Time for a Road trip?
/“The freedom of the open road is seductive, serendipitous and absolutely liberating. ”
We love a good road trip. Sometimes we're on a schedule and have to keep moving, but our favorite journeys leave plenty of time for detours, unexpected discoveries, and places we never knew existed until we stumbled across them. Occasionally we have a destination in mind, but more often we're reminded of the saying attributed to Confucius: "Roads were made for journeys, not destinations."
If you're looking for inspiration for a summer adventure, we've updated our Road Trips section with some of our favorite journeys.
Great Western Loop
This was our inaugural adventure with Blue, our 2015 Ford Transit camper conversion. We traveled more than 5,000 miles through Arizona, California, Oregon, and Nevada, discovering spectacular scenery and a host of quirky attractions.
Tall Timber–Hobo Loop
With triple-digit temperatures baking Las Vegas (yes... living in the Mojave Desert in July has its drawbacks), escaping north seemed like an excellent idea.
Our route included Theodore Roosevelt National Park in North Dakota, attending Tall Timber Days in Grand Rapids, Minnesota with friends, Voyageurs National Park, and the 118th Annual Hobo Convention (yes, that's a real thing) in Britt, Iowa. Along the way, we also paid our respects at the memorial marking "The Day the Music Died," where Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens, and the Big Bopper lost their lives.
North to Alaska
If you have the time and a real sense of adventure, driving to Alaska belongs on every ’roadtripper's’ bucket list.
Our plan was simple: take our time through western Canada, follow the Alaska Highway north, and eventually dip our toes into the Arctic Ocean—the last ocean we had yet to visit. Five months and 16,082 miles later, it was one grand adventure.
We explored the magnificent Yukon and Northwest Territories, drove every major road in Alaska, and discovered that you don't necessarily need a big expedition vehicle to make the trip. We met travelers in SUVs, several adventurous EV owners, and one intrepid gentleman who completed the entire journey in a vintage Model A Ford.
Maritime Canada
Years ago, while sailing, we spent two wonderful summers exploring Maine and Maritime Canada. Our time there, however, was limited by those short northern sailing seasons, and we always hoped to return by land someday. That opportunity finally arrived in the summer of 2024.
Our route carried us through northern Nevada, Idaho, Montana, and into British Columbia before crossing Canada to Québec. From there we continued across Labrador, ferried to Newfoundland, and then to Nova Scotia, onward to Prince Edward Island and New Brunswick before returning home through Québec and Northern Maine. It was an unforgettable journey through some of the friendliest and most beautiful places we've ever visited.
Bienvenue au Canada!
Wild West Road Trip
This trip marked the debut of Blanche, our 2019 Ram ProMaster camper conversion.
Rather than revisit the famous attractions of Arizona, New Mexico, and Texas, we deliberately sought out the places most travelers overlook. Ghost towns, forgotten mining camps, tiny communities, spectacular desert sunrises, fascinating locals, and more than a few moments of wondering, "Why on earth did we decide to come this way?" combined to make this a fun and enjoyable road trip.
Blue Highways
Some of our favorite adventures happen on America's historic highways. The pace is slower, the scenery changes gradually, and there's never a shortage of odd roadside attractions or interesting people. We call these routes "blue highways," borrowing the phrase coined by William Least Heat-Moon in his classic Blue Highways. The name came from the old road atlases, where secondary roads were printed in blue.
Although many historic U.S. highways have been replaced by the Interstate system, several still retain their two-lane charm and reward travelers willing to slow down.
Here are a few of our favorites.
US-2 — The High Road
Stretching from Washington to Maine, with a lengthy detour through Canada, US-2 may be America's most underrated transcontinental highway. From the Pacific to the Atlantic, traversing forests, plains, mountains, and small towns along the way, every mile offered something memorable. The Upper Peninsula of Michigan, where my mother was born almost 110 years ago, was especially interesting, as was a slight side trip to circumnavigate (via road, of course) Lake Superior.
US-93
Running 1,359 miles from Wickenburg, Arizona, to the Canadian border, US-93 links the deserts of Arizona with the mountains of Idaho and Montana, passing right through the bright lights of Las Vegas in between. It's a wonderfully varied drive that deserves far more attention than it receives. If you decide to drive it, be sure to say hi on your way through Las Vegas!
US-66 — Gettin' Your Kicks
This one's still a work in progress.
We've driven many sections of Route 66 over the years, but we're in the process of driving all of the Mother Road from Chicago to Santa Monica this year, its 100th anniversary. Stay tuned.
US-6 — All the Kicks, One Less Six
Known as the Grand Army of the Republic Highway, US-6 is America's longest and highest historic transcontinental highway. Although, over the decades, portions have been rerouted, it still stretches 3,205 miles from Bishop, California, to Provincetown at the tip of Cape Cod, crossing 14 states and climbing to nearly 12,000 feet at Loveland Pass in Colorado. It's one of America's great forgotten road trips.
Of course, this list barely scratches the surface, and we’re working on documenting the other road trips we’ve taken over the years.
There are covered bridges waiting in Iowa’s Madison County, lighthouse tours along the Oregon coast—or Maine's, or Michigan's—fall colors that transform Vermont into a painter's palette, and countless roads we've never driven simply because we haven't turned in that direction... yet.
As we've been documenting our road trips, it makes me want to throw a bag in the car, fill the tank (or charge up), and head toward another distant horizon. Hopefully, it will make you feel the same way.
Happy travels...and may you never need an excuse to say, "Let's see where this road goes..