Hey there fellas. Two weeks from Monday myself and two of my best friends are setting out on a road trip. Its gonna be about 10,000 miles and we are gonna cover some serious ground. We figure on about four or five weeks, but we can take as long as we have to. We have been looking forward to this for a long time and its our last blowout since we are all finished with college and we start grad school, work and in one case, getting married. Any suggestions on places to visit, things to see, places to eat would be a huge help. Also, what do you all suggest I do to prepare the ol' Ford for the trip, and I am not just talking about the engine, interior, ect too. One more thing, is there anything you suggest we bring along? Thanks guys.

Can't wait to hit the road, do some fishing, drinking (not while driving!), relaxing with a couple of my best buddies!

 

Well lets see. The Beartooth Pass from Cooke City Wyoming to Red Lodge Montana. If you are into Offroading you can take your truck up the Hell Roaring plateau road on the other side of the highway, both are at 10,500 FAS. The Going to the Sun Highway on the east side of Glacier National Park, guaranteed grizzly bears along that one. Sunlight Basin road outside of Cody, Wyoming, in Cody you can visit the Buffalo Bill Historical Museum and the Cody Gun Museum, currently housing the larghest Colt firearms display ever put together, until October 19, 2003. Anywhere in Glacier National Park is a good place but Yellowstone is a waste of time. Thats all I can really think of now, just remember to drive nice and slow to catch all the sights.

 

Where to go..........consider:

1) Olympic mtns and the rainforest in NW WA

2) North Cascades hwy 20 in WA (runs east/west, real pretty)

3) Pentictin BC (real pretty area)

4) Boeing Museum of Flight (Seattle, WA) and tour the 747 line in Everett WA (check to see if the later still exists, thanks to 9/11)

5) Pioneer Auto Museum, Murdo, SD (excellent collection of cars going back about 100 years, model T's, Stanley Steamer, etc etc etc. This could easily kill an afternoon. There's mucho antiques and auto memorabilia there too).

6) Sturgis, SD for the annual Harley event. I had to do it once

7) Ford has a truck assy line in Minneapolis, MN; see if they have tours of it.

8) Explore some of old route 66.

9) Going to the Sun hwy as mentioned earlier is a good call.

10) A unique place to eat and drink, a bar called the Fora-Bama. The state line runs thru the middle of this place. Not really fancy, but different. Located right on the Florida/Alabama state lines.

11) Rodeos..........my favorites are the Omak Stampede and World Famous Suicide Race (Omak, WA) and the Pendelton Roundup (Pendelton, OR).

12) As many Hooters as possible along the way and make sure you buy t-shirts when there.

13) Devils Tower in Wyoming, located near Sundance. Unique rock formation which was used for making a movie called "Close Encounters of the Third Kind".

14) Tour of underground Seattle, WA. This starts at Doc Maynards bar downtown. After the great fire devastated the town, much of it was rebuilt right on top of the old and this tour will show you some of it. Having the "right" tour guide, one with a sense of humor will be a huge plus.

15) Vegas!!!! Gotta love the deals on food and rooms, and action abounds.

A few places to steer clear off: Wall Drug SD and the Corn Palace in SD; zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz. Nothing more than tourist traps. As for what to bring along, have a means to pay for a potentially bad mechanical incident, such as a tranny. Myself, I think a credit card with $2.5K available should be very ample. Not that you will need it, but be ready. Have proof of insurance with you too.

Concerning your line "One more thing, is there anything you suggest we bring along? "; I always pack my Glock model 22 with me when traveling for security. Not that you will need something like that, but just something to consider. If you choose to bring "heat" , make yourself aware of CCW laws in the areas you plan to visit. There are a lot of screwed up people out there and, heaven forbid if I must deal with them, I plan to make it home alive at the end of the day. If a gun bothers you, consider pepper spray. America ain't as nice as it once used to be; so very sad

 

Wow! Sounds like a great adventure in the making. Congradulations on finishing school.

Take along the common sense stuff like a quart of oil, water, jumper cables, some hand tools and a cell phone. Make sure the spare tire is up.

