Road Trip Advice (Las Vegas to Michigan)

In My Humble Opinion
1

Hi U.S. road trip experts. It’s time for my last trip home from here in Mexico to the Detroit area. As such, I’ve got to get my Arizona-purchased car home, which means an opportunity for a road trip. I’d had a very detailed route and plan that included Yellowstone, but that boat has sailed – I won’t be leaving in time for the Yellowstone roads not to close! Still, I want to do something interesting on the trip home, so I’m soliciting ideas for “things to do” on my possible routes. Since I’m going to Las Vegas from Mexico, I’ll be starting in Las Vegas.

Looks like my five primary route choices are (and I’m not going for speed or shortness-of-distance here)…
[ul]
[li]I-40 from LV to OKC, I-44 to St. Louis, on to Indianopolis via I-70, then I-69 on to home.[/li][li]I-15 from LV to I-70 to Denver to St. Louis, then on to Indianopolis via I-70, then I-69 on to home.[/li][li]I-15 from LV to I-70 to Denver, then I-76 to I-80 to Lincoln, Omaha, Des Moines, Chicago, then I-94 to home.[/li][li]I-15 from LV to Salt Lake City, then I-80 to Lincoln, Omaha, Des Moines, Chicago, then I-94 to home.[/li][li]I-15 from LV to Salt Lake City, local highways to I-90 via Grand Teton/Yellowstone, then I-90 to Rapid City, Sioux Falls, Madison, then I-94 through Chicago then on to home.[/li][/ul]

Yeah, I’m asking a lot, but here are some of the “wants” on sight-seeing ideas:
[ul]
[li]Probably shouldn’t be more than an hour off of the primary route, unless it takes me towards a parallel route as listed above.[/li][li]Natural beauty is appreciated. For example, the Grand Canyon was awesome, and Copper Canyon was even awesomer. Tahoe is incredible. Michigan is the (up-'til-now) most gorgeous state there is. Northern Arizona was suprisingly beautiful. Get the picture?[/li][li]We don’t mind taking our time and stopping to smell the roses, as it were.[/li][li]Being able to do things independantly rather than with a guide or docent is always more fun than depending on someone else’s timeline.[/li][li]Since Chicago’s an easy 5 hour drive from home, the concentration on “things to do” should be well west of Chicago.[/li][/ul]

Here are some of our travel details that may affect decisions:
[ul]
[li]Planning on leaving Las Vegas the 17th of November. Number of days to arrive in Michigan don’t really matter.[/li][li]We’re in a A4WD, full-size SUV and I’m a sane driver used to Michigan snow. What do I have to worry about that I may not expect? Do the interstate “mountain passes” close? What about chains and such? Will I need those if I take a northern route?[/li][li]My wife will be with me.[/li][li]Our dog will be with us.[/li][li]The car will most mostly fully loaded, but won’t have anything strapped atop or being pulled behind.[/li][/ul]

It looks like there’s one road open into Yellowstone, but doesn’t penetrate really deeply. Is it worth the trouble to drive through, in light of the fact that that’s the longest route option? Yeah, I’m kind of bummed that I wasn’t able to make the cutoff, but if there are other super ideas along any of the other routes, I’ll cheer up!

2

from las vegas to detroit? you’ve got this all backwards.

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If you take the I-15/I-70 route, a side trip to Moab is a must. Some of the most spectacular scenery in the southwest is within an hour’s drive.

4

I would not recommend taking I-80 for any reason unless you enjoy looking at nothing for long periods of time. Of the remaining proposed routes, I would take either the first or the last one. The first one is good to avoid road closures in the mountains from poor weather. The last one is good because you get to go through Utah (which is far more beautiful than Michigan, btw :stuck_out_tongue: ).

If I could take a road trip without having to worry about time or miles, I would drop interstates in favor of highways. Just saying.

If you scroll to the bottom of this page, it has a list of phone numbers to call for automated road condition information in nearly every state you’ll pass through. These numbers (numbers for all 50 states and parts of Canada, actually) should be listed in any decent atlas, too. The message will alert you to road closures (yes, the interstates through the mountains will close if necessary) and, in some cases, delays from road construction, too.

Have fun and drive safely!

5

So I guess a side trip south thru Death Valley/Furnace Creek/Scotty’s Junction is out of the question, huh?

Any possibility of taking 75 through Rachel, Nevada? Yeah, not much, but the scenery is better, roads curvier, and you might still be able to toss back a few at the Little Alien Inn (I know I spelled that wrong, just don’t know where the apostrophe goes).

6

I’m a bit of a road trip nut, myself, so of course I have quite a few suggestions to offer.

