What’s your idea of a road trip?
A minimum three-hour drive complete with snacks and fountain drinks? Maybe an hour drive to another town to dine in a buzzed-about restaurant? Living in places as large as Boston, Dallas and Los Angeles, the daily commute can certainly feel like its own road trip.
Whatever your definition, hopping in the car and having access to so many highways and byways to explore is still one of the joys of living in the U.S.
Some of my personal greatest adventures over the years have occurred behind the wheel during a road trip. Cruising the wide-open spaces. Enjoying the journey along the way as much as arriving at the ultimate destination.
On the latest road trip we took, we not only hit our scheduled stops, but had pleasant surprises during the nine-hour (each way) drive.
Traveling from Texas to New Mexico, we discovered the Four Sixes Ranch, featured in the popular show Yellowstone. Fort Sumner, famous outlaw Billy the Kid’s final resting place. Cadillac Ranch, where 10 circa mid-1900s vehicles are lined up, buried in the ground nose-down and intriguing visitors taking a break along Route 66.
We also made a point to explore several roadside restaurants on our route. Stopping for breakfast one day in a small-town café found us in the same building as the weekly cattle auction. We couldn’t help but pause and watch the action of ranchers raising their hands to bid as the auctioneer threw out numbers with a rapid-fire delivery. Truly an unexpected bonus mini excursion.
We conducted a recent road trip survey to gauge other people’s appreciation and preferences for car travel. See below for what we found.
