Cross Country Trip

NYCgrrl wrote:

2gypsies wrote:

Matt_Colie wrote:
PG,

Your plan is interesting, but it is something I would advise against at this time. The simple fact being that you are new to this and you are setting yourself up for a serious disappointment.

Wow! You really popped the balloon. :(

By the time they hit Kansas they'll be pros at RVing. It really doesn't take a lot of practice. Drive. Follow the map. Fuel up. Spend the night. They'll soon get the hang of it even though they'll probably make a few mistakes. They'll be fast learners, for sure. :)

Today is the midpoint of the month. I've no idea if the OP has ever used an RV before but of course I also have no idea if she meant that she was leaving the end of June of a different year:h.

Agree there's some planning and prep to ready for a big trip, but bottom line, if the rig is in good shape, it's not like they're heading into the wilderness for 6 weeks. Forget something? Hit the next Wally World and pick it up.

To the OP, go have fun whichever direction you head. After all, that's why you bought a RV.

2gypsies wrote:

Matt_Colie wrote:
PG,

Your plan is interesting, but it is something I would advise against at this time. The simple fact being that you are new to this and you are setting yourself up for a serious disappointment.

Wow! You really popped the balloon. :(

By the time they hit Kansas they'll be pros at RVing. It really doesn't take a lot of practice. Drive. Follow the map. Fuel up. Spend the night. They'll soon get the hang of it even though they'll probably make a few mistakes. They'll be fast learners, for sure. :)

Today is the midpoint of the month. I've no idea if the OP has ever used an RV before but of course I also have no idea if she meant that she was leaving the end of June of a different year:h.

Just a suggestion for your adventure. Buy yourselves a 12v crock pot and get food in it in a plastic protector bag place the pot in the sink and let it go. When you stop for the night your dinner will be ready.

Have fun. Niagara is something to see but once seen not much else to do. Buffalo is disgusting to drive in and the NY Turnpike stops it seems each mile to pay a toll. During week Myrtles Beach near Erie PA is not a bad stop little expensive for overnight but nice voew of lake and clean

PGBusLady wrote:
My husband and I recently purchased a 29' Fleetwood for a cross country trip 3 years in the making. We'll be leaving at the end of June and have 6 weeks to see the best and worst that America has to offer.Departing from Va.heading North to Niagara Falls then West . We would like to visit most of the National Landmarks Grand Canyon,Yellowstone,Yosemite,Mount Rushmore etc. My questions for the experienced ones on this site are : Which routes to take? Scenic vs. interstate is ok. Which landmarks are must see which ones should be avoided? Which National / State parks are recommended . Remoteness / Wilderness with no hook ups is appealing. Which cities should be avoided because of traffic,high crime or not as accommodating should we have to Wallydock for a night or two.What are some other things to see between the East coast and West coast we may not have thought of.Any and all feedback will be appreciated both positive and negative to help some newbies on what we are calling the once in a lifetime trip.

2gypsies wrote:
Wow! You really popped the balloon. :(

By the time they hit Kansas they'll be pros at RVing. It really doesn't take a lot of practice. Drive. Follow the map. Fuel up. Spend the night. They'll soon get the hang of it even though they'll probably make a few mistakes. They'll be fast learners, for sure. :)

Welle Gyps,

You seem to have missed the fact that they have a new coach (at least new to them) and no plan in place. If they go north to Niagara first, they will be an part of the world with little accommodation for RVs without any plan. Which ever way they go west from there, they immediate challenges on the second day.

I have seen this with both RVs and boats. RVs are less life threatening, but disappointment level is usually the same. This writer has two weeks before departure. If they take the time to do as I suggested then they have a slim chance to not be disappointed. But the only chance they have to not end up so, is to set targets so low that they are un-missable.

