Houston to San Diego - Drive

2,357 Views | 26 Replies | Last: 7 yr ago by Punked Shank
Punked Shank
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Relocating and plan on taking a few days to do so....

Plan on taking i10 all the way and it'll be me and my pup.

What do I need to do or see on my trip? Must stops?

All advice open...routes, points of interests, bars, diners, towns to sleep, camp sites?

Be within the next month.
3rdGenAg05
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That is an awful drive, about 22 hours IIRC. There is nothing worth seeing between San Antonio and San Diego. Luckily the speed limit is 75-85.
I suppose if you want to go out of your way, you could stop in Las Cruces and/or Phoenix, but I have no idea what there is to do.
Just south of Phoenix, 10 turns merges with I8 if you want to go to San Diego. I10 continues on to LA. Once you get into California, it's no longer called an interstate, it's just called "the 8."
Punked Shank
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Yeah it shows to be somewhere 21 hours. Did the drive in the summer with a Lincoln and no A/C when we were younger. Was brutal.

But yeah I'm looking to take 3 days for the trip and making different stops (big bend..etc) along the way to not only break it up, but do sight seeing etc. Willing to veer off the fastest route to check things out
Premium
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I haven't driven that, but if going across northern New Mexico, Northern AZ and passing through Las Vegas sounds interesting that looks like about a 4hr detour.
htxag09
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Not sure what all you could do in Vegas with a dog. Guess you could get a dog friendly hotel and leave him to go out...
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htxag09 said:

Not sure what all you could do in Vegas with a dog. Guess you could get a dog friendly hotel and leave him to go out...


Or drop the dog in a pet hotel

But I was also thinking scenery up that way might be a little nicer with the Grand Canyon and other things
Punked Shank
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Didn't even think about vegas! Actually have a buddy that just bought a house in vegas. Think I just changed my route!
matthopp
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We have stopped at Tombstone before, kinda cool to say we have been there, about 30mins south of the interstate.
coop-aero-06
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In Tucson, just off the interstate, there is the Pima Air and Space Museum and also the Davis-Monthan AFB Aircraft Boneyard. I stopped at the boneyard once when I was making that drive. You can drive up to the perimeter fence and see the remains of some cool planes. It's neat for an aero junkie.
CanyonAg77
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Here's an older thread with some info.

https://texags.com/forums/54/topics/2793404/replies/47516229

As said above, almost any drive across the southwestern US is a beatdown. Obviously you can diverge to Big Bend, Ft. Davis, Carlsbad Caverns, White Sands, etc. etc.

I guess you could also take I-40, but you still have to get off I-40 several miles to see pretty country.
aeroag14
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I actually live in Tucson and there is a decent bit to see/do in Tucson.

As is pointed out above, the Air and Space Museum/Boneyard are cool.

Depending on how much time you planning on spending, Mt. Lemmon (which overlooks the city) is a really cool place. Its about a 45 min drive up the mountain. The drive is cool to begin with as at the start the terrain is nothing but desert landscape and saguaro cacti but by the end all there is lush green pines and evergreens. The peak elevation is almost 9500 feet and averages close to 30 degrees cooler than in town. In summer it is an excellent place for hiking and camping (some good camp grounds near the peak). In winter the upper parts of the mountain are covered in snow (there is even a ski hill with a few lifts looking out over town). If you are looking for a camp site (and don't mind the 45 min to an hour trek from the interstate) I would highly recommend looking into Lemmon.

Additionally, there are some neat bars and what not in Tucson that I may be able to recommend if need be.

HHAG
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And you can stop in Yuma and see the Territorial Prison and have a Lutes Special. Or wave as you drive by.
HollywoodBQ
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We did this in 1980. Galveston to Mission Viejo via I-10.
And in 2002, I took I-8 from Phoenix to San Diego.

Here's what I remember about those trips.
In 1980, we stopped in San Antonio to see the Alamo and we stopped at Carlsbad Caverns.
Carlsbad is out of the way and it's a destination that you have to go to on purpose. In my opinion, it's a once in a lifetime trip, kind of like the Pyramids at Giza, or the Grand Canyon. You don't need to go there twice, but, it's definitely worth seeing one time.

