road trip: Seattle to Nebraska

We are taking our first family road trip ever! We will be driving from the Seattle area to Lincoln, Nebraska. I would love any information on food, hotels, and fun stops along the way. Also any information on best roads, quickest, safest, etc. Any tips?

road trip: Seattle to Nebraska

We used to make this trip every year for our summer vacation. I grew up just south of Lincoln and had family north of Seattle. I now live in Southern Idaho. From Seattle, we%26#39;ve found the most direct route to be: I-90 to Ellensburg, I-82 to Hermiston, I-84 across Idaho to Ogden, UT, then catch I-80 to Evanston, WY, all the way to Lincoln. If you want the scenic drive, however, there%26#39;s always Yellowstone or Jackson Hole (WY), Snake River Canyon (ID), Lewis and Clark Caverns (MT), Black Hills (Mt Rushmore, Crazy Horse), (SD), Estes Park (CO), Chimney Rock or Cabela%26#39;s Retail Stores (NE). Once at your destination, side trips to the Henry Doorly Zoo and Arbor Lodge are worth your time. Along the whole route, there are areas to see parts of the Oregon Trails, Lewis and Clark%26#39;s Expeditions, or the Pony Express. There%26#39;s a wide variety of terrain from your lush, green forests in Washington and Oregon to deserts and river canyons. Hope you and your family have a great time. In general, gas prices are going to be cheaper in WY and NE. Towns across I-80 in WY are pretty few and far between. This can be a pretty long stretch, depending on the age of your family members. Nebraska has pretty decent rest areas and there%26#39;s one either in eastern WY or western NE that has a huge head of Lincoln. E-mail me if you need/want any more info at stillpuzzling@hotmail.com. Have a safe and enjoyable vacation. Kari C.

road trip: Seattle to Nebraska

Sinemora,

Thanks for all the input. We will probably be taking the more direct route one way, and as I hear it the more ';sceneic'; route (90-through Montana) the other. Because lots of family and friends are patiently waiting, we probably won%26#39;t have too much time when on the road. But if you have any good finds for meals, lodging, where to stop for the night, and a good cup of coffee(!) let me know. Also, do you know if it is possible, without killing yourself, to do this with only one overnight stay? thanks so much!

Unlike Seattle, the other states you%26#39;re going through unfortunately won%26#39;t have a Starbucks on every corner! :-) I wish they did. We stopped at a casino around the WA-OR border one time for a buffet that was pretty good. Boise and Twin Falls, ID, both have a fair selection of restaurants and could probably find a decent cup of coffee, but the other areas will probably just be truck stops/gas stations. I%26#39;m not sure anymore how many hours it will take to make the whole trek. I%26#39;m guessing you would need to do 16-18 hour days to make it in 2. It would depend on how many drivers you have and breaks you need. When we were little, we just packed food and stuff for sandwiches and hit the road. I would guess the Salt Lake area would be your best bet for overnight lodging 1/2 way down the road, but fair warning, WY and NE both seem like they take forever to get through. Even right along the freeway%26#39;s most direct route, you%26#39;ll find some interesting geographical features - the pass through OR is pretty, you%26#39;ll follow the Snake River much of the way through ID with some neat scenery around Glenns Ferry and Malad Gorge near Bliss, Devil%26#39;s Slide past Ogden is cool and, I think, has a rest area, and if you%26#39;ve never been to Cabela%26#39;s and have any interest in the outdoors, you%26#39;ll really enjoy stopping in Sidney, NE, (right by the freeway). Sorry I can%26#39;t give you more specific information; it%26#39;s been a while since we%26#39;ve done the whole trip. Have fun and keep the air conditioning going!

On your way back, depending on where you catch 90, you have the Corn Palace and Doll Museum in Mitchell, SD, and you%26#39;ll be close to Mt. Rushmore and Crazy Horse monuments at Rapid City, SD; the Sturgis motorcycle rally is later in the summer; Lewis and Clark Caverns will be just before Butte, MT, and if you enjoy golf there%26#39;s a Jack Nicklaus course called Old Works in Anaconda, MT, that is really cool; then again, if you like golf, you%26#39;ll also be going through Coeur d%26#39;Alene, which has one of the best resorts and golf courses in ID; they filmed the old show ';Northern Exposure'; in Roslyn, WA, near Cle Elum - when we went back in the 90s they had some neat points of interest; then you%26#39;re hitting the home stretch. If you%26#39;ve never made this trip before by car, there are areas that are truly unique and beautiful - you%26#39;ll want to keep your camera handy. You%26#39;ll likely see deer and antelope, at least in WY, and if you%26#39;re lucky a moose somewhere along the line. Have a great time and safe travels.

Sinemora,

After spending the last 3 days on the internet, we have decided to make more of this trip, than just a ';drive- by';! You never know what you have missed when your dropped off at your destination by plane!

You%26#39;ve been a great help, Thanks so much!