Hitting the Highway
9 years ago by
This summer I’m doing the ultimate American vacation…
I’m going on a cross-country road trip with my dad! We’re packing up his 1980’s Toyota pick up truck and driving from Philadelphia out to San Francisco to bring my brother his not-so-brand-new car. My first obstacle will be learning to drive stick (eeek!) but in the meantime I’m trying to nail down all of our destinations. We’re thinking of heading up north, rather than taking a more southern route so we can enjoy activities like eating deep-dish pizza in Chicago and camping in Jackson Hole, Wyoming. But I want to take you guys with me!!
I’m planning to do some updates from the road but right now I could use some help deciding where we should spend some quality time, and where we should just keep driving. So, any suggestions?
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Escalante, Utah is a can’t miss! So gorgeous, and the gulches are stunning.
canoooon ! wonderful! with oyur dad moreover <3 wonderful memories
Yosemite is definitely not to be missed.
that seems so fun!
http://hashtagliz.com
The Badlands!
Yellowstone/Gardiner (the pizza place!!) is a definite stop, super close to Jackson Hole. For fun, also check out Thermopolis and Cody, Wyoming. (I may live in LA and be an engineer, but I spent 6 weeks in WY and MT at geology field camp.)
Road trips are the best. You get to see so many things that you’d never even get to experience. Enjoy those little diners & off the road adventures. :]
// ? itsCarmen.com ?
Drive stick is still mainstream in France ! And I think in all Europe !!! lol
yep. the drive is a bit less boring :)
Also in Vietnam! Even the taxi are manual!
For frontier flair & style, Bozeman, Montana is great! My parents live there and we always enjoy visiting. Monument Valley in Utah is also stunning. Much more south, but worth seeing the fabulous colors. You’ll feel like you’re on a film set.
Your destination, San Francisco is one of my favorite cities. Don’t miss checking out the awesome neighborhoods (the book “Meanwhile in San Francisco” is so fun, with illustrations of each historic section), Chinatown for good eats, and Philz Coffee for the best pour-overs. Here in Seattle, we think of SF as our cool, California cousin. :)
Most of all though, enjoy! I took a trip with my Dad to Europe back in college and it was the BEST.
Estes Park, Colorado!
I applaud your desire to go North. So many cool sights! So, I am assuming you will be getting on 80/94 around Chicago. Great city, not sure if you’ve ever been. Well worth a stop. It is a long slog, but worth the drive to see the Badlands and Mt. Rushmore in South Dakota. After that, I highly suggest stopping in Livingston, MT for at least one night. Tasty restaurants (2nd Street Bistro is my favorite for a nice dinner, The Mint for a burger). This will put you in an excellent place for a drive through Yellowstone National Park, and then stay in Jackson, WY, where you can see Grand Teton National Park. The Teton Mountain Lodge has good rates. In Utah, Arches National Park is just out of this world. It is in Moab, which is a cool, funky town. In California, Tahoe (straddles Utah and California state line) is great, and so is Lassen Volcanic National Park. We’ve done this road trip, and loved it. Contact me if you need more information.
I second the BADLANDS
So jealous! :)
Tip: enjoy!
It’s my dream – an American road-trip. I’ve been to the U.S. , but never made the dream come true. Yet.
You should stop at the Farnsworth house, just outside of chicago!
Those are gonna me some amazing memories!
Of course while in Chicago you have to visit the Art Institute, but a couple of smaller & very cool museums to see are Columbia College’s Museum of Contemporary Photography, and further north, the Block Museum on the campus of Northwestern University in Evanston, it won’t hurt to be on a very beautiful campus on Lake Michigan. You and your dad…have a blast!! :-)
It sounds really fun !
http://www.fruityandpassion.com/2015/06/summer-inspiration-1.html#more
This is going to be such an amazing experience for you! Hit the national parks, seashores, mountains, red rock, grand canyon, monuments- and have so much fun!!
Warm Regards,
Alexandra
http://www.littlewildheart.com
You should check out the Badlands! They are magicial.
Thank you all for the amazing suggestions! I promise to send the team updates from the road so you can come along with me and see where we end up!!
xx Emily
Les récits de voyage c’est génial à lire! Hâte que tu nous racontes quelques anecdotes de ton road trip Emily!!!
I made a solo (yes, I’m insane) cross-country road trip last summer from Ohio to Washington, and had a blast!
The coolest place I visited was Deadwood, South Dakota. It’s a great old western town with great restaurants, bars, antique shops, and amazing hotels (the Martin Mason hotel had the most amazing scones and coffee for breakfast). It’s also only about an hour west of Mt. Rushmore, if that’s on your to-do list! If your dad is a western or history buff, or if you’ve ever watched the show Deadwood, you can also trek up to the cemetery, where Wild Bill Hickok, Calamity Jane, and many others are buried.
Oh, and they have the strangest restaurant that is full of Kevin Costner memorabilia – it’s fun to walk around and see all the displays and costumes. It’s so odd, but kinda cool at the same time – like a restaurant opened by a stalker or something.
Best of luck with your trip!
I’m so jealous! Love SF so badly and monument valley and bryce canyon and historic route 66 … enjoy!!!
Boulder, CO and the surrounding area (Rocky Mountain National Park) is pretty awesome. The restaurants are pretty amaze-balls.
Colorado..so beautiful. Boulder especially, great food and cool people.Enjoy
BADLANDS!!!!
Dear Emily the Experience of a Trip is a Marvelous Thing : in the Mind & in the Heart There Is a Emotional Mass of Images , Words , Sensations…Have a Magic Summer , lol !!!
Amazing information thanks a lot