Taking the Back Roads - 9/9 - 10/9

It's road trip time! I can't believe it's finally here. Like most trips, it went from feeling SO far away to being right around the corner. Since getting home from Vegas/Reno, I've been furiously taking care of all the little details required to step away form normal life for a month. Fun, for sure, but a little overwhelming too. I spent last night at my sister's to squeeze in extra niece time so the bags and car are already packed. Pretty much as soon as I can reasonably call the workday done, I'm going to hit the open road.

The general plan is to take Rt 66 west to LA (with a detour to Vegas), then PCH up the coast to Napa, then Rt 50 back across the country. I've got my hotel stays planned out, but otherwise taking things as they come. The goal is to avoid the interstate whenever feasible instead poking along the back roads and stopping if something seems interesting. I've got a long list of places to sightsee, eat, drink, and gamble along the way - but always looking to add more if you have a favorite to share. This isn't a gambling-focused trip - but I can't drive by a casino without stopping. I'm putting the over-under of casinos visited at 30 - excluding any casinos I wander into in Vegas.

Overnight stops are planned in:

• Lebanon, MO
• Tulsa, OK
• Oklahoma City, OK
• Amarillo, TX
• Tucumcari, NM
• Albuquerque, NM
• Gallup, NM
• Flagstaff, AZ
• Seligman, AZ
• Las Vegas, NV (3 nights)
• Barstow, CA
• Los Angeles, CA
• Solvang, CA
• San Luis Obispo, CA
• Big Sur, CA (2 nights)
• Napa, CA (2 nights)
• Lake Tahoe, NV (2 nights)
• Carson City, NV
• Eureka, NV
• Provo, UT
• Montrose, CO
• Cripple Creek, CO
• Colorado Springs, CO
• Dodge City, KS
• Kansas City, MO

I'm not entirely sure what kind of rhythm I'll fall into with this trip, but I'll be trying to keep this TR semi-live. Expect blurry pictures of road side attractions, food, pink drinks, and whatever catches my eye along the way.

 

Good luck , hope you find the pink drinks and win some money , and will be following.

 

Can’t… Wait…

Would love to hear your thoughts on the old ABQ. Was there pretty much every summer in my youth visiting family and really need to get back there to see the changes from over the years.

 

Enjoy your great American road trip.
I assume you know that Route 66 is decommissioned and no longer a contiguous road. But it's the main street of many of those towns. Are you staying at the Wigwam motel?

 

Have a great trip!

 

That sounds like a really fun trip! Have a great time!

 

Have a great trip eliza

 

This sounds AWESOME! I can’t wait to follow along! Have a wonderful trip!

 

Ventana Big Sur and Alila Napa?

We stayed at Alila in June. It was great.

 

Ahh another @eliza road trip TR. Have fun and win some money at your road trip casinos.

Barstow? Interesting. I always think Barstow=potty break. Maybe I’ve been missing something all these years. lol

 

What about a stop in Tonopah?

 

Barstow = Del Taco

 

For those that might not get the comment-reference to Wiilin' a Little Feat song:

I've been from Tucson to Tucumcari
Tehachapi to Tonapah
Driven every kind of rig that's ever been made
Driven the back roads
So I wouldn't get weighed

 

Love these sorts of trips, wish I could take a month off work to do one lol.

Really looking forward to pics of parts of the US that I doubt I'll ever see!

 

Was hoping to stay in a Wigwam in Holbrook, AZ but they are booked out the day I’ll be in that area. Looking into possibly staying at the one in San Bernardino instead of staying in Barstow.

Ventana Big Sur - really looking forward to the resort. Alila in Napa was sold out so at the Andaz for those nights.

I honestly can’t remember why I picked Barstow. May switch this up depending on wigwam availability.

Not this trip. But the clown motel in Tonopah is on my bucket list. It’s so wonderfully creepy!

I’m still shocked I was able to pull this off. We were busy during pandemic so I was carrying a lot of vacation over and it was use or lose this year. I floated four weeks off in a row as a pipe dream and was shocked they agreed. I’m lucky that my work is very project based - so we were able to find a time in the schedule that was lighter and just not assign me to any projects that had critical pieces happening this month.

 

This is exciting stuff, are all the places you’ll be staying casinos? A LOT of planning must have gone into this! Following.

 

I would love to do this. Good luck!

 

The open road is calling. Good thing I have a new shirt my niece gave me for my birthday.



The bad thing about car trips. I overpack because “there’s room”.

 

Starting odometer. Let’s roll!

 

I lived in Montrose Co for many years(now in Texas) Don't miss Black Canyon National Park. As long as you are going from Montrose to Cripple Creek you should take Hwy 135 off of Hwy 150 to Crested Butte about 30 miles. Wonderful wonderful restaurants and the scenery is wonderful. Fall colors should be great too. You might want to spend two nights in Cripple Creek, do the train trip, great small casinos.
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Enjoy your trip I will be following along.