Amazing USA Road Trip

[Dog]

My wife and I just got back from a pretty epic road trip around the good ole USA together in here 4Runner (Stella), so here are the highlights...

17 Days
6,341.0 Miles
21 States (PA,OH,WV,VA,KY,TN,AR,OK,TX,AZ,NM,NV,UT,CO,KS,MO,IL,IN,VA,NC,MD)
0 speeding tickets
0 accidents

Our route looked like this…

-Drove next to or over the Rio Grande, Mississipppi, Ohio, Colorado, and Missouri Rivers amongst others…
-Drove through Fish Lake, Coconino, White River, Arapaho, Jefferson, and Daniel Boone National Forests to name a few…
-Drove through countless Native American Reservations (I found it pretty ironic with all the fuss over professional sport team names that one of the high school’s names/ mascot was the Redskin within the Navajo Nation in Red Mesa, AZ)…
-Crossed the Continental Divide (twice), Traversed Vail Pass over the Rocky Mountains on I-70E in 0 degree weather (couldn't see much because of the snow and clouds though so we’ll do this again on a day trip from boulder to hike hidden lake in the future)
-Visited Grand Canyon National Park and Arches National Park & 4 Corners USA
-Saw 2 pyramids (one in Memphis (I think it is going to be a Bass Pro Shops) and Vegas (of course)).
-Climbed Camelback Mountain on Christmas in Phoenix (The view from the top is worth the climb to the top)


Road Trip thoughts & lessons learned:

-Having a foodie for a wife makes for some great local eats while on the road. We had meals at some really cool spots on this trip that I would recommend to others: Husk (in Nashville), Flight ((tapas serving option) and wine bar) (in Memphis)), Coyote Bluff Cafe (best burger of my life at this place in Amarillo), High Finance (on Sandia Peak via the Tram), Top of the Rock (in Tempe), The Hillside Spot (best pancakes of my life here,  in Tempe area) Westside Lilo's Cafe (in Seligman, AZ), Village Coffee Shop (in Boulder - best diner style breakfast I have ever eaten! get the #6 and you won't be disappointed)

-I enjoy craft beer as well so we stopped at a few breweries along the way to partake in some local beverage tasting. My favorite was the Mountain Sun Brewery in Boulder. We also tried the Kannah Brewing Company in Grand Junction (good pizza and loved their porter!). Chama River Brewing Company in Albuquerque, NM

- A great music selection is critical to not zoning out while driving (especially through the plains…) so we conquered this with a combination of Tune-In, Rhapsody, iheart-radio apps from our smartphone when not in FM radio range. Smart phones are key when needing to find the closet starbucks and consolidating stops (food, drink, gas in one to save as much time as possible). A full tank and belly and an empty bladder makes for a great road trip… never pass up an opportunity to fill up with gas or go to the bathroom (especially in the more remote regions)…

- Great items to have within arms reach while driving and found ourselves using often were the camera, dental floss or picks, chargers for everything, disposable grocery bags for garbage bags at rest stops, a case of water, a snack bag.

- We had a Coleman extreme cooler on the backseat behind the driver (so the passenger could reach back and get into it without having to stop which worked out well for underway replenishment). It held hotel ice bags for 2 days with no issues. I just wish it was a bit larger and had wheels (easier to lug in and out of the hotels) so that’s on the to buy list for next road trip. We’re thinking a PCN’er or New England'er for our next roadie…

-An extra bottle of windshield washer fluid is a must especially for winter road trips. Running out and not being at a gas station to buy some would suck.

- We decided we want to go back to Sedona, AZ  and Boulder, CO for mini vacations at some point… we liked these two stops the best.

- The OKC memorial makes a deafening statement while being completely silent with those two large walls and empty chairs. Almost started crying there, sad. 

If you have to stay in or near OKC, the bricktown area/ district is cool… they recreated a mini canal district like San Antonio that is neat… oh and you have to try Tapwerks there.. crazy amount of beers on draft (they’re open late for food too which is nice if you arrive late into town like we did).

