planning cross country trip on the monster. suggested destinations?

[live2ride]

after a successful camping/touring trip on the monster in april from nyc to obx, the wife and i have decided to trek across the country in june.  

would start/end in NYC/NNJ and would last probably 3 weeks.  

i have yet to work out the logistics of the trip yet.  I'm still deciding places to stop at.  the general route so far is southern route to cali and come back on the northern.  possibly enter canada in michigan and come back at niagara falls.  the more i research, utah seems like such an awesome stop.  
we would like to camp as often as we can.

places i plan to dont need to stop at are the locations i may fly to one day for a proper touring of the city.  example - new orlean, las vegas.  

so where should i go?

officially added
deals gap
hwy 550 (million dollar hwy)
la sal pass
shiprock
4 corners
mesa verde
moab, ut/arches national park
moki dugway
mexican hat
monument valley
bryce canyon
grand canyon
las vegas
sequoia national forest
la/sd
pch
monterey bay
sf
yosemite
reno
great salt lake
yellowstone
mount rushmore
chimney rock
niagara falls

[Punx Clever]

Lets see, New York to LA gives a LOT of options.

for the trip down... definitely follow Appalachia.  Hit the dragon (and the surrounding areas).

From Tennesee, head west to Missouri.  Central Missouri is good riding, but flooding may be a problem?

From there, it's a sad, lonely trip across Kansas or Nebraska to Colorado.  Hit the breweries north of Denver (New Belgium, Left Hand)  and enter the rocky mountains.  I-70 west from denver may be slab, but it's not bad.  Head across to the rockies and ride down to Ouray (do the trip in august and plan for DiTR!).  Do the million dollar highway (ouray to durango).  Get a Cajun Boil at Steamworks in Durango.  head back up to ouray.

From ouray, head west towards moab.  Take the La Sal Pass.  Tour the area around moab.  One ride I did up there, i decided i should climb one of the mountains.  So I did.

From Moab, west across monument Valley.  Hit Paige.  Maybee foray south to flagstaff AZ, see Jerome.  Then head towards the Grand Canyon.

That time of year, death valley is a no go for moto riding.... so Maybee Vegas / Lauglin (vegas for old people).  Head towards LA from there.

If not Vegas, Lake Havasu.

Tehatchapi pass is cool.

Treck across the desert.

Arrive in LA.

[Punx Clever]

From LA, ride up the coast.  The road is closed south of Monterey / north of the Hearst Castle.  Easy enough to figure something out there.

From there... I don't know.  Haven't seen that part of the country yet.  I'd say go all the way to seattle... then head east across montana, enter canada, come back in via niagra.

Also:
THIS BELONGS IN GENERAL MONSTER FORUM!

[Bigbore4]

If you go anywhere near southern Utah this is cool:

[live2ride]

the more i research, the more i realize i may spend quite a bit of time in southern utah...

[RAT900]

At my age I would be marking maps with chiropractors as points of interest if I went long-range on the Yellow Dog 

[zooom]

4 corners and Highway 666 of course...maybe 555 in Ohio....hell...maybe you can make it a trip to hit all the matching triple digit roads...111, 222, 333, etc...

[redxblack]

Are you thinking of hitting the PacNW? MotoCorsa in Pdx is worth a stop and visit. Arun keeps winning awards from DNA for his shop. I really like Portland. You could also hit I-90 in Seattle at the beginning and take it for a lot of your trek.
As far as Niagara Falls, you might want to cross into Canada @ Detroit and hop through S. Ontario. If you go an hour out of your way, you could hit up Toronto. If you go South of the lakes through Buffalo, stop in Cleveland and visit the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

[Goat_Herder]

If you are already going to Bryce Canyon and Grand Canyon, I would recommend slowing down in that area and add Arches National Park as well.  Spend a few more days in that area and really take everything in.

[Monster Dave]

Word of advice:

Since you're doing this in June, steer clear of AZ and the Mojave desert. It'll be so unbearably hot that even at night you'll be absolutely miserable. I'm not exaggerating - we know this from first hand experience. It's not uncommon here in the summer for it to still be over 100 degrees at 10pm.

[live2ride]

Word of advice:

Since you're doing this in June, steer clear of AZ and the Mojave desert. It'll be so unbearably hot that even at night you'll be absolutely miserable. I'm not exaggerating - we know this from first hand experience. It's not uncommon here in the summer for it to still be over 100 degrees at 10pm.

im definitely planning on heading out to southern utah.  how would you recommend i get to the pacific from there?  got any route suggestions?

[Monster Dave]

I'm not sure about the route to the Pacific from there, but from a quick glance, there are 2 obvious options:

1) Take the 15 from Utah down to Vegas and all the way to LA. It's still heading south, but it's better than starting the 8 hour trek across the desert from a point already in the heat.

2) Go up to Salt Lake City and take the 80 all the way to San Francisco - which would be awesome - you could see the red woods while you're up there (you know, the trees so big you can ride/drive through them!!), maybe run through Napa, or take a respite at Lake Tahoe.

I'd vote for option 2    

[VisceralReaction]

When you get up to Seattle head north up to Mount Vernon and take state route 20 east across the
North Cascade National Park. Easy day ride from Seattle to Spokane WA in a day with lots of stops and sights
to take in. I wouln't probably stay in the Spokane area but cut into Idaho and stay in the Sandpoint area and then
follow the state highway into Montana. You miss alot of idaho but the good stuff is 3 hours south of Sandpoint in my
neck of the woods.

[VisceralReaction]

Oh stay north in Montana from Idaho and for sure hit Glacier National Park!!!
Don't miss that!

[live2ride]

i'm still debating if i should go up to the pnw.   its so far.  ironic considering i am going cross country.  but i've always wanted to go to vancouver so i figured i'd hit up seattle when i go to vancouver in the future.  but if you guys can convince me how awesome riding through northern cali and oregon is, then i may have to reconsider.