Stonekeeper road trip

Hi all

I am planning a road trip from Chicago to Las Vegas via Memphis then back to Chicago.

And will pass through your State.

From my research so far i believe it to be around 5000 miles the whole trip.

Am i optimistic to expect to do it in a fortnight?

Has anyone any views on the best motel chain to stop at each night or do they vary from state to state?

Any advice on places NOT to stay in would be appreciated.

Stonekeeper road trip

Hi! If you are going to stop in Lincoln, NE we would recommend you stay either off the 27th Street exit if you just want a place to sleep over night. There are some hotels/motels that are fairly new and reasonably priced.

If you plan to spend time in Lincoln, or just want something with more ammenities, we would recommend the downtown hotels. Embassy Suites or Cornhusker Marriott are very nice and the Atwood House B%26amp;B is wonderful if you are looking for more of a B%26amp;B atmosphere. Downtown has things to do within walking distance and the Haymarket is fun with lots of shops and restaurants.

Best of luck!

Stonekeeper road trip

Hi again

Thanks for all the input from all the states that have so far. Still some notable exceptions (maybe them are the ones to drive through as quickly as possible:~) )

The respondees so far seem to be getting an idea of what we intend. It is obvious that the initial trip may be significantly different than the trip we complete.

At the moment it still seems to be ;

land Chicago (looking for direct flights from Manchester possibly Glasgow)

pick up car and go to a motel reasonably quickly heading for Memphis. (Tet%26#39;s advice on not too much travel after flight noted).

We will then head for Memphis

We have now decided to use the sat nav to head for suggestions made on here E.g Rockies,grand canyon etc. Again Tets recommended trip is also printed out and ready for implementation.

Depending on how far west we have got by day 8 we will head north slightly to change interstate to start heading back to Chicago.

I believe i have to take into consideration the time zones, going west to east in USA will i not lose a couple of hours on the return trip.

If fuel is around $2.50 - $3.00 @ 30 mpg i am looking at $400.

Anyone any suggestions to the best car to hire?

Well, we are now back.

Trip Data:

Airline American Airlines

Car hire Alamo

Hotels see itinery.

Mileage covered: Odometer start 19091 finish 23529

Vehicle Chevrolet Malibu.

Average MPG according to computer in car 37.5 mpg.

Day 1 Manchester - Chicago, drive , Best western university, Traders circle Normal Illinois.

Day 2 Drove to memphis stopping at King Tuts for lunch, i would tell you where it was but for technical reasons that i will explain later i cannot.If you can find it i would well recommend. Hotel Scottish Inns near Graceland on Elvis Presley Boulevard.

Day 3 Stayed all day in the Graceland area and went to Beale Street in the evening. Absolute must for fans, too emotional for words. Ate at the Piccadilly on EPB. Stayed at Scottish Inns 2nd night.

Day 4 Headed West got as far as El Reno after many stops at Indian Trading posts hotel Mobil 8 again i did keep a record of all the eating and stopping places but more on that later.

Day 5 Drove as far as Grants i think NM.

Day 6 Grand Canyon by afternoon, South rim, awesome. Williams Hotel Best western Grants.

Day 7 Hoover dam after being wished a nice day by a policeman on the way up. Stayed Sahara Casino Hotel. After all the peace we have experienced so far Vegas is a bit busy.

Day 8 Green River Utah, Comfort inn The scenery is now indescribable.

Day 9 Fort Morgan stayed Days inn.

Day 10 Avoca Iowa Stayed Mobil 6

Between days 8 and 10 we visited Buffalo Bill memorial and John Wayne%26#39;s birthplace.

Day 11 Schiller Park Near Airport Mobil 6

Day 12 This was unexpected we decided to head to Lake Michigan stayed Kenosha on the lake in a Best Western (used to be Holiday inn.It was whilst at Kenosha on a trip out to Gurnee mills that my PDA/sat nav had a mystery illness it froze just before dark whilst i was inputting the days events into the diary.tried a soft reset,no response Unfortunately a reboot was required and guess who never backs anything up. Not only did the diary get obliterated on it%26#39;s reset to Jan 2005 but the sat nav programme was in the RAM.only the maps on the card. Luckily i was at Gurnee mills but because of my reliance on the machine i did not know where Gurnee Mills was in relation to the hotel,it was now dark and after a visit to the car park to see if i could get any form of bearings for a guess where i live drive, we nipped back in and bought a Tom Tom.Home in Half an hour.

Day 13 2nd night Kenosha, are you sure thats not the Ocean.

Day 14 Back to O%26#39;Hare for hte flight home.I had hoped to give details of every shop and eatery. We met some wonderful people, ate some very hard vegetables and had an absolute beano with camera 924 pictures now burned to cd and backed up twice.

I told you it would not be what everone considers a holiday. But it was brilliant.The driving was easy the truckers an inspiration and the views, mostly, spectacular.

Regards

Stonekeeper