Road Trips either accomplished or planning for?

DerekJohnson

DerekJohnson

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I was talking to a friend of mine recently who is about 65 and retired three years ago. I randomly asked him if he ever thought about taking a road trip and driving Route 66 or something like that. He replied "Hell yeah! I think about it all the time. Here I am with lots of spare time but I don't feel like I am making any memories."
Has anyone here, including @RoadTrip himself, driving Route 66? Or driven "the loneliest highway in America" which I think is in Nevada? Has anyone driven the Pacific Coast Hwy 101? I seem to recall @iDawg years ago said he rode a motorcycle along 101 in California.
Route 66 has always been in the back of my mind.

Historic-Route-66.jpg
 
I've driven the 101 numerous times. Took the 99 to California as a kid with the family. Pre I 5
Been on most parts of Route 66 including time living in Tulsa
Wife and I did the Lewis and Clark trail drive kind of the return trip since we started in Seattle. Got down to Nebraska from South Dakota and saw the wagon ruts of the Oregon Trail
 
I do a bunch of road trips each year. Planned so far for 2025 are Oregon Coast / California redwoods in May and Lake Tahoe / Death Valley / Las Vegas / Great Basin NP in June.

I am expecting Ichiro to be inducted into Cooperstown this July, so will probably do an eastern road trip along with the induction ceremony. I am leaning towards Adirondacks / Vermont / Maine.
 
Road to Hana on Maui
Been all over the Western US. Chief Joseph Scenic Highway is a must for REAL Americans.
 
Did Road to Hana, and I think the Nevada one (at 100 plus, for hours). If Cali ever gets its reads down and they fix the bridge between Carmel and Big Sur, we’ve been talking about taking it all the way down.

After our wedding in OC, we took the 1 to Avila Beach, and later up to Carmel and back.
 
I’ve done the entire west coast along Hwy 1 or 101 in its various stretches. Big Sur to San Simeon is still the most spectacular stretch of road in the US but it’s closed until later this year at least. We got at far as Bixby Creek bridge this Summer. I’ll sext you a pic.
 
This is definitely the right time of the year to daydream about hitting the road.
We're going to pound the continental divide, eastern Idaho and western Montana in 2025. I anticipate 2 trips minimum and a total of 3-4 weeks traveling, camping, and fishing. Two of us, 2 dumb dogs so the bears have something to eat, two inflatable kayaks and a scooter for river shuttles.
Oh...also my golf clubs.
I've driven all of 101 in Wa and Or, but never into California. That's on the list but down it a ways. There's too much good stuff inland that I haven't done. One thing about big sky country in the summer is the way golf courses look surrounded by all that brown. The green glow calls to you and is hard to resist.
 
Drove down to Carrizo Plain to see the super bloom a couple years ago, very impressive. Took 101/1 back to WA… started at Pismo Beach, camped along the way up until Crescent City… it was super fun and I'm definitely glad I did it, but I got my t-shirt and don't think I'll do it again.

Monterey was incredible, I'd live there in a heartbeat if I could afford it. Speaking of Steinbeck, I bought a copy of 'The Log From the Sea of Cortez' from the Monterey Bay Aquarium (Highly recommend) and read it as I made my way north. Excellent novel.

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digits said:
Drove down to Carrizo Plain to see the super bloom a couple years ago, very impressive. Took 101/1 back to WA… started at Pismo Beach, camped along the way up until Crescent City… it was super fun and I'm definitely glad I did it, but I got my t-shirt and don't think I'll do it again.

Monterey was incredible, I'd live there in a heartbeat if I could afford it. Speaking of Steinbeck, I bought a copy of 'The Log From the Sea of Cortez' from the Monterey Bay Aquarium (Highly recommend) and read it as I made my way north. Excellent novel.

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I bought a paperback of that just a few months ago but haven't read it yet.
 
