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The Great Cross-America Road Trip?
Greg Chappell asks: "I'm about to undertake a great American tradition of road tripping from Massachusetts to Washington State. I've got a moving company to tote my stuff on my one-way journey, and a handful of friends brave enough to venture by my side. Have any slashdotters recently attempted such a trip? What are the best solutions for on-the-road email, cellular, and Internet access? Where are those attractions, parks, and museums across the US that every road tripper needs to see? What's the best technique for planning such a trip, other than the usual websites? I've got no limits on the places I can visit or the distance I can travel. Any advice you can toss my way would be greatly appreciated!" People interested in this article, might also want to check out the older version of this topic. Also, what travel devices (no, not the laptop, think smaller) should no geek leave home without?
Wall Drug!
I go road tripping for at least one month every year. I'd recommend picking up the Rough Guide to the USA from your favorite book store. It will list camping spots, cyber cafe's, national parks, museums, all that good stuff, targeted to the sort of young, independent traveler that you probably are. Every time I visit a new place, I check up on it in the Rough Guide, and I know the cool restaurants, bars, and out of the way attractions.
Get a dual band phone that supports analog, in case you get into an accident, or you need to make a phone call.
There are cyber cafes in almost every big city, and anywhere near a tourist stop. You'll probably go through Yellowstone National Park on your trip, and I know there is a outdoors store with iMacs in Livingston, MT, just north of the park. The Rough guide has a good list of places that sell internet access, not just cybercafes.
Bring a laptop for offloading pictures from your digital camera if you have one. Those memory cards quickly fill up at a megabyte a picture.
Get a good tent, and practice putting it up at home, so you aren't trying it for the first time when it's dark, rainy, and 45 degrees :)
Tips and Tricks for Mozilla
tent
sleeping bag
ground pad
plastic/tarps
good water filter
several pocket knives
spoon
paper towels
toilet paper
small kerosene or propane stove
cooler
a few good books
dishsoap
toothpaste
toothbrush
buy food along the way
Sorry guys, but sometimes its best just to leave the electronics out of it.
The masses are the crack whores of religion.
You don't need internet access on the road. A digital camera might be nice, but once you get "out there" you realize that life goes on without 'net access. It's almost liberating being "disconnected" for a while! (this is coming from a true geek)
I did a Connecticut -> Montana trip almost a year ago. I wrote all about it in some emails I sent to friends and half of them told me they busted a gut laughing, so I archived them on my website. The first installment is more expository, and they start getting good around the 2nd.
I strongly recommend stopping in Montana and doing some hiking and/or fishing, if you're into that sort of thing. The nature around here is second to none.
One thing you have to look forward to in the great northwest: Moose Drool. Best. Beer. Ever.
c-hack.com |
The whole point to a road trip is to get away from it all.
Ditch the "connectivity". Talk to people you meet. Go to a local bar, get drunk, try and get laid.
Jeez.
Actually, one great icebreaker is a digital camera.
But the best icebreaker is confidence and friendliness.
Remember that you don't have to worry about making a fool of yourself. That's why you are traveling.
evanchik.net
Hi! I have a similar problem. Could someone give me helpful tips on how to enjoy the real world? Do you recommend anywhere to eat better than the local quickie mart and pizza delivery place? What can I do when I'm not plugged in? What are these hobby things that people talk about?
Dude! Enjoy the trip. Don't sweat the internet, cellphone's, etc. Just grab a camera, some friends, and explore! You'll find your local AAA office will have more information, maps (quite useful), and tips than most slashdotters.
fnord.
Okay, you _need_ to go through the Grand Tetons and through Yellowstone Park in western Wyoming. Enroute, you should pass by Devil's Tower (you know, that place in Close Encounters of the Third Kind? Strangely, all the aliens I saw there looked like prairie dogs!). And enroute to Devil's Tower, on the South Dakota side, you might as well see Mount Rushmore, since it's so close. Do not speed on the Wyoming side of the border in the area. (personal experience)
Depending on how much of a straight line you don't want to make, perhaps the cliff dwellings in southern Colorado would be worth your time (having to go through the Rockies down from Wyo is nice, but the Grand Tetons are the most beautiful mountains in the lower 48 United States - the rockies are nothing in comparison, though they are quite nice). The big grey cloud sitting on the horizon is Denver - feel free to drive around it. *cough cough* There's a great raptor (the bird kind, not the dino kind) in Idaho that I forgot both the name and location of. Feel free to drive REALLY FREAKING FAST through eastern Oregon or eastern Washington. Same for eastern Colorado if you go through there. And don't bother to stop in South Dakota for anything except Mount Rushmore - it's like the far side of the moon, basically.
