USA Trip Los Angeles to Amarillo

Nelly 21 · 08-03-2014 12:50am

Reading through everything here makes me think I may go back to the drawing board!!!!!!! I'm so glad I looked for advise. I read all the replies to my husband and he's like yeah I agree with that..... Yeah that sounds good............ So I'm reading through everything again and checking out all the links before we try to decide!!!

I m getting so excited organizing this holiday!!!!!!!!

InTheTrees · 08-03-2014 2:24am

On long drives as regards time I think its good to assume an average of about 30mph on non-freeways and about 50mph on freeways. And maybe thats a little optimistic.
Yes, the roads are generally great with big wide open freeways, but americans drive slowly (and badly!) and have low speed limits so it can be relaxing enough but still take a long time.

InTheTrees · 08-03-2014 2:34am

Nelly 21 wrote: »

I'm open to doing this. I need to go back to the drawing board!!!!!!

oh. oh...

Can you add a night between Denver and Vegas?

Also... you'll be taking highway 70 through the rockies west of Denver so what about skipping Denver (just another urban sprawl) and staying somewhere in the mountains? Vail is a major ski resort for instance, and there's got to be a huge choice of places to stay. Its a spectacular drive.

Years ago we did the same thing and stayed in Denver which I regret, but we were flying out of there the next day and wanted to be safe.

friendinAZ · 08-03-2014 2:36am

Have you thought about exploring any ghost towns?

Nelly 21 · 08-03-2014 3:40am

InTheTrees wrote: »

oh. oh...

Can you add a night between Denver and Vegas?

Also... you'll be taking highway 70 through the rockies west of Denver so what about skipping Denver (just another urban sprawl) and staying somewhere in the mountains? Vail is a major ski resort for instance, and there's got to be a huge choice of places to stay. Its a spectacular drive.

Years ago we did the same thing and stayed in Denver which I regret, but we were flying out of there the next day and wanted to be safe.

Yeah we are happy to stay somewhere other than Denver and staying somewhere in the mountains!!!! Maybe we mightn't book anywhere and just stop when we feel like it. You recommend Vail. I'm gonna sit tomorrow and rework things and look up some places recommended to me by yourself and others on this thread!!

Nelly 21 · 08-03-2014 3:42am

friendinAZ wrote: »

Have you thought about exploring any ghost towns?

Yes... I had assumed there were some scattered off route 66, can you recommend places to see

Nelly 21 · 09-03-2014 4:19pm

So I went back through things and made an new itinerary, I looked through advice here, links that were sent to me and googlemaps! We've decided to not spend so much time on Route 66 and drive north from Amarillo and west to San Francisco.

I'm willing to make changes gain as not all places are set in stone. It is as follows......

1. Fly into LA, drive to San Diego
2. San Diego
3. Flagstaff
4. Flagstaff
5. Albuquerque/ Sante Fe
6. Amarillo
7. Pueblo
8. Cheyenne
9. Salt lake City
10. Vegas
11. Reno
12. San Francisco
13. San Francisco
14. San Francisco
15. Baywood(this is an idea as its half way between SF and LA, figure taking our time we can stop in places and see stuff??)
16. LA
17. LA
18. LA
19. LA
20. LA
21. LA

Like I said another rough guide and appreciate recommendations. I'm also happy staying in towns, doesn't have to be a city..........

tricky D · 09-03-2014 5:24pm

If the other half likes parks and the like, you've opportunities to spend some time (a night/day) in each of Lake Tahoe and Yosemite between Reno and SF, swapping for some LA time. (Still reckon 6 days in LA is way too much imho)

One other note on the PCH/HWY1 drive, I'd advise only travelling during the day light due to scenery and parts of it being quite challenging (safety).

Nelly 21 · 09-03-2014 5:42pm

tricky D wrote: »

If the other half likes parks and the like, you've opportunities to spend some time (a night/day) in each of Lake Tahoe and Yosemite between Reno and SF, swapping for some LA time. (Still reckon 6 days in LA is way too much imho)

One other note on the PCH/HWY1 drive, I'd advise only travelling during the day light due to scenery and parts of it being quite challenging (safety).

Thats def an idea, both of us would be open to that. I've heard a lot about Yosemite. The 6 days in LA are because its the end of the holiday and after all the travelling we just wanted to sort of wind up somewhere close enough to the airport and relax. Also we want to take in some of the theme parks.

