Here's a brief history of the highway system we know today so you understand how it came to be and can easily find your way out on the open road.
Thursday, July 6, 2017
So What is a Back Road, Anyway?
Have you ever wondered about the roads you drive on every day? How they got the numbers you know them by? How road signs got their shapes? You're in the right place.
Here's a brief history of the highway system we know today so you understand how it came to be and can easily find your way out on the open road.
Here's a brief history of the highway system we know today so you understand how it came to be and can easily find your way out on the open road.
Friday, June 16, 2017
Q & A: Back Roads Cross-Country Travel
Have you ever wanted to jump in the car and drive across the country? Last year, we did just that, and we're here today to share answers to some of the questions people commonly ask us about this crazy trip.
Saturday, June 10, 2017
Photo Tour of a Back Roads Cross-Country Road Trip
We refer to last year's once-in-a-lifetime 80-day back roads double coast-to-coast road trip to all 48 continental United States regularly on this blog, but we've never shared an overall account of it with you. We're fixing that now and will share details from the trip over the next two weeks. Today, we're taking you on a photo tour featuring highlights of scenes we encountered along the way. Next week, we'll answer questions people commonly ask about going on such a trip and share our recommendations for others considering something similar.
Friday, April 14, 2017
US 1: Coastal Maine
Friday, April 7, 2017
US 1: New England (minus Maine)
US 1 is a long road, and this week we're focusing on the 300-ish mile stretch between New York City and Kittery, Maine.
Even though this is a pretty congested stretch of US 1, there is a lot to see along the way: quaint New England towns, large metropolises (or is it metropoli? and is it redundant to call a metropolis large?), and miles of coastline after the road curves back toward the coast for the first time since Florida.
Even though this is a pretty congested stretch of US 1, there is a lot to see along the way: quaint New England towns, large metropolises (or is it metropoli? and is it redundant to call a metropolis large?), and miles of coastline after the road curves back toward the coast for the first time since Florida.
Sunday, April 2, 2017
US 1: Washington, DC to New York City
This week, we're heading from our nation's capital to the Big Apple on US 1. Starting in DC, you'll move more slowly than you did farther south because in general, towns in the Northeast are closer together and more heavily populated than those that the highway passes through farther south.
But there is a lot to see along the way: quaint little towns, large metropolises (or is it metropoli? and is it redundant to call a metropolis large?), historic buildings, and national parks .
But there is a lot to see along the way: quaint little towns, large metropolises (or is it metropoli? and is it redundant to call a metropolis large?), historic buildings, and national parks .
Sunday, March 26, 2017
US 1: Columbia, SC to Washington, DC
We're continuing with our US 1 series this week featuring the drive from Columbia, SC to Washington, DC, with a few stops along the way.
Friday, March 10, 2017
Three Days in Key West
Key West is home to the Southernmost Point in the Continental United States, key lime pie, beautiful sunsets, the End of US 1, and Hemingway's 6-toed cats. We spent three days there after arriving by way of US 1 and the Overseas Highway, and today we're sharing our recommendations for how visitors to Key West can spend their time.
Saturday, March 4, 2017
US 1: The Road That Started it All
To sum up US Highway 1 in a single, manageable blog post would be a major challenge - both for me to write and for you to read. The highway originates at the Canadian border in Fort Kent, Maine and ends 2,593 miles later in Key West, Florida! This first US 1 post will focus on the southern portion from the State House in downtown Columbia, SC to the Southernmost Point in Key West, FL - only about a third of the highway!
Our US 1 story takes place over several years, beginning in 2008 and ending in 2016. After our wedding in 2008, we moved into an apartment on US 1 in Lexington, South Carolina. We traveled on it daily to and from work and errands and at some point we learned that if we just drove past our apartment and kept going, we'd get all the way to Canada or Key West, depending on which direction we headed.
In August 2009, we set out on our first vacation together. The first of our many back roads road trips began on a Friday afternoon with 9 days of open road ahead of us. We began in downtown Columbia in front of the South Carolina State House and drove South with the goal of reaching Key West, taking US 1 the whole way.
Our US 1 story takes place over several years, beginning in 2008 and ending in 2016. After our wedding in 2008, we moved into an apartment on US 1 in Lexington, South Carolina. We traveled on it daily to and from work and errands and at some point we learned that if we just drove past our apartment and kept going, we'd get all the way to Canada or Key West, depending on which direction we headed.
Sunday, February 19, 2017
Our Favorite Restaurants in America
Traveling long term requires that you dine out quite frequently. Today, I'm sharing our recommendations for finding good restaurants in unfamiliar towns, along with a few of our favorite local restaurants from across the USA.
