Now retired and would like to take a trip to explore the western fly over country. It'll be a driving trip. Maybe 1-1.5 weeks.

1. Given a driving trip, want to keep north of interstate 80 and west of interstate 29.

2. Want to avoid crowds - chicom tourists, big cities, traffic, places difficult to park. Don't got time for that kind of stress.

3. Want to see free America. Taste local foods. See what local beef, veggies, fruits taste like. Better than CA grown (I hope so).

4. Look at some nice scenery. Take a few walks (not strenuous - I'm old and weak). But not worry about the car being broken into or getting attack by 2 or 4 legged creatures. I'll carry but would still like to avoid. Again, no stress, just nice, pleasant time.

5. Close enough to civilization that if the car breaks down, I can get help (AAA or something).

6. Be able to stay in a decent hotel (ie - Hyatt place or Hampton Inn type of place.

Not sure if I want to just have a driving tour or if I want some destination(s) in mind. Drive up to 6 hours per day or 350 miles (1 tank of gas).

Any thoughts?

Not sure which way you are going. I like South Dakota. You can go West of Sioux Falls on 1-90 clear to the coast. Lots of nice scenery and some interesting places.

Ever been to Montana? Go see Glacier National Park and drive Going-to-the-Sun Rd.

Parts of Wyoming are quite pretty too.

JP

Congrats on your retirement.

September can be a good time to visit our National Parks (fewer people): The Grand Tetons, Yellowstone, Glacier National Park, The Grand Canyon, Bryce Canyon, and Zion, etc. Since Covid, the parks seem more crowded, at least to me. The lines at the entrances can be avoided by getting to the gate before they open. If you’ve not seen them it’s well worth the time.

If you want remote there is Garfield County, Montana. It’s roughly three times the size of Rhode Island with about 1,200 citizens. It’s famous for its extensive fossil beds. Western Montana and western Wyoming are beautiful with many small towns worth seeing.

The Oregon Coast is stunning and there is extensive public beach access. It’s packed in the summer. Weekdays and fall results in fewer people.

Washington State despite its west side politics is a beautiful state. The North Cascades Highway, the Olympic Peninsula, and the San Juan Islands all contain small towns and great scenery.

Hope ya have a great trip!

Silent

Montana and Wyoming are beautiful!
Maxwayne brings up a great place as well; take a look at eastern Wyoming & Western South Dakota.
The Motorcycle & Custom Car rally are over, so now is a great time to hit the Black Hills area.
Spearfish Canyon is a beautiful ride. Mt Rushmore & Crazy Horse, Custor Nat Park, Badlands- all beautiful.
Just west of there, right inside Wyoming is Devils Tower.

Come drive i-80 here in Nevada, stop at the cowboy museum in Elko. Turn north on 395 in Reno and visit The extremely red part of California around "The Lost Sierras" and Mt. Shasta.

Buffalo Bill Center of the West in Cody, Wyoming.
The Winchester Gun collection and 4 other museums for one price.
Cody is just 52 miles from the East Gate to Yellowstone and we have a Holiday Inn and Hampton Inn.

PC

Check the parks as some are requiring reservations for entry. It’s cooling a bit, and kids are going back to school.

Jackson Hole Wyoming is still worth a trip maybe a little touristy, depends on the day. There is a Starbucks on the corner of the town square now… You can see the Grand Tetons just north of town and head into Grand Teton Park. If you’re not afraid of heights, you can take the tram up at Grand Targhee Ski resort. Mormon Row is popular, the Elk Refuge is outside of town and you may see bighorn, moose or elk and deer. Bald eagles almost for sure.

6hrs of driving won’t get you fully across most states like MT, WY, ID but there are all sorts of ghost towns and places.

Caters of the Moon in Idaho
EBR 1, first nuclear reactor to produce power free tour. Closes Labor Day, but has an audio guide you can down load.
Virginia City, MT
Cooke City, MT
Cody, WY and the Buffalo Bill Museum and Cody, Firearms Museum
Old Faithful and the Lamar Valley area in Yellowstone National Park are worth checking into.

GunBarrel Steakhouse in Jackson Hole
Grizzly Bar and Grill south of Ennis, MT

Most of these places aren’t too far out of the way except certain places in central MT and WY. Cell phone service with Verizon is pretty decent. Inside the parks, services can be limited. As always fill your car before you leave town and you should be fine.

Look up Thomas Mangelsen, he has a gallery in Jackson and has taken many of his photos in the area.

If you’re staying north of 80 and west of 29, I would suggest looking at flying into Idaho Falls and renting a car if you’re focusing on MT/WY. Save some driving from CA.

I know you said you want to see America, but if you make it up to Glacier NP do yourself a favor and bring your passport and take a trip over to Waterton Lakes in Alberta.

If you bring your pistol I have a buddy that has an FFL in Sweetgrass that offers temporary storage.

Recent video about Waterton.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u9ELtyplcJE

Western Wyoming is beautiful, Green River area is great. Eastern Oregon is worth checking out, Wallowa County a nice place to visit.

I’d head to Salt Lake, then north to the northern route across Montana and the Dakotas.
(Obvious side trips to Yellowstone or Cody, WY on this route)
This could take you all the way to Lake Superior in Duluth if you wish. Have fun!!

Route 66? Grand Canyon? PCH? Moab?

You could ride the Blue Highways. If you haven't read it, Blue Highways is a book by William Least Heat-Moon. Great travel documentary albeit a bit dated since it was written in 1982.

http://www.bluehighwaysrevisited.net/The-Route.html

--- Miles to WALL DRUG

Grand Tetons, then Yellowstone. Leave Yellowstone via the Beartooth Pass into Montana. Loop over to Cody. Then head over to the Black Hills.

I'm going to suggest more time. A week or week and a half seems too short to see much. We spent a week in the UP and only saw a third of it. The UP small compared to what you're wanting to see.

My next suggestion would be renting a motor home. We haven't done it out west, but that's the plan someday.

quote:

Cooke City, MT

U.S. Route 212, the Beartooth Highway, which begins there, is a must-drive.

I think taking a couple of weeks would be ideal. I'll vote for SLC to Jackson, WY, Yellowstone area for a few days. We liked staying in the Cooke City/Silver Gate area for at least a night. From there you can visit Cody and Red Lodge, head out from Red Lodge to other places. You'll find a lot of places off the tourist routes to visit.

I'm another fan of the book " Blue Highways". In 1970 a friend and I took his VW bus and headed West from NJ. It took us 3 months to get to Oregon, very much a Blue Highway sort of trip.

If you want to see some pretty country and avoid big cities, drive up through Oregon follow the Columbia River, hit up Coer d'Alene and then come to God's country of NW Montana. Great time of year.

It's a nice and easy 19-20 hr drive.

Awesome! Thanks guys. Taking lots of notes and will be looking up the suggestions. Most of them previously unheard of / unknown.

Yea, I agree 1-1.5 weeks is a bit short. That's all the time we have for now. We'll try to make the most of it - maybe just check around and note where we'd like to spend more time as a destination trip.

Except for UT/AZ, never really been to states east of here except for the east coast. Really want to see the country (the other 40 states).