In 2002, between Yuma and San Diego, I was really surprised at how many vehicles seems to be broken down on the side of the road going up the mountain climbs. That was summer and it had been 116 degrees when we stopped in Phoenix.
Punked Shank
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Can you camp around carlsbad caverns? Might be interested in making it to there and camping the night and moving on the next day.
Philo B 93
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This will be a great drive for you to do a lot of reflecting on your life. I'd take some trucker music to keep yourself motivated.
Ag_07
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It's a bit out of the way (maybe 30 mi S of I-10) but the Davis Mountain State Park is a great place to camp. There is also a lodge there if you rather stay in a room. It's a beautiful park.

The Macdonald Observatory (just north of Fort Davis) is pretty cool as well.
CanyonAg77
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coastsrs said:

Can you camp around carlsbad caverns?
Guadalupe Mountains NP?
ryanhnc10
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Agree you can camp in Guadalupe Mountains which is like an hour away. You can hike to the tallest point in Texas
BQ78
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Some things mentioned are off the beaten path Tombstone (not worth it) Carlsbad Caverns (worth it). On your beaten path and a little more obscure but worth a stop are Hueco Tanks near El Paso, Ft. Bowie in Arizona (Lots of history packed within a five mile radius that you may walk and see but go early in the summer or in the winter and watch for snakes) and the farthest west battle of the Civil War at Pichaco Peak (not that much to do but read the plaques and it is a good leg stretch and the extinct volcano that is the peak is interesting from a geological perspective. Of course as you cross into California on 8 the sand dunes are pretty neat to see. About 25 years ago you could still see the origianal freeway in the dunes but I haven't seen it in recent trips.
10andBOUNCE
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Obviously stop by and catch some spring training baseball if you have a team in AZ.
BwdAg
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HotSauceAggie said:

Agree you can camp in Guadalupe Mountains which is like an hour away. You can hike to the tallest point in Texas


I don't think they allow pups on the trail.

Spring baseball in Phoenix is cool.
sklipes
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Painted Desert, Grand Canyon, London Bridge are all in AZ.

I did that trip from San Antonio to San Diego then up to Seattle with 2 young kids. Great trip.

Our stops included: El Paso, cool local places in NM, Grand Canyon/Painted Desert in AZ, Palm Springs for lunch/dinner before heading to San Diego.
Punked Shank
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Was definitely going to detour to hit the grand canyon. Have flown over it but never been in person
Dr.Rumack
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Balmorhea SP. Even if just a stop for lunch. Cabins are nice if you can get one.

Hit EP for the Mexican food- Kiki's or Julio's Cafe Corona. Other option being Good Luck Cafe (not Lucky Cafe.)

A night in either Alpine or Marfa would be off the beaten path. Both have plenty of good eats.
rsemingson
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Look for 30 miles of windmills on your right between Junction and Sonora. The only sight until El Paso.
Milwaukees Best Light
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The Thing?!?!?!
Wicked Good Ag
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This for a long while is a very boring drive on the south version. As many posters have said you basically have two routes. If you take I-10 then i would stop in Big Bend, marfa, alpine and mcdoanlds conservatory if you can make it there especially on a star gazing night. Carlsbad is a must if in that area. i would then head to santa fe/ albque area for the food/art espcially in santa fe. Then you can hit the four corners and grand canyon before heading back south to san diego.

This makes the trip much longer but since you posted on a travel board i assume you want to sightsee. The more i read various travel blogs/message boards regarding NM the more i am interested in moving to the area.
You also have white sands, roswell, etc

If relocating dont be in a rush to get to san diego...plenty of time to explore once you move there
Punked Shank
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Thanks. I am taking a few days, up to a week to make the drive with this in mind. May do i10 all the to Marfa, then carlsbad caverns. I'll actually be in Santa fe next weekend for a bachelor party so I may try to detour another route to avoid doubling up there back to back so close together.

And the observatory sounds neat. Will probably try to work that in.

I was contemplating colorado to visit another friend , but don't think I'll make that big of a swing north
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