Nashville to Seattle by road-What shouldn't I miss?

In My Humble Opinion
1

So this Friday, I’m helping move my mom across country to her new job in Washington. And foolhardy duo that we are, we’re going to see the USA in her Chevrolet. I personally have never even been across the Mississippi River in my life so this is a biggie for me and I want to make the most of it.

The route we’re taking will put us on I-24 to I-57 to St Louis. Then St Louis to Kansas City, MO. We’ll find our way to I-29 north for 300 some odd miles until we reach I-90 in South Dakota. From there it’s straight on till Seattle.

The only major points of interest I know of along the way are the St Louis arch (which I can get a pic of from the car) and Mount Rushmore and Crazy Horse in SD, where we plan to stop for a while and get some photos. What else should we be sure to see? I’ll probably fly any other time I go to Seattle and this may be my one chance to see lots of stuff. So how about it, Dopers-on-my-route?

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I have no idea, having never made that journey! But I’m sure others do - HELLO OUT THERE!

Have a great trip!

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The trip from Nashville to STL will prolly take you around 5.5 hours - if you can help it, avoid getting there between 3-6 p.m. - sucky traffic! You’ll be able to see the Arch from the bridge (unless you take Hwy 255 around the city, bad idea from a site-seeing standpoint).

After STL…there’s a whole lot of not much between here and KC, and after that I can’t tell ya. But the view of the Arch from the river is cool.

4

If you have never crossed the Mississippi River don’t just take a photo of the Gateway Arch from your car. Park your car and visit the monument.

Historic Eads Bridge, the first real bridge across the Mississippi River, was reopened earlier this summer. Not only is Eads Bridge open to car traffic, there is also a pedestrian lane that one can walk across the Mississippi River.

I-90 through South Dakota, where to start-- well you start a Sioux Falls. But some of the places to see are: the Corn Palace in Mitchell, the tourist trap Wall Drug, and Badlands Nat’l Park. Custer State Park, in the Black Hills, is more beautiful than the Redwoods.

When you cross into Wyoming, don’t miss Devil’s Tower.

5

On I-90 in So. Dakota there is the town of Mitchell with a Corn Palace. And there is also Wall Drug in So. Dakota. I can’t remember the town it’s in (maybe it’s called Wall, I’m not sure), but you can’t miss it. There are signs for it every half mile for something like 50 miles in either direction. It’s got all sorts of wierd tourist trap things: jackalopes, mummies, dinosaurs.

Check out this site: Roadside America

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Yikes. Beat to posting about Wall Drug. Gotta refresh my browser more often…

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Car and Driver’s Guide to the best driving roads in America. One of them’s in TN!

8

How about heading west, THEN north?

El Paso
Carlsburg (sp) Cavern
Grand Canyon
Sedonia AZ
Superstition Mts
S.E. Utah parks
Bodie CA
San Francisco
Yosemite
Redwoods
L.A. (if you must)

the northern route is rather barren by comparison…

9

The Corn Palace is cool. So is Wall Drug. Be sure to go through the Badlands on the way to Wall instead of following the Interstate. Take Alternate US Highway 16 South from Rushmore, it is slow, but the scenery is well worth it. Follow it through Custer State Park, watching out for the Bison on the road, until you get to the town of Custer. Turn north there on US 16, until you reach Crazy Horse. I really enjoyed the drive, it was a very pleasant way to get from Rushmore to Crazy Horse.

There is also some tourist stuff in Deadwood, including some casinos and some good restaurants. And just over the state line in Wyoming is the Devil’s Tower National Monument. I did not get to go there, they were having massive fires in the area at the time.

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Well, I would normally suggest Glacier National Park and Yellowstone, but Montana has been having some hell driven fires lately. :frowning: Hope you have fun, wherever you go. And be safe!

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Little Big Horn

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You might find some pointers in this thread:
Random observations from a cross country drive

For instance, here’s a tip that makes me want to drive back to SD.

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Max Carnage, not to rain on the parade or anything, but you might be wise to use one of the mapping programs to get a feel for times and distances in a straight-line trip (or as near a line as can be drawn) before you start exploring the west on this trip. Some of the scenic places mentioned above are hundreds of miles apart.

Key cities, followed by a search around them for interesting places in that vicinity, would make for a better trip, IMHO.

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I am surprised we haven’t heard about Wall Drug from Coldfire. There is, or was in 1990, a sign that says

Wall Drug
Wall, SD
8454 miles

on the Dam, just outside of the railroad station in Amsterdam.

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Oh yeah, we’re not going go veer too far off the beaten path. Just wanted to make sure there’s nothing close to the interstate that we might regret missing by not taking a 20 minute detour.

