Scantlings

Going to drive to SD. Here are the two routes Google recommends.

any suggestions?

I like that third choice. Great circle.

Steve

I'm with Steve on this, that great circle route seems perfect. But, the other choice depends upon the time of year. Winter time, I'd go south!

In the winter I once spend 48 hours trying to get through the Eisenhower Tunnel just west of Denver.

You wouldn't add much distance by going to Mt. Rushmore, if you haven't seen it before.

Denver & Utah in the dead of winter?

Go South young man.

We'll be leaving end of March. We'll be in SD for a week then drive back. Thinking the southern route on the way out and maybe northern route on the way back. Is April too early?

Eww, Phoenix is the 7th level of Hell. I'd rather be stuck in a tunnel for 48 hours

well, it's not like we're moving to Phoenix.

It can be any worse than Gary, or S. Detroit (okay, Detroit proper)

I dunno.....still sounds pretty risky...I mean, my relatives live there!!!!

Definitely stop by the Grand Canyon. With the changing weather that time of year you may get some spectacular pictures. The Bryce Canyon area is something else as well.

The Red Lady wrote:I dunno.....still sounds pretty risky...I mean, my relatives live there!!!!

Rick you heard the lady. Relatives. Do the Lampoon thing and visit for 3 days and show lots of boat pictures and leave. That should cover some gas money .
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tv9yKRcwEEY[/youtube]

The Red Lady wrote:Eww, Phoenix is the 7th level of Hell. I'd rather be stuck in a tunnel for 48 hours

LOL - yes, Arizona and New Mexico and a bunch of those states are "fly over" or "drive through" states for me. But, I'd still rather drive through with my sunglasses on and the AC pouring out the cold air than sleep in my car on Hwy 80 just outside the tunnel.

When heading east, it's a LOT better because you can usually get a room at a ski area and hang out having fun while they work on the road, it has been my experience that it's the steeper west bound approaches to the tunnel that are the really tough problem because there are semi trucks that get sideways and block the entire road.

BeauV wrote:

The Red Lady wrote:Eww, Phoenix is the 7th level of Hell. I'd rather be stuck in a tunnel for 48 hours

LOL - yes, Arizona and New Mexico are "fly over" or "drive through" states for me.

The Grand Canyon, Monument Valley, Painted Desert, White Sands, Trinity site - a bit more than "fly over" I'd say!

I like parts of Arizona! I really enjoyed hiking in the gorgeous Red Rock State Park near Sedona. I used to go to Arizona every year for about ten years in a row to visit family. Loved horseback riding with the Superstition mountains as a beautiful backdrop. The golf was great, too.

Lin wrote:I like parts of Arizona! I really enjoyed hiking in the gorgeous Red Rock State Park near Sedona. I used to go to Arizona every year for about ten years in a row to visit family. Loved horseback riding with the Superstition mountains as a beautiful backdrop. The golf was great, too.

Did you have to get off the horses to golf, or did they have long clubs?

Isn't that called Polo? Or is that croquet from horseback?

Lin wrote:I like parts of Arizona! I really enjoyed hiking in the gorgeous Red Rock State Park near Sedona. I used to go to Arizona every year for about ten years in a row to visit family. Loved horseback riding with the Superstition mountains as a beautiful backdrop. The golf was great, too.

Lin, I love getting out into the desert. One of my sons and I used to run there for hours and hours - back when my back worked right. It is wonderful once you get out of "town". Sunsets are amazing!

Oh, I totally agree, Arizona is AMAZING!!! I was born and raised in Tucson...hiking, mountain biking, and horseback riding. An hour drive west you could be at Kitt Peak observatory and look at the stars all night long, in fact, Tucson has very strict light pollution laws. 40 minutes drive north and UP you could ski in the winter. I really do miss it....the whole state is just wonderful....except Phoenix

Once upon a time, I had the opportunity to help out with educational research into community and bilingual education in south-east Utah (in this case, English and Navaho). They natural beauty of the area will take your breath away.

As long as the weather is OK (March is promising) I'd head west on I-70, then head south on Utah 191 / 163. This will allow you to see

- Dead Horse Point State Park
- Canyonlands National Park
- Arches National Park
- Monument Valley
- Grand Canyon National Park

From there, head south to the Interstate of your choice to SD!

Have fun!!!