In addition to the above post, pick a destination, then choose a route. Myself, I like taking the road less traveled. Seeing the small towns the dot the country side. Some picturesque, others dusty cow towns but almost always friendly. Take in some of the usual tourist sites but dont forget rual America. Some of which you may never see again. You can always see the big cities. Eat at some of the small mom and pop shops. Get a taste of some down home cooking. Take in a part of America most people only hear about, or not at all. Avoid the big chain resturants. You can eat there anytime. Take a side trip off the main interstate. Take along some camping gear and camp out, fish, relax for a spell. But do what you want and see what you want. It's your adventure. I'm only offering suggestions.

Don't forget the camera! This sounds like a once in a life time trip with your buddies. Perhaps you could keep a journal. Write down everything from getting prepared to go until the time you return. Log the places you visit and how you wound up there. Take pictures and log them as well so you will remember where they were taken. Where you eat, where you sleep, who did what, people you meet, miles driven between each stop, etc. It might be hard to remember everything on such a long trip.

Get together and write down every detail at night when the day if done. A camcorder is good too. Nothing like home movies years from now.

Years from now you will have a small written history of your youth. A time spent with your best friends you can share with each other and remember "the road trip". Someday you can show your kids and grandkids complete with pictures. "Wow grandpa!" One you can revisit again and again as the years go by. And they do go by.

Good luck and have fun. Drive safe.

 

10,000 miles? Well, if you plan on doing some of Cananda - remember this, no guys cross the border. Not even pepper spray!! If you enter and exit at the same station, you can leave your stuff and pick it up on you way back out. Check online with the Border Guard before making any plans though. If you do make it this way - the alaska highway has some great views. But BE WARNED - they don't sell bumper stickers saying "I survived the Alaska Highway" for nothing! Yellowhead Highway and Caribou Highway were great, too. Took 84West from Valdosta to Arizona once - WOW!!! You'll see things you've never seen before, it was like driving a park highway most of the way. Don't forget New Orleans Every night is Mardi Gras - LMAO I SECOND the opinion to stay away from Wall Drug and the Corn Palace!! But take a look at Mount Rushmore while your there. I could go on and on. There is so much beauty out there - so make the most of your trip.
Other things to take - well, it's gonna be a long A$$ ride. Laptop computer, TUNES, something to read - games!! Food. WATER
And just a suggestion - take your breaks often, a roadtrip is no fun if you start getting irritated with each other!!
Have FUN, stay safe

 

uh -oops, no GUNS. Hmmmmmm.....no guys cross border? What was I thinkin?!?

 

I don't know if you have one or not but put a CB radio in the truck. Good entertainment on them things when driving. Them truck drivers always got good stories to tell. Other than that, Have a great time.

 

I say you should DEFINITELY go to Wrigley field and take in a cubs game!!!

 

Avoid Iowa.

 

I liked our drive through montana and wyoming a few years ago. Some nice country, and western wyoming has some nice sites. I have to say the Black Hills in South Dakota are worth the stop. Spend a couple days to catch the sites. If you happened to be around during the sturgis rally I'm sure you'd enjoy that. I agree with an earlier post to stay away from Wall Drug and the Corn Palace. Do check out the bad lands though. I can't really advice on other places to visit though, but I'm sure colorado would be worth visiting. My advice is to take cloths for hot days and for cold days. We went from 90 degree days two weeks ago and last week had lows in the mid 30's. Don't get in a hurry and enjoy the sites and drive safe.

 

Make sure to get to Texas. You could spend the entire time here and still not see all of the cool stuff.

We got maiuntains, beaches, deserts and swamps. We also have 2 major metropolis plus a couple of must see mid-size towns. DFW- Houston, Austin-San Antonio


And the ringer- we have the best looking women in the world.


If you want to know some cool texas locations, email me. I'm a 32 YO Texas native. I consider myself fortunate to live in the best part of the best State of the Best country in the World!


Come on Down :-)

 

I have been to every state in the USA except for Alaska so that would be where I would head...I have heard it's beautiful & wild! Or maybe head down to Mexico....don't forget to swallow the worm!!! hahaha Teijuana.. Yeah baby~ then drive down farther to Puerto Nuevo or Ensenada and party some more!!

 

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runs from July4th-12th.

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