Road Trip: Seattle to Austin

[LonghornNation11]

I am flying up to Seattle to help my buddy move back to Austin. We are leaving near the beginning of August and planning on making a road trip out of it. I can't get the google map link to work on this site. This is the projected route.

Seattle -- Bozeman -- Yellowstone -- Sturgis -- Sioux Falls -- Omaha -- Austin

If you have any suggestions for places to visit and see or minor route changes, please let me know. Thanks.

 

[Summerof79]

Get a book or two on tape from the library before you leave Austin. MUCH better than music to pass the time driving. Also Cracker Barrel rents the tapes for like $4 a week. You pay for the whole tape set and then get your credit card refunded the difference upon return.

Rented "the Suspect" by John Lescroart, a murder mystery legal system thriller, right at 12 hours run time.

 

[Smurfette]

I think listening to stand up comedy helps pass the time too.

Swing though Durango if you can-- it's a little out of the way, but well worth it.

Then from Durango, you can cut down through NM to his Taos and Santa Fe. The drive from Durango to Taos is very pretty!

Now, the drive from there to Austin is terrible-- very boring 13 hours-- you kinda cut back across through Lubbock.

You CAN go south through El Paso-- it will be longer, but that will take you near some neat stuff.

I'd suggest driving from Durango and visiting Taos and Sante Fe in one day. Then, it'll be a couple hours down to Truth or Consequences. The town isn't much, but they've got these AWESOME mineral springs--- it will relax the hell out of you after that much driving. It doesn't cost very much either. And you're pretty close to White Sands.

Then, you can visit Marfa. The road back into Austin from El Paso is long, but doable. The highway speed limit is 80. Once you hit 290 and head back towards Austin, you go through Fredricksburg and Johnson City, and there's things to see there.

 

[Smurfette]

Oops-- somehow the link didn't show the South Dakota stop right, so I'm putting you in a totally different direction!

 

[brntorng]

Unless you're going to be in Sturgis for the rally, there's not much to see and do there. Within the Black Hills, though, are many things to see including Mt. Rushmore (obviously), Crazy Horse, Deadwood (if you're into gambling), Custer State Park Wildlife Loop (buffalo herds, other wildlife), Spearfish Canyon (if you're there for fall color), and many other things you probably wouldn't have time for. On your way from the Black Hills to Sioux Falls, consider a swing through The Badlands since it's just off I-90 and a very unique area. After the Badlands, there's not much else to see between there and Austin unless you routed yourself through the Ozarks.

 

[LonghornNation11]

We only plan on stopping in Sturgis to check out the bike rally.

 

[ninerhorn]

I did this with my dad about 12 years ago.

We drove from Seattle North into Canada. Stayed in Kamloops (foothills of Canadian Rockies) Jasper (beautiful ski town). Then drove south down the Icefields parkway and stayed at Lake Louise.

From there we continued south thru Kalispell Montana to Helena. Hit Yellowstone the next day as well as Grand Teton Nat. Park on our way to Jackson.

Drove from Jackson to Steamboat. Steamboat to Lubbock. Lubbock to Austin

Awesome drive.



have fun