Henk, that sounds like a great trip. Here are a few thoughts...
* European visitors sometimes don't realize how big the U.S. is, so
I'll point out that your trip is about like driving from the
Netherlands to Saudi Arabia. It's a long drive.
* Don't know if you're stopping in Detroit or just passing through,
but I wouldn't spend time there unless there was something specific
that you wanted to see. Spend your time in some of the other cities
instead.
* You mentioned visiting both the North and South rims of the Grand
Canyon. While it's great to visit both, on a busy trip like yours I'd
suggest you just pick one rim to visit. The south rim is the one that
most folks visit, and it has more facilities for visitors, but the
north rim is great also.
* As for the drive from St. Louis to Denver on I-70, it's been a few
years since I drove that route but my memory is that it's a fairly
boring drive.
* From Las Vegas you might want to consider a day trip to Death Valley
National Park. Hoover Dam is also quite interesting and is just a
short drive from Las Vegas.
* When you're driving along the California Coast on Highway 1, I'd
suggest a small diversion to take the "17-Mile Drive", which is a
scenic road near Monterey, California that has some of the most
beautiful ocean views in California. You have to pay a small toll
because the road is privately owned (by the Pebble Beach golf club),
but it's well worth it. Here's the official site:
http://www.pebblebeach.com/page.asp?id=1373
James |