Cross Country Road Trip - Page 3

Alright, I think I have my final tentative plan (no oxymoron to see here, move along): Berkeley -> Paso Robles/Santa Barbara (for wedding venue tours) -> LA for the night. -> I can go one of two ways - 15 to Vegas or 15 to 40 to the Grand Canyon. Either way, I'll keep heading north until I hit 70, probably somewhere around Cove Fort if I take the Vegas route or Arches National Park if I take the GC route. -> Turn Right. -> Spend day/night in Vail. -> Continue on to Denver. Spend time there with additional R&R before the long, boring trip ahead. -> Continue on 70/40 to Kansas City. Spend some time there eating, drinking. -> Next stop is St. Louis. -> Another fork in the road: Can continue through to Louisville and check out the Bourbon country or just get the damn trip over with already and hurry back to Chicago. I'll be able to try the Navajo Tacos, I believe, somewhere between LA and Denver. I'm looking forward to trying Blake's Lotaburger - one of the main attractions of this trip will be to find the best local fast-food operations (I'm a die hard In-n-outer, but my hat tips for Five Guys, namely due to the superiority of their fries). Thoughts on this itinerary? Again, I'm not looking for the most direct route, and I have to head south to SB before heading East. That said, I also do not want to spend endless hours on a one or two lane road. Last time I drove this car was from SF to LA using PCH, and around San Luis Obispo, I got fed up and hit 5. Patience is a virtue, just not mine.

Anyone been to Mesa Verde? Worthwhile? We're thinking of skipping Moab for Mesa Verde. Namely to see this: