Gadling readers compile U.S. road trip must-sees

by Brenda Yun on

Gadling would first like to congratulate Karin V, Arti K, and Benderillo, who are the lucky winners of our Road Trip USA giveaway! A copy of Road Trip USA, Route 66, and the Pacific Coast Highway are heading to your doorsteps as I type this.

Here are our winners’ road trip destination descriptions:

from “Road Trip USA” winner Karin V:
The North Rim of the Grand Canyon is a must see! It seems that most people opt to head to the South Rim. The North Rim is a little out of the way and a bit more isolated, but that is what makes it so wonderful. There is a wonderful lodge just outside the park in the Kaibab forest that is a fantastic place to stop and spend a little time too.

from “Route 66” winner Arti K:
I was returning to California after finishing graduate school up in Illinois – so I decided to do a road trip from Chicago to Los Angeles, via Seattle. Logical, I know. =). But the biggest highlight was driving through South Dakota, seeing signs for a ‘scenic detour’, and quite literally stumbling on the Badlands National Park. The majesty of the place can’t be exaggerated, and it is such a shocking change after the rolling plains of South Dakota, Iowa, Illinois and onwards to the east. It is absolutely a must-see! I missed out on seeing the ‘Going To The Sun Road’ (Montana) and Mt. St. Helens (Oregon) as these are at higher elevations and I was traveling around the end of May. These are next on my must-see list.

from “Pacific Coast Highway” winner Benderillo:
Redwood National Forest. A walk amongst the Giant Trees is something that will stay with you for the rest of your life.

(find out about the Gadling Readers’ Road Trip after the jump)
I was so blown away by the fantastic suggestions for places to visit in the U.S. before we die that I compiled some of the best descriptions below, as well as a handy Gadling Readers Road Trip GoogleMap should you feel compelled to hit the asphalt and check out some of America’s best attractions.


View Gadling Readers’ Road Trip in a larger map

In case you don’t know how to use GoogleMaps, click on any pin to view a Gadling reader’s description. You can also retrieve directions to and from any destination.

Enjoy the road and don’t forget to buckle up!

Talking Travel with Road Trip USA writer Jamie Jensen

by Brenda Yun on

Avalon travel writer Jamie Jensen, whose travel guidebook, Road Trip USA, hit book stands earlier this month, took time from his busy book tour to answer a few questions about travel, writing, and road tripping across the country.

Don’t forget to enter the Gadling Giveaway of the latest edition HERE, or read my glowing Travel Read review of the book HERE.

Enjoy the interview!

BY: What is the most scenic/interesting/enjoyable stretch of road you’ve encountered?

JJ: One lifelong favorite (well, 30 years and counting…) is the famous stretch of Hwy-1 along the central California coast, through Big Sur. This is an amazing engineering and construction feat – carved out of the cliffs beginning in the 1920s; it offers incredible views and takes drivers to places we couldn’t otherwise reach. The combination of the natural world and the manmade improvements (not just the roadway, but the many rustic lodges and historic sites) is simply amazing – just take it slow!

The Blue Ridge Parkway in North Carolina is another amazing road to drive, winding through the forests along the Appalachian crest, and for something very different I like to head down to Florida to drive the “Overseas Highway”, which is basically one long bridge over the blue waters of the Caribbean Sea, from near Miami and the Everglades all the way to the tip of Key West.

New England has tons of great two-lane country roads-and perhaps the country’s most beautiful stretch of Interstate Highway, I-93 thru Franconia Notch. And even higher up in the mountains, the Rockies have at least two unforgettable roads, the wonderfully named “Million Dollar Highway” in Colorado, and the sinuous “Going-to-the-Sun Road” through the heart of Glacier National Park.

I could go on – but these are a good starter.


BY: What compelled you to travel nearly half a million miles of asphalt?

JJ: I don’t think I ever intended to spend so much time driving around – and certainly not to accumulate so many miles – but over the years I’ve kept looking at maps and wondering what these places really looked like, and then with Road Trip USA I’ve been going back again and again and keeping track of what’s new. So it has all added up. Then again, there is something like 6 million miles of paved roads across the country, so I’ve really barely scratched the surface.

