada.
If you head back to Houston along I-10, just southeast of Tucson on the road to Sierra Vista (Ft. Huachuca) is Kartchner Caverns State Park. A nice stroll underground, away from the June sun. Unless you take the time to drive to the top of Mt. Lemmon (9,000+ feet), the Tucson area sucks in June because it is like a blast furnace outside. Link to Kartchner info Link to Mt. Lemmon info
I can tell you from doing the drive a few times that drive on I-80 from Omaha to SLC is about the most boring thing you can ever do. One place I would recommend checking out, but not stopping, is the town of Rollins west of Cheyenne. A friend of mine described it as Mos Eisly from Star Wars I would describe it as a set for some post apocalyptic movie come to life. The drive from SLC to SF is a lot more interesting and I would recommend detouring a bit to check out Lake Tahoe. What you could do is detour south at Reno to Carson city and take hwy 50 over to South Lake Tahoe and then onto Sacramento. Its a lot slower than taking I-80 but the view is great. At SF check out Berkeley for a day particularly Telegraph Ave. and don't forget to have a slice of Blondies Pizza.
You know, as I've looked at I 80 and talked to some friends, I think you are right. I'm re-considering that route and thinking about going through Denver. I've been through there a few times, but it is still really beautiful. Tahoe is definitely a possibility. Thanks. My friend lives in Berkley, so I should be around there a lot.
Be sure when you do rent a car, you find out what states they allow their vehicles to be in and what states the insurance will be valid. Also check the websites for one way rental deals. Sometimes you can get a smokin' deal for taking a car from one location to another simply because you are doing the car company a favor by helping them redistribute their fleet to a market that may be short on inventory. The trick is to find a one way back from that same market, though (probably would have to be a different vendor).
Good call. If you've done the I-70 thing through Vail to Grand Junction and are looking for something different, detour to the south a bit and swing through the Black Canyon of the Gunnison. Beautiful place and you can pick up I-70 again in Grand Junction. (Don't forget Arches.)
Hey Jeff: I work at the San Francisco VA Medical Center, which has a lovely view if you want to have lunch when you're out here. I'll treat. "Sabonis" works here too, i can probably get him if you want to do a West Coast CC.net lunch or something. let me know if you want my contact info.
