Ok, not to delve deep, but my oldest friend and I are trying to plan a relaxed 4 or 5 day road trip for our 50 year friendship. I think the starting point is Nashville or Denver, but could be anywhere. for an evening of whatever that town has to offer.

4-6 hours of driving to the next stop. Something to do, but a lot not to do. something adventurous in some way. I would like to head more or less west. Next stops the same thing.

Money is a factor, so we are not staying at the Ritz, but don't want to skimp on dives either.

He is going through a separation, but not looking for that kind of rebound either.

Again, starting point is less important than the trip.

Any suggestions?

Maybe:

Denver to Durango
Durango to Mesa Verde
Mesa Verde to Grand Canyon
Grand Canyon to Moab
Moab back to Denver

Or a variant thereof. There’s some pretty good scenery along the way.

Start in Denver and head west. There are tons of places to explore in Utah, Nevada, and Arizona, and tons of places to get lost...in a good way, which sounds like what you and your buddy need.

Stay off the interstates, take any secondary road you find, and...drive. Take a tent and camp out. Bring a jug of whiskey, build a fire, and just...be.

In 2012 I drove around that area. The relevant part of my trip was:

Colorado Springs to Avon, Colorado
Avon through Glenwood Canyon to Moab, Utah
Moab to Durango, Colorado
Durango back to Colorado Springs.

Obviously, you could substitute Denver for Colorado Springs (leg one went through Denver). Out of Avon, the drive down to Leadville was interesting. Glenwood Canyon is a very interesting drive--the Interstate has been carefully crafted to blend well with the natural contours. You'll want some time in Moab--several great National Parks in that area (and I took a hot-air balloon ride over Arches NP). Durango is a great little town and the train museum and ride are very nice.

My photos of that auto trip are here: https://www.flickr.com/photos/...s/72157630944299346/. Days 10 through 20 would be coverage of the areas mentioned above.

flashguy

Another possibility might be one involving Reno, Virginia City, and Lake Tahoe in Nevada. I went to a reunion in Reno in 2014 and saw a number of places as part of that trip: https://www.flickr.com/photos/...s/72157644808640296/.

flashguy

Two dudes on a road trip heading west? It has to end in Vegas, baby! Start in Memphis, hit Little Rock, then Oklahoma City. Once you're there, try to find all the old Route 66 sights off the interstate and pretend you're in the Cars Pixar movie. Do that all the way to Kingman and then finish at Sin City!

I did part of Route 66 in 2011 and had a total blast!




Alternate: do like the BBC Top Gear guys did when they first came to America back in 2007 and travel from Miami to New Orleans, but try not to get attacked in Alabama by painting "Hillary for President" on the side of your car...

^^^^^ The Cadillac Ranch at Amarillo, Texas. I went by there on my way home from Colorado in 2012.

flashguy

quote:

Originally posted by flashguy:
The Cadillac Ranch at Amarillo, Texas. I went by there on my way home from Colorado in 2012.

Awesome. I was excited to check it out. I was getting frustrated that I might miss the daylight because of numerous traffic delays. I barely made it as the sun was setting, as you can see in that photo. There were a dozen people out there all walking back at once after the sun set, which left me out there all by myself. That was kinda cool.

quote:

Stay off the interstates, take any secondary road you find, and...drive. Take a tent and camp out. Bring a jug of whiskey, build a fire, and just...be.

agree

40+ years ago my own similar trip included a sports car, left out the tent, included hotel furniture mysteriously falling apart, picking up a hitchhiker that led us to her woodsy hippy nudist commune...[details redacted] in any case it was a healing journey my buddy & I still laugh about

quote:

Originally posted by arfmel:
Maybe:

Denver to Durango
Durango to Mesa Verde
Mesa Verde to Grand Canyon
Grand Canyon to Moab
Moab back to Denver

Or a variant thereof. There’s some pretty good scenery along the way.

Did the very same trip in reverse one year ago. Added in Santa Fe, which would certainly add time. You'll be driving at the edge of your time limits but what epic scenery.

Consider flying into Las Vegas.
Hit a combination of the Big 5 National parks in Utah. Add the North rim of the Grand Canyon in as well.
Lots of opportunities for adventure.
Hiking,rafting,mountain biking,jeeps and ATV's.
Some of the most beautiful scenery the country has to offer.

As others have mentioned, Route 66 would be a good westbound road trip.

It’s not west bound, but a road trip on my list is the Natchez Trace Parkway. Could start in Nashville and head south.

All good ideas here. If there were a concert I liked at Red Rocks, that would seal the deal

It’ll take a little longer, but I’ve always wanted to drive from Miami Beach to Copper Harbor on US Hwy 41.

My Dad and I took a road trip last September that included the Grand Canyon, Hoover Dam, Vegas, national parks in Utah, the Grand Tetons, Yellowstone, and Mt. Rushmore. I really enjoyed the Grand Canyon, the parks in Utah and Mt. Rushmore. Vegas was a nice stop between. I didn't enjoy Yellowstone primarily because of the rain and cold weather making it near impossible to see many of the sights. Steam coming off the geothermal features obscured everything.

quote:

Originally posted by Gustofer:
Start in Denver and head west. There are tons of places to explore in Utah, Nevada, and Arizona, and tons of places to get lost...in a good way, which sounds like what you and your buddy need.

Stay off the interstates, take any secondary road you find, and...drive. Take a tent and camp out. Bring a jug of whiskey, build a fire, and just...be.

^^^
This.

BTDT.

This...