The HW1 drive................. I agree on that, we aim to do that kind of thing quite early in the day for the scenery and also hoping that might be a quieter time......... (will it be???)

Thanks again for your suggestions. Also is one day enough for Yosemite??

Paul_Hacket · 10-03-2014 2:09pm

Nelly 21 wrote: »

I'm willing to make changes gain as not all places are set in stone. It is as follows......

1. Fly into LA, drive to San Diego
2. San Diego
3. Flagstaff
4. Flagstaff
5. Albuquerque/ Sante Fe
6. Amarillo
7. Pueblo
8. Cheyenne
9. Salt lake City
10. Vegas
11. Reno
12. San Francisco
13. San Francisco
14. San Francisco
15. Baywood(this is an idea as its half way between SF and LA, figure taking our time we can stop in places and see stuff??)
16. LA
17. LA
18. LA
19. LA
20. LA
21. LA

Like I said another rough guide and appreciate recommendations. I'm also happy staying in towns, doesn't have to be a city..........

I'm just curious what criteria you're using to come up with the above list? You seem to be basing your route on cities, which in the South West is not the way to do it in my opinion. In 20 years of living in the USA with frequent road trips through this region I have literally never heard of anyone visiting Salt Lake City or Albuquerque for pleasure. Going to Alburquerque is like going to Ireland to visit Limerick or Navan. I'm not knocking those place (I'm from Athlone myself so am in no position to), but they aren't the kind of places you would go out of your way to visit.

Salt Lake City is totally horrible. An ugly city with a very unpleasant humorless Mormon population, you can't even get a drink there. The drive from Salt Lake City to Vegas is also totally boring.By going from Cheyenne to Las Vegas via Northern Utah you are skipping what many people consider to be literally the best scenery in Northern America. The route you want to take is through South West Colorado and Southern Utah.

I'd recommend you to take a look at a few websites about the South West such as the Lonely Planet entries on it, or just use use google to find blogs written by people who have toured the region before.

This is a video of what driving through Zion National Park looks like, which you would skip in the above itnerary:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e_wNzHWdNzs

Here is a great BBC video about Bryce Canyon: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ygSgCn3Bo8o

spideog7 · 10-03-2014 2:42pm

Paul_Hacket wrote: »

Salt Lake City is totally horrible. An ugly city with a very unpleasant humorless Mormon population, you can't even get a drink there. The drive from Salt Lake City to Vegas is also totally boring.

That's a load of crap, Salt Lake is a nice city, the Rockies are right on the edge of the city limits and really impressive and imposing while driving around. Saying you can't even get a drink is completely untrue, there are several nice micro breweries there and you can buy beer in the grocery store which you can't even do here in PA. There are numerous Canyons, hikes and ski slopes a few minutes drive away. You can head up to Antelope Island to see the Buffalo and Antelope and swim/float in the Great Salt Lake. The Kennicott Copper Mine is the largest open pit mine in the US and there is a museum where you can learn about the operation and view the pit if you're interested in that sort of thing. The Mormon library of Genealogy is a great place to trace your family tree, they have plenty of Irish and British records and it's all free to access.

That being said I generally agree that the most interesting parts of the US are outside the cities, so I wouldn't plan your trip around the cities if I were you. In my opinion that goes for the entire country not just the West.

I agree with much of the rest of what you have to say though, especially the part about visiting southern Utah; Zion, Bryce, Arches, Canyonlands etc. Not to be missed.

Paul_Hacket · 10-03-2014 3:15pm

spideog7 wrote: »

TSaying you can't even get a drink is completely untrue, there are several nice micro breweries there and you can buy beer in the grocery store which you can't even do here in PA.

Maybe my information is out of date. Last time I was in Salt Lake was ten years back and given the experience I'm pretty confident it will be the last time ever. I just did not find the locals remotely friendly and I'm not a big fan of the tenets of their religion (which was invented in New York State in the 19th century by a convicted con artist).

All I'm saying is that driving from Colorado to Vegas via Northern Utah would be a huge mistake given the alternative.

Nelly 21 · 10-03-2014 6:04pm

I looked at the link and am like oh my god!!!!!! That's just fantastic!!! Really not to be missed.

I have mentioned cities but im happy staying in smaller towns. I've nothing booked other than flights. I'm delighted with the information and links that I'm getting here!!!! Gonna check out southwest Colorado and southwest Utah. The idea of during through parks mentioned above is really appealing to me!!!!