- I’m sorry but Vegas is way overrated. We are not gamblers but the whole place felt dirty and like one big scam. We were both woefully underwhelmed and couldn’t wait to leave…

- Utah was the state I was most impressed with in terms of natural beauty/ scenery. Just gorgeous and almost prehistoric in some areas (in Arches at sunset I kept thinking I was going to see a dinosaur walk out from behind a rock or something… haha. It’s like a walk/ hike back in time there, just awesome to experience).

-Arkansas and Kansas tie for the most boring states. If you’re planning a road trip, you won’t miss anything by traveling these states at night in the dark. Sorry to anyone who calls these states home.
-We wish we had more time to so we could do the Zion national park in Utah as well (next trip we’ll take a day drive up from Sedona for sure)

Closing Thought
I have been wanting to do a trip like this since getting off active duty and I definitely have a much deeper appreciation for our country and the people that call it home after this trip.  The USA is an absolutely amazing country and it was exhilarating to finally experience more of it with my wife.

Get out there and explore a bit, even if it’s not fishing or offroading or camping,  it’s definitely still worth it to see more of the outdoors.


Finally a few pictures…

[puckster_guy]

hey I'm jealous. Sounds like an awesome trip. I've done many trips down in the U.S.Seen new Orleans, Corpus Christie, South Padre Island, Houston Space museum. As well as New York, Jersey City(have relatives there.) Drove to Florida several times. I would LOVE to see the Grand Canyon and points west as you did. Good for you Bro. It's on my bucket list.

[getthenet]

Sweet !!! Maybe Canada coast to coast some day ?

[Dog]

@puckster_guy  when you check that box, you have to make time for Utah! Arches national forrest is simply prehistoric (like walking back in time a few billion years around landscape and delicate arch and others...) Also is you go in the winter months the most majestic drive in the USA is suppose to be also in Utah in Zion National Park.... if you go in the summer months you're forced to take a shuttle but if in the winter they open the scenic drive to personal vehicles since traffic is less. We're going to hit Zion on our 5 year anniversary trip to Sedona, AZ for a day trip.... Utah also has petrified sand dunes/ desert along the highway from Vegas, one of the craziest things I've ever seen as well... take a good camera, you're gonna need it.

@getthenet we talked about adding western canada into our PacNorWest roadtrip, at leas Vancouver and the surrounding area in the future... one day I'm sure we'll take the train across Canada and drink as we watch the scenery go by.

[johnny walleye]

nothing like a great road trip. thank you pics

[john c]

Nate

Glad you had a great road trip and thanks for the pictures.  I have been in 49 states, Vt is the one I have missed and I hope to make that one also.

John

[Nancy]

@Dog, It's something that you and I both share the same sentiment on Utah. When John and I were trucking, Utah was the most incredible state (in my opinion) that we were in. First of all, I had never given Utah any thought and really didn't know much about it before we went flying through. It was one of the most beautiful states that we were in. I read an article about a year ago maybe in AARP magazine or something that St. George, Utah is one of the top retirement areas in the country.

Specifically, Bryce Canyon, UT is on my bucket list.

For the record, one of John's favorites was along the Columbia River between Oregon and Washington. Saw a TV show where they fish for sturgeons there, so maybe we need to get that on out bucket list. Looked like a lot of fun.

Enjoyed your report Nate. Congrats on being able to make such an incredible trip with the wife.

[Oarin]

Wow!!!

[Dog]

Nate

Glad you had a great road trip and thanks for the pictures.  I have been in 49 states, Vt is the one I have missed and I hope to make that one also.

John

sounds like you need to get some VT maple syrup to go with that Quebec Toast at the outpost cabin in 2015!

[puckster_guy]

 I had some friends that lived in Vermont. Near Burlington. We skied at Smugglers Notch a few times. A looooong time ago lol Ya  gotta see it John, Ancient mountains, magical scenery.

[600 miles north]

     What a great trip! I really need to get the family out west sometime! I haven't ever been west of Indiana! LOL Good for you and the wife!

     Brad