Ross in Vancouver

Given the weather considerations, I'd go the southern route. My favorite is Canyon de Chelly- it is a miniature grand canyon you can really hike in for a morning or a day. Just don't let the ranger talk you into driving through the Navajo land if you are heading back to the Grand Canyon "because it is pretty and easy and you just stay on the main road where the school bus goes". About 2 hours in while I was outside the car studying the tracks at a fork in the road trying to see which way the school buss had gone and we hadn't seen a building or a person in about an hour, I think I took that ranger's name in vain.

If the Northern route is open, the views are worth seeing if your plans will accomodate that risk/reward. You can travel the Southern route in good or bad weather.

The Southern route as shown has a couple of improvement opportunities. Take turnpike out of KC to Wichita, the bypass around Wichita, and I35 South to OKC. Then take 40 West. The diagonal tract out of Wichita is more challenging unless you really like the route 66 style of travel.

Pat

SloopJonB wrote:

BeauV wrote:

The Red Lady wrote:Eww, Phoenix is the 7th level of Hell. I'd rather be stuck in a tunnel for 48 hours

LOL - yes, Arizona and New Mexico are "fly over" or "drive through" states for me.

The Grand Canyon, Monument Valley, Painted Desert, White Sands, Trinity site - a bit more than "fly over" I'd say!

Taos, Rio grande Gorge, Acoma, VLA, Enchanted Tower, Shiprock, winter fly fishing. If we had to give up either the home in Taos or the boat, it would require thought.

Rick, if you go south, my home in Taos is yours.

Green chile enchiladas at Orlando's. If you're not happy, send me the bill.

Rob...if you're serious, we'll take you up.

That is extremely generous.

And if you're traveling through Minneapolis any time and need a place to stay, your welcome to hang out at The Hormone Ranch. Pepito's for Nachos Lupitas. If you don't like it, we can sit down and share some Tequila with Joe Minjares

I'd forgotten about Acoma- I went there in 1968 when it was liking walking into the past- I hope it still is. One of the things I like about the west is the compression of history. We went past the birthplace of Geronimo in central New Mexico. In the post Civil War years, the US Army in all its power could not catch or defeat Geronimo, who was generally living a life his people had lived for hundreds of years, other than having small firearms. Less than 40 years after his death, the US Army exploded the atom bomb not far from his birthplace.

Indeed, as you get older your perspective on time changes. My grandfather lived from horseback & candlelight to well after the moon landings. His parents witnessed slavery first hand. Now people think trivialities like the rapid changes in electronic gadgets are fundamental changes to society.

Not long ago I read an interesting point along those lines - the vast majority of significant invention and change in the 20th century happened in the first 1/2.

here now in San Dieago. Arrived Saturday around 5:30 a.m. So far, it's been terrific!

the soccer tournament is over and we're looking for things to do around SD. We'll be leaving for LA on Tuesday and staying overnight there.

Today we're trying to figure out what to do. We'd like to take a dock walk at a marina somewhere, but there are so many to choose from. Any suggestions?
We're also considering the Maritime Museum. Looks cool.

Yesterday we went to Coronado. That was pretty awesome.

Maybe too late now but go see Tom at Harbor Sailboats and rent aboat for the afternoon. I know Tom. Bob knows Tom.

isn't Beau and Mayan down there now??

kimbottles wrote:isn't Beau and Mayan down there now??

I think they are on their way back to LA.

Soñadora wrote:here now in San Dieago. Arrived Saturday around 5:30 a.m. So far, it's been terrific!

the soccer tournament is over and we're looking for things to do around SD. We'll be leaving for LA on Tuesday and staying overnight there.

Today we're trying to figure out what to do. We'd like to take a dock walk at a marina somewhere, but there are so many to choose from. Any suggestions?
We're also considering the Maritime Museum. Looks cool.

Yesterday we went to Coronado. That was pretty awesome.

Just for cliff walking and the scenery, I always enjoy heading out to Pt. Loma. Both the lighthouse and walking along the cliffs out on the West side of the point. If you want some culture shock, go past Imperial beach and drive along our southern Border. Hollister St to Monument road and then out to the ocean. Often a shock for folks who don't frequent the border regions. Don't go there at night. Take your bride for a drink at the "Hotel Del Coronado". Go to "Fiddler's Green" for a beer. You might even run into Da Woody there.

For the dock walk, I prefer Shelter Island over Harbor Island.