Get a nice big road atlas with detailed maps of each state, and pay attention to the 'scenic routes' marked thereon. They're not kidding, most of the time.
If you go through Oregon and then up into Washington, go all the way to the coast and go up Highway 101 along the coast. Among the most beautiful and peaceful areas you'll likely ever go to. If you go far enough south in Oregon, check out Crater Lake. Very nice.
In Washington State, make it up to the San Juan Islands. In Seattle, take the Underground Tour in Pioneer Square. See the city skyline at night from Alki in West Seattle. Go to the Arboretum. Eat at Copacabana at Pike Place Market (have the lomito soltado or the paella). Spit at the Microsoft campus in Redmond (across the lake from Seattle). Ride the Ducks! (look it up when you get there). Ride the Monorail and go to the observation deck of the Space Needle. Oh yeah, walk all through all levels of the Pike Place Market before you eat at Copacabana. Earlier the better.
I suggest you bring your passport and go up to Vancouver, BC (last time I was there, after 2001-09-11, they were requiring passports - this may have been lifted). Go eat at the Afghan Horseman. Best food you'll likely have. Also try the place a few doors down at the Mongolie Grill. Or the same block - Sheba, an Ethiopian place. That's one great block for food! While you're there, go shopping for CDs - cheapest place in the world to (legally) buy CDs. No joke, no exaggeration - the exchange rate is _schweet!_ While you're in Vancouver ('The Couve'), check out the zoo - it's great. Note: if someone walks up to you in downtown Vancouver asking if you have a 'loonie', don't be worried - a loonie is a Canadian dollar. (there's a Loon on the coin). Their two-dollar coin is, naturally, a 'Twoonie' (sp?).
Oh yeah, back to Oregon, Portland specifically - stop at Powell's Books with access to lots of monetary units - this is undoubtedly the best bookstore on the West coast. I could live there.
Fun street in Portland: Hawthorne Street.
Back to Seattle - Ye Olde Curiosity Shoppe on the waterfront. Freaky stuff, not for the squeamish (real stuffed heads and unwrapped mummies, etc.)
Other places to eat in Seattle: Tup Tim Thai near Seattle Center - best Thai in Seattle (arguably).
Depending on timing, if you'll be in Seattle during Labor Day Weekend (Sept 30 - Aug 2), you MUST attend 'Bumbershoot', a really great festival with lots and lots of food, music, and other entertainment. Attend as much as possible, and expect crowds and light rain (or sunshine). Carry a bumbershoot (umbrella). Check out the events at www.bumershoot.org . Don't park near apartment buildings - that's for the people who live in the area. Fork over the dough to park at a lot you cheapskates!
Best Chicken Teriyaki in Seattle: 'Nasai Teriyaki' - a few locations in Seattle. My favourite: 'Domeburger' - this is a little dive near where the Kingdome used to be - great chicken teriyaki sauce. Yum yum. Great gyoza (pork dumplings), too!
That's all I can think of for now. Have a great trip and take lots of pix!
Avoid Wall Drug. Do not pay attention to the signs. Please. Ignore it. Maybe it will go away...
Going from MA to WA will take you through OH. Which gives you the perfect excuse to spend a day at the Cedar Point Amusement Park link. Many would say that Cedar Point is America's best park for roller coasters. Whatever roller coaster enthusiast web site you visit on the web, Ceder Point roller coasters are included in the top ten list. It's located 2 hours west of Cleveland on the shores of Lake Erie.
If you pass through Cleveland on I-90, stop and catch a ball game at Jacob's Field then walk to the wharehouse district after the game for food, drink, dancing...
Most of all... have fun!
Check out my podcast: DreamStation.cc Video Game Show
For some time I've been working on a contingency plan for the event that I might end up unemployed.