BY: How did you gather all of the information about the places you traveled?

JJ: Because I’m interested in older roads, the ones that were main roads before the Interstate Highway system came thru in the 1960s, my first best source of ideas for places to travel was a series of 1930s and 1940s travel guides covering all the old US Highways-these were put together as a “New Deal” project for out-of-work writers, and were written by the likes of Saul Bellow, Ralph Ellison, and Jim Thompson.

The WPA guides are great stuff – and full of insights that still resonate today.

More practically, since I cover places to eat and sleep and have fun, as well as the history and culture of these different places, I used to write or call the sundry Chambers of Commerce and tourist promotion organizations for each state, region, city and town, and ask for their brochures and maps.

Now of course, all of that information is on the Internet – but nothing is as valuable as actually visiting these places and seeing (and tasting!) them for myself.

BY: What is the biggest advantage and disadvantage to traveling by car?

JJ: The advantages of traveling by car – especially in a country as huge and car-dependent as the USA – are numerous and probably obvious. Cars offer freedom to go where you want when you want, in comfort and at your own pace. And because it costs about the same to travel with four or more people as it does to go alone, the economics of driving over buying airplane or train tickets is pretty compelling.

That said, the downside of traveling by car is closely tied with the advantages – namely, what with sound systems and air conditioning, etc., cars are so comfortable that is sometimes means it can be hard to stop and actually experience the places you pass through.

So, despite the inertia of buzzing along at 70 mph, for a memorable road trip it’s important to make every effort to stop and get out of the car, even for a few minutes, so the sights and sounds can sink in, and really leave an impression.

BY: How did you score the gig to travel across the country and write this book – and what advice do you have for aspiring travel writers?

JJ: Before I wrote Road Trip USA, I had already established myself as a travel guidebook author, writing and overseeing guidebooks to California and all of the USA for a number of “traditional” publishers (Rough Guides, Michelin Guides, Fodor’s, and those nicely illustrated “Eyewitness Guides” from Dorling Kindersley) so I had a pretty good track record. When I started working on what became Road Trip USA, I never thought I would find enough sights to make a 900-page book, but nowadays the challenge is to keep it from getting too big!

My advice to aspiring travel writers is simply to write. Unfortunately, it is very hard to get paid very much for travel writing, but if you can combine it with other things, it may work out. Once you’ve written something, you’ll have it forever, but if you don’t write things down and tell your stories (even it’s just for yourself right now), the stories start to fade away. And who knows! Maybe tomorrow you’ll find a publisher who wants a whole book of your adventures. If you’ve written your stories along the way, you’ll be much better placed to take advantage of opportunities.

On a more positive note, with the wonderful world of the Internet, it is a lot easier for people to be “published” and reach interested readers directly (through websites and blogs etc), though I don’t know of anyone who is making anything like real money doing this.

BY: What will be your next project? More road tripping or are you growing roots in California?

JJ: That’s a good question. Since I finished the last edition of Road Trip USA, I switched gears a little, and have taken a 6-month trip to Berlin, where the relationship between history and tourism are so much more complicated than they are compared to say, getting your kicks on Route 66. For me, growing up in southern California during the Space Age 1960s with all the fear of Commie infiltrations and imminent nuclear war, it’s been fascinating to spend a length of time where so much horrible stuff happened. Though I don’t think I’m going to do a “Guilt Trip” alternative of my “Road Trip” work, I’m more interested than ever at looking into the mechanics of how we (as individuals, communities and as countries) “remember” history, through monuments and parks and preservation of “historic” places.

Gadling is currently accepting entries to a giveaway of Jamie’s Road Trip USA guidebooks. Entries are due by Friday, April 24 @ 5 p.m. EST!!!

Check out my review of Road Trip USA while you’re at it.

Road tripping to be easier this summer with lower gas prices

by Tom Johansmeyer on

Fill your tank, cut down a redwood and kick a polar bear in the ‘nads … gas is likely to stay cheap this summer! So, let the environment be damned, load up the Hummer and take the longest road trip of your life.

