Rocky Mountain Road Trip

Hi Jamie --

Love your web site – there is nothing else like it – I was just after some advice on a forthcoming Road Trip that my wife and I would like to do – we have a family reunion in Hawaii on 17th March then intend flying to the mainland on 22nd March before flying back home out of LA on 2nd April.

Essentially 8 -10 days for seeing some of the USA by road – Originally wanted to get up to Yellowstone and Mt Rushmore but understand the snow will be too heavy. What do you think of driving the start of the Oregon Trail then down the border to border route then back across to SF or LA ? Is the snow or weather going to be too bad for relaxed driving up North ?

My wife and I have done the major cities in the states but never the country so interested in what you would recommend – essentially we could fly anywhere from Hawaii then start back from that point for 8-10 days ?

Thanks

Paul

(from Melbourne, Australia!)

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Hi Paul --

Many thanks for writing in to Road Trip USA -- glad you like the website.

St Patrick's Day in Hawaii, huh? Then Mt Rushmore, and on to LA. Good stuff -- apart from all the snow, that is.

If you flew from Hawaii into Denver and picked up a rental car there, you could head north and see Mt Rushmore, and the Badlands (and some of the historic Great Plains, like General Custer's Battlefield, if that appeals...) before heading west. As you've learned most of Yellowstone is closed down in late March, so maybe you will be better off visiting more winter-oriented places -- like the Grand Tetons (which are beautiful, and much more of a snow-season destination. Great skiing in Jackson Hole, for instance.)

From the Grand Tetons area I'd be tempted to head south, toward the Four Corners region and the amazing scenery of Utah and Arizona, like Canyonlands and Zion National Parks, Monument Valley, even the Grand Canyon if you've not been there on your other travels. Santa Fe New Mexico is also a pretty special place -- and you could "get your kicks on old Route 66", which is still main route across this part of the country, passing thru teh Pueblo Indian lands and the Grand Canyon, too.

In a week or so you could make a great trip, maybe relaxing in Joshua Tree or Palm Springs in southern California before ending up in LA to catch a flight home.

Hope this helps yo have a great trip -- and I hope you get a chance to check out the book version of Road Trip USA, which has lot more fun stuff than what we've put up on the website.

Happy Trails,


Jamie Jensen
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Road Trip USA