InTheTrees · 10-03-2014 6:17pm

I hate to keep throwing changes in there but...

I'd do:

10. Vegas
11. Yosemite
12. SF

Reno isnt worth going the extra distance for (Its a less classy(!) version of Vegas) and you'd miss Yosemite.

Nelly 21 · 11-03-2014 12:24am

So here we go again. I hope I'm not being too head wrecking. I went on google maps and took my time looking through the parks. I reckon I can book somewhere around the parks and stuff I've been looking at is amazing!!!!

Am I closer to getting it right and fitting loads of good stuff in????

1. Fly into LA, drive to San Diego
2. San Diego
3. Flagstaff
4. Flagstaff
5. Albuquerque/ Sante Fe
6. Durango CO
7. Capital reef national park Wayne county UT
8. Zion National Park Springdale UT
9. Death Valley CA
10. Bishop CA
11. Yosemite CA
12. San Francisco
13. San Francisco
14. San Francisco
15. Baywood(this is an idea as its half way between SF and LA, figure taking our time we can stop in places and see stuff??)
16. LA
17. LA
18. LA
19. LA
20. LA
21. LA

InTheTrees · 11-03-2014 1:59am

Nelly 21 wrote: »

14. San Francisco
15. Baywood(this is an idea as its half way between SF and LA, figure taking our time we can stop in places and see stuff??)
16. LA

Yes. Morro Bay is a good stopping point. Or just a little further on is the town of San Louis Obispo which is much larger and has a good choice of motels/hotels.

Nelly 21 · 11-03-2014 2:00am

Brilliant..... so I'm finally getting it right!!!!!!

spideog7 · 11-03-2014 2:11am

Nelly 21 wrote: »

1. Fly into LA, drive to San Diego
2. San Diego
3. Flagstaff
4. Flagstaff
5. Albuquerque/ Sante Fe
6. Durango CO
7. Capital reef national park Wayne county UT
8. Zion National Park Springdale UT
9. Death Valley CA
10. Bishop CA
11. Yosemite CA
12. San Francisco
13. San Francisco
14. San Francisco
15. Baywood(this is an idea as its half way between SF and LA, figure taking our time we can stop in places and see stuff??)
16. LA
17. LA
18. LA
19. LA
20. LA
21. LA

I've heard Santa Fe is much nicer than Albuquerque but never been in that area. I'll be in Durango this summer but haven't been before so can't speak to it, it looks like a nice area though so I'm excited for that trip. I'll be heading to Mesa Verde for sure, looks very interesting.

Have you picked a route from there into Utah? There's a big load of desert that you have to get around and it might make it awkward trying to get to Capitol Reef National Park. I've never been there so I can't speak to how nice it is. If you had planned on heading north to I70 then don't miss Moab and Arches, but that seems a bit out of your way and there are a lot of similarities in those Parks so I wouldn't worry too much about missing it (although Moab is a nice little town). Another option is to head south towards Page, AZ and take UT163 through Monument Valley it's very scenic and you'll probably recognise it from all the westerns, it's pretty much just an area you drive through so I wouldn't plan to spend any time there. That drive will bring you through Navajo tribal land, so you can stop at one of their stalls and buy some jewellery and dreamcatchers and whatnot. You'll probably miss Capitol Reef on that route though.

I'm guessing you probably planned on taking UT95 as it seems the most direct? In which case don't miss Natural Bridges National Monument. And I'd probably take UT12 (looks like a fun drive) from Capitol Reef to Bryce.

Either way no matter which route you take to Zion I wouldn't pass that close to Bryce without stopping in briefly at least, if you're not going for big hikes or overnight camping or anything you can see a lot in hour or so wandering around.

I haven't been further West than Las Vegas so I can't comment on the rest of your trip but Death Valley on into Yosemite all makes sense to me.

Nelly 21 · 11-03-2014 1:57pm

InTheTrees wrote: »

I hate to keep throwing changes in there but...

I'd do:

10. Vegas
11. Yosemite
12. SF

Reno isnt worth going the extra distance for (Its a less classy(!) version of Vegas) and you'd miss Yosemite.

