Itching for a Post-Pandemic Cross-Country Road Trip?

[MineralMan]

May I recommend US 50? Just over 3000 miles long, it will take you from Ocean City, MD to Sacramento, CA, with much of the journey on two lane highways. For the best experience, allow 10 days for the trip, which lets you drive only about 300 miles per day.

It's a leisurely drive that crosses over every mountain range in the US and travels across the central part of the country as well. Small towns are the main feature, really, although you'll also see some well-known mid-sized cities along the route, as well as "the loneliest highway in America" in Nevada, but Reno comes up shortly thereafter.

I drove this route, from west to east in 1968, and enjoyed my 10-day drive very much. It hasn't changed all that much, except for a few 4-lane divided highway sections near some cities. I drove it in a 1959 Volvo 544, from California to my next USAF posting at Ft. Meade, MD. I took the full ten days, and arrived rested and refreshed. A year later, I took another cross-country route from East to West. During my life, I have made six cross-country drives, each taking a different route. The US 50 one was one of my favorites.

Don't have time to make that drive? You can follow that route in just 28 minutes at this YouTube link:

What's your favorite west to east or east to west route across the entire nation?

[MineralMan]

1. US 2 Is Another Wonderful Route

You do have to either dip down below the Great Lakes and pick it back up, or you can stay on the same road and enter Canada for part of the route. It's the most northern cross-country route. I took it when I returned from Maryland to California, and took two full weeks on the journey.

[Poiuyt]

2. Damn! I love road trips!

Unfortunately, my wife has a bad back, so I don't know if we'll be taking anymore long trips like this.

BTW, we live in the upper midwest, so we'd have to do some traveling to reach the starting point.

[MineralMan]

4. Yeah, such trips are better taken when you're young.

I haven't done one for decades, now. However, they are great ways to see the country. There are several east-west routes across the US at several levels from north to south that give you different perspectives of the nation. Some of them put you on an Interstate now and then, but you can bypass those, if you don't mind going out of your way a little. Some of the Interstates follow those old routes, so the original highways are often no longer there, but there are still several routes that keep you on regular highways.

[Initech]

3. My first road trip is going to be to visit my relatives in Arizona.

Then my brother up in Sacramento. That's going to be some good drives!

[MineralMan]

5. What's your starting point, generally?

[Initech]

6. North Orange County, about 40 miles from downtown LA.

[MineralMan]

8. Ah. Those are short, day trips.

Have fun!

[Initech]

14. It's a good 10+ hours to my brother's house.

And once I get to Sacramento, his house is yet another 2 hours from there and it involves driving on twisty, narrow mountain roads. Fun!

[ChazII]

20. Arizona is good for those.

I like the 'back' route from Phoenix to Flagstaff. Go through Sedona and see some gorgeous country.

[Delphinus]

22. Yes!

Love that route, even though driving in the mountains scares the crap out of me!

[liberaltrucker]

7. Already planned for May:

Pittsburgh area to Grand Canyon via Western Colorado and Las Vegas.
Then I 40 and I 22 visit to family in Alabama, then back to PA.

We decided to forgo flying and smell the roses.

[MineralMan]

9. Sounds good.

The Interstates make travel faster and easier, for sure. Still, I love driving the blue highways.

[liberaltrucker]

10. So do I

One could spend an entire summer just exploring
the back roads here in PA.

[Tree Lady]

11. I am driving end of April from just Oregon

To CA to see family, staying with cousin who lives alone visiting daughter and mother. All will be vaccinated fully and beyond the two weeks.

My mother will be 93 on May 5th and I have only seen her rarely this year. She is in senior home in Napa. Taking her to Italian place in between Napa and Yountville. They have great gardens and outdoor seating.

I would love to do cross country but can't get my hubby to go, he went all over the US with a buddy after they got drafted before they had to come in. Maybe they thought just in case.

I keep asking girlfriends but so far none game, I am not giving up. 😜😛

[Trailrider1951]

12. My favorite trip across America isn't by car

It's by train. The California Zephyr goes from Emeryville, CA (just east of San Francisco) to Chicago. The train tracks go places where there are no roads, and the scenery is spectacular:

Second most spectacular route is the Coast Starlight. If you leave out of Los Angeles, the train goes along the California coast for quite a ways, and on the second day, you wake to find Mt. Shasta in your window view. Then through the Cascades in Oregon and along Puget Sound to Seattle.

Why drive? The train seats are roomy and comfortable, you can carry on food and beverage (except no alcohol in coach class), and even buy meals and snacks and drinks aboard the train. Let Amtrak take you away!

[dhol82]

17. I am seriously considering a cross country trip via Amtrak

NYC to SF.
Wish they had a better way of getting to Chicago. The connections really suck.
I’ve always loved trains.

[2naSalit]

13. Trips like that are for people who don't...

Rely on GPS to guide them. A real map made of paper is life sustaining. You also have to plan out your fuel stops as gas stations are pretty far apart in some areas, like US50 across Nevada in any direction.

And you can find out where Tonapah is.

[MineralMan]

16. Yeah. They still sell road atlases.

However, if you're going to stick to a single highway, like US 50, you can skip the road atlas. Your phone will have a connection most of the way, so you can use the Google Lady, if you must.

When I did that trip, though, it was 1968, so my Rand McNally road atlas was my guide. In those days, I just winged it. It was easy, really. I never had a problem finding gasoline or a motel room. Just drive on.

[2naSalit]

21. I used to catch US50

in Ely and ride it to Reno. The biggest problem was watching out for wild mustangs, especially at night, like bison and elk, you can't see them until you hit them. I had 2 three hundred gallon saddle tanks on my semi so I wasn't worried about fuel, but cars don't get as far on a tank of gas. I ran all the back roads back int the 70s and 80s, it was quite the education in geography and culture in the US.

[NBachers]

15. I was on 50 in Sacramento just yesterday; I had no idea it'd take me all the way cross country.

[MineralMan]

18. Yup, it will. It's far from the fastest cross-country route, though.

I think my total driving time back in 1968 was about 60 hours. Lots of small towns with speed limits along the way. However taking 10 days for the trip made it pretty relaxed, really. About 300 miles a day was the goal.

Interstates will take you from 36 to 48 hours of actual driving for a full east/west trip. Some people have done it in four days, but that's a 12-hour-a-day slog. No fun. Six days makes it pretty easy. Seven is a snap.

Few people drive all the way across the country these days.

Another trick is to drive a one-way rental between two major airport cities on each coast. Then, fly home. That lets you take 10 days for the trip and just one to get home. There's a one-way fee for most car rental companies, though. Still...

My wife and I moved ourselves from California to the Twin Cities in Minnesota. We bought a used UHaul 24' truck, loaded it, and then drove it and our minivan. That took us six days to go 2500 miles. We planned our stops where there was a Motel 6 with truck parking. It worked. We stored our stuff in the truck in a storage yard until we closed on a new home 30 days later, and then had moving guys unload it. Then, I sold the truck on Craigslist to someone who was moving from Minneapolis to Florida. We saved considerable money on the move. However, I do not recommend that method to anyone who is not a vehicle mechanic. Period. A breakdown on the road is going to put a serious strain on your move and wallet. It worked for us, though.

[gibraltar72]

19. Rode a good part of 50 on bike trip.

Always tried to stay on two lanes when on bike trips. You don't see anything resembling America on super slabs.