Help with Driving USA!!

[Occy84]

Hey guys.. I'm leaving OZ on the 15th of october to hit up good ol' usa!

Anyways i got a question... first 2 and a bit weeks we are staying at beverly hilton and then bellagio in vegas ( halloween better rock!! ) and we check out of bellagio on the 2nd of november. My question now concerns Car rental... money isn't really that much of a problem with extra costs and all that stuff, however to drive from LA/vegas to East coast... how far would you get before Roads started getting icey and snow and all that? Keep in mind i'm a queensland boy and the closest i've seen to snow is on the TV. But i have heard that driving on icey roads and stuff is pretty crazy.

Basically, after Vegas i would like to jump in a car and head to somewhere in the middle of the country or as far across as i can go before i have to worry about sliding off the road... :P

Worst case... how long would it take from vegas to Austin Texas?

any help would be awsome! thanks guys

[TheJake]

a day and a half to go from vegas to austin i would guess.


why in the world would you want to go to texas though?

[xanthuos]

Originally posted by Occy84@Apr 10 2006, 06:51 PM
Hey guys.. I'm leaving OZ on the 15th of october to hit up good ol' usa!

Anyways i got a question... first 2 and a bit weeks we are staying at beverly hilton and then bellagio in vegas ( halloween better rock!! )* and we check out of bellagio on the 2nd of november. My question now concerns Car rental... money isn't really that much of a problem with extra costs and all that stuff, however to drive from LA/vegas to East coast... how far would you get before Roads started getting icey and snow and all that? Keep in mind i'm a queensland boy and the closest i've seen to snow is on the TV.* But i have heard that driving on icey roads and stuff is pretty crazy.

Basically, after Vegas i would like to jump in a car and head to somewhere in the middle of the country or as far across as i can go before i have to worry about sliding off the road... :P* *

Worst case... how long would it take from vegas to Austin Texas?

any help would be awsome! thanks guys

[snapback]111624[/snapback]

Interstates, the major highways between large cities in the US, don't often get icy or snowblocked except in the far northern states of the US like Montana, the Dakotas, Wyoming, etc. I wouldn't worry about driving from Vegas to the East coast if you used a southern route in November...you should have no worries.

Let me guess that your knowledge of "frat parties" at UCLA is based just on what you've seen on TV and in the movies too, right?

[futboller]

If you take I-80 the whole way in November I doubt you'll see more than light snow from Nevada to New York. But if you're starting farther south, you might not see any until you turn north!

Where's your destination on the East Coast? If you're starting in Austin you could take I-35 to 30 to 40 to 55 to 70 to 80 to anywhere in the North East.

[bluepea]

Austin is a great city. We were just there a few days ago and the weather was beautiful. As my brother in law says, Texas should really be like 3 states due to all of the different terrains.

Growing up in Wisconsin (now living in Chicago) I've seen my fair share amount of horrendous driving! Honestly, those huge blizzards that make driving impossible aren't that frequent. Otherwise, as Xanthous said, most major intersatates are fine most of the year. If you end up somewhere in even a light storm, just drive slow and stay relaxed.

It's about a 1300 mile from Vegas to Austin, so I think Jake's right in saying about a day and a half.

[simply_angelic]

Yeah, you really shouldn't have too much trouble in Nov/Dec...Most of the major snow starts in around Jan/Feb. Like jamie said, just drive slow & you should be fine. Don't be afraid to go like 30MPH on a 60 zone (just make sure you're not in the left lane), whatever'll get you there alive is worth the extra time.
Living in Canada, I know my fair share of snow/ice & most of the time it really isn't that bad, just make sure you don't slam on the brakes EVER in icy conditions, ease up nice and slow-the last thing you want is for your brakes to lock up on ice.

[astro25e]

Driving should be fine. usually, if there's even a hint of a chance of snow, the interstates will already have plows and salt trucks out before the snow even falls. I'd say the only time that snow might be an issue is if you go through mountain regions, where things aren't very predictable. but if you're going though the south, i don't know how much of an issue that will be...

[Occy84]

Oh ok awsome... yeah well i don't really have any planned destination.... but after vegas i have 3 weeks to kill before i head back to LA so kind just wanted to get out and see some sites and maybe try and get into some of the smaller towns where not many of the tourists would be... i hate tourist spots.... might as well stay home lol.

[worldwidemike]

Well, rather than drive to the East coast, why not stay out west and hit some of the National Parks? We have a ton of them...Zion, Arches, Grand Canyon...plus other places like Monument Valley that are great for hiking and sightseeing. Check out: http://www.us-national-parks.net/

And having a car will be perfect. Heck, you can even drive up the gorgeous California coast through Oregon (beautiful seacoast) to Tpunker Central: Seattle. Honestly, if there are plenty of sights to see out west, and if you don't have an overwhelming desire to see something on the East coast, stay out West. Less miles on the car, less gas to spend money on, and warmer weather. And this from a guy who lives in Ohio!

worldwidemike

[LiveFreeorDie]

I want to add one comment that in the West, you need to also worry about elevation when it comes to snow conditions. If you drive up through any mountain ranges it's possible that November could bring snow.

If you take a southern track towards the east coast you will generally be fine. I live near Boston and we don't usually begin getting much in the way of snow until December and Boston is fairly far north.