Just remembered another one…About 10 years ago, for an October wedding in Manchester, VT.
Flew into Boston, rented a car and drove through NH to wedding, mostly on Interstates. The wife went secret squirrel and post-wedding, we drove to Cooperstown. As we were leaving, I threw out the idea to take back roads for the return.
The “turning of the leaves” is real, and spectacular. Stopped off in Woodstock for lunch (not at Yasgur’s Farm), and back to Beantown. Perhaps my favorite lazy drive I’ve ever taken…
 
DerekJohnson said:
I was talking to a friend of mine recently who is about 65 and retired three years ago. I randomly asked him if he ever thought about taking a road trip and driving Route 66 or something like that. He replied "Hell yeah! I think about it all the time. Here I am with lots of spare time but I don't feel like I am making any memories."
Has anyone here, including @RoadTrip himself, driving Route 66? Or driven "the loneliest highway in America" which I think is in Nevada? Has anyone driven the Pacific Coast Hwy 101? I seem to recall @iDawg years ago said he rode a motorcycle along 101 in California.
Route 66 has always been in the back of my mind.

Historic-Route-66.jpg
Click to expand...
yea, I've done some miles. I've done a fair amount of 66, but it was a bit disheartening about how little was left. This was decades ago and I’m sure it’s even less now.
Americana is still great. Many of the roads I drove 30 years ago I did again with may family in a big SUV. The only rule: no chains… either hotel/motel or restaurants…oh and no screens when we were not on an interstate. Yellowstone, Yosemite, Brice, Zion, Arches … and others

America is beautiful. Mom and pop diners are still a value. Go out and see them before the corporate version of fentanyl ruins it all: Dollar General
 
I drove through the center of Nevada on the way to Vegas with four of my friends when we turned 21. Had the night shift after we left Winnemucca. Got to Tonopah I think before we saw headlights again. Yes, very lonely
 
Driven the Washington coast and into Oregon as far as the beach with the big rock.

Drove the California coast from SC down to Carmel after going to a UW game, possibly the bowl game at the baseball stadium.
Probably drove Colorado to Louisiana or Texas and back at least a dozen times.
Drove Colorado to Arizona a few times.

Mrs Nacho and I stayed in Sedona then instead of going straight back to Old Man Nacho’s house in Phoenix, drove north to Flagstaff, east with a stop on a corner in Winslow, AZ and then south through the Tonto National Forest. Got to drive through snow showers in Arizona in April.
Bought my oldest kids car from my neighbor and delivered it to her for graduation and took the most meandering trip from Washington to Kentucky.

Driven through Montana a few times. Easy to see why people put up with the winters. That place is fucking gorgeous.
Planning to drive to Gettysburg solo in April. For some strange reason, Mrs Nacho is uninterested in visiting a civil war battlefield for 2-3 days.
 
RaceBannon said:
I've driven the 101 numerous times. Took the 99 to California as a kid with the family. Pre I 5
Been on most parts of Route 66 including time living in Tulsa
Wife and I did the Lewis and Clark trail drive kind of the return trip since we started in Seattle. Got down to Nebraska from South Dakota and saw the wagon ruts of the Oregon Trail
Click to expand...
In 2003 I was in Amarillo and went for a long walk at about 2AM. I stood in the middle of Route 66 with not a car in sight, and just pondered on the hundreds of thousands of people that had traveled westward on that spot back in the day, heading for what they hoped was a better life.
Edit: And as I stood in the middle of the road, I distinctly remember listening to Smashmouth on my Walkman. (Didn't get an iPod until a year or two later).
 
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US 395 north out of Reno into Susanville California up by Lassen to the back side of Shasta and up the Cascade spine of Oregon
In fact 395 is one of the cool roads ever along with 95. Lone Pine and Yosemite in Cali
 
RaceBannon said:
US 395 north out of Reno into Susanville California up by Lassen to the back side of Shasta and up the Cascade spine of Oregon
In fact 395 is one of the cool roads ever along with 95. Lone Pine and Yosemite in Cali
Click to expand...
Free Pub !
 
Joey said:
I drove through the center of Nevada on the way to Vegas with four of my friends when we turned 21. Had the night shift after we left Winnemucca. Got to Tonopah I think before we saw headlights again. Yes, very lonely
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I've been from Tucson to Tucumcari

Tehachapi to Tonapah

Driven every kind of rig that's ever been made

Driven the back roads

So I wouldn't get weighed

And if you give me weed, whites, and wine

And you show me a sign

I'll be willin'... to be movin'
@RaceBannon knows
 
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