LoneStarLizzard

From Little Rock, go south to Mena, Arkansas and drive the Talamena Trail west to Talahena, OK (about 90 miles of fantastic scenery and great, wiggly roads). Then go west through Okalahoma into western New Mexico. In western New Mexico, turn north and go to Cortez, Colorado (in the southwest corner of the state). Use Cortez as your base camp. Take day trips to:
1. Monument Valley in Northeastern Arizona (look for the Chevy trucks parked on top of the pedistal rock formations).
2. Southeastern Utah - Moab, etc.
3. Southwestern Colorado, particularly the Million Dollar Highway between Durango to Ouray. Spectacular scenery and fansastic roads.

On your way home, travel south from Durango into New Mexico and drive the roads connecting Taos and Red River -more wiggly roads and great mountain scenery.

Finally, get on Route 66 for a bit while traveling east from New Mexico through Oklahoma on your way back to Little Rock - just to say you did.

All spectacular scenery, great roads and a diversity of climates. Should be around 4,000 miles total.

My two sons and I did this same ride (starting from Dallas, TX) on motorcycles in 2003 as a going-away trip for my oldest just before he entered the Army. 4,000 miles in six days. It is the best memories we have together.

The Lizzard

OkieBikerDude

Key West is a great destination, regardless of the time of year. Having been there several times in the past, it becomes our "plan B" if we can't swing Hawaii or the Virgin Islands in the winter. My wife likes the beach (even though it is man-made) and I like people watching most of the time. It is south but it does benefit from semi-tropical breezes year round and once you leave the mainland at Florida City, you are in a different world. Very laid back. If you go, the first time must does are: ride the Konch Train first, relax on the beach after shopping and see sunset at Mallory Sq. Looking for a pub is optional as you may have trouble finding one.

Okie

Suthunman

Thanks for all the great suggestions. I'm going to try some of them one of these days. But for this year it looks like Key West is the destination. Has anyone driven State Road A1A down the east coast of Florida to get there? Is it worth the extra time to get there and is there any parts of it that should be avoided.

ALLEGRO

Here's a twist on things: why don't you just choose a direction and head out. No reservations, no real desitination. Then, go as you choose and where you choose.

I have a couple of friends that do this each year and say that they see things and experience America in a way they never did before. I don't have time to do this sort of thing, but for those of you that do, it sounds like a blast of exploration.

Happy Travels

chasboy

My DW and I are big fans of the "Deadwood" series, so the Dakotas, Mt. Rushmore and Deadwood would be #1 for us. Not fans of Florida at all.

OkieBikerDude

I've heard the same story and I have also spent 2 hours traveling in the wrong direction because I didn't have reservations. It's always a problem within 150 miles of any big national park. If you stop early, it might work but I don't like backtracking at 5 pm.

I have driven A1A (or US-1 when A1A turns inland) in Florida from Atlantic Beach (Jacksonville) to Miami Beach and then West 10 miles back to US-1 and South all the way to Key West. I was always within 3 blocks of the ocean when on A1A and I didn't see any problem areas. My last trip to Key West was a couple of years ago in March.
This isn't exactly the "high season" in the Keys so lodging shouldn't be a problem until you get to Key West. Have a place to stay before you get there. IMO.

OBD

jrprich

The Big Easy is a great city for food and music, but be careful where you park and when walking around, stay in with lots of people as it can, and often is, a dangerous place.

Suthunman

I've been there many times, always enjoyed it. One of my roadtrips was from New Orleans to Panama City Beach. It took me a couple of nights but I plotted my course and drove every road that ran along the coast where I could see the Water. I really enjoyed that trip.

The most amazing thing I have seen in my life was the devastation of Hurricane Katrina. I've been familiar with the Mississippi Gulf Coast for many years. I made a trip down there about a year after Katrina. I drove from Biloxi to New Orleans. Everything in Mississippi was just gone. As I drove into New Orleans many parts of it were like a ghost town. I suspect I will never see anything like that for the rest of my life.

LoneStarLizzard

But that just proves ALLEGRO's point. If you didn't have a destination or reservations in the first place, then you wouldn't have been lost. Kind of an Alice-in-Wonderland approach to road trips.

My most enjoyable road trip with my sons (was on motorcycles and) was exactly like ALLEGRO suggests. "Where we gonna eat?" "Pick one." "Where we gonna spend the night?" "I dunno." "Where we going today?" "Wherever you want to." Let's just ride.

The Lizzard

Corvette_Ed

If it were me, I'd head up to Lake Tahoe via Reno, then head south to San Francisco along the coast. If you time it right you can see the national speedboat races in Tahoe, and a visit to the Muir Woods in SF is always a nice trip from the Tahoe direction. I'd retrace my steps for the return trip.