Helpful Americans Please:)

[SnowLeopard]

Any Canadian not from Toronto will tell you to skip it. Only Toronto people would recommend it.
You like driving that much, come to Montreal, or better yet, make it all the way to Quebec City -- it's the 400th anniversary of the founding so plenty to do and see.

Oh... but you only want help from Americans

[Hurrikane]

Originally Posted by SnowLeopard

Any Canadian not from Toronto will tell you to skip it. Only Toronto people would recommend it.
You like driving that much, come to Montreal, or better yet, make it all the way to Quebec City -- it's the 400th anniversary of the founding so plenty to do and see.

Oh... but you only want help from Americans

Montreal and Quebec are definitely on the list

Hurrikane

[lokiscamaro]

route 66 man , nuff said

[Danoclese]

Originally Posted by Hurrikane

Montreal and Quebec are definitely on the list

Hurrikane

Woohoo!! Be damn sure to let me know when you're in town, mate. We'll get together for some bevvies and such.

[Sirhc]

Originally Posted by lokiscamaro

route 66 man , nuff said

Yeah get your "Kicks on route 66"

I have been from one coast to the other coast a few times and what people have recommended seems fair enough. From what I remember of Nebraska and Iowa its a lot of cornfields and farms. There are some quiant small towns here and there but not sure the miles and miles of corn rows make for a scenic vacation.

Have fun on your trip. Keep a close eye on the big rigs(Semi trailers) and don't "over do it" on the interstates. I have seen to many people fall asleep at the wheel and get into some bad accidents. Also if you want to maximize your money try and get a vechile that gets decent highway mileage. Its looking like fuel will probably be $3-4 dollars per gallon come this summer especially around the holidays. So if you are planning a 10,000 mile trip and your vehicle is only getting 15 miles per gallon(thinking of an older Camaro)it will take roughly 667 gallons of gas, at a cost of $3.20 per gallon(last summers gas price high I think) a rough estimated cost would be $2134.40 just in fuel costs not including food, tolls, tourist site charges, and motels/hotels.

Another tip: gas stations right at the exits of towns will always cost more than gas stations further into the towns. Large truck stops seem to have decent prices on fuel and usually have all you need (even showers) for a pit stop. Small "Mom and Pop" gas stations can sometimes jack prices. While there are a lot of service stations on the interstate make sure you know your vehicle and how far it will go on a full tank. Heed those warnings where its says "no services for XXX amount of miles" they really mean it lol.

Otherwise enjoy your trip and good luck.

[Metatron]

I recommend you charge up your Strong TP chips and teleport over the midwest and deep south. There is nothing worth seeing there unless you like bibles and farms. :P

(Florida and Louisiana are cool though)

[Slick]

As a Coloradan that has done both alternatives too many times, I'd have to say yes, the I-70 route is better than I-80...thats if you just want to get the heck out of the beautiful West and South and skip the breadbasket as fast as possible...as has been said, neither route really has much to see for the first 18+ hours of driving (Kansas is dead straight 400 miles of nothing on I-70, Nebraska and Iowa about the same on I-80 but corn fields instead of wheat fields). Of course, if you want to take a long scenic route, old route 66 as has been suggested is killer...however that would completely skip Colorado, which I of course would say as a native Coloradan, you would be missing an amazing state.

My wife and I did the same thing you did, except JUST drove Colorado, that took us about 5 days. The most beautiful part of Colorado I found during our trip was in the SW parts of Colorado...Ouray, Silverton, Durango, Pagosa Springs....I love that area of Colorado. Maybe a modified route could take you from SLC through arches national park (right near Colorado border) and down through SW Colorado to see some of the best of the state, then head south into New Mexico to pick up historic route 66? Just a suggestion

Regardless, if you make it through the Denver area at all, drop me a note, would be fun to meet up with you

On the car front...a $1k beater is going to give you serious headaches on this trip most likely...and at the time you are going to be here, it will be hot and humid in some of the places you visit. I would suggest re-thinking your car budget to at least the $2k-3k range (you will probably still sell it for the same amount in the end, so you will only loose out on the registration fees).

You will want something reliable, with A/C and decent on gas (sorry Loki, the reliable and decent on gas parts means you cannot subject these poor people to a damn Camaro, bleh)...meaning, probably a foreign car, NOT a American car. Think boring, reliable and common, like a 90s Honda Accord/Civic or something....you don't want to deal with POS American car breaking down on you in the middle of no where, and having something with the resale value and popularity of the Hondas will make it easy to sell at the end of your trip.

Also, since you are buying the car in SLC, you will probably have to register and insure it there, many of the states you will be traveling through require insurance. Have Loki or Mom look into what it will take to get the car registered/insured in your name...could be a pain in the butt.

Feel free to PM me with questions about Colorado, etc...my wife and I have pictures from our trip if you want to see some of the places I have been talking about.

-Slick

[Nihilist]

i have an old Mercedes you can pick up.. you'll have to duct tape the rear window to stay up.. and you can just return it when your done.. just don't get pulled over..

hah

but seriously sounds like a fun drive..

[sir odd]

I'm from Iowa, there is more than field of corn here It's an easy drive though Iowa, probably not as exciting as going through Illinois/Missouri but you will appreciate not having to wait 2-3 hours through big town rush hours

[Slick]

Originally Posted by sir odd

I'm from Iowa

Oh man, I really do feel sorry for you now. J/K Odd...be proud of your corny heritage!