7k miles in 16 days

Check out Leavenworth, WA on your way to Port Angeles. Cool spot to grab some German beer.

 

Also, we did 4,000 miles in 9 days to pick up a camper in Seattle. With the daylight we had, even getting in at 5-6pm was obviously still dark. It definitely took a toll by the end. Fortunately we slept very well in the new camper but if we were tent camping would be a different story for sure. Don't know what your sleep situation is in between the cheap hotels.

 

Awesome trip!

 

just jump it Duke's of Hazard style, looks easy enough

 

yeah, pitch black at 4:15 in winter, light until 9:45 in summer. winter is pretty hard with the perpetual gray skies, drizzle and darkness but summer makes it worth it- i mean actually that's also terrible don't come back

 

CO is horrible too in the summer. Best go to Florida.

 

@bhayes423 First off Congrats! My wife and I drive across the country with two kids every year. We have for the last 5 years. I wouldn't say I am an expert buttt I have some tips for you.

Just looking at the long haul days you only account for 8 hours of rest. I promise you won't be able to get into a cheap hotel and fall right asleep. You might get 6 hours of sleep if you can fall asleep an hour after getting in. If you are young this is probably fine but sleep debt adds up. Maybe decreasing your long hauls by an hour on each day might make you feel less driver fatigue.

After Zion I would recommend Grand Canyon North. Its less touristy and you have to do a little more planning but a stock taco will make if fine if carefully driven. I recommend Whitmore Overlook but it will add some time because the going is slow the last miles. This also might make it tricky getting to Amarillo but you could always take a more northern route though souther CO.

Hope this helps! Post a trip report after it happens.

-M

 

I agree that the driving is too much for my taste. But then again in my 20's it would have been just about right on. Also, doing that much driving on I-95 is boring and tedious. Doing that out west with sweeping views of the majesty and grandeur that us east coasters don't get would be great. Last good vacation I took we covered 500+miles a day in a rental car from Tahoe to Arizona and I could have easily driven a few hundred more.
The most important part, don't have a strict schedule. Takes the pressure off!
Also, congratulations!

 

Highly recommend Toroweap Overlook if you’re hitting up the Grand Canyon. It's pretty remote so be prepared but you can drive right up to the edge. Managed to get down some tricky spots with out hitting anything, it think, but the Tundra we grouped up with definitely scraped a little he said. It's a full day roundtrip. Can also hike the last bit. Pretty busy spot...

 

i don't know @Voltron4x4, the driver in the Tacoma looks a little shifty there

 

It's my navigator you have to worry about. Always rolling down the windows and drooling on everything.

 

Yeah....Hwy 1 (again)... not 101 - at least down here in MoCo.

 

I would skip Zion personally, very crowded and there's equally if not better places to be not far off- bryce canyon is one of them. Kanab is a fun little town with lots to do, and any of the parks around MOAB are totally worth it, especially arches
If you stay in bryce, remember there really aren't any good food options, hotel diner sucks.

 

Agree with this, Zion is certainly cool but if you are going to hike, get on the first shuttle of the day, can be a zoo. A decent drive through but not a lot of bang for your buck for the detour. Bryce is amazing and Arches always seems to be second fiddle but is just as good, plenty of places to never see anyone.

 

I’m assuming that you are hitting the Giant Forest area of Sequoia NP which is on the west side of the Sierras. The Alabama Hills are on the east side and it takes about 7 hours to drive there from Giant Forest. Sequoia may still have a fair amount of snow on the ground too. A lot depends on what the rest of winter is like and how quickly it heats up. Also, for the Grand Canyon you will need to go to the South Rim. The North Rim does not open until May 15. This is a lot of driving but you are also going to want to return to a bunch of these places in the future to spend more time!

 

It's crowded for a reason, because it is a stunning place, but I can't argue with you because when we visited, you had to get there before sunrise or you'd never find a place to park....I'd still go back in a heart beat. Bryce Canyon was pretty amazing too, though I did not find the scenery as breathtaking as Zion. The ride through the park was cool, we visited in October and it was cool and raining at the visitor center but was cold and snowing like crazy by the time we got to the last turn-around at elev. 9K+.