OT: Move-a-Mormon Road Trip: Advice Needed

[ctmason]

A'ight boys, the St. Louis Thread got me to thinking, and you know only bad things happen when I start doing that.

Next weekend (6/14) I'll set out on a four-day journey to move my friend Robert from good ol' Hotlanta to Pocatello, Idaho (Go Bengals!). This precedes my own move to Tempe later in the summer, including multiple trips back and forth for his wedding, etc.. Add it all up and you'll see why I'm glad I just bought a Toyota Corolla.

But nevermind that sh.... here comes Mongo! And plus, we'll be taking an F-150 loaded with furniture on this road trip.

I plan on posting a trip report, (I guess in the Dynasty section, or I could do it here, whatever Ben allows ) but I need your help in finding fun things to do along the way. A few ground rules:

-Robert's Mormon (hence the witty title), so drinking, smoking, coffee, tea and other general debauchery is out of the question. That puts a real damper on my plans, but we'll make it work.

-We do have four days, but I'd guess anything that's more than a two hour drive away from our intended path is probably a no-go.

-I'm big into sports, national parks and historical sites, if that helps at all. I'm not bringing my bowling or golf equipment along, unfortunately.

So here's the metro areas we're going to be driving through, as I understand it:

Memphis
to
St. Louis
to
Topeka, KS
to
Lincoln, NE
to
Cheyenne, WY
to
Pocatello, ID.

I've probably missed other metro areas along that route, but hopefully that will give you a decent idea of where we're going. I've never been to any of these states (with the exception of Kansas and Tennessee) so I'm open to any suggestions you may have.

Stay tuned for the Move-A-Mormon saga...

[Fritz]

Memphis - go to Mudd Isle and see the Memphis Belle

TO St Louis - Take the Great river road north, and you will get a lot good driving. Cairo, Il is a dump now, but it was big time place in the Civil war. you can drive my some riverboat captains houses, and there is a river fort.

FROM St Louis to Topeka

Just off the I 70 on the right hand side and you are leaving St Louis is the "Elvis is Alive" museum. Worth a 20 min stop.

BETWEEN Lincoln and Cheyenne

You will be driving down the interstate and off to the right you will see some helos, tanks, and a huge wearhouse. Inside is one of the best collection of military vehicles in private hands that you are likely to find.

[henry296]

On the last leg you might be pretty close to Yellowstone National Park. Lots of cool stuff to see.

Todd

[Craptacular]

You must visit http://www.roadsideamerica.com/ when planning any road trip.

[clintl]

I don't know how much, if any, it would add to the length of your trip, but I highly recommend taking I-70 through Colorado rather than driving through Wyoming if you can. It is much more scenic, especially Glenwood Canyon, which is gorgeous. Most of Wyoming is the ugliest, most boring terrain imaginable - worse than Nevada even. It's not until you get to the far western edge that Wyoming becomes at all interesting. Unless of course, you want to go to Yellowstone, as was suggested. That's about all that would make driving through Wyoming worth it.

[Craptacular]

Originally posted by clintl
I don't know how much, if any, it would add to the length of your trip, but I highly recommend taking I-70 through Colorado rather than driving through Wyoming if you can. It is much more scenic, especially Glenwood Canyon, which is gorgeous.

I second this. I've been to the Colorado Rockies a number of times, but had never been west of Vail until we drove through on our honeymoon last summer. Glenwood Canyon was an incredible surprise. Looking at the maps ahead of time, it looked like Glenwood Canyon was just off I-70. Little did I know that the interstate dove right down into it! Stop at the rest area in the middle of it and hike around. Despite having a freeway running through it, the canyon is spectacular.

Don't forget to to visit the Hot Springs Pool when you come out of the canyon and get to Glenwood Springs.

Oh yeah, watch out for those sinkholes near Vail.