Toured the USA in my Mk3 - this is my story

[LG6R]

It's been quite a while since I posted so I figured I'd post up with a bang. Have you seen the Movie "The Bucket List", a movie about two old men on their deathbeds fulfilling what they've always wanted to do in their lifetimes? Well, I decided not to wait until I'm old and gray and I've always wanted to drive around the country in my car. I got laid off earlier this year, there's no family or mortgage payments to take care of, and gas prices are still reasonable. I figured there is no better time.

A great deal of effort went into planning a trip of this magnitude during March and April 2009. The goal was to see the greatest scenery and enjoy the greatest driving roads this country has to offer. It wasn’t so much the destination that mattered, it was the journey. After key points of interest were identified, a route was planned. Then secondary points of interest along the specified route were chosen. A list of what to bring with me was made and constantly updated throughout the month.

I set off on April 29th, 2009. Here you will find pictures that I’ve taken along the way. Many pictures were taken while driving and others were courtesy of a tripod. The roads left me in constant admiration, the scenery in constant awe. That’s why you’ll see so many of these. Each and every picture has a purpose, a special meaning, and a reason why it was taken a certain way. I took about 2500 pictures and 14 hours of video footage. This is only a small sample of the pictures. The car is a 1995 VW Jetta 2.0. I left NYC with 160k miles on it and returned 5 weeks later with 174.5k on it, experiencing no problems at all. On average, 12 hours per day were spent driving, racking up about 400 miles per day. The 36-day trip took me through 25 states (and 2 provinces). It was probably one of the greatest trips I'll take in my lifetime. This is my story. I welcome you to share it with me.

[LG6R]

Day 1 April 29
Nothing of great interest to report
Drove from NYC to Indianapolis, IN

Day 2 April 30
Visited Indianapolis Motor Speedway Hall of Fame

Kansas is underrated. It's beautiful.

One of 52 fill-ups

Day 3 May 1
Ellis, KS

Got into Colorado on the morning of the 3rd day

Skyline Drive above Canon City, CO
(It was closed unfortunately)

Slept in the car mostly, rest areas were great. No one bothered me, I had access to a 24-hour bathroom, and it was free!

Modified by LG6R at 12:03 PM 8-26-2009

[PKstrategy]

wow. props man
from the few pics u posted, it seems
like u had a great trip.

M O A R

[ftspyder]

ill be following this one

[redskinsboy326]

How did you like the Indianapolis Hall of Fame? I live about 10 minutes away and i've never been to it.

Sounds like you had an awesome trip. More pictures please.

[98vwgls]

Quote, originally posted by ftspyder »

ill be following this one

Ditto. Long solo roadtrips are something else

[d1rtyj4k3]

im surprised to hear you had no problems the whole time but a good thing to hear

[LG6R]

Day 4 May 2
Southeast Colorado

Durango, CO

Hot Spring

Molas Pass, elevation 10,899 ft
en route to the Million Dollar Highway

Overlooking Silverton, CO

See the Million Dollar Highway on the left? It's on the side of the mountain with no guardrails. Very fun.

Ouray, CO

On the way back down to Cortez, CO

Modified by LG6R at 3:12 AM 10-10-2009

[91GolfGL]

Wow man thats crazy. Props for doing that i dont think i could do that **** alone.

Great pics.

[rlsib16]

awesome. keep posting pics

[nate@NGP]

Watching this one, very cool.

[Old Windy]

This is way too awesome. I did this a couple of years back when I got "downsized". I was living in Chicago at the time and always read and heard of the great highway route 66. So I went and did it with a few detours along the way, Like Vegas and someplaces in Arizona.

[HookahHookah]

That sounds like the best way to spend a month. Wish I could do that right now.

[LG6R]

Day 5 May 3
Entering Mesa Verde National Park
Elevation 8,500 feet

Four Corners
UT, CO, AZ, NM

Driving towards Monument Valley, AZ

Lunch

Monument Valley!!

I still can't grasp this concept: 5 days later, I'm driving through Monument Valley. The view from the driver's seat.

Hey, you! Sitting in front of the computer. Ever wanted to do this?
THIS COULD BE YOU!

Goosenecks State Park, Utah

Valley of the Gods, UT

Going off-roading in Utah in my Mk3

Modified by LG6R at 12:32 PM 8-26-2009

[Joey Russo]

I'm in awe man. That is so unbelievably rad on so many levels. Great idea and pics

[EastCoastDriftGuy]

How many times did you wash the puppy

[mistercheeks]

wow, did u have any car issues?

while we are here with our hands in our pants, this guy goes out and drive 15k miles

[DubsesdA3]

Looks like an amazing trip.. I can't wait to make the drive to AZ for the big move.

[ShawnKay]

Quote, originally posted by Joey Russo »

I'm in awe man. That is so unbelievably rad on so many levels. Great idea and pics

[deletedo1m]

always wanted to do something like this. Nice pics.

[QuietStorm]

best thread ever, this is awesome

[SlowVRT]

Should of hit up all the citys local dub meets too.

[Juice Box]

I'm so jealous. Nice pictures Danny.

[addicted2myfast]

wow very interesting thread, and those pictures, awesome good to see something like this pop up in the mk3 forums. what provinces did you drive through outta curiosity?

[brobs is back]

this is insanely awesome

arizona is rad. mesa verde is amazing.

[vr-foosh]

awesome trip..im headin to europe tomorrow..wish i could just drive there lol..i love long solo drives..not many ways to be completely free but this is one of them..

[Yeah Right!]

looks like a great time man

i got to drive from PA to CA and back about 8 years ago for the same purpose-

i highly recommend the same trip to anyone. beats a plane ride any day.

[Yo_Delprad]

So can we get an approximate cost for this trip I assume it wasnt cheap.

[SnubbedMK3]

Road trips are awesome, especially when you are with friends.

I went to the Grand Canyon, Meteor Crater, Bryce Canyon, Zion National Forest (which we snuck into thanks to a generous tour guide) and Las Vegas.

1 week trip//4000 miles round trip//plenty of stops for pictures. It was legendary.

[stofficer2]

I say we get a bunch of people from the east coast together, then plan out something like this. Someone needs to rent an 18wheeler to haul around extra oil pans, motors, transmissions, wheel bearings, ect. ect.
But this is amazing. I just bought a 2.0 to do my driving from VA to FL once a month. Vr6 is staying at home for now.
Kudos for you for fullfilling you life and dreams

[Afazz]

This is awesome

[Miggie89]

for dan lol

Its mike man whats up

[new2]

awesome thread kinda like the guy who did it in the scirocco but with less of a goal in mind...in a good way. absolutely awesome pics.

[zuhaelter_82]

Have you entered in the VW roadtrip contest? If not, you should!!!!!!

[Dan J Reed]

WOW! Great stuff man! Looks like a good time!