Trip Ideas--Guest from Italy

[dsjeffries]

I'm having a guest from Italy beginning next Monday, and I'd like to take him on a roadtrip (his first time in the US). I'm looking at no longer than a 10 or 11-hour drive to whatever destination we choose, but I'm having a hard time choosing. It would be a 3-4 day trip, and I've come up with a few options.

Option 1: Tulsa to KC to Minneapolis. Stay a day or two, then drive to Chicago. Stay a day or two, come back to Tulsa.

I've never been to Minneapolis, so I don't know what the drive would be like (scenery AND weather) from KC to there or from there to Chicago.

Option 2: Tulsa to Santa Fe, spend a day or two. Drive to Denver, spend a day or two, come back.

I've never been to either of these places, so I have no idea what the drive is like, especially between Santa Fe and Denver (is it very pretty?)

I'm also looking at just going to a single city instead of combining two into one trip... I really just want him to get the most out of his first trip to the US and pack in some great cities and great scenery.

Any advice?


PS-In addition to whatever cities we end up choosing, I am taking him to Cathedral Square, Philbrook, Gilcrease and random sight-seeing around the area. Tulsa area suggestions welcome!

[dbacks fan]

I would say option 2, because you would get to see some the Great Plains and some of the Rockies.

[azbadpuppy]

Option 2- you have a likelyhood of better weather, Santa Fe is gorgeous, and the drive from Santa Fe to Denver is nice. You go through Colorado Springs, which is pretty, and the Rockies are always beautiful.

While Denver can get cold, Minneapolis and Chicago can be brutal this time of year!

[TURobY]

I would opt for the trip to Santa Fe and Denver, because it shows a wide variety of American landscapes. You'll get the plains crossing Oklahoma, then the desert in New Mexico, then the mountains in Denver. You'll also go from rural areas (Weatherford, Tucumcari, Pueblo, Salina), to mid-size areas (Tulsa, OKC, Amarillo, Albuquerque, Colorado Springs, Wichita), to large city (Denver).

For added interest, you could look up some history about each of the areas, as well as demographics and factoids about each area and town to share on the journey.

I would suggest going from Tulsa through OKC and Amarillo to Albuquerque. Then up to Santa Fe. From Santa Fe through Colorado Springs to Denver. Then from Denver to Salina, and Salina to Wichita. Then back to Tulsa from there.

[TheArtist]

Definitely Santa Fe and Denver. The landscape around Santa Fe is so completely different than here. Go see the indian reservations and the old mission churches. Go walk around the old square and the blocks of wonderful art galleries. The central area of Santa Fe is very pedestrian friendly. I will try to get the name and number of a hotel that I have stayed at that is very inexpensive and right by the old square and some neat restaurants. You can stay at the hotel for a couple of days and never ever want to get in your car. Everything is in walking distance or via "trolley tour".  Then you can drive up to Denver and see the mountains and the museum etc. there. You get a wide variety of American landscapes and cultures.    

[Ed W]

Ask if he'd like to travel along Route 66 because it's known internationally.  Jim Ross' book "Oklahoma Route 66" is an in-depth look at the Mother Road in Oklahoma.  It's available at Steve's Sundries.

[inteller]

and dont forget to stop at the Route 66 museum in Clinton.

[RecycleMichael]

I like the north trip.

Go through Kansas City and stop at the Country Club Plaza shopping center and eat some Bar B Q. Then head north through beautiful corn fields and windmill farms in Iowa. Minneapolis is wonderful with an excellent downtown plus a park and a lake within five blocks of every home. The downtown and the Mississippi River are just beautiful. The whole thing about an 11 hour drive.

Head east through southern Wisconsin and the rolling hill dairy farms will give them a real sense of the nation's food basket. Chicago is truly a great American city with a skyline to remember. Go to the Navy Pier and you can take great pictures from the top floor of the parking garage. The Museum of Science and Industry is my all-time favorite museum. The road home goes through St. Louis where they can get the best the midwest has in Italian food to remind them to go home.

[ARGUS]

Gilcrease,Tall Grass.
On the wat up from Santa Fe stop at the Great Sand Dune and go sliding.

[rwarn17588]

I'd go the quasi-Route 66 route, and it's not just because I'm biased.

Go west because it's more practical this time of year. As I'm writing this, snow is falling all over the upper Midwest. Route 66's path was initially chosen in 1926 because it's a lot more snow-free -- and passable -- during the winter.

[dbacks fan]

AlbuquerqueNBC affiliate. Santa Fe is currently on the edge of a winter storm warning.

[dsjeffries]

Thanks for the input, everyone!  We ended up heeding the advice of the majority and have chosen to go to New Mexico and Colorado. KC might still be an option for a separate trip.

I looked up some photos of places along the route and it looks simply stunning! I can't wait!

Thanks again.

[dbacks fan]

In driving to New Mexico, I love when you get to about 11 miles from the Texas/NM border it changes from prairie and tall grass, to high desert. The first time you go through that is pretty cool.

[mspivey]

#2 for sure. I'd be careful about driving to Denver this time of year. How about Utah? Bryce, Zion, Moab, etc. Then drive to Las Vegas and fly back.

Just depends on what you want to see.

[RecycleMichael]

Stuff to see on the way...In Amarillo, they have a cool quarterhorse museum. The also have the famous restaurant "The Texan" where if you eat a 72 oz. steak and plate of potatoes it is free. There is also a cattle processing facility just outside of town that smells as bad as any place in the world.

Tucumcari means Land of Cheap hotel/motels.It also has the world's largest collection of life-size bronze dinosaur skeletans. The town is pretty at night of you like old neon signs.

I love Albuquerque and would go to the botanical garden to see the walk through light display along the river. It is like Rhema, but it shapes of animals and other stuff and includes an ice skating rink. My favorite hotel is closed...the La Posada Hotel downtown was the first hotel ever owned by Conrad Hilton.

In Santa Fe, we stay at the Inn of the Governors. It is the best location in town. Make sure and go see the Georgia O'Keefe Museum. It is 13,000 feet and has only one artist, arguably the most important American artist of last century. If you are there on a Saturday and the weather is nice, you can buy wonderful silver jewelry from artists selling their wares on blankets in the town square.

I stay out of Denver, but love to go a half hour west into the mountains to Black Hawk/Central City. It is an amazing drive and the town consists of a hundred hotels and casinos. It is like a quaint and proper version of Las Vegas, but the smarmieness is gone because state law allows no more than a five dollar bet. You can easily find a one dollar blackjack table.

Have a good trip and drive safely.