Boyfriend and I were thinking of taking a Southwestern road trip in August. Has anyone ever done this? If you have done it during summer, do you have any regrets? Cautions or warnings? Ideas? My boyfriend is worried about driving in the desert, not having cell service, and getting stuck (tires melting, engine overheating, etc) as well as some of the mountain driving.
We would be driving a 2011 Honda Accord, a little under 30,000 miles on it.
If anyone has any experience driving in any of these states during August, or just in the summer let me know! I would appreciate any feedback from experienced road trippers. (Or if you need more details, just ask.)
Thanks!
Our ideal trip itinerary:
Dallas, TX
Roswell, NM
Albuquerque, NM
San Diego, CA
Los Angeles, CA
Las Vegas, NV
Grand Canyon, AZ
Frisco, CO
and then back home to Dallas
(we would have anywhere from 9-12 days to do this)
Answers & Comments
This is a more efficient itinerary
Dallas, TX
Roswell, NM
Albuquerque, NM
Grand Canyon, AZ
Las Vegas, NV via Lees Ferry AZ > Jacob Lake AZ > Mount Carmel Jct UT > St George UT
San Diego, CA
Los Angeles, CA
Frisco, CO > El Portal CA > Lee Vining CA via the truly awesome Tioga Road > Tonapah NV >Delta UT > Moab UT > Mexican Hat UT > Gallup NM > Amarillo TX > Dallas TX
One of the rules of the West is that the greater your altitude the cooler temps will be
That rule of course doesn't apply to being next to the Pacific where it never gets triple digit hot
On the Dallas to GCNP stretch you should be OK and not experience anything hotter than Dallas and since the S.Rim of GCNP is at 7000' it will be a lot cooler
From GCNP to St George it will also be reasonably cool
Where it's going to get hotter than H is from Mesquite NV to "Vegas for that reason I would litterally chill out in Zion NP or St George until the sun goes down
It's the same thing from Las Vegas to Barstow CA so the solution is to leave ' Vegas at 5:00 AM and beat the sun across the Mojave
Um
The rest of your trip doesn't have any brutal temps on it
Still it's always a good idea to carry water and drink it before you feel thirst
Carry your own shade
Such as this
http://www.walmart.com/ip/Coleman-Beach-Shade/3661...
Carry a full size spare and an 18" length of 2x12 to support your jack
Good sunglasses are a must
Here's how to drive in mountains
http://www.ehow.com/how_2077363_drive-mountains.ht...
Lastly get into the habit of getting gas before you need it bc sometimes gas stations can be few and far
Safe trip
Boyfriend is worried about driving in the desert? Is he also afraid of the dark? How can you enjoy the trip if he puts "what if " scenarios in your mind. Find a real man!