Comments on: On the Road Again

By: Darkwater

Darkwater — Mon, 26 Jul 2004 05:57:32 +0000

If you do the I-40 route, I’d second the recommendations for the Big Texan and Sandia Crest. The food at the Big Texan is good, and they do a remarkable job of getting it to you in a timely manner, considering how large the restaurant and kitchen are. (Plus, you can stay the night there at the relatively inexpensive motel and partake of the cheap beer.) Sandia Crest would be a great break between the boredom of eastern NM and the boredom of western NM. If you’re looking for a meal in ABQ, I’d recommend Flying Star for lunch and/or desert (4 locations, scattered around the city) and Sadie’s (West on Osuna from I-25, North on N 4th from I-40) for a great New Mexican dinner. If you like very large arrays, I’d recommend leaving I-40 and heading through western NM and AZ on US 60 and visiting the Very Large Array radio telescope, west of Magdalena, NM. US 60 is also a nice way to get from Albuquerque to Phoenix without the truck traffic. If you go on I-40 through AZ, I’d recommend stopping off in Flagstaff – it’s just about the highest (and therefore coolest) place along the way and the downtown has an amazing group of stores and microbreweries for a city its size.

By: nick

nick — Sun, 25 Jul 2004 07:49:15 +0000

I-40? Stop in Asheville. Or at least visit the Biltmore Estate. Asheville is an oasis of artsy Volvo-driving, yoga-stretching liberalism in… well, in the South. And it’s Bele Chere this weekend, so you get to see it in its full glory.

By: J. Ellenberg

J. Ellenberg — Sat, 24 Jul 2004 18:08:08 +0000

Second Ben Hyde’s recommendation of the Jane and Michael Stern books; when we drove across, Eat your Way Across the USA was our main guidebook. Road Trip USA is also first-rate if you’re willing to venture off the interstate. By the way, I didn’t read carefully and didn’t notice you were taking I-40; so sorry about my first set of recommendations, which contemplated a more southern route.

By: Ben Hyde

Ben Hyde — Sat, 24 Jul 2004 03:58:49 +0000

http://roadfood.com/ and the related books.

By: Sean

Sean — Sat, 24 Jul 2004 00:38:05 +0000

For long car trips by yourself, books on tape are great, especially old poems. Nothing better than hearing classics of the oral tradition read out loud. You can find the Iliad read by Derek Jacobi, the Odyssey by Ian McKellen, and Beowulf by Seamus Heaney.

By: Chris Martin

Chris Martin — Fri, 23 Jul 2004 23:02:22 +0000

Having taken both I-20 and I-40 across the country, I would highly recommend I-20. On I-40 you have both potholes and truckers to deal with.

By: jam

jam — Fri, 23 Jul 2004 22:46:54 +0000

Yeah. LAX is possibly the worst airport in the US. I don’t think it needs a Martian to discern this. After a while, I refused to fly in or out of it. If I was going to the area, I’d go via Long Beach, John Wayne or Burbank. Next time you have to fly back from Australia, try going through SFO instead.

By: q

Fri, 23 Jul 2004 22:38:11 +0000

Make sure you don’t fall asleep at the wheel – it is possible on those straight roads to get hypnotised into sleep – who knows where you will end up.

By: Hank

Hank — Fri, 23 Jul 2004 22:00:29 +0000

I’ve never driven that route, but having done a similarly long drive from Minnesota to San Francisco, I would recommend staying off the freeway as much as possible. We drove freeway in part of Nebraska and between Sacramento and SF. Other than that it was 2-lane the whole way. All freeways are the same; see America from the backroads.

By: digamma

digamma — Fri, 23 Jul 2004 21:55:45 +0000

I’m going to drive from South Carolina to Arizona, probably along I-40. (I have to do this, for various reasons.) Any advice? It might be worth dropping ten bucks on Next Exit: The Most Complete Interstate Highway Guide Ever Printed - it's basically a list of every exit on every Interstate in the US with the nearby gas stations and restaurants.

By: digamma

digamma — Fri, 23 Jul 2004 21:52:50 +0000

By: jgl

jgl — Fri, 23 Jul 2004 21:11:21 +0000

Since j. ellenberg brought up Marfa, I feel compelled to mention the hilarious John Waters poster, “Visit Marfa” that is currently featured on the cover of Artforum. “The Jonestown of Mimimalism” is my favorite bit. Go to http://www.artforum.com/inprint/id=6937 and click on the image at left.

By: dipnut

dipnut — Fri, 23 Jul 2004 21:10:57 +0000

Go to Sandia Crest, elevation 10,678’. The turnoff is North Hwy. 14 (Tijeras), about fifteen miles East of Albuquerque. Follow the signs; the road to the Crest itself is 536. Detour is about 1/2 hour one way (helluva lot closer than White Sands). The view is magnificent, and the air is 20 degrees cooler than on the prairie.

By: Stacy

Stacy — Fri, 23 Jul 2004 21:07:53 +0000

You should stop for a FREE 72oz steak in Amarillo, TX! [small print: you have to eat the whole steak, plus an appetizer, salad, and baked potato in one hour, otherwise it’s $50] [slightly larger print: No I don’t know this first hand. I have, however, seen billboards for it as far away as eastern Oklahoma and the website.

By: Brey

Brey — Fri, 23 Jul 2004 20:54:21 +0000

In Albuquerque you can visit the National Hispanic Cultural Center, the The Indian Pueblo Cultural Center, or National Atomic Museum. Oh yeah, New Mexican food is not like Mexican food. And, Green is usually hotter than red.