Given that you want to head back to LA, though, I agree with Mike and suggest you stick to the Western side of the continent - there is plenty to see. If you start in the North in early November (Yellowstone maybe? - but that's a heck of a drive from Vegas) and then work your way south, you should avoid most snow and ice.

Keep in mind that driving across the U.S. would be like driving from Darwin to Melbourne, roughly, I think. LA to Boston is a 6 hour plane flight - that's a lot of driving for you to do to make it back to LA in three weeks, depending on how far you go. Good luck.

[mowark]

Why go to Texas? Because Austin rocks, that's why! If, you don't take any stops, it's about a 28 hour drive, but you need to stop if you are alone. Count on 2 days. Snow/ice isn't a problem in those areas. I just gotta ask because I've noticed more tourists here in the last few years, what is the draw of Austin? I mean I love this city and there is tons of stuff to do, but I'm wondering why all of a sudden the tourists have discovered it.

P.S Jamie you came to Austin and you didn't let me know?

[Occy84]

Yeah, i haven't really looked into much else. Austin was an idea coz i figured it was pretty out of the way and besides the tourist buses, wouldn't be alot of other people down that way. But yeah, my main goal is to hit the less tourist area's.

EG> In LA and NY there are A LOT of tourists. But in South Central or Harlem your not going to find that many.

so yeah, you know, like Greenville Alabama lol. After all the travel i've done so far i'm just sick to death of running into 30 other aussies in every place I go! We are everywhere!! haha

So if anyone has some cool sujestions about the West coast of like smaller towns, or just less tourist populated towns would be great

[mowark]

Well, Austin is great and you won't find too many tourtists. I just have noticed more and more over the last few years. It's a very welcoming city with lots to do. It's a good mix of small town and big city all in one.

[futboller]

If your hearts not set on the East Coast, I agree with Mike, stay West. You can hit up some incredible parks, maybe driving through Arizona which is sheer beauty or Utah which is one of the most serene and surreal places I've ever been. Or you could take a couple of days and drive the Big Sur highway which is arguably the best drive in the States. If you take some of the southern interstates, like I-44 or I-40, which are both close-ish to the old US-Route 66 (from the song) you'll get to some smaller, older places that don't get a lot of tourists. (They get motorists, people stopping by on the way to the next town, which is really different from tourists.)

If you've got some time to kill in Texas and like camping, you should definitely check out Palo Duro Canyon. It's about 30 minutes south of Amarillo and absolutely amazing. You can hike into the Canyon to camp or they have car-friendly campsights at the bottom near the end. There were wild turkeys, lizards, coyotes just running through the campsite and the best part was waking up early to watch the sun slowly light up the western wall, from the bottom!

[ch3cooh]

Mid-October is usually the time of the first snows of the season in the rockies. If you plan to take I-70 check the conditions before you leave. If you stay south of that you shouldn't have too much trouble.

I've lived on both coasts and must say that I do like it a little better out here in the west (note: I now live on neither coast but rather Denver, right in the middle). The scenery is outstanding and there is tons to do within a couple hours drive. For instance last week I went skiing one day and the next I went fly-fishing both at world-class areas. Normally I would highly recommend the Rockies, however that timeframe isn't ideal for this area. It's too cold for stuff like fishing and hiking but the ski areas aren't open yet.

Austin is about as cool as Texas gets mostly because it is as un-Texas as Texas gets.

[bluepea]

P.S Jamie you came to Austin and you didn't let me know?

I'm sorry! Ya know, I thought I knew that a Tpunk was in Austin, but I couldn't remember for sure and I didn't even know we were going there before the day we left! My brother in law just said "Okay, we're going to Austin today." It was a short jaunt cuz the gimp couldn't do much.

Anyhow, I loved it there! We'll be back!!!!

[tumblezweedz]

I'm going to jump on the "Go West Young Man!" bandwagon. I had an incredible time in the Arizona/New Mexico/Utah area one October - Grand Canyon, Albuquerque Balloon Fiesta, Santa Fe, (Taos on another trip), Bryce Canyon (not as overwhelmingly immense as the Grand, but I liked it better) and Zion Canyon. And I don't especially like to camp or hike. But that was awesome. One wee point, in Bryce Canyon, in October that year, it didn't snow, but there was a good thick layer of frost all over everything one morning - layer for cold weather! It all burned off by mid day, and we were hiking in shorts and sweaters during the day. But once you get out to the coast, you'll see plenty of rain, but very little chance of snow and ice in November. Or ever, really. Drive the coast highway, stop off at little beach towns that see plenty of visitors during the summer, but take on a whole different character in the off-season. Go check out the Olympic Peninsula in Washington state, and if your visa permits, go to Vancouver and Victoria in BC.

If you stop every night, you can make it from Vancouver to California in two long days, so it's easy to do the drive over a couple of weeks, checking things out along the way. We stayed in a cool little motel-y thing near Mt. Shasta (California) where all the "rooms" were old railway cars, and the restaurant was a dining car. And the location was spectacular, all nestled in the mountains. I've no idea the name, but I bet a google search would find it...

[mowark]

Originally posted by ch3cooh@Apr 11 2006, 08:34 PM
Austin is about as cool as Texas gets mostly because it is as un-Texas as Texas gets.

[snapback]111871[/snapback]

We like to say that Texas isn't part of the Union, and Austin isn't part of Texas.