sleep

Hi, I'm a student in Phoenix/Tempe who drives home to Las Vegas and back about once a month or more. I wanted to know what highways or roads people on the forums take to get to either place. I'm getting pretty bored of driving the same way each time, but I don't want to go too far out of my way.

It usually takes me about 4hrs from state line to state line (I obey the speed limits when driving through Wickieup, Wickenburg, Kingman etc).

I usually take the [60] (303 loop) out of PHX to the [93] and take that all the way to the Hoover Dam, with that short change-over to the [40] you have to make in Kingman.

How about a different path that isn't more than about an hour or 100mi longer than my current route-- gas is becoming way too expensive for these trips? Maybe some scenic routes, canyon driving, long curving roads?

MazdaManiac

iTrader: (3)

Other that the variations of getting out of Phoenix, there are really only two ways to get there:
The 89/93/40/93 method you posted and the Hoover Dam bypass through Laughlin via 69 and 95 (through Searchlight).

There are hundreds of little roads here and there that might be interesting, but it will add hours to the trip and will, most often, land you right back on one of the major routes after wiggling around the desert.

You could go up the 17 and then veer off to Prescott. Then go up 89 to the 40 and head west to Kingman.
You could go 10 west to Blythe and then north through Needles.
Those will all add at least an hour and 60 to 120 miles.

I keep my speed down in Wickieup, Kingman and Wickenburg as well, but I open it up everywhere else and it is a 4 to 6 hour trip no matter how you slice it.
On my return trip from the Grand Prix a few weeks ago, I took the conventional route and it took 4 hours and 15 minutes with most of the distance covered well into triple digits - the second digit often being a "2".
You are at the mercy of other vehicles most of the way no matter what you do.

sleep

Thanks for the confirmation MM. It seems I might be better off saving up for some plane tickets this summer, though I might as well try that Hoover Dam bypass next time just to change it up a bit.

I keep my speed same as yours in between the long stretches of desert, but I am extremely paranoid that I'm going to get busted by highway patrol and get my car taken away. I'm not exactly up to date on what the laws says will happen to me if I get a ticket at that speed.

Do you have any kind of in-car detection system in place.. or is this not the kind of place to be talking about that?

MazdaManiac

iTrader: (3)

They will arrest you at those speeds.
I have a detector, but it is usually easier to goad some good-ol-boy in a giant Tonka truck to swing his ***** over his shoulder and lead the way.
If it has a Calvin-peeing sticker on the back window, its a pretty simple task to get the ego level of the driver up and over the common sense level.
I had some Ford F-whatever driver standing on it for almost 80 miles before I got tired of his inability to maintain triple digits on the up-hill sections. I passed him up-hill at almost 130 MPH. He was spewing massive over-rich exhaust the whole distance!
After that he let off as I watched him fade away.
Got another sucker only 10 miles later.

Rule for the road - Never be the fastest thing on the road if you can help it. Get someone else to take the fall, preferably a jackass in a truck.

sleep

ouch. looks like my next "mod" will be one of those Valentine 1's or whatever they're called.

lol and i'll keep a look out for the calvin stickers, until then. thanks for the tip MM