UK - USA - Canada = Road Trip

Hey!

I'm from England, 21 and have 3 weeks I want to make the most with this summer!

I was originally looking at going to Canada but now the idea of road-tripping from USA to Canada looks much more appealing due to your books.

What would you suggest for only 3 weeks though? I have no idea how long it takes to get everywhere and ideally I'd love to have been able to drive San Fran all the way to Montreal, however this I suppose is very optimistic. What do you think the best route to choose is? How long do all your routes you've written about take in general take?

Thanks :)

Georgie

==>>

Dear Georgie --

Thanks for writing in to Road Trip USA, and I hope you are still feeling enthusiastic about your summer road trip around the USA & Canada. It would take at least 6 months of dedicated driving to cover all the roads I write about in my books, so for a 3-week (first?) trip I would suggest a visit to the most un-English places in America, the wide-open Wild West (Montana, Utah, Rocky Mountains, etc)

You could do these places on a drive from San Francisco to Montreal, for sure. If you want to start in SF, I might suggest you go from there up the gorgeous coastline, circling around the amazing Olympic Peninsula of Washington before heading east from Seattle (like SF, a great American city.) This part of a trip would take a good week -- more if you linger in SF or Seattle, which you might well want to do.

On your way east, I'd strongly recommend a stop at Yellowstone and Grand Tetons, in Wyoming, and if you have the time there are some lovely places in the Canadian Rockies, around Banff especially.

The Great Plains is somewhat of a long haul, with less to see, but another great cities to consider would be Chicago, especially if you enjoy art & architecture. This drive, inc a day or two at Yellowstone, would take another week. Mount Rushmore is in this "neck of the woods", as well, offering a taste of kitschy Americana to complement all the natural and high-cultural wonders.

So far, this trip would be a combination of my Pacific Coast route, then east along US-2 (Great Northern) or US-20 (my "Oregon Trail"), maybe with some detours along the US-93 "Border to Border route.

If you want to make up time, there are also bigger highways (motorways to you? Interstates to us -- I-90 would be the main one west-to-east on this, ideal for racing across the scenically-challenged Great Plains. Even racing across the Dakotas leaves you not much time to get to Montreal, but just to slow you down further I would recommend getting there by way of Vermont, a really lovely small US state, full of lush mountains and charming towns and villages (all of which are a lot closer together than things are in the western US.)

Vermont is a little like the Yorkshire Dales or Lake District -- but with Ben & Jerry's ice cream.

The US is a huge place, even more so if you add Canada, so there are basically limitless options -- I hope my quick tips help you have a great trip. Let me know what you think, and what you get up to.

Happy Trails,



Jamie Jensen
---
Road Trip USA

Working Road Trip --- summer vacation opportunities?

Hey Jamie,

you have some great advice on your website regarding road trip routes and information, and I was wondering if you would be able to assist me with the trip I am planning to take. My name is Sarah, I just finished my freshman year at college, and am dying to go on a road trip across the country by myself. I will be starting in Chicago, with the intentions of heading south and west to California, then north and east to get back home. I'm not exactly where to stop along the way, but I would rather not spend a large amount of time at tourist attractions. I definitely want to reach the redwood forests in California, and would like to stop at national parks and areas rich in culture on the way.

I am planning for this trip to take about three weeks (restricted by a previous engagement) from mid May (like, now) to very early June. I would love to engage myself in community service wherever I am - whether it be helping out in soup kitchens, painting a school, disaster relief, etc. Any advice as to how to go about this? I applied to help out with the tornado relief and gulf coast oil spill clean up, but its kinda complicated without being there in person. It would also be helpful if anywhere would be willing to accommodate me for my service/work.

I have also looked into the World Wide Opportunities on Organic Farms WWOOF, which looks promising, but again safety is a concern considering I will be alone.

Also, if my parents do not approve of this endeavor, I will be car-less, which makes a road trip quite difficult. Is there any type of service in which I can rent a private car or a rental service that is really cheap (college student - I don't have very much money). Anyway, this is my great plan. It probably sounds crazy, but I would really love to do it. Let me know what you think and if you can offer me any advice!

Thanks,

Sarah

===

Hi Sarah --

Thanks for writing in to Road Trip USA, and for sharing your summer road trip plans. All very exciting, and admirable, even. Hope it all works out for you.

