Cross-Country Trip (2002), Part 2 - Denver to Los Angeles

Part 1 of this cross-country journal followed my brother and I from Maryland to Denver.  In case you missed Part 1 - these are actually my brother's logs of the trip, mostly written while we were on the road with me in the driver's seat.

Today we're looking back at the next eight days of the journey, ending in Los Angeles.  This covers two of my favorite sections of the trip - the Rocky Mountains and the Pacific Coast Highway.  We took a ton of pictures over these days, so hopefully you enjoy the ones I included below.

Day 9 - Denver, CO to Craig, CO - 314 miles

We left Denver at 9:00am.  Our phone kept ringing because our room was the same number as the area code (303).  We ordered a wake-up call, but were woken up by the phone ringing at 7:00am.

We took the Peak-to-Peak Scenic Byway a lot of the way between Denver and Craig, which curves through the Rockies.  We stopped at a number of overlooks, including a walk that took us to 12,000 feet above sea level if I remember correctly.  We also stopped at Milner Pass and stood on both sides of the Continental Divide.

We arrived at the hotel in Craig, CO at 6:00pm (a Travelodge).

Day 10 - Craig, CO to Salt Lake City, UT - 345 miles

We got a late checkout so that we could sleep in and watch the Formula One Canadian Grand Prix on TV before heading for Salt Lake City.  We did laundry during the race (and after).  We checked out of the hotel at about 1:45pm, got lunch in Craig, CO, went back to the hotel to get clothes out of the dryer, then left for Salt Lake City at 2:30pm.

The big news in Colorado while we were in Craig was three forest fires in the state.  One had consumed over 7,000 acres by the time we left.  It resulted in the closing of 50 miles of I-70, but we were already past that portion of it.

At 3:15pm, we took a short side trip into Dinosaur National Park, but it was just a campground with no fossils.

UTAH

At 5:30pm, we got to the museum with the fossils in Vernal, UT.  We looked at fossils and walked around the exhibits until 6:00pm.

We arrived at the Little America hotel (4 stars!) in Salt Lake City at 9:30pm.

Day 11 - Salt Lake City, UT to Elko, NV - 242 miles

We woke up and went into downtown Salt Lake City at about 11am after checking out of the hotel.  We ordered tickets for Dodger Stadium for later in the trip in the morning before left for Temple Square in downtown Salt Lake City.  Our hotel was in the city, so it was only a few blocks of walking.

After getting lunch in the city, we hit the road at 1:30pm.

NEVADA

We arrived at the Days Inn in Elko, NV at 4:00pm PT.  After getting unpacked, we went to the Lamoille Canyon Scenic Byway.  It starts about 20 minutes south of Elko.  The actual scenic drive was 12 miles each way.  On the way there we saw a solar eclipse!

Day 12 - Elko, NV to Reno, NV - 304 miles

We left Elko at 10:30am and arrived at the Travelodge in Reno at 3:00pm.  After checking in, we walked around Reno.  We walked past the casinos and saw the famous RENO arch sign, then we went to Planet Hollywood for dinner.

We then went to the movie theater because there isn't much else for people under 21 to do in Reno.  We saw the 8:15pm showing of Sum of All Fears.

We walked back through the city on the way from the theater to the hotel, so we got to see the city all lit up.

Day 13 - Reno, NV to Eureka, CA - 394 miles

Left Reno for Eureka, CA at 9:45am after getting gas and a car wash.

CALIFORNIA

We stopped at a visitor center at the Lassen Volcanic National Park that had a little deli in it and we ate lunch there.  We took the scenic drive through Lassen Volcanic National Park from 12:00pm-2:00pm.

We arrived in Eureka at 6:30pm and ordered pizza delivery so we could watch the Lakers complete the 3-peat.

Day 14 - Eureka, CA to San Francisco, CA - 402 miles

We left Eureka for San Francisco at 9:00am.  There were four scenic byways during the day.  First was Lost Coast, which took us 65 miles on Mattole Road and gave us our first glimpse of the Pacific Ocean.