The Energy Information Administration has great news for motorists: gas is expected to hang around an average of $2.23 a gallon this summer (more if you live in New York or California, I imagine). Peak driving season – late in the summer – could see a rise to more than $2.30, but it’s still a far cry from last summer’s insanity … when the average gallon would set you back $3.81.

What’s behind this embarrassment of fossil fuel riches? A barrel of crude is likely to cost about a third of what it did last summer ($53 versus $147), and U.S. crude oil production is supposed to come back up – by 440,000 barrels a day.

But, it pays to have a backup plan. Howard Gruenspecht, acting administrator of the EIA, concedes that an early broader economic recovery could lead to more pain at the pump, though you’d probably be able to afford it.

An EIA spokesman was on hand to confirm, “We’re not in the crystal ball business.” If they were, they probably wouldn’t be talking about fuel prices anyway.

Travel Read: Road Trip USA

by Brenda Yun on

Avalon Travel writer Jamie Jensen traversed the nation several times, testing various two-lane highways in the process, to bring road trippers the best (really, it’s the BEST) road trip guidebook for the U.S. to date. Road Trip USA, released this month, features eleven unique cross-country road trips. I would not only recommend this guidebook, I would insist that you buy it if you’re embarking on a U.S. road trip of any sort — or if you’re one of those information junkies needing a good fill of fun facts and historical tidbits.

North to south, east to west, Jensen really covers it all, and he includes helpful information about nearly every interesting town along the way as well as detours or side trips that are worthy of some extra time. The great American byways have never sounded so enticing and intriguing. There is one mega-book that includes all 11 trips (retail $29.95) and two smaller books (each $9.95) for the countries two most charted journeys: the Pacific Coast and Route 66.
Here’s a brief overview of Jensen’s 11 road trips:

  1. Pacific Coast: Route 1, otherwise known as the PCH (Pacific Coast Highway), spans the whole western coastline from Washington’s Olympic National Park through California’s rugged Lost Coast to San Diego. Forks, Washington, of Stephenie Meyer’s “Twilight” fame, sits firmly along the PCH, so you can search high and low for vampires (or loggers) if you so please.
  2. Border to Border: Start way up north in Canada’s Jasper National Park and make your way through Banff, Sun Valley, and the Extraterrestrial Highway down to the Arizona-Mexico border. Little known fact: Hemingway wrote part of his famous For Whom the Bell Tolls in the Sun Valley Lodge.
  3. The Road to Nowhere: Follow the US-83 straight through the middle of the country from North Dakota to Texas. It’s all about the open road on this journey. Don’t know where the Chalk Pyramids or Monument Rocks are? Well, go and find them for yourself. Drinking is legal on the beach of one of the destinations on this route, too.
  4. The Great River Road: Follow the mighty Mississippi River to the deep south, and learn about some of America’s most iconic figures (Mark Twain or Elvis ring a bell?) You can find the world’s largest six-pack too, and I’m not talking about a hot guy, I’m talking about beer — a lot of it.
  5. Appalachian Trail: I considered maybe for a brief minute of hiking the whole Appalachian Trail, and while that would be an amazing feat, I think I’ll stick to pavement. Those who’ve accomplished the AT by foot talk about how grateful they were when they found “trail magic,” so you shouldn’t be surprised to find your own form of “road magic” — maybe in the form of food (diners aplenty), but more likely in the visual form (mountains beyond mountains).
  6. Atlantic Coast: Start at the Statue of Liberty and head along the the coast through eerie Savannah to the lively Florida Keys. Make sure you walk Jersey’s piers and try a night or two in one of the state’s many “Doo Wop”motels.
  7. The Great Northern: Something awfully mystical awaits you up north in places like Maine’s Acadia National Park and Montana’s Glacier National Park. If those don’t strike your fancy, there’s always the stunning Great Lakes in summer.
  8. The Oregon Trail: Niagara Falls, Yellowstone, the quintessential American cities of Boston and Chicago, Mt. Rushmore, the Great Plains, the Finger Lakes, Cape Cod. Yes, please.
  9. Loneliest Road: America’s backbone runs across such famed stretches as the Santa Fe Trail, Million Dollar Highway, and Pony Express Trail. You’ll be charting your own map, but journeying through some of the countries most gorgeous landscapes all by your lonesome. Don’t forget to bring your camara and don’t be afraid to get lost in the beauty of it all.
  10. Southern Pacific: This is the American south in all its glory. Deserts, swamps, spicy Tex-Mex food, and good old southern hospitality, where everything is biggest, sweeter, and just plain hot. You might want to brush up on your line dancing and donn that hat and those boots for some wild nights on the town.
  11. Route 66: John Steinbeck called it the “Mother Road.” Songs immortalized it as a place where you can “get your kicks.” Diners, roadside attractions, and motels are all just part of what gives it its character. From giant statues and Cadillac farms to barns and billboards, this most famous Route must be traveled at some point in your life. Why not let it be now?

