Great American Roadtrips; the Oregon coast

Image by eastercat via Flickr

The Oregon coast stretches for about 350 miles and makes an ideal road trip. Whether you drive from north to south, or the other way around, you will be cruising along the Pacific Ocean on US Highway 101. Many people think of a Pacific road trip as being one down the California cost, but Oregon’s coastline offers as much a great drive as the southern counterpart. There are plenty of places and vistas to stop at between Brookings in the south and Astoria in the north and the scenery, although different from the California one, is equally amazing.

Here are my top 5 stops along the way, from south to north;

Cape Blanco Lighthouse; Oregon’s coasts most westerly point makes a good stop. The Cape Blanco Lighthouse was first lit in 1870 making it Oregon’s oldest continuously operating light. You can visit the lighthouse between April and through October.

Bandon; this little town makes for a great stop-over. Famous for its great golf courses, Bandon-by-the-sea is becoming known as Oregon’s Golf Coast. Although only 3100 people resides here, it an attractive place to live. Do try the restaurant beside the Best Western Inn, the food and atmosphere is amazing.

Oregon Dunes National Recreation Area; stop over here to see and walk on the mighty dunes. There are plenty of things you can entertain yourself with while here, why not go hiking, fishing, canoeing, horseback riding or camping? It is an amazing area.

Sea Lion Caves; just north of Florence lies this fantastic cave. Sea lions have used it for centuries as a home and if you are in luck, they are there for you to see. If they are not in the cave, they might be on the beach a bit further away. They will tell you before you pay the entrance fee if you will see the sea lions or not, even you aren’t, it is well worth a visit.

Astoria; this is the final town before you head into the state of Washington. It is a sizeable town which has a few places of interest. It is the oldest American settlement west of the Rockies and lies at the mouth of the Colombia River. Make sure that you visit the Flavel house, the Astoria column and Fort Clatsop. You will enter Washington via the 4.1 mile-long Astoria-Megler Bridge, the longest continuous three-span through truss bridge in the world.

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Amazing road trips; Las Vegas to Gran Canyon

Image via Wikipedia

One of the best road trips in America has to be the drive from Las Vegasto the Grand Canyon. This is the ultimate drive for any road tripper. The drive in itself is rather straightforward and not too long. It is feasible to do it in a day, but you will be missing a lot of sights along the way. As you are driving in the desert area and with very little settlements, this is freedom at is best. Both Las Vegas and the Grand Canyon are in itself amazing destinations and it is well worth the time to stop over for a day or two, but more on this in a later post.

Heading away from Las Vegas

Start you trip from Las Vegas and take highway 93 south. The Grand Canyon is approximately 250 miles from Las Vegas. The drive takes about 4-5 hours if you don’t stop anywhere. As you drive away from Vegas you will see the odd casinos along the road until you are near theArizona border.

Hoover Dam

After Vegas, your first major stop will probably be at the fascinating Hoover Dam. It was completed in 1936 and stands in the Colorado River on the border between Nevada and Arizona. It is an impressive construction so do take the time to walk down for a closer look. There are also possibilities of going on helicopter trips that fly over the famous dam, check in Vegas for details.

Kingman

The first town you will come across after Las Vegas is Kingman, known to many road trippers as it lies on the historic Route 66. If you don’t want to overdo it with the driving, this is a good opportunity for a stop-over. There are plenty of chain-motels along the highway. Once you passed Kingman, the US 93 will change name to Interstate 40 East.

Flagstaff

To many Flagstaff is a perfect place to stay the night before venturing in to the Grand Canyon National Park. If you stopped over in Kingman, take Highway 64 to the Grand Canyon. If you are looking for a place for the night, stop in Kingman and take Route 66 out of town and Rout 66 will then become Highway 89. After a few miles you will need to turn left onto Highway 64 to get to Grand canyon. Kingman is a small enough town with plenty of motels that cater for all budgets.

Grand Canyon National Park

The national park offers a wide variety of activities and you can spend anything from a couple of hours here to days. If you want to stay in the park itself, it is recommended that you book your accommodation in advance.

Sedona

Before heading back to Las Vegas, if you are doing a loop drive, consider taking a small detour and visit Sedona. It is a beautiful place in the middle of the desert, with red rocks and rivers to swim in. They have a lovely museum giving information about movies filmed in the area.

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Road trips; why is road tripping so great?

Image by tricky ™ via Flickr

Road trips conjure up a feeling of freedom and adventure. It is not something you do everyday, but plan for and anticipate for months. Great road trips are the ones that you have dreamed of driving, talked about and read extensively about. They are roads that have been driven before, but will still feel new and exciting. To go on a great road trip is one of lives best moments.

Road trip planning:

Before venturing out on a road trip you need to plan the trip. There are plenty of great road trips around the world and the first step is to decide where to go. The most famous ones are the great American road trips, but there are a lot of other drives. Narrow your search down to a specific country and a specific area. Depending on the duration of the trip, more than one area can be included.

Read up on the route, the sight and the possibilities of accommodations, car rentals and the weather. Even though one of the best things about road tripping is that you don’t need to plan too much ahead, it is still advisable to plan an itinerary and to book a few nights accommodation from home. Don’t over-do the route, you will find sights along the way and you probably won’t have as much time as you think.

Before you go, let people at home know where you are going and give them a rough plan of your trip. It is always comforting to know that you will have family and friends looking for you if you get lost.

Hitting the open road:

The road is yours, take it. There is no greater feeling than hitting that open road and knowing that you have made it, that you are on your very own road trip. Be aware that as a road tripper, you are in charge. The car will take you anywhere you want to go and you will be experiencing impulses as you pass interesting sights and smaller roads that lead off the beaten track. Go with flow, enjoy it to the fullest and don’t follow your pre-arranged plan too rigorously. A little detour is nearly mandatory.

Give yourself time to take in the sights. Driving all day isn’t great and you will miss out on so much if you pass out on all the stops along the way. Take a break for a day and do something else before you head back to the open road. Sometimes the unplanned stops will be the most memorable.

Why is road tripping so great?

Once you have been on a road trip, you will know the answer to that question. It truly is an experience of freedom. You are one with the car and together you will venture out on a long adventurous journey. As you drive along the planned route you will have plenty of time to soak up the surrounding atmosphere, scenery and sights. If you change your mind, there is no hassle. You just pick up your map and re-route your trip a little or a lot.

One of the greatest American road trips has to be Route 66 and perhaps there is no greater freedom for a road tripper that to cruise along this historic land mark. All other road trips around the world have a hard act to follow. Wherever you decide to go though, you will nevertheless be one with the car and steer your own adventure in the direction that is of your liking.

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