I don't know of any specific organization that can help you find volunteer opportunities as you travel, but as you pass thru places in person, I'm sure you will find organizations eager to take you up on your offer. I wish there were some way to get energetic young people to work on rebuilding parks and trails -- but this gets into gov't bureaucracies, which in my experience are never good at spontaneity. (Hope that doesn't sound too Rush Limbaugh-like...)

About inexpensive transportation, being in Chicago you have a big advantage -- there is a company there that arranges for drivers to take clients cars and deliver them all over the USA, sometimes even paying for some gas. I've done a few of these over the years, and though you have to be flexible the price is certainly right. Check out them out at http://www.autodriveaway.com/

I know you're setting off soon, so I'll zap this back to you and wish you "Happy Trails".

Please let me know what you get up to on your big adventure.

With best wishes,


Jamie Jensen
--
Road Trip USA

Kentucky to Las Vegas -- woman on a road trip

Hi Jamie,

I'm planning a road trip coming up real soon, I hope!

The trip will include myself, (a 50 yr.young, quite capable woman,) and my jack russell, Jonijojo. We will be traveling in my very dependable, Toyota Matrix!! I'll be traveling from Irvine, Ky. to N. Las Vegas where my best girlfriend lives. I would love to travel along rt.66 perhaps or the Loneliest road for a time,,,, which would you recommend? I'm assuming there's motels along the both, (who take little dogs,) too??? I'm taking her with me because she is a wonderful road buddy, goes everywhere with me and also is great company. Another question for you, (a little off the beaten path if you will,) is that I haven't told my husband yet that I'm taking this trip. He hates road trips and because of that I wouldn't want him to go with me, just not sure how to tell him. I used to drive around the U.S. a lot when I was younger and at this time in my life I really need this experience.

I absolutely love driving and am a good driver and I feel I have good instincts about people as far as being safe. Bottom line is I Need This Trip!!! So, any advice you could offer me would be greatly appreciated!

Sincerely,

"Rover"

===>>>

Dear Rover --

Thank you for writing in to Road Trip USA, and I hope I can help you plan a great adventure.

I'll get to offering some travel advice soon enough, but wanted to say that, being a husband myself, I think it would be good to share your plans with him sooner rather than later, so it doesn't come "out of the blue" and seem so much like a crazy plan. And let me say I fully understand the urge to do this trip on your own -- especially if you are drawn to the Loneliest Road; traveling solo really does open you up to a greater variety of experiences than going as a couple or with friends.

(Solo with dog still counts as solo in my book! does jonijojo like to go for long drives? in my experience, small dogs are welcome at most motels -- so I don't think that will be an issue)

These solo travel experiences are not necessarily better or worse, but they definitely different. I do most of my travels on my own, and some with family and friends, and doing so helps me be aware of the "charms" or each mode. As in most things, balance is crucial -- and I sort of expect your husband may want to know where you and are and what you are getting up to, even if he is not along for the ride...)

OK -- onto the trip itself. Kentucky is one of the states I always want to get to know better -- I have enjoyed visits to Louisville, and driven the Bluegrass Parkway, but confess I have never done it justice. Some day...

For your route west, I highly recommend the US50 stretch across southern Indiana (Vincennes in particular is a fascinating place -- esp if you like US history. I like it just because it lets me say and write "Wabash.") Take US50 as far west at St Louis, and join RT66 there for a great cruise across the Ozarks and down across Oklahoma (which has perhaps the longest stretches of driveable "old road")

West from Oklahoma, much of old Route 66 is little more than freeway frontage road, which means you follow I-40 and take as many "turnoffs" onto town and city streets as you want. In the wide open expanses of New Mexico and Arizona, you'll probably be grateful for the modern freeway -- the older route was a very hard slog. If you have the incliantion, I strongly recommend the loop north to Santa Fe, which is surrounded my 100s of miles of high desert beauty (this is where Georgia O'Keeffe did most of her painting.)

One last main sight on your way west is the Grand Canyon, and nearby Sedona Arizona -- and if you wanted a very pretty route to get you to Las Vegas, I'd suggest looping north via Zion National Park and the sublime scenery of southern Utah.

Once you've met your friend and recovered from the first leg of this big trip, then you'll be ready to hit the "Loneliest Road" proper, which runs across the deserts of northern Nevada -- back where you started on US50 , but a _long long way_ from the green green grass of home.

OK, there are some thoughts -- I hope you are able to make this trip, and that it does what you need it to do.

Let me know what you're thinking, and tell me how it turns out.

