<p>D and H are driving from West Lafayette indiana to Southern Ca. I am the trip planner.
I have gone to the AAA, looked at Mapquest, Yahoo maps and Google maps. All 4 give me different directions for certain sections. Most of the route is pretty straightforward.
A couple of parts I could use some feedback from locals and those who have driven this route in winter.
Here are a couple of points I could use some help with-
getting down to Hwy 74W from West Lafayette. All 4 mapping programs give me a different route. To my eye it doesn’t look like any of them are ideal. I am thinking of just having them pick one.</p>
<ol>
<li>Bypassing St Louis. Entering St Louis on Hwy 70. They need to transition to Hwy 44. Mapquest and AAA have them taking 270 and merging on to 44W. Google takes them straight through St Louis ( eliminating this one). Yahoo maps has them going from Hwy 70 to the 55 South to 44 west.
thanks</li>
</ol>
<p>If they’re not in a rush I’d recommend trying to go for a more scenic route than the most direct. Not sure how soon they’re leaving, but if it’s in a season where the roads should be in good conditions I’d say it’s well worth the estimated extra hour to take I-70 all the way across through Colorado and Utah (so many beautiful national parks off of I-70 and I-15 in Utah).</p>
<p>I-40 and I-10 make the cornfields of Iowa seem exciting.</p>
<p>Not the trip for the scenic route. Most direct and best avoidance of bad weather is the goal.
We have done many a family trip that included Utah and Colorado and I agree that the National Parks are worth seeing.</p>
<p>If you pass through St. Louis between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. (which shouldn’t be hard if you’re coming from W. Lafayette), go directly through town on I-70, you will exit as soon as you cross the Mississippi, loop under the bridge and the junction with I-44 is only about a mile further down the road. Both the north and south bypasses (270 of 255) are very long and tedious and boring (really out in the country). If I remember correctly, the north bypass will say Kansas City because that’s where I-70 goes. (The south bypass will indicate Memphis). </p>
<p>As long as it’s not rush hour, going straight through makes much more sense, and you will get a terrific view of the arch. </p>
<p>If you want to stop and see something, I would suggest the north bypass - 270 - and a stop at Chain of Rocks Bridge. It lies just south of the bypass bridge over the Mississippi and is the old Route 66 bridge. It is unique because it has a 45 degree turn in the middle. It’s a park now and you can walk out on the bridge which is more easily accessible from the Missouri side. </p>
<p>I drive to/through St. Louis all the time. I live in IL and travel frequently to the airport. Rush hours can be bad as in any large city, but other than those times, it’s really pretty manageable.</p>
<p>I’ve driven between Lafayette IN and I-74W. No good way to do it. </p>
<p>If I were making that trip I’d probably just take I-65 south toward Indianapolis, then I-465 south along the western periphery of Indy, and pick up I-70 west toward St. Louis, from there catch I-44 west to Oklahoma City, then I-40 west into southern California. Not scenic, but efficient.</p>
<p>It may seem like you’re going backwards to start out towards Indianapolis first, but I think it’s as fast or faster than any other route, and less headache. Once you get on I-70 you’ll make rapid progress towards St. Louis. I wouldn’t worry too much about St. Louis traffic. It’s not that big a town. I’d do I-70 west, merge with I-55 south, follow I-55 to I-44 west. Least hassle in directions, just a bit of city driving.</p>
<p>No guarantees, but in winter it’s generally better to get further south quicker. Hence I-70 is better than I-74 towards St. Louis; and from St. Louis, I-44 angling southwest toward Oklahoma City is better than I-70, though you could still run into ice in southwest Missouri. From Oklahoma City through to LA should be OK. There are routes even further south, but they’re less direct. From Lafayette I’d estimate three longish days: Lafayette-Tulsa, Tulsa-Albuquerque, Albuquerque-LA.</p>
<p>Tango makes a great suggestion. You can easily get to 44 with a little driving through the city (which really isn’t much of a city after all…) It’s not at all like driving through other cities like, say, Chicago (assuming you’ve never done it before). You could stay on 70 west, take 40/64 west, get off at Jefferson, turn left/go south, and then get on 44 west no problem. I’d be happy to manipulate a Google map to show you this plan.</p>
<p>Nonetheless, 70 to 55 to 44 makes the most efficient sense and unless you’re going to be traveling during rush hour, it shouldn’t be a problem. You will be going in the direction of evening rush hour and against the direction of morning rush hour. </p>
<p>Would this be a good time to stop for lunch? If so, I’d recommend taking 70 across the bridge into St Louis and then continuing on 40/64 west. It’s a complicated interchange, so just make sure you’re paying attention to the signs. You can take 40/64 west to 270 south to 44 west, and while you’re on 40/64, you’ll pass through a great area of STL (I’m biased, that’s the part I’m from) complete with lots of great places to stop for a bite to eat. PM me or reply here if you’d like some suggestions.</p>
<p>PS: Did you know that on Google maps you can really easily manipulate your route? All you have to do is drag the blue line to the roads you’d rather take. Also, you can add destinations by clicking “add destination” and then can drag that new destination around anywhere on your map. You can get a street level view by dragging and dropping the little yellow guy at the top of the zoom bar on the left to the spot on the street you want to see. This should allow you to combine all your info into one perfect map!</p>
<p>Not sure what time they will hit St Louis.What is considered rush hour? Unfortunately they are not going to get an early start. D has a final Thur am. That is going to make it difficult to make it to Ca in 3 days. Right now I have them stopping in Joplin the first night, Grants NM the second and home the 3rd night. They have time if they don’t get as far the first day. Thur looks like the only day they might encounter some weather. That might make heading back towards Indianapolis make the most sense.
Didn’t know you could move google maps.</p>