Next month, I'm going to finally take my newish Audi TT Coupe for a long drive, going from Madison to Ithaca to pick up my son. I've already done that trip (with a touch of photoblogging here), but would like to drive through some photographable places on the way. The most conspicuous place is Niagara Falls, but I'm into more ordinary places that exemplify the local culture. Plus I'm interested in twisty, scenic highways. Any suggestions? Use the comments.
Later in the summer I want to drive out west. I'm interested in landscapes but also in being able to stop at night in the comfort of very high quality lodging. Twisty, scenic highways and photographable little towns are what I'm looking for.
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Check out the Finger Lakes region. There are lots of pretty roads around those lakes, and a few good spots to stop and eat, too.
You have mentioned Santa Fe, which would be nice for lodging (along with Taos) but there is plenty of twisty winding roads in between. Find Cundiyo on NM map, got to Chimayo, go see where Georgia O'Keefe found inspiration.
jk: I'm considering the ferry, but it is $50 and I'd have to get to Milwaukee by 8 a.m. Is it scenic on the Michigan side? Because the drive to Milwaukee is a very familiar one for me. It would be a way to avoid Chicago and the boring stretch of 90 that goes under Michigan.
Mark: Canada is another way to avoid Chicago, but is no kind of shortcut. I've never even driven all the way north in Wisconsin, though I know it's beautiful up there.
Jim & nickelcity: Yes, I have a nice guidebook for the Finger Lakes.
pmm: sounds great.
Avoid the drive through Canada, its one of the most boring drives I've ever taken (that goes for the NYS Thruway, too). Definitely take route 89 along Cayuga Lake. I would suggest taking in some of the parks right around Ithaca. Buttermilk Falls is beautiful. Taughannock Falls State Park, and Robert Treman State Park are also very nice. Look for the bumper stickers that say "Ithaca is Gorges."
Here's an example of what you might attempt. Being a photographer I'm enthralled by The Mile Marker Project. Rig a camera in sync with your odometer to take a picture a mile.
If your trip out west includes Oregon, try at least some of the Oregon Coast Highway, U.S. 101. The stretch between Lincoln City and Florence is the most scenic, but it's all good. The Columbia River gorge is beautiful, too - The Dalles to Portland.
I have driven to the East Coast every possible way too many times, back and forth, endlessly and it is all very tedious -- at least through the Michigan, Indiana, Canada, Ohio stretches. Pennsylvania is never-ending as well. Getting off the Interstate is essential but it doubles (at least) the driving time. If I were you, I'd skip the ferry (too early and when the waters are rough, they are ROUGH), and then either zip through Michigan-Detroit-Canada to Buffalo (it's a tiny bit more interesting than Illinois-Indiana-Ohio, but also a little longer) and then really get off and start having fun in New York around the Figer Lakes region (as has been suggested).
Thanks for all the suggestions. It looks like a couple people had trouble with accidentally double posting. I deleted one double post myself. I'm not censoring anything in this case, just fixing a double post situation.
I didn't see anyone mention Amish country in Ohio. I've not visited the Amish sections of WI or IN (yet), but the Ohio country has some moderately twisty roads and perhaps some nice photo ops.
Off the Interstate is essential to finding any nice country to look at.
Summer isn't the best time for this trip, but you should make it sometime (March is best for amazing wildflowers, Xmas break is also good, since it's in the 60s-70s by day and 30s at night):
Start in Austin, spend a few days sightseeing. Head west on 290 through small Texas Hill Country towns. Stop at Pedernales Falls, stop at Enchanted Rock. Utopia.
Head south to meet Route 90. Keep heading west. Del Rio, walk across to Mexico for the afternoon. Langtry, see the Judge Roy Bean museum and the cactus garden. The Amistead Reservoir.
Keep heading west. Marfa. Marathon. Stay at the Gage Hotel. Go south to Big Bend for a week, do some hiking and camping, then out through the other end of the park down the Presidio Road, maybe all the way to El Paso.
Or head north to Ft. Davis and the McDonald Observatory and the Scenic Loop. Keep heading north to the Guadaloupe Mountains and then west to Carlesbad, NM.
I guarantee you will be gaping out the window at scenery all the way.
As far as the drive out west, Colorado Springs has the Air Force Academy chapel, Garden of the Gods and Pike's Peak. The old city in Alberquerque was interesting when we visited there.
Ann,
Two things: the double posting seems to be a Blogger problem. If you decide to come west to Colorado,I'll sit down for a couple of hours and write about all the interesting things to see, which are out of the way, and what's the best route to where. I've driven from central Wyoming to El Paso, and from the Mississippi to western Nevada. There are interesting places to see everywhere. I've been to both the "must-see" attractions to some of the offbeat and quaint places, and I know of many of the tourist traps.
One of the greatest places to visit with a camera is Grand Lake, Colorado, on the southwestern edge of Rocky Mountain National Park - and it's best in mid- to late-May. After that, the tourists move in, and the wildlife moves out! If you take the Million Dollar Highway from Montrose, Colorado, over to Durango, you'll see plenty of deer and elk in May, almost none after mid-June.
One thing to consider: the Great Plains are a bear to cross in the summer. Air conditioning is essential - be sure to get it checked before you leave. Ours went out on us at the very beginning of a rushed trip from Colorado Springs to Houston. Crossing northern Texas in 110 degree heat without air conditioning is MISERABLE. Looking forward to hearing more about your plans.
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