I think finding hotels on the road is fun to just play it by ear and not fully plan just in case you want to take a left at that fork in the road and not the right.

I use an app called "hotel tonight" it actually gives discount prices on hotel rooms in your area that have not been booked for the evening. It checks your location and sends you where you need to be. I've had luck with it and out on the road I don't have to worry about where I end up.

 

Austin, Texas to:
Abilene
Denver
Rocky Mountain National Park
Yellowstone
Glacier National Park (Going to the Sun Road!)
Northern Idaho
Seattle
Pacific Coast Highway to Northern California
Southern Utah / Southern Colorado
Santa Fe
Austin, TX




I did almost this exact route a few years ago in a car. Can I make a suggestion as I live near you (FT Hood)??? Leave early like 6:30am so you not riding in the heat of the day. Take Hwy 281 north to 183n (Lampasas) to Brownwood then 84 up to Lubbock then 27 N to 87N thru Amarillo and Dumas and then over to Dalhart, TX first day and stop. Next day west over the Raton Pass and up to Pueblo and then a little west on 50 to Canon City area and see the Royal Gorge Bridge area. Come back east on 50 and hit Skyline Drive (it's on left side coming back) then go up to Colorado SPrings and spend the night. Next day go see Garden of the Gods early morning before heading up to Estes Park and Rocky Mountain National Park????

 

I guess I am in the minority and the way we travel. First I need to state that my wife is a 3 star gal so nothing less will do! LOL


I preplan my entire route, I know where I will be every night of my trip. Usually only 300 mile days so we have time to stop and see this or that. We do not start before 7 am and are off the road by 7 pm.


I have been burned too many times pulling in somewhere and not being able to find a room at a decent place in a decent part of town. Broke down in North Platte one time during North Platte days. Ended up basically sleeping on a floor and showering with bugs and that was our most expensive motel of the entire trip!


Also got caught in Colorado Springs on a week night. Some convention in town, went to 3 places that had rooms and all 3 were not very nice or in very nice part of town.


There have been other instances as well but those two really stick out in my memory banks for some reason. With technology and all today, maybe it would be different but I prefer not to chance it.


Also being in Illinois, if I want to see the Black hills and I only have 8 days off, well I cannot afford to spend a lot of time between here and there looking and riding every great road between here and there. I would never get to ride or see there if I did that.


Now if I am going for a 3 day weekend ride I just head in a general direction and wing it. But its the journey not the destination right? Sometime I do not agree with that statement. I am heading north to WI someone will tell me oh you have to ride this road or that road and go here and eat there. Doesn't that now become a destination and not really a journey?


Anyway to each his own, I use choice hotels a lot, earn points, generally they are clean and safe and with the AARP or Gov discount they are around $60 - $90 a night with breakfast, which can vary a lot!

 

Thank-you! Yes, you and I think alike: I always gets very early start, even when not in a location/time of year that is hot. Far less traffic, and mornings almost anywhere are really gorgeous.

Thanks for the detailed route suggestions, especially for northwestern Texas. I have spent very little time out there, and so don't know where "the good roads" are until someone who has done it tells me. Thanks!

I've copied and pasted your suggested route into a Word document for later!

Jim G

 

I spent 2 1/2 hours the other evening simulating my route for my big western states tour in the KOA "campground finder", looking at what one of those primitive cabins would actually cost. Very interesting findings.

First, you can only get decent rates at what I would call "normal" geographic locations. By that, I mean no national park nearby, no theme park nearby, no redwood forests, etc. At these "non-destination" locations, the rates for the leafs expensive cabin run $48 to $60, with quite a number at about $55. You can get 10% off of that by buying a $27 annual card, so when you add tax, you'll be in that $48 to $60 range with the taxes paid. You get a cabin to yourself, a safe place for the bike (right outside the cabin), and generally a scenic view, but you need to bring your own linen or sleeping bag and towel, there's no kitchen and no bathroom, so you use the campground showers and bathrooms, and eat at a nearby restaurant I guess. Some of these cabins are air conditioned and some are not (it's less critical in some geographic locations. Generally there is electricity and park wi-fi, but no TV.

To add the bathroom and some of the other basics, add $10 to $20 per night.

In scenic destination" locations though, the rates are pretty stiff - like $120 to $190. I'm talking Glacier Naitonal park area, Rocky Mountain national park area, Colorado front range, and just about anywhere in California (not just the scenic spots in California).

This suggests that the cost effective strategy if using these cabins is to stay at the "normal" locations, and try to time each day through a scenic destination so that you ride through, but don't spend the night right at the scenic spot.

Some might say that the rates are too close to that of a "basic" motel, but there are key differences in safety, security for the bike, and the type of people you will be around (families on camping vacations and RVers versus people who simply can't afford a good motel). If you are the type who likes to just relax and soak in the scenery and the friendly people around you, it would work. If you want TV, a coffeemaker, a restaurant or dining room in the same building or within easy walking distance, and the ability to just crash on a comfy bed and then shave in the comfort of your own room in the morning, it won't work.

I think it would work for me, because I strongly prefer natural scenery that God built to the stuff that people build, but will need to do a "test" short trip I think to test the concept.

Jim G

 

From what I've seen the later in the day you stop for the night, the harder it is. The bad thing is if you are trying to get a room during something (even if you don't want to visit during that time) it is almost always impossible. Others can hopefully chime in here as to what time is the "cut off", because I don't know for sure. I'm in the assumption that it is around 3 pm that you should start getting your room booked.

 

First off thanks for doing that and sharing the info Jim! It doesn't seem bad to me since I don't stay at hotels with restaurants in them.
Looking forward to hearing about your "test"!

 

good perspective, JG. I punched up a few of the non-normal sites and thought $70ish for a cabin like this is crazy, southern CO to be specific. Your points are an asset. Hadn't thought of that. There are a lot of former and KOA similar establishments out there as well.

 

My wife and I have used Hotel Tonight when we have traveled. It seems to have gotten us some good deals. I think you can see what hotel rooms are available around you after 1400 or so in the afternoon. The way it works is that hotels that haven't sold there room for the night cut the price on them instead of them sitting empty for the night and they get nothing. There is an app available for iOS, Android and Windows. Here is there website. https://www.hoteltonight.com

 

Most of the time when we're traveling on an extended ride we like to have the flexibility of stopping where ever we want.

We have done pretty well at most places in the US, including Cali, at finding clean, safe motels (and sometimes cabins) for in the $65-$85 range.

When we hit a town we want to stay in, we look for a Super 8 or equivalent, sometimes if we stop in at a place and they are too expensive, we'll ask where we can get something for less...many times they will lower their price, or we've found most people quite helpful at giving us a reference and directions to a less expensive location.

Another couple of things we do-

Try and get a room with a fridge and a microwave. We can run to the grocery store and get dinner, stuff to fix for lunch the next day (most places have a complimentary breakfast).

We carry a small Sterno stove and use it right in the room if we need/want to cook something that is not microwavable.

Here's a link to a 50+ day trip we took last summer. You may find it enjoyable/useful.

https://www.hdforums.com/forum/tri-g...er-2013-a.html