I appreciate the changes. There are some things that I forgot about looking into such as roads to take etc. People including yourself in this thread have mentioned places that I wouldn't have looked into. I'm thrilled with the advise and love looking through pictures of places that we are going to see!!!!!! I'm constantly taking notes and looking things up on the net based on advice I'm getting here!!!!!!!!!!

Nelly 21 · 11-03-2014 2:01pm

spideog7 wrote: »

I've heard Santa Fe is much nicer than Albuquerque but never been in that area. I'll be in Durango this summer but haven't been before so can't speak to it, it looks like a nice area though so I'm excited for that trip. I'll be heading to Mesa Verde for sure, looks very interesting.

Have you picked a route from there into Utah? There's a big load of desert that you have to get around and it might make it awkward trying to get to Capitol Reef National Park. I've never been there so I can't speak to how nice it is. If you had planned on heading north to I70 then don't miss Moab and Arches, but that seems a bit out of your way and there are a lot of similarities in those Parks so I wouldn't worry too much about missing it (although Moab is a nice little town). Another option is to head south towards Page, AZ and take UT163 through Monument Valley it's very scenic and you'll probably recognise it from all the westerns, it's pretty much just an area you drive through so I wouldn't plan to spend any time there. That drive will bring you through Navajo tribal land, so you can stop at one of their stalls and buy some jewellery and dreamcatchers and whatnot. You'll probably miss Capitol Reef on that route though.

I'm guessing you probably planned on taking UT95 as it seems the most direct? In which case don't miss Natural Bridges National Monument. And I'd probably take UT12 (looks like a fun drive) from Capitol Reef to Bryce.

Either way no matter which route you take to Zion I wouldn't pass that close to Bryce without stopping in briefly at least, if you're not going for big hikes or overnight camping or anything you can see a lot in hour or so wandering around.

I haven't been further West than Las Vegas so I can't comment on the rest of your trip but Death Valley on into Yosemite all makes sense to me.

I'm taking note of all your suggestion s and looking stuff up. There is so much to see that I hadn't even realized and you're all very good to take so much time to give such detailed advised. I'm including more places to see and things to do than we would have without everyone's help!!!!!

lil_lisa · 11-03-2014 5:15pm

What date do you leave? In June or in July?

Nelly 21 · 11-03-2014 5:59pm

lil_lisa wrote: »

What date do you leave? In June or in July?

Flying June 24th

MadsL · 18-03-2014 4:29am

friendinAZ wrote: »

Have you thought about exploring any ghost towns?

Do the section of 66 through Kingman to Loughlin (poor man's vegas) absolutely amazing horseshoe bends through the mountains. Time it for sunset arrival in Loughlin as you drive over the mountains. Best scenic section of 666 (and anyone disappointed with 66 scenery west of Amarillo simply has no appreciation of the raw beauty of the desert! I stilll drive around NM going "Wow!"

Consider the other Las Vegas too..Las Vegas NM - the old town is amazing old west.

Also Old Town ABQ is fun, but Sante Fe is better if you are tight on time...I live in ABQ do feel free to gimme a PM if you plan passing through...I will tour guide in ABQ/SF if you wish.

Nelly 21 · 16-05-2014 4:56pm

So after all my researching and asking questions I have to rethink our plans altogether!!!! Thankfully I haven't booked hotels yet. My husbands back has been playing up and while he said he will be able to drive I can't expect him to drive everyday (I dont drive). So some of the longer drives that I have planned have to be forgotten about!

Some of the places that I still want to see is the grand canyon, zion national park, San Francisco, LA, really wanted to take in the drive to amarillo and the drive from SF to LA along the coast. Maybe San Diego???

I'm thinking we could drive to amarillo from LA then try to drive to SF taking more time away from driving on the way. We have 21 days so we're not under too much pressure.

Any thoughts or opinions!

InTheTrees · 16-05-2014 6:16pm

Ow. Sorry about the old fellas back. For what its worth the drive up highway one in california is much easier if you're heading north. It means you're driving on the inside lane. Driving southbound means you're on the outside lane and with a 500 foot drop inches from your right wheel (and no crash barriers in places), can make it pretty tiring. It can also be terrifying for passengers!

Nelly 21 · 16-05-2014 8:34pm

InTheTrees wrote: »

Ow. Sorry about the old fellas back. For what its worth the drive up highway one in california is much easier if you're heading north. It means you're driving on the inside lane. Driving southbound means you're on the outside lane and with a 500 foot drop inches from your right wheel (and no crash barriers in places), can make it pretty tiring. It can also be terrifying for passengers!