Southern Utah is absolutely beautiful, and there are many national parks to choose from. I believe you’re going to find many more sights to see if you take I-15 out of Las Vegas (as opposed to picking up I-40 and taking it to OK).

Entering Utah, you’ll first hit Zion NP, which is a must if you’ve never been there before.

From there, I highly recommend leaving the interstate–you’ll see so much more. Cedar Breaks NM is nearby, so you might want to make a stop there. Either way, what I think you ought to do from there is pick up UT 12, one of the most beautiful drives in the state (one of the most beautiful drives in the country!) One of only 21 (I believe) roads in the country designated “All-American” (the highest designation), there are plenty of sights along this highway. Here’s a website with more information:

(This is a great website in general for planning scenic drives).

The two main highlights of this drive are Bryce Canyon and Capitol Reef NPs. Kodachrome Basin SP is also along the way and worth a stop for its unique “sand pipes”. (This area is thought to have been much like Yellowstone at one time, with many geysers. “Sand pipes” are thought to have been formed when the geyser filled with sediment, the sediment soldified and was left standing while the surrounding land eroded away. As far as I know, sand pipes are unique to this region).

From here, I would keep on heading east on UT 24, maybe stop by and see Goblin Valley SP. (Along the way, in Hanksville at the junction of 24 and 95 there’s a curious little gas station built into the side of a mountain, “Hollow Mountain Gas & Grocery”).

Pick up I-70 east and take the short detour down into Moab, and you’re right there at Arches and Canyonlands NPs.

Take I-70 on into CO, maybe stop by Colorado NM near Grand Junction.

If you’re going to cross the Rockies on an interstate, I-70 is absolutely the way to go; this is a beautiful drive.

Rocky Mountain NP is nearby, but it’ll be pretty much snowed in at this point, just like Yellowstone.

From here I would cut over into western Nebraska, which has its scenic spots (not as scenic as CO or UT, IMHO, but some of the best scenery I’ve seen in the central midwest).

Check out Scotts Bluff NM and Chimney Rock NHS. Both are two of the more scenic spots in the area, plus there’s a lot of Oregon Trail history here, of course. Carhenge is also here.

Next, head up to western SD. I love western SD! Some of the highlights to be seen here (in no particular order):

Badlands NP
Wind Cave NP
Jewel Cave NM
The Black Hills (Custer SP in particular)
Mt. Rushmore
Deadwood (actually, I’ve never been here, but I expect it’s worth a visit)
Wall Drug (if you’re into kitschy tourist traps)

If you have the time, you can also cut back west into Wyoming and check out Devils Tower.

I-90 will take you back to the general Michigan area, of course, with various potential stops along the way.

Since it’s not so well known, I feel like I ought to mention one more stop along the way, Porter Sculpture Park, near Sioux Falls, SD. I went there a couple of years ago and met the artist and his parents. They were great people, and the sculptures are pretty impressive!

Anyway, I guess you can tell I get a bit excited planning road trips! Whatever you end up doing and wherever you end up going, I hope you have a great time!

7

Check out some of the advice offered in the Driving Cross-Country Advice thread (where the planned trip was somewhat the reverse of yours).

8

I just remembered, I’m almost certain Cedar Breaks in Utah will be snowed in at that time. I’m not too sure either way about Colorado National Monument and Canyonlands National Park. I’m thinking pretty much everything else should be more or less OK (i.e., not snowed in, but some could very well be temporarily closed due to snow), but I can’t be 100% sure since I live in the east, far away from these places, and have only visited them in the spring.

9

Wow, thank you all, especially Cabbage for the tons and tons of great ideas. Most of my problem is I just don’t know what’s out there, and this gives me lots and lots of options to consider.

The I40 route was my “well-Yellowstone-is-closed-let’s-just-rush-home” route – I’ve done St. Louis to Detroit so many bloody times that the idea was I could do it sleeping :).

I’ll check out the other thread, too. Doesn’t sound like winter (well, it’s only autumn, isn’t it?) will be too much of a problem.

10

No, that’s to far out of the way, I’m afraid. I wish I’d studied the map more before my previous road trip to that area, thought. I did Hermosillo to Lake Tahoe via Las Vegas, and now I realize that I could have very easily swung through Death Valley. Bummer – I hope there’s a next time for that.

I’ve gotten a sorted, organized list of everyone’s suggestions, and I’m going to see what kind of route I can build. Google Maps will be my friend (actually, it’s not very smart about place names – I have to revert to Expedia all too often). I’ll post a proposed route for everyone in a day or so…

Thanks!