If you’re traveling anywhere in the U.S. by car, rest assured Jensen’s got your destination covered. In many senses, you can bypass expensive single-State guidebook purchases and just invest in in this one comprehensive national guidebook. Check it out, really.

Gadling’s hosting a Road Trip USA giveaway in the next few days, so stay tuned for that as well as a “Talking Travel” Q&A with the series’ intrepid writer, Jamie Jensen himself.

Road trip tips

by Brenda Yun on


Thanks to Tynan’s continuing feature on the nomadic life, Gadling’s been receiving an influx of requests on tips for big road trips. Those of us who are not quite as daring as Tynan might want to start with a cross-country trip, for example. There’s much to consider before you embark on such a journey, so it’s important to keep these things in mind:

  • The company: Road trips are not for the faint hearted. If you’ve ever seen “Texas Chainsaw Massacre” or “No Country for Old Men” you’ll know what I mean. If your road trip is longer than a week, choose your company wisely. S/he better like the same music as you, you better have something worth talking about for hours on end. Ultimately, you should determine beforehand whether you can tolerate this person’s antics or not.

  • The car: You’ll definitely want to get your car pimped out thoroughly before the journey. On my most recent 3-week trip from Florida to California, my boyfriend bought an old Chevy van that we called “Vanzilla.” He didn’t tell me at the time, but it cost him only $500. We pushed “Vanzilla” a bit too hard one evening and slept through a freezing cold evening in shopping mall parking lot in Flagstaff, Arizona. The next morning, the radiator blew. Little disasters and problem-solving is part of the package when it comes to road trips, so be prepared!
  • Stuff in the trunk: Little thought has to be put into what to bring. As long as you don’t bring your most valuable stuff, the rest is fair game. Stuff it in the trunk and hit the road! Whatever you forget to bring, you can buy at Walmart or a roadside gas station.
  • The route: If possible, you should have a rough outline of the route you’re taking and the stops you plan on making. GoogleMaps has a great feature where you can drop pins and calculate driving time and distances (click on the “My Maps” tab and then “Create new map”). Most likely you’ll be visiting friends along the way, so make it a point to tell them you’re coming, so they know roughly when to expect you.
  • It’s not all fun and games: The purpose of a road trip is not to drink and drive — at least I hope you’re not endangering other people by thinking the road is such a playground. You don’t want to do anything stupid. My friends got caught somewhere in South Dakota with weed in their car and ended up in the slammer. You can imagine their parents reaction when they got the “Please Save Me” call. Have a great time, but be responsible.
  • R & R: Rest and relaxation is definitely possible when you’re on the road. Take some detours. If you see a strange sign and it makes you curious, follow it. You can also stay clean on the road by utilizing the trucker stops, which have fully functioning hot-water showers. Some are quite clean! If you’re really road trippin’ you must try it. As for the famed roadside motels, you might try one or two, but you might end up preferring the comfort of your reclined seat in the car. You can always pack a tent, too, and just camp it in a rest area if you’re desperate.
  • The memories: My Florida-California Vanzilla trip was designed to be a woman’s version of “Travels with Charley,” as I brought my pug Iris with me. Keep a blog (you can read about our journey HERE), take tons of photos (the photos from this article are also from this trip), and make great memories!

Enjoy your road trip — and let me know if there are any other tips I’ve missed!