Trip from Delaware to Utah National Parks and Grand Tetons

We went to Yellowstone in 2016 from Reading,Pa. We took I'70 then I-72 to Missouri RT 36. Nice 4 lane road,65mph. Then I-29 to Nebraska Rt6 to I-80. Right on Missouri RT 36 is Pershing State Park.Electric hookups, showers $22 a night. We enjoyed stopping at the Harold Warp Pioneer Museum in Minden,Nebraska. If you like history,old cars,trucks,tractors etc, they have them. There is also a campground there. $35 a night for full hookups and the price includes one ticket to the museum.

If you going to any of the Utah National Parks, you'd better start off in the southern part of the Utah because in June it's already pretty warm. any later like July, it'll be up in the 100 degree range or higher. Then work your way north where it's a lot cooler.

Mountain Directory West is a handy reference.

Lots of choices. Do you want to take interstates or the "Blue Highways"? You will most likely want to start by picking up I-70 from I-95. We prefer taking I-68 to I-79 to I-64 rather than staying on I-70. In the Saint Louis area, you have some choices. I-70 will take you West through Colorado to Utah. You could also pickup either US-50 or US-36 to travel through the heartland of the country. Another choice is to take I-44 to I-40. Amarillo would likely be the warmest spot along this route. I-40 follows Historic Route 66 through New Mexico and Arizona.

There is a lot to see along I-40. In Amarillo, there is Palo Duro Canyon State Park and the Big Texan on Old Route 66. In New Mexico, Tucumcari still has dinners along Historic Route 66 and numerous murals painted on buildings plus other attractions. Santa Rosa is another Route 66 town and has the The Blue Hole and Santa Rosa Lake State Park which has a nice campground. In Albuquerque, the Pueblo Cultural Center, the Turquoise Trail, the Sandia Crest Highway and Petroglyph National Monument are worth visiting in my opinion. In Grants, there is the Mining Museum. Just South of I-40 going West from Grants are El Malpais National Monument, El Moro National Monument and the Ice Cave and Bandera Volcano. Acoma Sky City is said to be the longest occuppied location in the U.S. They give tours of the pueblo and there is an RV park next to the casino.

Meteor Crater and Petrified Forest National Park are not far from the Arizona/New Mexico border. Homolovi Ruins State Park is near Winslow where you can stand on the corner.

In the Flagstaff area are Sunset Crater National Monument, Wupatki National Monument, and Walnut Canyon National Monument. Sedona/Camp Verde/Cottonwood are about an hour South of Flagstaff with Montezuma Castle and Montezuma Well National Monuments, Tuzigoot National Monument, Palatki and Honaki Ruins, V-Bar-V Heritage Site, Verde Canyon Railroad, Fort Verde State Park, Cathedral Rock, Gold King Mine, Jerome State Historic Park in the area.

Grand Canyon National Park is not far North Of I-40. From there, it is not far to many of the Utah National Parks and other great places. US-89 can take you all the way to Grand Teton National Park with many great places along the way.

People from the East have a hard time visualizing the weather changes in the West with latitude and elevation. Southern Utah will be hot by June. I would go there first. The Tetons never get hot, but they get crowded in the summer.

I would take a more northerly route going across. We used to drive across the country every summer for years. There is no best route. It is good that you are going for two months. Avoid traveling more than around 300 miles in a day. Take time to stop and rest.

You have two months. Get off the Interstate and take side roads, it's the only way to see America.
Enjoy your trip.

LarryDel wrote:
Planning on a trip beginning June 1 for 2 months. Any suggestions on what routes we should take. I was thinking of the southern routes but then realized the weather might be too hot at that time of year going through Texas and the lower part of Arizona. Your suggestions would be appreciated. Thanks...

Larry,

First off - let's clear the Calendar and get the entire 60 days and more if possible.

Second, is there any chance you could leave earlier? Your time frame is lending itself to Heat in Utah and Crowds in the Tetons, and you are entering a very BIG area to explore, (Delaware and Rhode Island combined are smaller than Yellowstone and the Tetons combined :) )Do you have a list or the beginnings of a list of places you want to visit? Whole lot to see and do out West.

Having made the trip often I'd suggest the easiest and most RV friendly Route we will start in Lewis and End in the Tetons, I'll put a few way points in along the way.

Map - Utah and the Tetons from Lewes, DE - there are Literally dozens of stops that you should make along the way, I can suggest many, but you will need to Like the Map.

We have a family Beach House in North Shore (Rehoboth) so I know it should be Delightful to be gone for the Summer, and the Crowds at the Beach. We have driven out to and through Colorado Many Times (4 Granddaughters in Colorado ) So I am extremely familiar with the route I am suggesting.

Couple of Notes on waypoints that I think are Good;

Morgantown an I-68 and I-79 - No Tolls and easier to drive in the RV.

I get to Champaign, IL then on to Hannibal and RT 36 - less trucks and by now you will be ready for some more sane driving.

RT 36 will be a good road with less traffic few trucks all the way to Colorado - road is not always in the Best shape there - but still OK.

I take you to Golden (Clear Creek CG if you can get in) then out on RT 6 to Idaho Springs - Beautiful drive along Clear Creek - a Welcome to the Rockies Drive ;)

Then I-70 through the Big Tunnel to Breck and if you had time you could run up to Leadville, RT 91 and taKe RT 24 around the backside of Vail through Red Cliff and Minturn before getting Back on I-70 (More Welcome to Colorado) I strongly suggest this but did not map it.

Then on to Glenwood Springs and the over Under Highway along the Colorado - Stop and Soak it in - from there to Moab getting off to Catch RT 128 as it follows the Colorado into Moab.

From there I just picked the bigs for the rest of the way and you can spend your life here and never see it all - Just Beautiful - but you will need A/C if you do not have Elevation and it is Warm.

Hope this helps with you plans,

Best of Luck,

Moab

Images that will help with decisions

Edited the map to include correct route in Delaware and Maryland - also included Leadville and Minturn - MAP #2

Also based on the Eastern Shore. Done everything that trailertraveler suggested. Never gotten on 70 & stayed there. Depending on western destination 50 or 36 are our favourites to spend much time on.

Busskipper, I have never seen that link to those photos arranged geographically -- is that your own site? And are all of those photos yours? Fantastic pictures, and a great resource in trip planning. Thanks for posting!

And you've given the OP a lot to think about!

profdant139 wrote:
Busskipper, I have never seen that link to those photos arranged geographically -- is that your own site? And are all of those photos yours? Fantastic pictures, and a great resource in trip planning. Thanks for posting!

And you've given the OP a lot to think about!

Dan,

I only wish I were that Organized - not to mention the Great Photos. I ran across Stan Parker's Images years ago - I still will spend hours looking at them, as his images, are the organized ones I never filed. They are filed in My Head or lost on my old computers and Kodak Film in the attic. While I have been to Many of the spots and have taken many of the images - that was it for me - and so I've shared His, with literally hundreds of people over the years with his Blessings. He still will post on Occasion but think he has gotten more serious and spends time on some even wilder landscapes - Similar to you.

Yes it is a great resource for planning - as Stan has an Image of many of the great hidden spots across the country - if you look at the dates you will see he has returned often to the exact same spot to redo the image.

So the people like you and Stan are so kind to continue to share and inspire so many with your images and your shared experiences in the great areas so few take the time to enjoy.

You might also enjoy these that I discovered just last month while the ones I enjoy are of the San Juan's these photos of Michael Underwood, are worth looking over.

Glad I was able to share them with you, the Stan's List really does make it Easy.

Bill