Road trip Southwest USA - Summer 2012

[nordwulf]

I'll be heading out on a road trip / vacation tomorrow. I think it will be a week but maybe I'll make it an extra week. I am thinking of heading South/West of Michigan because I haven't been much in that area. Just a few times driving through on route to other destinations.

Is there anything to see or do in Oklahoma, Kansas, Missouri and Arkansas? I am not much of a tourist, just like to move from one place to another and observe life as it happens.

Another possibility is to drive through these states again and head to Colorado, Utah and New Mexico. I always wanted to see Monument Valley and more of New Mexico. The only problem is that it is going to be hotter than hell that far south and would like to camp some nights as well.

Perhaps drive to Chicago first and follow Route 66 from the beginning. I have driven part of the Route in California and Arizona and would like to see some more of it.

It'll be a lot of driving but that's part of the fun. The Saab has all maintenance and repairs done so I think she is ready for 2000+ miles of motoring. At least my A/C is working again. Most likely it will be much more than 2K miles.

[rpiereck]

How about heading to the Colorado mountains, then into northeast Utah, Wyoming, Montana and then taking the northern route home? You can even pass by Yellowstone and Grand Tetons National Parks. Beautiful scenery, open roads, high speed limits...

[nordwulf]

I was there a few years ago when I drove my 2006 9-5 from California to Michigan. I like to try to go to new places whenever possible. However, I was only there for a few days so I really didn't see that much at all. http://saabworld.net/f172/road-trip-...ichigan-26374/

It is beautiful area and probably a better place to go in summer than south.

[rpiereck]

If you are camping I'd recommend that whole area. Go to Medicine Bow National Forest between Cheyenne and Laramie in Wyoming (off the interstate, it's on a two lane road), beautiful scenery through ranches, plenty of places for camping. Wyoming people are nice and welcoming. Check out the Fruita area in Colorado, and like I said, the northeast corner of Utah, right against the Wyoming state line. You might even see some pronghorn antelope.

Eastern Utah, by Colorado

[nordwulf]

I figured it would be best to go to Denver first and then make a right turn going North or left going South. The plan is not having a plan.



I left yesterday morning around 8:00. Beautiful sunny day in northern Michigan and my Saab parked in Boyne City with Lake Charlevoix in the background is ready for the trip.



I live just a little it north of the 45th parallel. I don't think I'll be making it to either the north pole or equator. Now that would be an epic journey.



This will be my view for the next weeks.





Swedish immigrants came to Michigan long before Saab made its first car.



Passing Saab on the highway.



The drive through Michigan and Illinois is not that exciting. But there wasn't much traffic so that was nice. About the cross the Mississippi river.



Le Claire in Iowa is a nice, old town along the river.



I don't go to antique places very often but I had to check out Antique Archeology in the same town. I was surprised it was open on Saturday at 5:00pm so it was nice just to look inside. American Pickers is one of my favorite TV shows. Mike Wolfe | American Pickers | Antique Archaeology | History Channel



I was going to stay at a hotel in Des Moines but couldn't really find anything under $80. Priceline wasn't much help either. I wasn't looking forward to spend that much for just a few hours of sleep and didn't want to go to a cheap Motel 6 either. So I turned to my Garmin loade up with campground POIs and found Iowa Lake county park. Quite hilly and nice quiet campground on a lake. Can't beat that for $10. It was hot during the day but cooled off to 70s at night. Perfect.

Picture this morning right before packing up. The birds were LOUD and started chirping at around 5:00am. So I was up at 5:30, packed up all my stuff, showered and was back on the road at 7:00am.



Nice and quiet on highway I-80 in Iowa on a Sunday morning.



I stopped for breakfast and to upload these pictures so I won't forget. I wasn't going to make a report but figured it would be nice as a memory to look back on. I'll probably won't be much on SaabWorld very often in the next weeks. The road is calling my name.

I better finish up breakfast and get going. Currently east of Des Moines and about 700 miles to go. Later!

[rpiereck]

Nice trip report so far, can't wait to see the pretty parts! And for a dutch you are very Americanized having that for breakfast!

Have a safe trip!

[nordwulf]

Not a healthy start of the vacation, that's for sure. I actually only went there for the free internet and had something to eat because it was the decent thing to do. Today's drive was pretty uneventful, pretty much because Iowa, Nebraska and eastern Colorado are just so flat. Iowa is actually pretty nice with the rolling countryside compared to the other two. I like the 75 mph speed limit in Nebraska and Colorado and that makes the endless ribbon of tarmac eaten up by the Saab just a little bit faster.

I am getting a 31mpg average for the last 1,200 miles so far. Not bad for mostly cruising between 65 and 75 mph.

I was planning on camping again near Denver but it was getting late. So I jumped on Priceline and got a room for 2 nights at the Marriott Denver Airport for $60 a night. I like camping but this is pretty nice too. Thank you Price Negotiator!

[rpiereck]

60 bucks is not bad. Now that you reached Colorado things will get better. The eastern half of the state if boring and flat, but the mountains aren't far. Since you're in Denver you are right at the footsteps of the mountains. 31 mpg is not bad at all considering you did mostly an uphill drive, although on a very slight incline.

[Hirsch]

Sounds like a good trip so far!

I miss the days of just being able to pick and go!

[nordwulf]

I spend the day in Denver yesterday and that was enough to get a feel for the city. It has a nice downtown area and a few other sights. I only took a few pictures.

The State Capitol



That famous Mile High step



Governor's mansion



Denver Airport. It wasn't far from my hotel and I always wanted to see it.



I was browsing through a Colorado tourist guide in my hotel and noticed Pikes Peak wasn't too far away from Denver. That seemed like a fun destination for the day so that's where I headed.

It was pretty quiet and I expected it to be busier. View near the beginning of the Pikes Peak Highway.



A 100+ year old Ford coming down. Not sure if they made it all the way to the top.



























It started raining when I was getting closer to the summit. There was quite a bit of thunder and lightning as well. Here you are above the tree line.











There is no room for error on these roads. Miss a turn and you may experience a tumble of a few thousand feet.