Finding local joints instead of always eating at the Olive Garden or Golden Corral is really a requirement for the best and fullest road trip experience. Generally, these restaurants are family run and many have employees who have worked there for 10, 15, or 20 years. Often, the owner will be present. Ninety-nine percent of the time, the service is above and beyond the average experience at a chain place. It can be a little daunting to cruise into a town you've never heard of and find a restaurant with great food and great service, but we guarantee it's possible!
Finding local joints instead of always eating at the Olive Garden or Golden Corral is really a requirement for the best and fullest road trip experience. Generally, these restaurants are family run and many have employees who have worked there for 10, 15, or 20 years. Often, the owner will be present. Ninety-nine percent of the time, the service is above and beyond the average experience at a chain place. It can be a little daunting to cruise into a town you've never heard of and find a restaurant with great food and great service, but we guarantee it's possible!
Thursday, February 2, 2017
How to Create a Road Trip Itinerary
It's the fifth week of our Planning a Back Roads Road Trip series, and we're sharing suggestions for planning your itinerary, from selecting your destination(s) to finding the route to take you there.
When planning a vacation, some people like to wing it and leave the entire trip open to surprise. Others plan down to the minute and know exactly what to expect each day of the trip. Still others will fall somewhere in between, which is what we'd recommend for most road trips. You've probably got specific dates that you'll be working with, so you'll want to plan to do and see as much as you can in that time period, while staying on track so you return from your trip on time and having fully enjoyed your time off.
When planning a vacation, some people like to wing it and leave the entire trip open to surprise. Others plan down to the minute and know exactly what to expect each day of the trip. Still others will fall somewhere in between, which is what we'd recommend for most road trips. You've probably got specific dates that you'll be working with, so you'll want to plan to do and see as much as you can in that time period, while staying on track so you return from your trip on time and having fully enjoyed your time off.
Friday, January 27, 2017
Long Term Travel: How to Pack / Doing Laundry in a Hotel
It's Week 4 in our Planning a Back Roads Road Trip series, and we're here to talk about packing your bags to make sure you're prepared for whatever weather comes your way, plus doing laundry on the road when the need arises.
When you're setting out on a long trip, you want to make sure you have everything you'll need without having excess stuff to lug around. Especially if you're traveling as seasons are changing, you'll need to pack a variety of clothing to make sure you're prepared, regardless of what kind of weather you encounter along the way.
When you're setting out on a long trip, you want to make sure you have everything you'll need without having excess stuff to lug around. Especially if you're traveling as seasons are changing, you'll need to pack a variety of clothing to make sure you're prepared, regardless of what kind of weather you encounter along the way.
Tuesday, January 17, 2017
10 Tips for Enjoying Your Next Road Trip
It's Week 3 of our Planning a Back Roads Road Trip series, and we're sharing some tips for getting the most out of your road trip. We've narrowed it down to 10 suggestions we think will help you be prepared for and enjoy your time on the road.
Tuesday, January 10, 2017
How to Prepare your Car for a Road Trip
When an Eagle Scout and a Girl Scout Gold Award recipient pack a car for a road trip, they tend to pack everything they could possibly need in an effort to 'Be Prepared.' There were few times we found ourselves without an item we needed, and we thought there might be others out there who could benefit from what we learned on our 80-day road trip.
Tuesday, January 3, 2017
Six Reasons You Should Take a Back Roads Road Trip in 2017
To our faithful followers, we're sorry we dropped the ball for six months! Life got busy after our travels were over, and the blog got pushed to the back burner. We'd like to fix that now, and we're sharing a road trip planning series in January. Every week this month, we'll post tips on preparing for a road trip. In this first post, we'll tell you why we think back roads are best for road trips.
Friday, July 29, 2016
Los Angeles to Las Vegas
The Journey
One day travel through Death Valley to Las Vegas.
Los Angeles, Ca > Hwy 14 to Redrock Randsburg Rd to Randsburg, CA > Trona Rd to Hwy 178 to Hwy 190 into Death Valley National Park > Hwy 190 to State Line Rd to Bell Vista Rd to Pahrump, NV > Hwy 160 to Las Vegas, NV
Traveling North from Los Angeles past Ridgecrest, CA, you will encounter signs for the "town" of Ballarat. Take the short detour down the bumpy 3-mile dirt road to Ballarat, which sits in the shadows of the Panamint Mountain Range.
Ballarat was founded in 1897 as a mining town, and in its heyday had over 500 residents and at least seven saloons. The town died when the nearby Ratcliffe Mine was closed in the first decade of the 1900s, and it is now one of many ghost towns stranded in the American west.
In the 1960's, the infamous "Manson family" lived briefly in a secluded ranch just south of Ballarat and left graffiti in the town; in the 1970s, a hippie celebration attended by approximately 2000 people ended badly as nearly 200 of them contracted Hepatitis from bad drinking water.