Well 2 weeks ago we thought we wouldn't be going at all but things are improving thank god!! The only place we booked so far is the wigwam motel the night we get to LA. We could then drive to San Diego, spend a couple of nights there then drive to San Francisco and then figure out what we want to do.........

Nelly 21 · 22-05-2014 12:48pm

InTheTrees wrote: »

I dont have any experience of these routes but ... Amarillo to Denver looks like a long day. And Denver to Vegas looks really far, through the rockies and the entire state of Utah in 1 day? How many miles is it? Vegas to SF is a long drive too, thats a complicated route. Basically you're drive all the way from Denver to SF in two days with a stop in vegas to rest. To me that would be exhausting and I love driving.

I do know SF to LA down highway One and doing it one day is a Long day. The scenic stretch (100miles?) is a small road along cliffs and can be very slow. Adding a night in there would give you time to spend around Monterey/Pebble beach too.

Just a thought. I think you're happier about being in the car then I am!

Hi Can I ask you a silly question!!! I'm here mapping out routes and stuff for holidays. The drive between SF and LA..... thats highway 1? Am I right in saying that we'll be on and off it? I'm on google maps and have been moving the route around. Is there a CA1 s highway??

The plan is to drive from SF to paso Robles and then stop over and continue on to LA the next day hopping back on Highway 1

tricky D · 22-05-2014 1:19pm

Nelly 21 wrote: »

Hi Can I ask you a silly question!!! I'm here mapping out routes and stuff for holidays. The drive between SF and LA..... thats highway 1? Am I right in saying that we'll be on and off it? I'm on google maps and have been moving the route around. Is there a CA1 s highway??

The plan is to drive from SF to paso Robles and then stop over and continue on to LA the next day hopping back on Highway 1

There's a few routes from SF to LA: Interstate 5 (quick/boringish), route 101 and route 1/PCH. Route 1/PCH and the 101 merge for some stretches and I found it easy to miss the turn offs back to route 1, so SatNav is a good idea. You really would want to take as much of route 1/PCH as possible for the amazing scenery.

Staying in Paso Robles means just turning left after Cambria onto 46. Where you rejoin 1/PCH is up to yourself. You could double back towards Cambria/Harmony or take the 41 to Morro Bay or the 101 to San Luis Obispo. You might check out photos from each route on Google Earth to see what option suits you best bearing in mind that the section between Cambria and San Luis Obispo is a lot more missable than most of the rest of 1/PCH. If it was my decision, I'd probably rejoin at Morro Bay.

Nelly 21 · 22-05-2014 2:02pm

tricky D wrote: »

There's a few routes from SF to LA: Interstate 5 (quick/boringish), route 101 and route 1/PCH. Route 1/PCH and the 101 merge for some stretches and I found it easy to miss the turn offs back to route 1, so SatNav is a good idea. You really would want to take as much of route 1/PCH as possible for the amazing scenery.

Staying in Paso Robles means just turning left after Cambria onto 46. Where you rejoin 1/PCH is up to yourself. You could double back towards Cambria/Harmony or take the 41 to Morro Bay or the 101 to San Luis Obispo. You might check out photos from each route on Google Earth to see what option suits you best bearing in mind that the section between Cambria and San Luis Obispo is a lot more missable than most of the rest of 1/PCH. If it was my decision, I'd probably rejoin at Morro Bay.

This is so brilliant! Thanks so much. There's only so much you can see on google maps!! We have a sat nav but I like to be sure exactly where we are going, you know yourself as irish drivers in the US. We wandered down a wrong road one time that looked a bit like texas chainsaw massacre and got kinda nervous!!!! (Watch too many scary films!!!)

I'm gonna print your comment and add to itinerary!!! Thanks again!!!!

InTheTrees · 22-05-2014 6:07pm

Nelly 21 wrote: »

The plan is to drive from SF to paso Robles and then stop over and continue on to LA the next day hopping back on Highway 1

For the scenic route between SF to LA you need to be on Highway One.

You'll go through Monterey and Carmel on the northern end and Cambria on the south. Thats highway 1.

Paso Robles sounds like you're looking at highway 101 and you want to avoid that (Sf to Paso robles) section.

San Louis Obispo is more convienient to stay. Or Morro Bay.

USA Trip Los Angeles to Amarillo

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