Roadtrip! Chicago to LA

gizmopt2002

gizmopt2002

New member
Hello all!

At the end of March we'll be taking the 'Runner for a journey out west. Chicago, Denver, Vegas, LA and the Grand Canyon are our main places so far. Looking for suggestion for camping, trails and any general tips or tricks. It's been 7 years since I've done an extended trip (A 3 week 8k mile trek in my 2nd gen.) and 5 years since I've taken a vacation. So needless to say I'm looking forward to it! :banana: Taking our 3 year old on her first real vacation, so also looking for kid-likable places to go along the way. It'll be the end of March through the beginning of April.

I hear there is a decent amount of snow at the end of March along I70, is this true?

Any good places to camp around Denver? Or any good places to stay?

Any decent and cheap place to stay in LA, preferably close to the beach?

Thanks in advance guys.
 
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If you need a place to stop in Des Moines, you are more than welcome!
Other than that safe travels. I did the same road trip a few years back.
Denver, Vegas, LA.

Have fun and drive safe!
 
If you don't spend at least a few days in Moab, UT you will seriously regret it later.

Skip Vegas & Los Angeles entirely. Not worth the time.

Visit places like Sedona, AZ and Yosemite, Tahoe or Carmel / Big Sur on the coast 101 hwy. Go see Havasu Falls in AZ.

All are much better than LA or Vegas.
 
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Try and get out to Sedona! There are FS roads that you can "dispersed camp" off of. I believe the rule is you have to be 30ft off the road if you have a tent. You go up a bit in elevation from Sedona, so the temperatures are absolutely fantastic. Lots of cool hiking right around Sedona, too. -Bell Rock, Devil's Bridge, Doe Mountain (to name a few). When you're driving into town there's a Park Ranger station and they'll be extremely helpful.
 
This trip sounds like a blast. My brother did a loop through the west this summer, through the badlands, down to Moab and back to Dallas. He could not stop talking about how amazing Moab was. Keep us in the loop on how it goes and safe travels.
 
I think Vegas is cool. It's very clean and high end. Stayed at the Trump hotel for $160/night for 4 nights in August in a 1,000 sq ft suite on the 42nd floor overlooking the strip. Was really impressed... We expected Vegas to be sleazy.

LA on the other hand is a dump. Way too expensive... Even crappy hotels that are in not so good areas are $150+. Stayed at the Beverly Hilton for 2 nights and 1 night at the airport Sheraton. Don't go for cheap unless you want to be surrounded by sketchies.

After Vegas, I suggest going to San Fran and then driving down the coast thru Monterey/Carmel and down thru Big Sur... Now that was cool. You can cut east just north of Morro and go back toward Vegas/head home. If you're hell bent on LA... Go south into OC or even down to San Diego.
 
On the way to the south west if you stop in Springfield MO which most people do going down route 66 I would be willing to be a guide to the local trails and off road park etc. You can camp there and hit some amazing trails also. That is a beautiful time of year to cruise the park.
Look up SMORR in Seymore MO.

Blue
 
JayceeP said:
I think Vegas is cool. It's very clean .. We expected Vegas to be sleazy.

LA on the other hand is a dump. Way too expensive...
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I totally agree with you. Vegas was great, had your occasional person trying to give you escort and strip club cards, but other than that people held themselves together. LA was garbage and shady people on every corner.

In other news. . .want to pay for gas money and then some here is an idea
http://www.wrapify.com/
 
You guys really should spend more time in actual Vegas. It is a dump.

Yes the nice parts of the strip are sort of cool. The rest is a dump. Nearly all the local population lives just above the poverty line out in Henderson. Most people in Vegas want to move away from Vegas. LA is not that great either.

To skip Yosemite for Vegas or LA, well to each their own.

Sorry Vegas folks!
 
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Yes, it is possible you will hit some insane amounts of snow on I-70 in March. You need to be careful... some of our worst snow is in March in CO.
 
BrianSD_42 said:
You guys really should spend more time in actual Vegas. It is a dump.
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When we're driving and see signs for Vegas my wife looks at me saying "keep going!" Seems like our experience of having our car towed to a lot that cabs wouldn't drive in is a bad memory. We had to have it towed back to us.

As was said, time in Moab at that time of year shouldn't be passed assuming the drive over the high passes in CO are open. 6 hours later you're in Moab.

Places in CO, plenty but you need to mention what you like to do when passing through.

LA? If you're anything like me you'll see the smog cloud and opt to head north and pass on by. Yuck is the nicest thing I can say about it.
 
Wow! lots of good suggestions. I'll check them out after work, starting to try and layout a better plan.