After that was the Avenue of the Giants, which we didn't even do half of.  However, we did drive through the Shrine Drive-Thru Tree.

After that was the northern part of California 1, which Continued on to a portion of the southern part of California 1.  We arrived at the hotel in San Francisco at 9:00pm after 12 hours on the road.

Day 15 - San Francisco

We woke up and walked downtown to Pier 39 in San Francisco.  It was a long walk, probably 20 blocks.  After walking around the pier and eating lunch there, we continued walking on the Embarcadero, the road that runs parallel to the coast.  We went to Pacific Bell Park to see if we could get tickets to the evening's game, but the game was sold out and the scalper there was asking for $100 for two.

We walked another 15 or so blocks to the Civic Center, which is a square where City Hall is.  There were a lot of homeless people in the park at the Civic Center.  After that, we continued a few more blocks to the hotel.

For dinner, we walked the 20 blocks back to the pier and ate at the Eagle Cafe.  Paul had a prawn sandwich that he enjoyed.  We took a cab back to the hotel after dinner.

Day 16 - San Francisco, CA to Los Angeles, CA - 528 miles

We left San Francisco for Los Angeles at 9:30am.  We took California 1 almost the whole way from SF to LA.  We had to take a short detour to bypass part of Rt 1 where a car had flipped over.

We also took a little side trip to 17 Mile Drive, which has a number of scenic views and tourist spots including Pebble Beach Golf Course.  We saw Sea Lions and Beachy Ground Squirrels (very large squirrels that don't have bushy tails and have a gray spot on the back of their necks) on the 17 miles drive.

We had no lunch and ate dinner at Jack In The Box in San Louis Obispo.  We arrived at the Best Western - Mayfair in downtown LA at 10:15pm.

[ Part 1 - Maryland to Denver ] <--- | ---> [ Part 3 - Los Angeles to Dallas ]

Cross-Country Trip (2002), Part 1 - Maryland to Denver

Introduction

In June of 2002, my brother and I took a month and drove across the country.  For a rough idea of the route, Craig and I started in Maryland, went northwest to Chicago then across from Denver to Northern California, down to LA, then back east by way of Vegas, the Grand Canyon, Texas, New Orleans, Myrtle Beach, and then back to Maryland.  In one huge driving trip we saw the Great Lakes, the Pacific Ocean, the Gulf of Mexico, and the Atlantic Ocean.

I did literally all of the driving - all 9,361 miles -  but my brother contributed as camera man and journalist.  The words that follow are his log of our trip and some of the pictures we took along the way.

Since it was such a long trip, I'll break up the blog posts into three or four posts to avoid having one massive post.   I have a ton of great memories from that month and it was fun sifting through the old photos and logs.  Even though it's much more "travel log" than "driving adventure" in parts, hopefully you enjoy the look back.

Day 1 - Laurel, MD to Cleveland, OH - 480 miles

Went too far on 270 past Frederick and ended up missing 70 and going north and east on 15.  Turned around in Emmitsburg (Main St.).  Went south on 15 to 77 and went toward Hagerstown.  77 West went through Cunningham Falls State Park, which had a stream off to our right.  Very curvy, scenic road.

PENNSYLVANIA

Stopped at Fallingwater in PA at 4pm.  Took the $4 "Grounds Tour," which means you can go anywhere but inside, and there's no guide.  The real tour is an hour and 15 mins long, so we decided to go at our own pace.

OHIO

Day 2 - Cleveland, OH to Chicago, IL - 422 miles

Woke up and went into Cleveland at 10am.  Visited the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and stayed for a couple of hours.  Tickets were $17 per person.  We then went to Terminal Tower, which has a mall, hotel, and restaurants.  We got lunch from The Great Steak and Potato Factory and left Cleveland at 1:15pm.

Stopped at service station outside of Toledo to grab an ice cream cone and get gas.  Craig also bought sunglasses at the little souvenir shop inside.

INDIANA

Took exit 101 off of I-90 and drove about 2 miles north on Rt. 15 to Michigan, then turned around to get back on I-90.

