Wow Mark.  Sounds like quite a journey.  I would suggest Rt. 66.  Do the old road.  It will take you many interesting places.  Along the way, see Meteor Crater, Hoover Dam, Grand Canyon (and as many NP as possible), Mesa Verde, Durango to Silverton narrow gauge railroad, and I could go on and on.  From Santa Monica do tthe PCH and hit Crater Lake, Mt. Saint Helen, Raniere, Columbia Gap, swing up to Glacier NP, down to Yellowstone, over to the Black Hills, etc., etc..Pick any or all of the above.  Hope you can take at least 2 to 3 months.  Unfortunately, these routes do not take you past me in MA, but VanAlert can send you to many other Driveway hosts.  We have used them several times in many parts of the country and they are Great!  Hosts are gracious, know the area and can get you too wild and interesting places.  We also used All Stays camp and RV app to find campgrounds and out of the way (BLM, Army corps, etc.) campgrounds.  Many are free, but you need to be self-contained, as you may not even find a pit toilet at many.
Wow, there is so much more this great country of ours has to offer.  Have a great trip.  Make it Epic.
Dave B.the Boston One
And a Happy and Healthy New Year to All (one needs to be healthy to work on our busses).

-----Original Message-----
From: Mark Tuovinen <aksyncronaut@GMAIL.COM>
To: vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM
Sent: Sun, Jan 1, 2023 2:03 am
Subject: [VANAGON] Road trip suggestions wanted

Hi All,

I have not posted in quite a while but find myself in need of route,
camping, sightseeing, etc, suggestions, and am also game to meet up with
people along the way if it can be arranged.  First, in the interests of
full disclosure I confess that I will NOT be driving my Westy Syncro which
is buried under 4ft of snow in the backyard.  I will be driving a Japanese
market Toyota Hiace Camper, 4wd, 5spd, and diesel engine.  No I have not
gone over to the dark side, not yet anyway.  This is probably just a
passing fling but only time will tell.  As for my trip that I am requesting
your input on other than the starting point the route is somewhat open
ended at this time.  I will be flying into Nashville, TN sometime in
January and then getting a ride to Cookeville where the van is.  I may
remain in the area for a day if necessary to pick up supplies and see any
attractions there.  From there I will head to Chattanooga to visit a friend
for a day or so.  It is from this point that I am looking for your ideas
and input as I have never been to Tennessee nor the states I will pass
through on my way to either Denver, Arizona, California, Oregon, or
Washington.  The final stop depends upon my finding a place to store this
van long term.  Your input for places to camp(the more rural the better),
see, visit, hikes, etc, along the way is what I am looking for.  I am also
interested in off highway, backcountry routes that I could take rather than
spend all of my time on the interstate highways. I hope to do some hiking
on this trip and may pick up a used bicycle to take along as I have a race
in February I need to train for.  Currently I am considering a route from
Chattanooga via either Memphis, or Huntsville then Memphis, then Little
Rock, Oklahoma City, Amarillo, to Albuquerque.  From there it will depend
upon where I store the van, either north to Denver where my son is at
Denver University, or farther west to ?????  As I said before I am also
game to meet up with anyone along the way for a drink, meal, or if you
happen to be traveling the same way and want to convoy for a bit.  So, what
have you got, thoughts, questions, ideas?

Thanks,

Mark in AK
`87 Westy Syncro
`96 Toyota Hiace 4wd Camper