Road Map

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The route we actually took from New Orleans to San Francisco.

Highway 1

We woke up to ocean fresh air and California Highway 1 ahead of us. After the best breakfast we`ve had on this trip at a local café in Cambria, we headed out for a ride up the beautiful California coast. We passed Big Sur, which is claimed to be the most beautiful stretch along the Highway 1, but in our opinion, the whole way from Cambria to San Francisco was absolutely amazing. The road follows the shoreline and sometimes descends all the way to the sea level, and then climbs up over a hundred meters. Many view points along the road made this originally 5 hour trip to a 10 hour trip. We arrived in San Francisco at night and checked in at the Red Victorian hotel in Haight st.

The Pacific

We checked out, ready to leave the hot desert city and head towards the coast. The first part of the drive was excruciatingly boring, but as we drove past Bakersfield and further towards the ocean, the landscape changed from dry desert to foggy, hilly winery country with beautiful views. As the sun set, we finally reached the Pacific coast, and got our first glimpse of the ocean. We made it!

As we had not really planned where we would stay for the night, we drove around in the dark until we finally found a charming little town called Cambria. The locals were very helpful in giving us directions to motels by the sea. We got a room just a stone`s throw from the shore, and were more than ready to turn in for the night.

Sin City

On our way to Las Vegas, we drove endless desert highways, crossed the Hoover dam, and got to feel what about 48 degrees Celsius feel like. As we arrived, we checked in at The Mirage on The Strip. First impression was...well, Vegas is Vegas, and you have to take it as it is. Hords of people everywhere, grannies sitting by the thousands of slot machines, neon signs each trying to be bigger and and brighter than the other and everything is designed to please your every need - however unnecessary.

Despite the citys shallowness, we had a blast, and Las Vegas just has to be experienced, however tacky it is. And as for the rest, as the saying goes: what happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas.

The Grand Canyon and Flagstaff

Just off route 66 there is a small town called Flagstaff. Situated just below some mountains this town is often used as a entry point for the Grand Canyon and that is why we came here. Grand Canyon is a little over an hours drive away and we got up early to get a good start. After arriving we spent a couple of hours walking around before we sat down for a nice meal at the Bright Angel Lodge. Then we headed down the Bright Angel Trail. We were warned, repeatedly, to not set off on a longer trek down the trails of the Grand Canyon. The temperatures further down easily get as high as 45 - 50 c on a summer day like this and can result in fatal dehydration if you are overly ambitious, so we decided to make a short trip down the trail and then head back up. 

Later in the day, back in Flagstaff, we headed to a local diner. Its was Rockabilly night and the place was packed with people dancing swing and listening to rock classics from an old jukebox. We ordered some hamburgers and wings with some of the best milkshakes ever. A great meal and and a fun night later we turned in for the night.

Just off route 66 there is a small town called Flagstaff. Situated just below some mountains this town is often used as a entry point for the Grand Canyon and that is why we came here. Grand Canyon is a little over an hours drive away and we got up early to get a good start. After arriving we spent a couple of hours walking around before we sat down for a nice meal at the Bright Angel Lodge. Then we headed down the Bright Angel Trail. We were warned, repeatedly, to not set off on a longer trek down the trails of the Grand Canyon. The temperatures further down easely get as high as 45 - 50 c on a summer day like this and can result in fatal dehydration if you are overly ambitious, so we decided to make a short trip down the trail and then head back up.


Later in the day, back in Flagstaff, we headed to a local diner. Its was Rockabilly night and the place was packed with people dancing swing and listening to rock classics from an old jukebox. We ordered some hamburgers and wings with some of thebest milkshakes ever. A great meal and and a fun night later we turned in for the night.

Monument Valley

We woke up and got the first look at the scenery around us. It was funny how our surroundings had changed so completely, from the mountains last night, to red sand desert today. We grabbed a quick breakfast by the San Juan River, and then drove a half an hour to Monument Valley. We took a drive down The Valley Trail, an unpaved road in between the “rocks”, which lead us to an unexpected chance to go horseback riding. Riding a horse in Marlboro country was an experience of a lifetime. And it was no easy ride either; as we rode the horses on cliffs about 60 meters high and had the most amazing view over the valley. The rest of the day we hung out at The View hotel, enjoyed a great meal and waited for the sunset. More than one day would almost be too much here, as the place is so beautiful, it will blow you away..

Rocky Mountains

We headed out from Pueblo and after a short ride we were at the base of the Rocky Mountains. The climb was steep, as we passed 3000 meters above sea level the temperature dropped below 15c and it got pretty cold. The landscape was made up of tall trees and snowy mountain tops. We decended into a town called Montrouse, filled up on gas and headed out towards what is called the Million Dollar Higway. Once out on the million dollar highway it became apparent that we had ended up in the middle of an illegal street race. Expensive sportscars with decals ran past us at what had to be over 200 kph. The cars were everything from Ferraries to limousines and it was clear that they were buildt to race. We saw a police car catch one of them but most of them just blasted through traffic along the narrow roads. There must have been at least 40 or 50 cars total and we encountered them all the way to Monument Valley. We later found the web page for the race, bullrun.com.

If you ever find yourself in the rocky mountains we cannot reccomend Route 550(the million dollar highway) enough. While not for the faint of heart, as the drops are huge and there are no protective railings, the ride in of it self is one of the most beautifull we have ever experienced. Check out the video below for a short impression of the route. Afer clearing the million dollar highway we rode until night and checked into a hotel at the Mexican Hat.

3 states - 1 day

We were ready for another day of driving, the goal was to get to Colorado before nightfall. The scenery in Texas changed dramatically as we drove west. The multiple lane interstates were replaced by a highway through ranch country, and the landscape shifted to much drier and trees were replaced by low bushes. As we entered New Mexico, trees were nowhere to be seen, and soon enough we were driving an absolutely amazing road through endless fields that just disappeared into the horizon. After the brief 100 mile drive through north of New Mexico, we made it to Colorado, and were suddenly driving a breathtaking roller coaster highway through the mountains.