The Grand August Road Trip

[lorenntruck]

Hello all!

So this August from the 1st to the 24th myself and two friends will be embarking on a semi-cross nation road trip from Washington to New Mexico, New Mexico to Indiana, and Indiana back to Washington. Our main focus will be on the first leg through the Southwest and the last leg through the Dakotas to Washington.

I'm hoping to get any tips on where to go, what to see, what to bring, etc, etc... We are not opposed to zig zagging, back tracking or detouring. We've allotted ourselves a minimum of one week on either end to do the majority of driving, exploring and camping. The 2nd week is set aside for visiting family but can be encroached on.

Our rough path...

Leg 1 takes us down I-5 to Portland, east on I-84 towards Salt Lake City, I-15 towards the Grand Canyon, from there back up through Monument Valley to Moab/Arches Natl Park, over towards Grand Junction Colorado and from there an uncertain southerly course to end up in Las Cruces New Mexico.

Leg 2 as straight and fast as we can make it to northern Indiana.

Leg 3 - Crushing the miles until we reach western South Dakota then I-90 until we reach Buffalo Wyoming, then continue west to Yellowstone Natl Park, from there likely back up to I-90 all the way to Washington.

Our rig for this journey will be my 2016 Toyota Tacoma DCSB. I am not trying to do that extreme of an offroad portion since we will not have a backup/recovery vehicle. I'm trying to prepare as thoroughly as possible (2 spares and way too many tools) but again if anyone has any 'must bring/have' ideas I'd greatly appreciate it!

This trip will be the culmination of 5 years of talk and speculation, haphazard planning and hopeful wishing. Countless hours on deployments and underways have been spent talking about this and finally the Navy saw fit to give us enough time off. So if anyone would like to meet up or join along the way you're more than welcome!

Cheers,
Loren

 

[Daniel Etter]

I'll send info on South Dakota in a bit! Also as a heads up, depending on when you will be here in August, Sturgis may still be going on so the Black Hills and surrounding areas will be very busy and noisy.

 

[lorenntruck]

Awesome and good call I hadn't thought of that. Might make a detour around.

 

[Dana Ramos]

Sounds like a great trip. Just sent you a bunch of info on Western Wyoming. Can get you more on SE ID near the border if you need. Let me know if you guys need anything while you're out this way. Might even be able to show you around if we don't have anything going on right then.

 

[VCeXpedition]

It would be a shame to go through that part of Utah and not swing by Moab and the 4 corners area. I-15 to Grand Canyon is a bore/snore.

Take the path through Moab, not just across I-70 but down through the middle of Utah, maybe even swing through Capital Reef NP.
August will be WARM in that area but if you're in your vehicle most of the time or get some hiking in (Delicate Arch?) before it gets to the hot time of day, you'll be glad you did.

Have fun!

 

[lorenntruck]

It would be a shame to go through that part of Utah and not swing by Moab and the 4 corners area. I-15 to Grand Canyon is a bore/snore.

Take the path through Moab, not just across I-70 but down through the middle of Utah, maybe even swing through Capital Reef NP.
August will be WARM in that area but if you're in your vehicle most of the time or get some hiking in (Delicate Arch?) before it gets to the hot time of day, you'll be glad you did.

Have fun!

Thanks! We are gonna be snaking around that area, down I-15 to the North Rim then up through Monument Valley to Moab into CO then down to New Mexico. I plan on doing plenty more trips to Utah but this one is more quantity based with quality a close second. As for the heat... if we die we die haha

 

[Dana Ramos]

It would be a shame to go through that part of Utah and not swing by Moab and the 4 corners area. I-15 to Grand Canyon is a bore/snore.

Take the path through Moab, not just across I-70 but down through the middle of Utah, maybe even swing through Capital Reef NP.
August will be WARM in that area but if you're in your vehicle most of the time or get some hiking in (Delicate Arch?) before it gets to the hot time of day, you'll be glad you did.

Have fun!

I second Capitol Reef. That place is amazing and not crowded like Zion, Arches, etc.

 

[lorenntruck]

I second Capitol Reef. That place is amazing and not crowded like Zion, Arches, etc.

Fine y'all win haha. So it looks like we'll be going down Hwy 89 to Zion NP, hooking down to the North Rim of the Grand Canyon , up through Monument Valley and NW from Mexican Hat to Capitol Reef NP then over to Moab and on.

 

[lorenntruck]

It begins...

 

[lorenntruck]

Oregon/Idaho border

Twin Falls bridge & Shoshone Falls

 

[lorenntruck]

Monument Valley, Zion, and Grand Canyon

 

[lorenntruck]

Mesa Verde, CO

Chaco Canyon, NM

Organ Mountains, NM

 

[lorenntruck]

Moab, UT

 

[lorenntruck]

Found the only mud in southern New Mexico...

 

[Gregory Youngblood]

Great pictures. Sorry I missed the thread earlier when it matter. Looks like you had a good time though, and saw some great places. And that's what counts after all.