Driving I-80 from Chicago to Denver?

Tripadvisor forums have been a wealth of info to me in the past, hope for more to come.

I will be driving to Rocky Mountain N.P., and various other places in Colorado and New Mexico the first 2 weeks of July. I plan on driving on I-80 most of the way there but I am looking for suggestions on using some alternate routes along the way to get a ';feel'; for the state. I really don%26#39;t want to venture to far North or South from my ';heading west'; for the first time experience.

Definitely not looking for the tourist attractions, just a pleasant driving experience to break up the monotony of the highway. Just an experience of the topography and maybe what the small towns are like.

I don%26#39;t mean to ignore your states but I have to see the Rockies!

Thanks for any advice!

Driving I-80 from Chicago to Denver?

You could always just follow one of the highways that parallel I-80 (hwy 30 or 34) but it probably wouldn%26#39;t be worth the extra time due to lower speed limits and small towns. You would experience some small towns, but honestly, you would probably find it pretty boring (I can say that since I am a native Nebraskan lol).

A better option IMO if you can spare the time would be to take highway 2 NW out of Grand Island. Highway 2 will take you through the sandhills which are a unique landscape that have a certain desolate ';beauty'; http://www.sandhillsjourney.com .

Here are a couple of photos I took along Highway 2 during a very could February a few years ago; http://www.pbase.com/robt61x49/nebraska_hwy_2 . The sandhills are very unique and you will find a lot of very quaint small towns along the way.

I love Nebraska, but you are right not to waste too much time here on your way to CO. I%26#39;ve been there several times. RMNP is great - here are a few photos from my last visit there pbase.com/robt61x49/rocky_mountain_national_… and some fall color shots near Aspen from last September http://www.pbase.com/robt61x49/fall_colors .

Hope this helps.

Driving I-80 from Chicago to Denver?

robt61x49, That%26#39;s the kind of info I am looking for. Thanks for taking the time to respond.

I will seriously consider your suggestions, sounds like it would give me a '; feel '; for the state.

Those were very nice pix. I hope I will be able to find some peace and nature in mid summer in RMNP. Looks like you might have

Thanks again, pizzaman.