I worked for a company that made RV equipment at one time. We had several RVs that we could sign-out for a short term. We were involved in a program with a European group. I was listening to them at lunch time one day and they were determined to take one of the company coaches to the Grand Canyon that weekend. This was from Michigan. They were not aware of the scale of distances. I got out a USA map and showed them what they were planning. They changed the plan and went to Niagara. They got into the lab Monday looking a lot worse for the wear.

I have many such stories to draw on, but many of the boat ones involve loss.

It will be more rewarding if they don't dive into an unknown rocky pond head first. Yes, they can get a lot of experience before Kansas, but Kansas is three driving days from a lot of Virginia. I am hopeful that they will get to know the coach and then go places. If they have been reading here, then they did do a couple of nights in their driveway, and maybe a weekend away from the house, but they still have a lot of learning to do to be successful. If I could, I would spend a day with them and pull the learning curve up by its roots, that does not seem to be a option.

I still wish them boring driving and wonders at the stops.

Matt

Matt_Colie wrote:
PG,

Your plan is interesting, but it is something I would advise against at this time. The simple fact being that you are new to this and you are setting yourself up for a serious disappointment.

Wow! You really popped the balloon. :(

By the time they hit Kansas they'll be pros at RVing. It really doesn't take a lot of practice. Drive. Follow the map. Fuel up. Spend the night. They'll soon get the hang of it even though they'll probably make a few mistakes. They'll be fast learners, for sure. :)

PG,

Your plan is interesting, but it is something I would advise against at this time. The simple fact being that you are new to this and you are setting yourself up for a serious disappointment.

From central Va to Old Faithful is a five day hard push. That is an endurance test that is not a good way to do much. An 8 hour driving day is a LONG DAY. Yes, truckers do 550 all the time, but they have to do that to make money. They also do not enjoy the country that they drive through.

Now, you have the coach. If you plan to keep it a while, blow off the nearby stuff - Like the falls. That is a good trip for a 3 day weekend. Drive, See the Falls (takes an hour if you have lunch there), Drive home.

Start now. Go to AAA and get a USA map and all the guide books you can. Start plotting points and then "Follow the Dots".

I would have to guess that you also have a lot to learn about planning and navigation. That is something best learned close to home. When you get it figured out and are comfortable with it, then go wandering. As a person that lives in or near the Megopolis of the east coast, you may not understand that there are vast expanses of this country that are bereft of services. Stops and particularly fuel and End of Day need to be thought about.

Do you have a GPS and know all about how to use it? Do you have a Walmart Street Atlas? Don't even think of leaving home without at least those two.

Want to know more, start with a new plan and come back here.

Matt

If you make it to around Yellowstone, be sure to visit Cody, WY and the Buffalo Bill Museum there. Lots of really neat things to see. I agree that Bannock, MT is a neat ghost town, too, as is the Big Hole Battlefield. Lots of beautiful country to see out West.

Also, you said remote camping is appealing. I think there's much less un developed stuff east of the Rockies but get into MT or CO and just pick some forest roads to head up towards lakes or something and go as far as you can til the rig doesn't fit up the road anymore. It's generally accepted that once you get away from civilization in national forests, camp is where you make it.
So many reccomendations of places camped in the mtns, wouldn't know where to start.

Agree, pick one quadrant of the country and go nuts, but if you try to make a relatively complete loop you'll not spend much time anywhere. However that could be your gig if you just want to travel. Which is cool too. Depends how adventurous you are.
We never get to take extended vacations, yet, something about work, kids, sports, etc. lol but am taking 3 weeks this summer to go from Seattle back to Wisconsin, and including 3 days in Yellowstone, few days sightseeing and fishing thru ID and MT, 2 days in the black hills and several days in WI, barely have enough time to get back to home base.
Personally I find the Southern half of the country miserably hot in the summer which defeats the purpose of camping and outdoor stuff.
My reccomendation would be upper Midwest out to the PNW/coast, southern BC, cascades, Rockies, maybe hit Moab or something but stay north predominantly.
Or conversely, the NE quadrant, niagra, Appalachians, maybe Canadian maritimes, Atlantic coast.