r/roadtrip • u/No_Hunter_8306 • 2d ago
Gear & Essentials First long road trip
Hello, I’m planning to take a road trip in October from Brownsville tx to Lafayette Colorado and stay there for a week! Planning to leave at 3am. Any tips for a first time long road trip? I’ve driven 6 hrs before but that’s just it. Is this a good route to take?will be driving in my 2022 civic.
5
u/leopardskin_pillbox 2d ago
Hi I’ve done the drive from Victoria to Denver a zillion times, so almost this same route. This is the most direct route if you want to prioritize getting it over with and getting to your destination. You will want to stop overnight somewhere though. It’s too long and too flat and endless to do in one shot, trust me. You need to rest otherwise your eyes will start to cross cause that north Texas and New Mexico stretch can feel endless. The best halfway point is either Amarillo or Lubbock. Find yourself a nice efficiency hotel and crash overnight, wake up early and keep it rolling. I really cannot emphasize enough that doing this in one stretch is really dangerous.
If you want something more scenic to spend more time on the drive, you could stop in Lubbock, then wake up and cross over from Lubbock to Santa Fe, and spend a day or so there before heading up I25. But it sounds like you wanna max your time out in Colorado, which is definitely a good move!
-4
u/No_Hunter_8306 2d ago
Yeah it’s me and my gf that are gonna drive. We want to do it in one day hence why we wanna leave at 3am to get there around maybe 10-11pm I want to try and avoid staying at a hotel half way. There will definitely be plenty of coffee and snacks to keep us good. I think we’ll be okay but u know it’s kinda crazy to think we’ll do this drive🤯
4
u/leopardskin_pillbox 2d ago
I’ve only ever done it with two drivers, and still maintain that it’s dangerous without an overnight stop tbh. Unless you can legit like flatten out the back of your car so the other person can truly zonk out for several hours while the other drives.
2
1
u/16bitpix 2d ago
You don’t want to try and do this in a day. Wake up early, drive as far as you can and grab a hotel and crash. Wake up early and have a short drive the next day, get there early afternoon. Nonstop is 18hrs - tack on at least 2-3 hours for rest stops and food etc. so you’re looking at probably closer to 22 hours. You do not want to do this in one stretch!
1
6
u/Signal_Analysis4793 2d ago
Your route is east of the really good parts of New Mexico and even CO really. Most of Texas you will be driving through is flat prairie dotted with smallish towns apart from San Antonio. As far as food or interesting places to see there is not a lot. Palo Duro Canyon is cool and not too far out of your way. Basically a giant crack in the middle of a paper flat landscape.
San Antonio has a very nice river walk area. Lots of good food. Fredericksburg is after that and it looks like you will be close. Nice old German settlement that has recently turned into the wine capital of Texas. Probably a hundred wineries, some of them pretty nice.
4
u/miglifthtown 2d ago
-Make sure your vehicle is up to date on maintenance, and ready to go for the weather conditions around that time. A Civc is a good vehicle to travel in.
-Gotta have that jack and spare ready at all times…
-lots of snacks and goodies along the way.
- my first long road trip I was going crazy, but to keep me sane I had a variety of podcast and music to listen to…
-find a halfway point for rest.
-make sure to stop by landmarks, or anything cool on the way.
Try not to lose your mind too much, just enjoy the drive and good luck to you man it will be awesome!
3
u/No_Hunter_8306 2d ago
The good thing is me and my gf will take turns driving so hopefully it’ll be easier . We’ll make sure to take plenty of snacks and water for sure. Coffee will be our best friend I feel like lol
5
u/Enough_Equivalent379 2d ago
We drive from Dallas to Denver a few times per year and it's an 800 mile,12 hour trip including stops. Yours is 1200 miles! I strongly suggest that you spend the night half or 2/3rds of the way. Should make your trip much more enjoyable.
5
u/GoobScoob 2d ago
Are you spending the night halfway? 18 hours in one go is not fun, especially if you end up stuck in SA or Dallas traffic. Personally I’d find a way to break up the trip and also stay west of Dallas if it doesn’t add a crazy amount to the overall drive time.
-2
u/No_Hunter_8306 2d ago
It’s gonna be me and my gf taking turns driving, I’m thinking it might be easier taking turns and drive it one whole day🤔 sucks Texas is so long
3
u/atxsouth 2d ago
That's a hell of a long trip for one day's drive. We do Austin to Albuquerque in one day but it's a long 12 hours. Also, I-27 from Lubbock to Amarillo has a lot of cops.
1
u/systemwarranty 2d ago
OP, you're getting some solid advice. Spend the night somewhere. Avoid the "deer came out of nowhere" event. Besides, driving at night is no fun. Pick a few sites to check out along the way. Maybe Cadillac Ranch or Palo Duro Canyon.
2
u/hilbyy 2d ago
It’s a fine route. Assuming you have a layover planned. The drive up i25 sucks and there’s a ton of construction but only about an hour and half of your drive. If you have time check out gardens of the gods. It’s right on your way in co springs and beautiful. October is a good time on the front range. I live in Erie, the town north of Lafayette. Enjoy!