MICHIGAN

INDIANA

ILLINOIS

Arrived at the hotel in Wood Dale (outside of Chicago) at 8pm CT.  For dinner we had Chicago style pizza at a pizza/sub place in Wood Dale.

Day 3 - Chicago

Woke up and went into Chicago on a Metra train (10:30am).  We then took the subway to Wrigley Field and watched the Cubs game.  The Cubs won 4-2.  The people in front of us were Houston fans, the people next to us were White Sox fans, and the guy down and to the right of us had a sign saying "Cubs: We Stink."  We ate lunch at Wrigley.  Craig had a burger, fries, and an Armour Dog later.  Paul had two Armour Dogs.

After the game (ended around 4:20pm), we took the subway back into Chicago and went to the SkyDeck at Sears Tower.  Sears Tower was actually difficult to find coming off the subway.  You'd expect it to tower above everything and be visible from everywhere, but there are so many skyscrapers in Chicago that it's hard to see Sears Tower when you're a block or more away.  We walked around the SkyDeck after watching an introduction video.  We left Sears Tower at around 6:30pm and ate at Giordano's, a place with "Famous stuffed pizza" and thin crust pizza that was "no less famous."  We had the stuffed pizza.  After that (about 8:15pm), we went back to Union Station and took the Metra back to Wood Dale.

Day 4 - Chicago, IL to St. Louis, MO - 352 miles

Got up and left the hotel for St. Louis at 9:30am.  We stopped at about 10:45am to get gas and go to the Verizon Store and the mall.  We bought an adapter so that we could dial up the internet through the cell phone.  We also bought an adapter that plugs into the headphone jack of the laptop (or anything else with a headphone jack) and sends a signal you can tune into it with the car radio.

MISSOURI

Arrived at the hotel in St. Louis at 4:30pm.  At 5:30pm we left to go see downtown St. Louis.  We went to the Gateway Arch and took the 6:45pm tram ride to the top.  The tram ride was $8 each person.  The top was 630 feet, and you could look basically straight down.  While at the top, you could feel the arch swaying in the wind.  The tram up and down were these little pods that were about four feet tall and had five seats in them.  We got to the bottom and visited the Museum of Westward Expansion, which was in the same place.  We left at about 8:30pm to get dinner in Laclede's Landing and got back to the hotel around 11pm.

Day 5 - St. Louis, MO to Kansas City, KS - 292 miles

We woke up and checked out of the hotel around 10:15am.  We got gas and went to Hardee's for breakfast.  They didn't have "sheep!" (Cinnamon-raisin biscuits).  We didn't actually get on the road until almost 11am.

We drove through the Missouri River Valley Wine Country, which Paul liked because of the curvy roads.  It was very scenic, with vineyards and farms everywhere.  At parts, you can see the Missouri River off to the left.

KANSAS

Arrived at our Uncle's house at 3:30pm.  Ate dinner with our Uncle and Aunt at Rosedale Barbecue in Rosedale, KS.  After dinner, we visited the Rosedale Memorial and the Liberty Memorial.  We also drove through the Plaza in Kansas City.

Day 6 - Kansas City, KS to Hays, KS - 317 miles

Left our Uncle's house to visit Kansas City at 9:15am.  We ate lunch at KC Masterpiece in the Plaza.  We walked around the Plaza for about a half hour after lunch.  We didn't have BBQ sauce all over ourselves because the "napkins" at KC Masterpiece were TOWELS!  Anyway, we walked around the plaza, which is the really rich stores in KC.  Comparable to Georgetown in DC.  We left for Hays at 1:00pm and arrived at the hotel in Hays, KS at 5:30pm.

Day 7 - Hays, KS to Denver, CO - 344 miles

We got gas then left for Denver at 9:30am.

COLORADO

We didn't make any long stops between Hays and Denver, and arrived at the Hampton Inn in Denver at 1:30pm MT.  We had lunch in downtown Denver then walked up and down 16th Street Mall in the afternoon.  We went back to the hotel for a couple hours before going back to the 16th St. Mall to eat dinner at Rock Bottom Brewery.  We didn't get back to the hotel until after 10pm.