11

Well, sorry I didn’t do a proposed route. Things changed at the last minute. I am home and back in Michigan finally, and everyone’s suggestions here made for a fantastic trip. So as not to bore the hell out of casual passers-by, here’s a very brief trip report.

Mon night – Hermosillo, Mexico to Phoenix. It was late afternoon, and this leg gave us a good head start. I absolutely hate Phoenix, at least based on the little I know about it. It looks so fake and squeaky-clean in an artificial sense, like Stepford Houses. All of the viaducts are decorated with some funky rocks, attractive at first, but it makes you want to strangle the landscape designer after repeated exposure. It all looks the same. The houses that are everywhere look like pigeon houses (that’s exactly what my wife calls them). Tiny, little houses that fill up virtually the entire lot they’re built upon. It’s the middle of the desert! Land can’t be that expensive. I should expect to see a minimum half-acre everywhere as a starting point. That’s a luxury here in SE Michigan, but c’mon, you’re starting with empty land out there!

Tues afternoon – arrive in Moab. This is the part of the trip that changed: the Las Vegas leg was cancelled. Thus we didn’t get to do any of the eastern-Utah national parks. But we did this area. From Phoenix we went through Flagstaff, and from there followed US highways – I’d had no idea that US highways out west were in such good shape. We took a small highway away that diverted us from Moab to go to Natural Bridges National Park. The six mile, unpaved, tight-switchback part of the highway was an unexpected suprise! From there we went to Moab and discovered excellent beer at a microbrewery right next to the hotel. Moab itself reminds me of an American version of Creel, Chihuahua, with modern everything. Creel is kind of like the same city for Copper Canyon / Barrancas del Cobre.

Wed. – stayed in the area to enjoy Canyonlands and Arches National Parks. We’d previously gone to the Grand Canyon, and now it seems disappointing compared to these parks. Yeah, the Grand Canyon is deeper, but nowhere near as interesting. Got several hundred photos.

Thu. – took the scenic route to I-70 instead of the quick route. The Colorado river was beautiful, although I’d never imagined it was such a tiny, meager little thing. You know, the mighty Colorado? It carved the Grand Canyon. It filled the Mead Resevoir. It was like the Au Sable! We took the loop through Colorado National Monument, and that was gorgeous, too. Vail Pass was snowy but easy, and the A4WD helped a lot. At the next pass, though, a jack-knifed semi held us up for an hour. The Rockies were beautiful. After that, it was snowy until we hit Denver. From there, north to Cheyenne, WY, where we ate at a townie bar and grill. Nice people, and we felt super comfortable there even though most townie places make me feel like an intruder. From there another couple of hours to Douglas where we spent the night.

Fri: from Douglas we stumbled upon Jewel Caves NM, so stopped there and had a private tour. Lucky, too, since the tour was at 9 am, and we’d gotten there at ten to nine! From there, we missed Crazy Horse, because I didn’t see the National Parks’ sign and thought it was a separate, private enterprise. Oh, well. We made it Mt. Rushmore, and it really was awe-inspiring. I do wish, though, that they’d just charge more for the Parks Pass and have it include parking, rather than claim that Rushmore is fee-free and charge for parking. It works out the same, but it’s the principle. From there we did the loop through the Badlands and got many, many more photos. Stopped for the night in Albert Lea, MN. Yeah, long day.

Sat. – made a mad dash for home back here in Michigan. Took the congested route through Chicago just to take some photos. You’d think that toll roads would be better than free roads, but they sucked, too. Serious question/concern here: I got on 294 for a short while, and then totally blew by the toll booth and stayed in the I-Pass lane. The toll booth looked like an exit, rather than a toll plaza, because it didn’t look like the other 20 toll plazas that we’d previously passed through. Now I’m wishing I’d left the Arizona plate on the Expedition rather than my Michigan plate. What’s going to happen to me? If there’re cameras, will they feature me holding the $5 bill that I was prepared to use to pay with?

Dog did fine on the trip. The national parks were almost all abondoned, so there’s a possibility that some of the park rules may have been broken and that dogs may have left the parking areas… but no messes were made. Interesting that after almost one year out of the house, the dog recognized her permanent home and made herself quite at home right away.

So! This trip was super fantastic, and we definitely would not have had such a great time were it not for the suggestions. Instead, it would have been a mad, stressful dash straight to Michigan as quickly as possible. THANK YOU EVERYONE.

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Sounds like a great trip; glad you had a good time! (I think I’ve been on that highway near Natural Bridges with the unpaved, tight-switchback part).

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Chances are there’s been a warrent issued already.

No but seriousl, probably nothing. Unless you do it 3 or 4 more times in the coming months.