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Some input about the western legs of your journey since SD seems to be covered, heh.
If you are there in the evening near a time to stop you might consider popping into Coeur d’Alene, ID (in the little panhandle between Montana and Washington)-- cute downtown on a lake as you come out of the moutains (and hotels much less likely to be packed and overpriced than in Missoula, which is too close to the big parks-- if it’s getting close to bedtime it’s probably a good idea to go ahead and get out of Montana because of that, imo). If you do wind up in Cd’A, eat dinner at the Moontime-- lamb sandwich recommended, and they’ll have some of the stranger Idaho/Montana/Alberta microbrews. The drive through the Rockies is spectacular and somewhat scary. There are currently a bunch of forest fires, so. . .? Might affect your travel. Spokane’s having a bit of a renaissance, but I can’t think of anything in particular to go do there. If you wind up spending the night in Spokane or Coeur d’Alene (about 30 minutes earlier) you MUST breakfast at Frank’s Diner in Spokane-- in an old dining car with wonderful greasy spoon style yummies done very appetizingly.
Coming in through Washington is also nice after you get across the Kansas-like part of the state that starts right after Spokane-- there’s another mountain crossing which is grand, and the gorge which is kind of interesting. I can’t remember if the 90 goes through Ellensburg-- there’s a good place to get 'soul food" (hushpuppies and grits) there. If this route goes near Leavensworth, WA (I think 90 is too far south), check it out if you have a massochistic tourist edge-- it’s a German theme town tourist trap. Interesting but awful, depending on your tastes.

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in South Dakot from southeast to west, my impressions. Plus a bonus Wyoming suggestion.

Stop in Beresford SD (exit 50 on I-29) for gasoline, they always have the lowest prices.

Buffalo Ridge, about 10 miles west of Sioux Falls is useless, don’t even think of stopping.

I think the Corn Palace in Mitchell is a complete waste of time, but then I’m not excited by a bunch of dry corn.

There is a rest stop just east of the Missouri River in Chamberlain SD. This rest stop has interesting, free exhibits of the Lewis and Clark expedition. It is quite well done and a good place to have a nice view of the Missouri River.

Al’s Oasis on the western bank of the Missouri River is a fun place for any meal. It is also a good place for gasoline, then you won’t have to refill until you get to the Wyoming state line where prices go way down.

Most of the stops between the Missouri River and Rapid City are just tourist traps and should be avoided if you want quality food or merchandise, with a couple of exceptions. On the other hand the scenery, if you enjoy the open range, nothing for miles, grasslands as far as you can imagine, is incredible. Watch the Kevin Costner movie “Dances with Wolves” for a preview of the scenery.

The Badlands are really great. It is worth the time and slow driving. Stop frequently at the pull-offs, get out and walk around, it is amazing what you can see (wildlife and geology) just 20-30 yards from the road.

Wall Drug is worth the stop, the food in the cafe is pretty good. By the way, Wall Drug is in Wall SD. My car automatically takes the exit for Wall, Mrs. Labor has to hold the steering wheel straight to keep the car on the interstate.

About ten miles west of Wall on I-90 is the town of Wasta. There is not much to Wasta, its population is about 70. There is a little old-fashioned hotel that is fun. It’s the only one in town. Actually the hotel is really boring, however, there are almost no lights in Wasta so the stargazing at night is spectacular. The hotel is reasonably priced, don’t expect reasonable prices in the Black Hills.

The Black Hills are great. If you want to stay in Rapid City or the Hills overnight you will need a reservation ahead of time. Expect to pay way too much for a room. Instead stay in Wasta!

Remember the western states are really big. A plan for tourist stops should consider that it takes about one day to go across each state.

Finally, it is a bit out of the way but…

When you pass Sheridan Wyoming consider taking a detour at exit 9 (Ranchester) Proceed over the Bighorn Mountains on Hwy 14 until Burgess Junction, then take Hwy 14A. This is nicknamed the “Oh My God Highway.” The section that goes down the western slope descends several thousand feet in five miles, it is really steep, and aptly named. Then proceed along Hwy 14 to Lovell WY, then veer north into Montana on Hwy 310. It is off the beaten path, still civilized and you will get to enjoy the mountains.

Be careful in Montana, they drive really fast.

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Yeah, but if you are on Hwy 14 west of Sheridan, you may as well just continue onto Yellowstone National Park. Yellowstone is about 6 hours west of Sheridan. If you are lucky you might be able to get a room at the Old Faithfull Lodge.

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If you’re at all into baseball, definitely catch a game at Kauffman Stadium in Kansas City. It’s one of the most beautiful sports venues in the United States, and I’m not just saying that because I’m a Royals fan. Also fun in Kansas City are the Steamship Arabia Museum and the Doll and Miniature Museum.

Rather than taking !-29 all the way to I-90, how about a slight detour? Get off I-29 at Exit 26 in South Dakota (Rt. 50), and check out the Shrine to Music Museum in Vermillion, SD. When you’re done, head north on Rt. 19 until you hit I-90, and you’re back on your planned route.

Badlands National Park strangely beautiful, and, in the Black Hills, in addition to Mount Rushmore and Custer State Park (interesting granite spires, which they call “the Needles”) which others have mentioned, also visit the Black Hills Reptile Gardens and Flintstones Bedrock City.

Along I-90 is Montana, take in some history at Little Bighorn National Monument. I also enjoyed the Fly Fishing Museum in Livingston, the Computer Museum in Bozeman, and the old Montana Prison and associated museums in Deer Lodge.

Have a great trip!

20

To add to my Washington suggestions-- if you take the 20 in from Spokanish to Seattlish (Everett) instead of the 90, you can see Grand Coulee Dam, the Dry Falls, and Leavensworth-- just a bit more interesting of a drive.