Out West Trip

[Blallen58]

I am planning a trip from North Carolina to several locations out west.

My first major stop will be Arches and Capital Reef area.

Starting from there I intend to head North to Jackson WY.

The route on RV Trip wizard is Hwy 6 --> I 15 --> 89 to Jackson. Is hwy 89 okay for a 33' class A? Should I look at a different route.

Next stop is Cody WY, I have driven this road. From Cody I am headed to East Glacier. Route is 120 --> 72 --> 310 --> I90 --> 191 --> 87 -->I15 --> Hwy 2. Are these roads good for a class A to drive on?

Any route suggestions are appreciated.

[HangDiver]

Yes Hwy 89 is an easy and scenic route. I-15 through Salt Lake is always an adventure (heavy traffic).

[tomkatb]

Being in Dayton we took I70 all the way to Moab.

Just north of town was a blm area of likely 200 acres. No services. Two years ago it was free! Near Arches. Ended up staying there a week. There are 4-5 nice parks within easy driving. We also viewed Canyon land.

A really neat area.

We returned on I40 much of the way. I70 was a good road. Did a loop thru California. My son is near San Francisco, Lafayette.

[HangDiver]

From the weather geek in me: Hwy 89 between Logan, UT and Garden City will take you past Peter Sinks, a natural sink hole in the Bear River Mountain range where cold air descends from nearby peaks and pools overnight producing some of the nations coldest low temperatures. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter_Sinks

[MrPukaShell]

You can do a loop in Utah and go to their "Big 5", Bryce, Zion, Canyonlands, Arches and Capitol Reef. Then head south to see some indian stuff and Monument Valley. Awesome area for sure. enjoy

[ppine]

Some people seem to agonize over route selection when going West. Stay on the main roads like interstates and US highways until you get some experience. Plan to get used to long grades, grades over 10%, and windy roads with drop offs. Travel difficult roads at quieter times of the day. Plan to increase your experience and just get used to it. Otherwise you are always going to be apprehensive about driving in the West.

[DougW]

When I have concerns about a road i look at the satellite view in Google Maps. Zoom in and look at the road to see if it is well marked and if there are trucks and RV’s using it. If they can make it I figure I can too.

As an example, looking at 89, it runs along the river so it should be a pretty steady grade and there are lots of trucks and trailers on it so I wouldn’t be concerned.

[kenandterry]

If you always travel on the interstates…….you’ll never see a thing.

Dwight Eisenhower said something very similar to this after being the driving force behind the Interstate system.

We RV travel. Not just to be there, but also to see as much as possible along the way.

[sherman12]

ppine is spot on with his driving out West comment. I think my DW is still in recovery from our Spring 2022 trip from WNY to Napa. The steep inclines and twisty roads didn't bother me or my DP rig. However, the severe drop-offs with no guard rails do take some getting used to, if ever.

I agree with kenandterry that if you stay on the interstate you can cover a lot of ground pretty quickly. But, you'll miss everything in between. YouTuber "Traveling Robert" (check him out, excellent) earlier this year stated the U.S. interstate is an engineering marvel that you can travel from California to Mainel; But You Won't See Anything!

[ppine]

Interstates are sometimes just what you need a long trip. Like for going across Iowa or Nebraska. Or when you get tired of mountain driving.

I am old enough to have driven all over the US before the interstates were finished. Stop and go driving with stop lights gets really old after awhile in some places.

On the other hand, some of my favorite memories are driving on the small quiet roads. Every thing is brand new at first. It is all really interesting. You will never see it all.

[ppine]

Some people have their 250-300 mile a day rule. If you are coming from the East there is a lot of real estate to cover. Some of it is not that interesting. The middle of the country is a good place to do some long days. Once you get in the West then you can slow down. When we were younger 700-1000 mile days got us out there. Now I don't like to go more than about 500 in a day. Once we get there 200 miles a day is good or less. Try to spend more time being there and less time traveling.