A major part of it is this trip - just under 6500 miles covering many places I've been before, or would love to go to.
I estimate it would take about 3 months to do properly, so that I could enjoy everything I could without having to rush through it.
I figure camping along the coast of Lake Superior by Wawa would be a great start.
I've spent many a week off in the summer camping there, and never run out of things to see. [Pictures/Writeup of a recent trip].
After that, it would be a westward run along highway 1 accross the canadian shield towards Clagary, Banff, and Jasper.
I probably would dip towards the south as I approached Calgary, to pass through Fort Macleod so that I could visit the Head Smashed In Buffalo Jump again, before I lingered for a couple of weeks around Banff and Jasper.
I have only been in this area twice, once about 9 years ago as part of the last long road trip I took with my parents, and last year with a friend [Pictures]. The Banff and Jasper parks are amazing. The Icefields Parkway is Breathtaking. I could probably spend every summer out here for the rest of my life, and never get bored or stop discovering new things.
When it was finally time to move on, I would push on to the west coast, and gradually wander southward along the coast from Vancouver, to Los Angeles.
I intend to try out a small chunk of this part of the run in July, taking a week to drive between Los Angeles and SanFrancisco (and back) with my brother.
After this, everything gets vague. I could swing south, and see Mesa Verde for the first time since middle school, take the central route and revisit Dinosaur National Monument, or swing to the north and rexperience the solitude of the badlands. I probably wouldn't decide until I reached LA.
I'm a Vancouverite: some recommendations if you make it out here: CDs are particularly cheap at A&B Sound. Head down to Stanley Park, it's a huge peninsula with North America's first- or second-largest park (can't remember if Central Park in NYC is bigger or smaller). We don't call it 'the Couve' -- that's just hokey.
It's a toonie. Not 'twoonie'.
Forget about the Internet access. Not that we don't have it (of course we do!), but it's a *holiday**.
The aquarium, which is very close to the zoo in Stanley Park, is much cooler. Really.
The dense residential area just south of Stanley Park is called the West End, and boasts the highest urban densities on the continent. Plenty of good Japanese restaurants there, particularly along Denman street.
And hey, we've got lots of great cheap bud too. Head down to Blunt Brothers on Hastings. Just please don't go on about how socialist we are. We know. And we don't care.
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Death will come, and will have your eyes
-- Pavese
a digital camera, preferably a nice small one that you can carry with you painlessly.
a laptop, to dump the images from the camera onto every few days.
a book of cds or an mp3 player
places to go (assuming a not particularly direct route):
manhattan
hike a piece of the appalachian trail
eat some steak and catch a ballgame in chicago
drive through huge amounts of fucking nothing
arches national park
grand canyon
vegas baby, vegas!
yellowstone
drive the pacific coast highway, and check out one of the many waterfalls
use a quarter as an inexpensive GPS alternative. heads means turn left, tails means turn right. see where it takes you.
and for chrissakes, fuck net access. go out, smoke some pot, drink some beers, and enjoy LIFE!
Almost as funny as a bumper sticker I saw in Utah.
"If you think mormons are funny, then you should see their underwear!"
what you need : a classic supercar(vintage AC cobra, Ferrari Daytona, Porsche 911 turbo, Mercedes 300 SL Gullwing...), a nice pair of gloves, a leather jacket, yellow sunglasses, a radar detector, Hershey bars and water. Spot the gas stations, be sure they have tires for your car, and floor it ! You could take a DV camera onboard, it would surely cut some of the expenses thanks to MTV jackass.
On the 36 hours for the trip, you sure won't need any Internet access.
See and IMDB...
Please contact me if you do it this way !
Google passes Turing test : see my journal
Get the Bill Bryson books on his travels around the USA. Just don't read them before you leave, or you might not want to go.
In fact, just get all his books! [insert amazon.com link here].
If you ever plan to motor west,
travel my way, it's the highway that's the best.
Get your kicks on Route 66.
(apologies to the late Bobby Troup).
Seriously, if you're going from MA to WA, Chicago to LA might seem a little out of the way (ok, 3000 miles all the way), but once you get to LA, you can drive up the Pacific Coast Highway, which, in my opinion, has some of the most amazing scenery anywhere.