Happy Trails,



Jamie Jensen
---
Road Trip USA

** Road Trip USA: Route 66 ** new edition

In Praise of Postcards

Hi Jamie, I have a strange question, if you don't mind...

I love your website. For each of your Drive of the Month web pages there is a small, classic poster image (at the upper right of each page). For example, for June there is a poster picture of the Old Faithful Inn in Yellowstone.

My question is: Would you mind telling me where you found these posters and is there a website where they can be purchased?

Thanks for your help.
Bill

===>>>

Dear Bill --

Thank you for writing in to Road Trip USA, and I don't mind your "strange" question. It doesn't seem strange to me at all - I love the images you are interested in, and they come not from posters but from old postcards, which I have collected over the years at antique stores and flea markets all over the USA. Unless you want to trawl thru shoebox after dusty shoebox like I do, the easiest way to find postcards these days is by using E-Bay, the online auction site -- they have thousands for sale, like this one:

This is a 1934 Old Faithful Inn postcard, listed for $9.95...

You pay more for the convenience with Ebay -- I think I got mine for a 25¢ at a flea market in Massachusetts. I use the older ones because I understand they are more likely to be out of copyright, and thus available for reproduction in my books (where I have dozens more as illustrations, usually of older historic sites I visit in my travel guide books. I love the colors.) I haven't seem any of these postcard images as posters -- the resolution is probably not good enough for enlargement. (Unless you could find the original artworks , wherever they may be.)

Hope this helps -

w/ best wishes,

Jamie Jensen, author, Road Trip USA

===>>>

hey again Jamie,

thanks for replying to my "strange question". I normally don't go to antique stores or flea markets but I think I'll start and maybe I can find some interesting post cards.
Just FYI - I found this website that sells posters with similar images to your post cards:
http://www.zazzle.com/old_faithful_inn_yellowstone_natl_park_poster-228344999436379296

On another subject - I think you might find this interesting:

Last week I was returning to Illinois from Phoenix, so instead of driving as fast as I could to get home I decided to drive north to Salt Lake City then east through WY, NE and IA. And instead of staying on the freeway all the way I decided to take some side trips on some of the back road highways.

After leaving Las Vegas I drove north on US 93 to Caliente, NV then over to Cedar City. Then in Wyoming I got off the freeway at Walcott, WY and drove US 30 to Laramie. And finally, in WY and NE I drove from Cheyenne to Torrington,WY then southeast to Ogallala, NE.

What a joy to be driving some of these back road highways on a beautiful day. There is very little traffic and some beautiful scenery you wouldn't see if you stayed on the freeways.

Since returning from my trip I've gotten interested in the Oregon Trail - especially in Wyoming. When you drive through that country you see how utterly desolate things are and you marvel at the people who drove wagons through this country when there was no civilization. I think it would be a really neat trip to drive the roads that as best match their route through the west.
Maybe someday I'll do that.

Anyway, thanks for your email.

Bill

Loneliest Road - langsam

Hey Jamie,

Greetings from orange county -- I found your website as i was looking for routes to cross the US from west to east.

What a great collection of routes you exhibit.

I grew up in "the old world" (Germany) and after school i was traveling all over europe by train. Since 6 months i live in beautiful southern california and i am dreaming of exploring this continent as i did 10 years ago in europe.

Coming as I do from such a densely populated area as europe, your description of "the loneliest road" sounds so magic to me.

Thank you for this great resource!


Gerhard

==>>>

Hallo Gerhard --

Thanks for your nice message -- or should I say "Vielen Dank" für Ihre sehr nette Meldung !

I lived in Germany (in Berlin!) for much of last year, but am a native Los Angeles boy, so have a similar but somewhat opposite sense of the Old vs. New Worlds. I really enjoy wandering around cramped medieval streets of cities like Venice (or even Meissen), but I have always found myself drawn to the wide-open spaces of the American Wild West -- and the Loneliest Road across Nevada is about as wild and open as they get. In terms of great roads, the nearest rival I know of to the "Loneliest Road" is also in Nevada: the long and lonely stretch of US-93, north of Las Vegas. US-93, my "Border to Border" route, is another great road to drive -- even if it runs north-south, rather than coast to coast.

Let me know how your cross-country travel plans shape up -- and wherever you go, I wish you "Happy Trails"!

Ich hoffe, dass Sie eine große Reise haben,



Jamie Jensen
---
Road Trip USA

** On Sale Now ***

====>>>>>