Day 8 - Denver

We slept in and didn't go into the city until after noon.  We went to the park and tried to go to the U.S. Mint, but it was closed.  We walked around the 16th St. mall (an outdoor strip of shops and restaurants on both sides of 16th St.  Only buses are allowed on the street.) and then went to see Undercover Brother at the United Artists movie theater.  We got back to the hotel around 7:30pm.  We had popcorn at the theater, so Paul didn't want any dinner.  At 10:50pm, Craig decided to order from Pizza Hut.

---> [ Part 2 - Denver to Los Angeles ]

Driving Trip Through West Virginia (2001)

Since we're all stuck at home during the Coronavirus pandemic, now seems like the perfect time to reach back into the archives and take a look at driving adventures from the past.  The following is a journal I wrote during a three-day driving trip through West Virginia and Maryland back in August of 2001 with my 1992 3000GT VR4.

Day 1 - Home To Days Inn Staunton

184 miles, 3:45pm - 8:45pm

It rained as I was leaving.  Stop and go on the beltway, with heavy downpour.  The further I got into VA, the more beautiful the scenery.  Went over one small ridge apparently.  Incredible view, even with the fog.  250 from Charlottesville to Staunton was incredible.  It was a divided highway, two lanes each way, but the surrounding trees were great and the way the road swept through them looked like a video game.  Going through one small town, it looked like I had just missed the big part of the storm.  Pieces of tree were scattered all over the sides of the road, power was out for about two miles, and it looked like every firetruck and ambulance in the state was there.  Once past that mess (and the accompanying backup) it was a pretty smooth ride to the hotel (just long).

I didn't stop anywhere to eat on the trip, so it was five straight hours of driving.  Right now Papa John's is on its way.  Tomorrow, the highlight of the trip - a trek across West Virginia on one of America's greatest driving roads in a 300 horsepower "near supercar."  Hopefully the weather will cooperate.  It's going to be a long 250 miles if it rains the whole time, although that may be better than 100 degree heat.  I'm planning on waking around 7, relaxing a bit, and getting on the road by 9.  Hopefully that will get me to Wheeling by dark.

Day 2 - Staunton to Wheeling

273 miles, 10:00am - 6:00pm

Today was absolutely incredible.  It has been the single greatest day of driving I have ever experienced.  As soon as I got out of Staunton, the speed limit jumped to 55 and the "maximum safe speed" dropped to 25.  The road twisted up the first mountain with the sharpest turns I have ever seen.  The funny thing was that the local drivers were all going just as fast as I was.  There I am having a blast whipping through the turns and I've got a Saturn behind me keeping up.  So, the first couple hours were spent going up twisty mountain roads, winding down the other side, and coasting through small valleys.  Each break in the twisties found a small town - anything from a couple houses to a string of buildings (usually including a library but missing a police department).  The only time I saw somebody pulled over, it was by a cop (I guess) in an old station wagon.  I definitely got the feeling that I was a long way from the city.

At early afternoon, the road became bigger as it joined up with 50 and 79.  While the view of the mountains was nice, the road was basically a highway and didn't make for very exciting driving.  At this point I thought the most exciting driving was behind me.  While, in retrospect, I think that the first two hours of the day were still the best, the late afternoon drive had the best combination of mountain twisties and outstanding scenery.  The road returned to its usual small windy self after I separated from the major highway running from the Southwest to Northeast.  I shot up the mountain again, no music playing, only the sound of the engine and the tires occasionally voicing their limits.  250 shot up the mountain, usually surrounded by trees on each side, occasionally opening up on one side to reveal a glimpse of the rolling mountain landscape.  The lack of terrific view on these twisties didn't bother me, because the road really only afforded a brief glance to the side every now and then.

After climbing the mountain for about 45 minutes, the trees on each side of the road ended and were replaced by rolling green hillside and the occasional house.  At this point I could frequently see the next several turns, as the road began sticking to a single ridge instead of going straight up and over.  As the road dipped past a set of small houses, the hills and trees to the left side of the road suddenly disappeared, leaving a majestic view of the mountains stretching for miles and miles.  Lining the road on the left was now only about six inches of grass and a guardrail - the earth just seemed to drop straight down beyond that.  Soon later, the scenery on the right matched the left, and I was flying along at the top of this mountain road with nothing but miles of mountains below me on each side.