The day we visited, there were some temporary residents who had 'moved in.' After using their restroom, it was explained to me that I would need to gather a bucket of water from a tub to pour down and "flush" the toilet. As a guest in their home, I of course obliged!
From Ballaret, we climbed over the mountains and descended into Death Valley National Park.
*It's a long way down to the lowest & hottest point in the USA.
Death Valley National Park is a diverse desert wasteland. Sand, salt, and sulfur combine to create a surreal landscape.
*On the way down into Death Valley you pass by - and go below - sea level.
*Playing with a rock in the Death Valley sand dunes.
*Relaxing on an old wooden fence at the old Harmony Borax Works.
*Standing in Devil's Golf Course, a massive area comprised of large, jagged rock salt formations. Tread carefully around these!
*The white, sandy bottom of Badwater Basin
*The lowest point in the USA
A storm tried to climb the mountain as we approached Artist's Drive, a one way loop through multi-colored sedimentary mountains
Though the storm never caught us, it did send a washout across the road. We discovered that washouts are common in the American southwest, where rain water can quickly carve channels in the soft soil and create rivulets that build up enough to cross the road. We forged this one. If that litte Honda up ahead could do it, so could we!
*Had to make a stop at the next gas station for some clean up
We left Death Valley NP and snuck out of California between two storms. We were then escorted by big, puffy clouds and giant rock walls into Las Vegas, NV.
Las Vegas has become a seminal, somewhat seedy, departure from real life for Americans. But how did it become a mirage in the Desert (with a real Mirage resort, which is home to the best show in Vegas, Love, a Circque Du Soleil show set to Beatles music and themes)?
Like Ballarat, it is the ghost of a western boom town with gambling and other uninhibited pursuits. But while Ballarat's ghost lies peacefully in its grave, Las Vegas is a zombie enlivened first by the decidedly east coast Mafia in the 1950's, and now by the mostly east coast corporate interests of gambling conglomerates (including Trump Entertainment Resorts, Inc.).
*The Luxor and Mandalay Bay
*Ceasar's Palace
*Inside The Venetian, where Gondolas can take you around the river to different parts of the resort.
My wife was the lucky one during our visit to Vegas, and turned $2 into $1.80. Not bad!
Stay tuned as we travel from Las Vegas to Utah and visit Zion and Bryce Canyon National Parks, then pass back through Arizona across Lake Powell and stop at Horseshoe Bend.
*Zion National Park
*Bryce Canyon National Park
*Horseshoe Bend near Lake Powell, Arizona
Traveling North from Los Angeles past Ridgecrest, CA, you will encounter signs for the "town" of Ballarat. Take the short detour down the bumpy 3-mile dirt road to Ballarat, which sits in the shadows of the Panamint Mountain Range.
Ballarat was founded in 1897 as a mining town, and in its heyday had over 500 residents and at least seven saloons. The town died when the nearby Ratcliffe Mine was closed in the first decade of the 1900s, and it is now one of many ghost towns stranded in the American west.
Over the years, various residents have moved into Ballarat to have a town all to themselves, and a few have left relics which post-date the town's natural life.
In the 1960's, the infamous "Manson family" lived briefly in a secluded ranch just south of Ballarat and left graffiti in the town; in the 1970s, a hippie celebration attended by approximately 2000 people ended badly as nearly 200 of them contracted Hepatitis from bad drinking water.
The day we visited, there were some temporary residents who had 'moved in.' After using their restroom, it was explained to me that I would need to gather a bucket of water from a tub to pour down and "flush" the toilet. As a guest in their home, I of course obliged!
From Ballaret, we climbed over the mountains and descended into Death Valley National Park.
Death Valley National Park is a diverse desert wasteland. Sand, salt, and sulfur combine to create a surreal landscape.
*Heading further down
A storm tried to climb the mountain as we approached Artist's Drive, a one way loop through multi-colored sedimentary mountains
Though the storm never caught us, it did send a washout across the road. We discovered that washouts are common in the American southwest, where rain water can quickly carve channels in the soft soil and create rivulets that build up enough to cross the road. We forged this one. If that litte Honda up ahead could do it, so could we!
We left Death Valley NP and snuck out of California between two storms. We were then escorted by big, puffy clouds and giant rock walls into Las Vegas, NV.
Las Vegas has become a seminal, somewhat seedy, departure from real life for Americans. But how did it become a mirage in the Desert (with a real Mirage resort, which is home to the best show in Vegas, Love, a Circque Du Soleil show set to Beatles music and themes)?
My wife was the lucky one during our visit to Vegas, and turned $2 into $1.80. Not bad!
Stay tuned as we travel from Las Vegas to Utah and visit Zion and Bryce Canyon National Parks, then pass back through Arizona across Lake Powell and stop at Horseshoe Bend.
*Zion National Park
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