When are you planning on doing this again? March?
Compared to summertime driving, you will have very limited daylight travel hours. We drove from Omaha to Vegas in mid-November (for a wedding) and it seemed almost as if it was dark more than light. I am perhaps overly paranoid about such things, but you’ll be driving at dawn and dusk, and well into the darkness across roads that have more than a few animal crossing signs on them.
Having driven that route I can tell you you’ll get the most breathtaking view of the Arch driving east-to-west as you head down I-55/60/64. As you round the bend and head south over Broadway, the thing just looms over everything – it is magnificent! If you can get off in time, go down into Martin Park and get some photos of it there. Then drive on across the river and spend an hour at the Gateway Park. Worth a stop.
Meh, not so much. If you’re lucky to approach on 1-70 on a clear day, you’ll get glimpses of the skyline of the Queen City of the Plains against her Rocky Mounain backdrop. Not that there isn’t some great stuff in the Mile High City – I’ve been to some of the biggest and oldest cities in the world, and Denver is still my favorite, especially at night. But for breathtaking scenery, the real gem is about three or four hours west on I-70, in Glenwood Canyon. The canyon itself is gorgeous, but the design of the highway itself as it flows through the canyon is the real thrill. Try to plan an overnighter in Glenwood and take in the hot springs – a real treat for a weary traveler!
Oh, one other thing: If you can’t make it the southerly route and find yourself up north on I-80, the drive down the mountains into Salt Lake City is just plain gorgeous. No wonder the Mormons thought they’d found the Promised Land – that there is some purty scenery!
Avoid Oklahoma. There is nothing here of any interest to anyone and the food is so bad, it may end your trip. Seriously, go out of your way to drive around it. The panhandle of Texas is the same way. West Texas, on the other hand, looks like a Roadrunner cartoon, and is pretty cool, if desolate.
Since the entire country is just far too much to see at once, I’ll suggest the White Sands/Carlsbad Caverns/Guadalupe Mountains/Big Bend route. There is a good two or three weeks right there.
If you want more, then head over to the Chiracahuas in Southeast Arizona, maybe stopping at the Gila Wilderness along the way. Of course, then the route makes more sense starting in Big Bend.
Good input re: Denver. I will also point out that if you’re going to San Francisco to avoid this route, as northern Colorado/southern Wyoming is maybe the most boring, uninteresting-looking place on earth. Getting to Yellowstone and the Grand Tetons may be a noble goal, but you’re better off flying in.
Those lava fields, a component of the Snake River Plain, are the result of the North American continent’s westward movement over the stationary hotspot that currently resides underneath the Yellowstone caldera.
If you’re starting in Philly, you’ve already missed the prettiest part of the US. 
We do? Are you talking about Wings Over the Rockies?
Sunrazor is right. Denver is one of those “wouldn’t want to visit, love to live there” places. There is nothing here you can’t find in any other medium-sized city. The real attractions for the visitor are west of the city, and are natural in origin.
Definitely Yellowstone.
Bryce Canyon and Arches National Park were awesome too.
Oh, you mean Newark?
Seriously, though, I’ve heard parts of New England are quite nice. Is that what you’re talking about? Which specific areas do you recommend for future trips?
As others have noted, this means the cross-country drive is right out. Unless you are a serious glutton for punishment and/or have a sizeable bet, you’d be crazy to undertake this.
Even that is unrealistic. LA to Seattle is something like 18 hours each way. What might work would be to fly to SF, spend a day or two, rent a car, head for Yosemite (might be a bit early in the year for that) or down the coast, and end up in LA.
Even this will probably leave you feeling that your vacation involved too much driving. But within the territory you’d cover is a LOT more great stuff than can be seen in 10 days.
No, I meant Newark.
Come during foliage season and almost anywhere is gorgeous. Or the coast of Maine, Acadia National Park…I’m guilty of not getting out and seeing everything, but anywhere where I can see what I do just from my car is pretty incredible.
But I am considering a trip to Sedona.
It’s not undoable. Starting Saturday night, my wife and I made it to Los Angeles the following Thursday afternoon (in time for Jeopardy tryouts, and no, I didn’t pass). It’s a heck of an undertaking, but here’s what we did:
Saturday night: Drove from NYC to Louisville, KY.
Sunday: Tour Kentucky. Churchill Downs (if no races are running on your day, you can still see the Kentucky Derby Museum), drove to Bardstown, saw the Whiskey Museum, drove to Bowling Green, saw the Corvette museum. Other Kentucky suggestions: Louisville Slugger Factory, Mammoth Cave National Park, Kentucky Down Under (a cave + Australian themed park/zoo in Horse Cave, not far from Mammoth Cave), and the Corvette Assembly Plant Tour, if you are not going on a Sunday.
Sunday night: drive to Nashville.
Monday: Tour Tennessee. See sights in Nashville in the morning, drive to Memphis, see Graceland (or other sights in Memphis).
Monday night: Drive across Arkansas to Fort Smith.
Tuesday: Visit Miss Laura’s Social Club in Fort Smith, the only (former) brothel that’s a national historic place (or some similar designation). Drive west and tour Oklahoma. Gun museum in Claremore, Crystal Bridge Botanical Garden in OKC.
Tuesday night: Long drive all the way to the edge of Petrified Forest National Park in Arizona.
Wednesday: See Petrified Forest/Painted Desert. Drive to Grand Canyon, see that. Drive over Hoover Dam to Las Vegas for some fun under the neon lights.
Wednesday night: Drive to Los Angeles.
It takes some stamina, but it is definitely doable, with touring possible as well. As for the return trip, we took more than five days to do that because we wanted to take a route through other states (basically across I-10 until New Orleans, sloping northward until Atlanta, then up I-85 and I-95 to get home), but if it can be done in one direction, and you’re pressed for time, it can be done on the return trip as well.
This past summer, we took a full-family road trip in a two-week period, but only went as far as Mount Rushmore.
The problem with cross-country roadtrips in a limited time: they often require multiple, marathon, all-day drives. Even if you pick the most scenic route imaginable, you won’t have time to stop and smell the roses.
If you want a memorable trip, you should budget at least 2 hours of discretionary time per day. If you just stayed in California, two weeks is really only enough to see half of the state.
There was no mention of sleep in your description of the trip - did you do any of that?
Yup. It has a B1-A Lancer AND a Star Wars Tie Wing Fighter in it!
No, just unsane.
Are you sure that wasn’t because you were utterly exhausted? :dubious:
Saturday night and Tuesday night were all-night drives. The drive from Bowling Green to Nashville is only 2 hours, we got an early night then, the drive from Memphis to Fort Smith was only 5 hours, plenty of sleep that night, and the drive from Las Vegas to L.A. was also only five hours as well.
Also, my wife split the driving with me, so no nights were truly sleepless for either of us, though it wasn’t the most comfortable rest when we slept in the passenger seat.
And I just didn’t know enough about art, movies, and some other categories that I no longer remember in detail to pass the Jeopardy written exam.
So you drove across Oklahoma and the Texas panhandle in daylight and then New Mexico in the dark? Sounds like some kind of scenery-based torture method.
It was all night. We did this in January, left OKC around 6PM, the sun had already set.