So, my first recomendation is "Route 66" and the PCH.
Option B
Of course, the I-90 Route (Boston, Albany, Buffalo, Erie, Cleveland, Toledo, South Bend, Gary, Chicago, Madison) is fine until you cross the Mississippi, but after that, it's 500 miles of Wall Drug billboards and prairie as you drive through Minnesota and South Dakota.
Stopping in Mitchell to see the Corn Palace is a good side trip. And of course you have to see the Badlands, Custer State Park, Mount Rushmore, and Devils Tower. I stopped there, but I expect that the rest of Wyoming, Montana, and points west are just as fantastic.
Travel Tips
Bring a laptop with a modem, ethernet card, and wireless card (might as well get all your bases covered). I also recommend getting some cheap pre-paid phone cards. You can make an 800 number call from your hotel room and dial your regular ISP. Once you tweak your dialup settings, it's a pretty good setup. I don't notice a problem with line noise or the carrier dropping, but YMMV. The big benefit of using a pre-paid card is avoiding the (often excessive) hotel phone charges. 1-800 calls are usually free, or a nominal charge (50 cents).
Also, bring a small digital video camera. I agree with someone elsewhere that this is a good icebreaker, plus it's also your camera.
When I travel with my gear, I try not to spend my time in the hotel room on-line. Hotel Rooms are either utilitarian, or else there really cool and (a) really expensive or (b) really small.
If you must work on the laptop, bring it to a coffeeshop or cafe, so you can pretend you're socializing. Better yet, just check your e-mail daily while you're waking up and get out and enjoy the trip.
My father is a blogger.
Learn to Play Go
You'll find life much more interesting. For example, "Blue Highways: A Journey into America" by William Least Heat-Moon. Mr. Least Heat-Moon (yes, that's really his last name) also ran the rivers (as much as was possible) from NY to Portland (Oregon).
/scenery), the badlands of the Dakotas....
Interstates were made to get stuff from point A to point B, not for your to experience the country and the people.
As for must-sees, pretty much anything in the National Park System is worthy of a look. However given the trip you're talking about, U.S. 2 (the highway) runs from where you are to where you want to go, isn't an interstate, and has several things along it that are interesting and scenic. The Grand Coulee in Washington (skip the dam -- ugly and boring), Glacier National Park (some samples on my website in
Planning my road trips (I've driven about 7k miles in the past year- around the US, southern Canada and northern Mexico) is something I do most of online and with the help of an atlas. Most important tip: Don't be afraid to detour! You see random sign for a "Dutch Windmill" in the middle of rural Iowa, well, go see what the fuss is about! Even if the destination isn't all that, the sideroute offers more of a view of what Iowa looks like than the highway does, and those detours will be the most memorable parts of your trip. Second most important tip: Truck stops are awesome. They have great, cheap food at any time of day; they have showers and laundry facilities, should you be desperate; they have anything you could possibly have run out of or not known you needed; and they are full of the friendliest and most open people, people who know the roads well, that you'll ever meet. And this is coming from a young, not-bad-looking woman who travels alone a lot; I stop at truck stops all the time and always feel safe and welcome and well-fed. Truck stops are awesome.
...lots of great Americana.
Links:
Resources by state, including computer-friendly truck stops (easy access to phone jacks &c.)
List of truck stops in general
Another truck stop guide
If you're going to be connected on the road, this is a great link: TruckerNews has updates on road conditions all over the US, as well as stop closures, detours, weather, &c. Check your route in the morning and you won't have to detour or backtrack during the day.
Roadside America has a great list of quirky roadside attractions (ever wanted to see the world's largest ball of twine?)
Another great attractions link is Hidden America
If you really want to take your time and look around, try some scenic byways. A really wonderful way to get a taste of what America looks like at her best.
If you're like me and enjoy feeling the wind rush by, speedtrap.com is a great resource. Look up the places you'll be travelling the next day, and make sure you know where to watch for The Man.
Enjoy!
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You're asking this on Slashdot? Most of us never leave the house. Ruins your flourescent tan.
