Az peas... tombstone and grand canyon

Tell us what part of the drive up the coast is on your must see list too.

When are you thinking of doing this? Highway 1 south of Big Sur is still closed.

By next spring it should be open thru Big Sur.

We love driving along the coast of CA and OR and have done it a lot. If you are looking to dip in and out of the coast roads, what things are you guys interested in? Are you foodies, into hiking, love rock shops, waterfalls are your jam?

Are you doing this in an RV or staying in hotels along the way?  If RV, I could make some suggestions on where to stay along the way

Sedona is a must see too!

I'm not from AZ but I recently drove a similar distance, and maybe some of this will be helpful to you. It was so much fun, and I'd do it again with no hesitation even though I'm the only licensed driver between us for medical reasons so I drove every mile of it myself. The only thing that would have made it better would be if I could read or crochet or something half of the time on the road!

My boyfriend and I took a week and a half road trip in October. We started in Oklahoma and drove along I-40 to L.A., stopping 2 nights along the way. We made it a point to visit several towns on Route 66 both ways. If you like shopping for souvieners and taking photos of old stuff, I would recommend it. There's not a lot more to it if you're not into Route 66 history.

Be prepared to stop on the way into California at the agricultural inspection station. You have to declare any plants, fruits, or vegetables you have. If you're a houseplant souviener person like me, wait to buy one until you're in California or after. They do not reinspect when you leave. I guess they don't care what insects leave the state.

We spent 2 nights in LA visiting family, eating at the farmers market, and checking out Koreatown where our AirBNB was located. We then drove up the coast but not quite as far north as you are planning to go, although we spend 5 nights in the Central Coast where most of his immediate family is located. We could easily have gone on to SF if we didn't have a reason to stay in the Pismo and SLO area.

Neither of us had ever been to the Grand Canyon, so we worked it into the return trip. We could have gone through Bakersfield on the way, but we went back through LA instead, mostly because my boyfriend really really really wanted to eat a hot dog at Pink's. And I wanted to stop at just one more Daiso. He also has some kind of Californian disdain for Bakersfield I don't understand and claims that the highway out there is a dangerous drive. Plus it is easy to sell me on driving right alongside the ocean, and I absolutely love Los Angeles.

The Vegas shooting happened the first night of our drive, so we didn't stay in Vegas like we had planned. Instead we stayed in the coolest rental of the 9 from our trip in The Sands Motel in Boulder City, and woke up early to stop by the Hoover Dam on the way out of town. I was surprised how cool the dam was. If you plan to go, be prepared for the armed guards that will look through your car. I guess we didn't seem suspicious because they just made us roll down the windows while they visually inspected what we had in the back. At that point we were fully loaded with luggage and all manner of shopping bags.

We made our way back to I-40 and eventually took the 1 hour detour from the interstate to the Grand Canyon. It was amazing and totally worth it. My only regret is that we didn't spend a night in the area to have more time at the park. The pass you pay for covers 7 days.

We didn't go to southern AZ, but it looks like there are highways that would get you to Tombstone as a straight shot from GC. If you don't care about southern California, you could probably go to Tombstone first, then GC, then Bakersfield.

I would recommend planning out your must see towns and cities and then filling in the gaps as you go. We are flexible travellers, and I think taking a road trip that long would be a nightmare for me with a rigid planner type. If you and your husband are like that it may work for you though. If you want to stay in nicer hotels, booking in advance is best. If your standards are lower, I haven't had a problem finding a place the day of if it isn't a tiny town or a popular hotel. You may not get great signal in a lot of the rural areas, so figure out your path before you leave the last place and bring a paper map just in case.

You might want to show dh our reaction to Bakersfield. I'm so sorry to say this, but Bakersfield is not pretty nor is it a good representation of our lovely state. And trying to fit it in is going to lead to some long uninteresting stretches of driving.

Tombstone and the Grand Canyon are about as close as San Fransisco and San Diego.
It’ll take a good part of a day to get between the two.
Depending on when you go, there can be snow and ice in northern Arizona even in May.
I would agree with starting at the Grand Canyon, driving down through Sedona and Jerome, keep driving down to Tombstone and Bisbee, then drive over to San Diego and up the California coast to Oregon.
Getting to the Grand Canyon will be the hardest part. Once you get there, the rest of the route falls into place.

Skip Bakersfield

We usually take the 99 going up. The 5 is long, boring and empty through most of the middle. The 99 at least has small towns so of you need to stop there are options. We are typically driving to Tahoe and just trying the get there fast vs the scenic route.

We did Yosemite this summer then hit SF, Santa Cruz, Monterey Bay and another beach town before going back inland to grab the 5.

Of you make it to Tahoe you have to try Tahoe Treetop Adventures. It is a blast for all ages! The Tahoe Vista location is the biggest and worth the extra money.

I live in west Texas too and we did grand Canyon trip 2 years ago in April. It snowed!
We enjoyed this weird little hotel for our 1st night on the road:
laposada.org/
Sounds like an awesome trip...I may be a little green over here.

Do you have an AAA membership? With ours we can get free maps and books of different States and Provinces. Give them enough time and they can put together a Triptik book for you. Just Google AAA Triptik.

Lyrics to Streets of Bakersfield (made popular by Dwight Yoakam and Buck Owens)
www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/dwightyoakam/streetsofbakersfield.html