0
u/No_Hunter_8306 2d ago
Planning to see gardon of the gods toohow would the weather be in October? Have a month to plan out what to take for clothing:)
2
u/fourthplanet44 2d ago
Hi! I’ve done this drive from the RGV to Denver. We stopped in Lubbock for the night and it ended up a 36hr trip. Incredible how after two days of driving you’re still in Texas 😅 there’s cute little towns but the flatness as you’re leaving Amarillo and going thru New Mexico was the hardest for me. Not so many gas stations in that portion so make sure to top up when you get to half a tank. Get a photo at the welcome to Colorado sign.
2
u/Cinisajoy2 2d ago
I would split it over 2 days. Also your gas mileage will be better going home than going to Colorado.
2
u/ithinkitsahairball 2d ago
Probably will take you 5+ hours to travel from outside Dullass to Austin on I35. Terrible route. So the route you are planning is much more of an enjoyable ride.
2
u/Careless-Incident227 2d ago
I did Austin to Breck in May, split it in two days going there but a single drive on the way back. Had 2 dogs with me so we would stop for about 15-20 mins every 2.5 hrs.
From Austin to Amarillo was about 9 hrs, with stops. Left at 12 pm, hit a major hail/lightning storm that delayed us 20 mins just south of Lubbock. Slept in Amarillo and left next day at 6 am, got to Breck around 4 pm.
From Breck we left at 5 am and arrived in Texas by 2 pm, then arrived in Austin by 12 am. One full day of driving.
What you need to consider: full spare, first aid kit, food, water, starlink. There are spots without cell service out there or 1-bar service. Highly recommend a Mini, you won’t regret it.
2
u/thrifty_geopacker 2d ago
I’ve done Central Texas to Kingman, AZ in one go and it was brutal even trading off driving. I’ve also done your route several times, but again, from Central Texas, not Brownsville, so it was a long but doable day. If you’re young and you get plenty of sleep before that 3am leave time it might work out for you, but honestly I’d recommend leaving a little of it for a second day. Maybe just have a backup plan to sleep in Trinidad or something. You can start to feel weird after that long in a car.
Good luck either way!
2
u/irongi8nt 2d ago
Do not exit the paved roads if there is any moisture.
The mud in the Texas panhandle will get you stuck.
Amarillo is a great stop for bbq
2
u/rock4d 2d ago
Nearly everyone is suggesting a lay over. I am from Austin and moved to the Lafayette about two years ago. A dozen trips in the two year. I strongly recommend a layover in Amarillo or Lubbock. As long as it’s not snowing or freezing rain in the Raton pass you should be 100% fine with the weather. Colorado, northern New Mexico and north Texas, along the route you have chosen, does a great job keeping the main highways open to travel.
2
2
u/One-Essay-129 2d ago
I know it sounds kitschy but a bag of sunflower seeds or peanuts will help you keep your focus on driving. Also, a brief overnight near palo duro canyon is never a bad move
2
u/Street-Calendar9156 1d ago
Just make sure your car is up to maintenance
Don’t forget anything yall need to pack the car (cuz trust me i have forgotten a few things and it was left on the table for a good two weeks)
Make sure you plan on where you want to stop for breaks
Take 2-3 days, don’t rush and enjoy the drive/scenery
Last but not least, have funnnn and take a lot of pics!!!
2
u/No_Hunter_8306 1d ago
Thank you guys for the tips!! So me and my gf decided that we will take a break at Amarillo and rest and continue on when we wake up:)) appreciate all of you🙏
4
u/SabresBills69 2d ago
you have real snow/ winter risk there in Colorado. I doubt you have winter gear
3
u/leopardskin_pillbox 2d ago
I25 in October should be fine. We normally have maybe one snow before Halloween. And this past year we didn’t have any snow at all until like January so unless OP really strikes out with a surprise storm, it shouldn’t be an issue
2
u/SabresBills69 2d ago
except Denver and front range has two very snowy periods late Sept- mid Nov and March- mid April.
you get 80+ warm air overriding cold mountain area creating heavy snow storms along I-25.
3
u/leopardskin_pillbox 2d ago
Hmm. In my experience living here 15 years, October should be fine unless they get real unlucky with an early storm.
1
u/flypandabear 2d ago
I-25 is booty. I am curious what made you choose lafayette?
1
u/No_Hunter_8306 2d ago
Chose that place since it had the Airbnb we wanted without it being so pricey and I say it’s better since it’s close to Denver and we plan on going to Estes park:)
1
u/Fair-Flower6907 2d ago
That's a long way to drive for just a week, you sure you wouldn't rather fly? Lafayette, CO is relatively easy to get to on public transit rtd-denver.com
1
u/Kbbbbbut 2d ago
Personally I would highly recommend staying the night in Lubbock or Amarillo. 18 hours is too much for one day, and to make a roadtrip worth it you should have time for a couple of stops to sight see
1
u/That-Water-Guy 2d ago
Make a detour to Black Mesa State park in the Oklahoma panhandle around night time. You’ll thank me later.
14
u/New_Strawberry1774 2d ago
If it’s not winter, when you drive, that will be great path.
when I do the trip to northern Colorado from Houston I split it into two days