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the interstate system is nice for getting place to place, but some of the best places are well off the beaten path. I recomend a compass. Everytime you come to an intersection flip a coin to decide which way to go, but narrow out all directions that are obviously the wrong way. Oh, and beware of roads marked "Minimum maintance road, proceede at your own risk" they are not kidding, those roads go from nice gravel to quicksand in negative distance (that is you are diving just fine and suddenly you have been in quicksand for 100 feet.) nice roads to drive, but only if you have serious 4 wheel drive equipment (if you do, ignore my advice, try to drive nothing but minimum maintance roads)
Everytime you see a sign "Historical marker ahead", stop, read the marker. Often they are cheesey, but just often enough they are worth reading that you should read them all. If nothing else it gives you insite into the thinking 100 years ago, and it often isn't pretty.
Pick up hitch hikers! Of course this is a room in the car thing, there are obvious safely issues. In general you can meet some interesting people (sometimes truely people you want to meet, and some as the chinese curse, but either way you learn something) by picking up hitch hikers and giving them a free ride. If you can afford it buy them lunch, maybe pay for their admission to some attraction you want to go to. (depending on what money they have). Be a good human being. Help your fellow man.
Stop for parks. There are many state, county, and city parks that are worth visiting. Many have tour guides for free that can give you an excellent education on the area. (the free guides tend to be the best in my expirence)
Eat at local cafes as much as possible. Avoid national chains. (not entirely, just in general) Tex-Mex is best in Texas. Walleye is a minnesota favorite, but I haven't seen it elsewhere. Good chinese good is only aviable in the chinse section of town. (NY and San Francisco) You can't try them all, but try what you can.
Remember, the car is a means to get from place to place, but not a way to get a feel for the country. Stop often and chat with the natives. If you do this right you will randomly come across some small town (population less than 200) with some sort of (spud fest or some such) festival. Stop for the day, see what crazy things people do for a party. Dance with the potatoe queen, wrestle in the greese pit, or whatever they do. (depending on your interests and abilities of course - but don't be afraid to make a fool of yourself)
If your trip is coming up soon and you'll be in Seattle by July 4th, then you'll want to take this advice for fireworks:
Go to Gasworks Park (north end of Lake Union) - go there early (like early afternoon, or even late morning), and spend the day until the fireworks starts. This is a amazing fireworks display done by two grandmaster fireworks artists. One is European, I think, and his fireworks display from ground up to a certain height, and then the American one takes from that height on up, all done to classical music. Very nice - easily the best fireworks display in Seattle.
The fireworks display off the Space Needle every New Years is nice but very very short. *sigh* (Just thought I'd mention that while on the subject of fireworks in Seattle.)
Okay, I should have worded this better. Instead of: "Feel free to drive REALLY FREAKING FAST through eastern Oregon or eastern Washington.", I should have said: "Don't bother to stop anywhere in eastern Oregon or eastern Washington." or perhaps, "If you're driving at night anywhere on this trip, these would be good areas as you won't miss seeing anything." :) That also applies to eastern Colorado. And all of Kansas and almost all of South Dakota.
When I moved out to Seattle (have since been forced to leave due to economic circumstance), I drove about 100mph for several hours without stopping through most of eastern Oregon. Fun.
Corn Palace? Wall Drug?
Spare me.
Check out the Journey Museum:
http://www.journeymuseum.org/english/
(Full disclosure: my Aunt works there. I'm from that area originally.)
KEXP rocks - listening right now.
XML causes global warming.
One of the best narrations of a cross-country trip (and it's even more than just that), is Phil Greenspun's Travels with Samantha. Great photos too; this sounds like a good/fun thing to do while traveling, plus if you're not already a good photographer, it's a great chance to improve.
On The SHores Of Lake Erie" is a town called Sandusky, OH.
Just so you know.
(Immortalized forever as the starting point of 'LEather Goddesses of Phobos".)
Brazil has decided you're cute.
I've made the road trip between Washington and back east several times over the years, using varying routes, and I can assure you that you really can't go wrong any way you go. Stay off the highways as much as reasonably possible, talk to people, eat at interesting places, the usual advice... but one thing you absolutely must not miss no matter which way you go is the House on the Rock in Wisconsin. Just... go. Really.