After a break to take pictures, the road took me back down the mountain.  55 miles per hour, down to 20, turn, up to 50, slow down for a small town, back up to 50.  This pattern repeated several times before I finally caught my first glimpse of Ohio.  A break in the trees gave me a great view of a huge blue bridge crossing the Ohio River.  The mountain stretch for the day was over and it was time to find my hotel.  At this point, 250 was going through towns and making funny crosses/turns where other roads intersected, but luck was on my side and I ended up at my room without taking any major wrong turns.

Tomorrow I head home on Alternate 40.  The weather is supposed to be bad (It was great today).  Hopefully I'll get out before the rain and hit some of the twisties that I have such a fond memory of from our vacation to Deep Creek Lake.

Day 3 - Wheeling to Home

366 miles, 7:30am - 3:30pm

After 830 miles, I am finally home.  I woke up at 6:30 today and was on the road an hour later.  I succeeded in my first goal of the day - making it to my old stomping grounds near 219 before the rain hit.  At about 10:30 I had already left Ohio, passed back through West Virginia, cut across a corner of Pennsylvania, and was riding along the roads that I kept such fond memories of from my vacation in Deep Creek Lake a year earlier.  I was disappointed to find that it was a bit more crowded than I remember, due no doubt to the fact that it was well into the day.  After taking a run through the hills , seeing again the landmarks of my favorite driving memory, I turned back to take some pictures.  This backtracking finally landed me at a McDonald's just as the heavy rain began.  This rain continued into mid-afternoon, finally slowing up considerably and allowing a little bit of fun-filled driving between Cumberland and Hagerstown.  After Hagerstown, I was fortunate to miss Alt 40 and take regular US 40 for several miles.  In trying to rectify this mistake, I took 17 South, one of the twistier roads I saw today and some accompanying back roads.

Allow me to step back to the beginning of the day.  The road out of Ohio was reasonably interesting.  40 took me through some old, small houses in a neighborhood that looked as though it had seen more prosperous times.  After winding through the old neighborhood, the road suddenly shot back up the mountainside.  After going through several miles of mountains similar to those of the previous day, I was in Pennsylvania.  I'm very glad I started on 40 all the way in Ohio because it gave me the chance to see the transition from the old winding mountain roads of West Virginia to the more rolling, sweeping curves I was used to in Maryland.

Final Thoughts

Now that I'm home, I am very tired from 830 miles of driving in three days.  I have gotten a new appreciation for several things on this trip, though.  First is the outstanding natural beauty of this region.  The entire weekend consistently put a smile on my face from the outstanding views.  This weekend has also given me a passerby's view of what life is like in these impoverished mountain towns.  I now appreciate a little more the life that I live and the opportunities that I have.

Last but not least is my car.  This weekend has truly shown the value of a 300 horsepower "Grand Touring" car.  I could easily go gliding along a highway at 60 MPH.  When the time came though, I  clamped the side bolsters to my body, popped the suspension into sport mode, and gunned through the mountain twisties like a true sports car.  At the end of the day, I did not feel the slightest bit sore, although I was a bit tired mentally.  It was also great rolling through the towns of Hancock and Wheeling and seeing my car make people's heads turn.  Three days ago I took my car for granted and even began disliking it for its kinship with the import tuner scene.  If this trip did nothing else for me, it reminded me that my car is not in the same breed as the civic.  The 3000GT VR4 is a powerful beast that can climb mountains with ease, comfortably soak up miles of highway, and take on drenched roads and pouring rain - a good car to spend all of a kid's money on.

This trip was about more than just my car, though.  It was about driving.  In the last two days I took on two of the greatest driving roads in America.  There is nothing like the thrill of shooting up and down mountain roads with the gorgeous mountain scenery in the background.  250 and 40 were advertised as great driving roads.  I have driven them, and I am thoroughly satisfied.