Honestly, LA was just because my wife has never been west of the Mississippi other than when I used to travel for work. It would be better to skip over LA and just go to a not so crowded beach somewhere along the PCH.

The main reason behind Vegas is to see my grandmother (who has been falling a lot). I haven't seen them in years and they haven't seen our daughter yet either.

Also that wrapify idea, kinda biased on mileage. It doesn't seem like they take into account population density. Yea my commute to work is only 3 miles each way, but I pass alot more people and cars that would be able to see it vs when I lived 50 miles outside of the city.
 
Sedona, AZ and Moab, UT are my suggestions. In fact, go to Moab, then drive to Sedona via backroads. The scenery in southern Utah is mind blowing.

It might be too early in the season (snow) but the north rim of the Grand Canyon is an amazing place. Only 1 out of 10 GC visitors go there; the rest visit the south rim.

As for California, LA will probably be a letdown. It's a huge city; you could spend 2 weeks there and only scratch the surface. Better to just fly back later when or if you have time. If I were driving all the way to CA I'd prefer to see some of the state's natural wonders and skip the metropolitan areas. My CA-specific recommendations in no particular order would be Joshua Tree NP, PCH/Highway 1/Big Sur (make camping reservations WELL in advance if you go this route), Yosemite, Kings Canyon/Sequoia, Death Valley NP (easy drive from Vegas). Forget San Francisco. You don't want to deal with having a car there.
 
LA is out. She agreed. Rather go exploring the wilderness and natural beauty out there, than the city. :lookout:

SO not sure on the logistics of it all yet, need to map out possibilities. I have 11 days total to play with before going back to the grind in Chicago.
Day 1 - Chicago to Denver area. ]Probably will stop in Denver area to grab dinner and some local shopping arounds. Then we would want to set-up camp. Trying to find camping along I70, west of Denver for this nights stay (so long as weather permits).

Day 2- 11 ??????????
So far, thinking about hitting up (in no particular order yet) Death Valley NP, Sequoia NF, Grand Canyon North Rim, Moab, Sedona, Havasu Falls, maybe Yosemite. Doubt I will be able to fit everything in though. Looking to camp most of the time.


Also, looked into that wrapify thing more, car is too old for it. Cool idea though for extra cash. In the meantime I'll be doing Lyft for extra cash.
 
Looking at a Hitch Witch cargo carrier. Looks pretty good for $60. Galvanized and adjustable. Found THESE storage bins. Look pretty sturdy and perfect size for the carrier. Not sure how water resistant they are though. Those cargo bags are super expensive for what they are.

Anyone use a hitch cargo carrier before?
 
Death Valley NP, Sequoia NF, Grand Canyon North Rim, Moab, Sedona, Havasu Falls, maybe Yosemite
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I doubt from a logistical perspective you could make Sequoia or Yosemite work in March.

I would focus on splitting the trip majority between the Arizona/Grand Canyon area and Utah areas.

How will you be getting back to Chicago? Perhaps drive up the coast in the way back and go through Tahoe in NV.

Personally I think you will get the most enjoyment if you spend a medium amount of time in a place but still keep moving.

White Rim trail, Moab. Check it out or see my report thread. Definitely worth it. I'm not sure about how passable it will be in March. We'll see.
 
gizmopt2002 said:
Anyone use a hitch cargo carrier before?
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Yes the benefit is not as much wind resistance up top. If you are worried about weatherproofing a nice tarp bungeed over the containers should help with that.

Just remember when moving around parking lots, backing up, or on a trail that it is behind you. . . have had some near misses after forgetting that thing was out of sight out of mind.
 
BrianSD_42 said:
I doubt from a logistical perspective you could make Sequoia or Yosemite work in March.

I would focus on splitting the trip majority between the Arizona/Grand Canyon area and Utah areas.

How will you be getting back to Chicago? Perhaps drive up the coast in the way back and go through Tahoe in NV.

Personally I think you will get the most enjoyment if you spend a medium amount of time in a place but still keep moving.

White Rim trail, Moab. Check it out or see my report thread. Definitely worth it. I'm not sure about how passable it will be in March. We'll see.
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Thanks, that makes it easier to prioritize. I haven't thought about the trip back yet, but your idea sounds good so we can still get some ocean scenery on the way home, but I have to figure out the extra mileage.

I have been looking at White Rim trail info this morning, thanks for the tip!

How long did it take you? (I can't seem to find your thread) That would defiantly take up 2 days I'm sure.

I have Verizon, should I invest in a CB for communication/emergencies?
 
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