Our Cross-Country Road Trip from Arizona
our west to east road trip!
this post contains affiliate links
On Thursday, March 9th, Dan and I set off on our third cross-country road trip, this time heading east from Arizona. Dan had just finished up a travel nursing contract in Phoenix and we planned to have a short break from travel nursing to visit our family in New Hampshire. Not factoring in stops, the drive was about 45 hours and nearly 3,000 miles. Of course we made plenty of little pit stops for bathroom breaks, snacks, and coffee.
On our last cross-country road trip (from New Hampshire to Arizona), we took six days to make the trek with two shorter driving days in the middle of the trip as a kind of break. This time around it took us seven days, as we added an extra day in the middle as a full rest day. We were visiting friends for that stop and had a great time seeing them and taking a break from all the driving.
our route
Phoenix, Arizona → Santa Fe, New Mexico
The first day of the drive went great! We were feeling good and getting more and more excited to see our friends in Iowa as well as our family back in New Hampshire. The cats had a good first day which was encouraging, and this was definitely the most beautiful driving day which we enjoyed.
Our Airbnb in Santa Fe was beautiful and perfect for us. We’d highly recommend it! Find the link in our where we stayed section. A family friend who had recently visited us in Phoenix had a recommendation for an amazing restaurant just ten minutes down the road from our Airbnb. We grabbed dinner there Thursday night and it was so good we went back there for breakfast on our way out the next morning! If you’re ever in Santa Fe, be sure to check out Café Fina and definitely try the Chicken Milanese.
Santa Fe, New Mexico → Larned, Kansas
New Mexico (as you probably could guess) is a beautiful state to drive through. This was the second best driving day, and honestly after this is went pretty downhill. The farming fields of Kansas and Iowa are cool in a way, but not our favourite in terms of scenic drives.
We also loved our Airbnb in Larned and would definitely highly recommend it! Find the link in our where we stayed section. On our last cross-country road trip we ate out for every dinner, honestly every meal, but this time around we wanted to try a little harder to save money. Our Airbnb in Kansas had a full kitchen which was perfect for us to whip up some mac & cheese and hot dogs! We also made some hot cocoa enriched with collagen which was delicious and nutritious.
Larned, Kansas → Fairfield, Iowa
Neither of us had ever driven through Kansas before, although we had driven across Iowa. It wasn’t the prettiest drive overall, but we got a bit of a taste of some of the industries in the US which was interesting. In Kansas we saw a lot of oil drilling which we hadn’t seen in person before, along with lots of animal farms, mainly cows. Iowa was lots of flat open fields as well, but mostly crops. Once we finally made it to Fairfield things got much more exciting as we got to explore the town one of my best friends has been living in for years!
This was my first time visiting her in Fairfield which is crazy; I’m so glad we finally made it out there! The town is super cute, and has a very interesting mix of people as it’s a kind of hot spot for transcendental meditation. We tried out a bunch of restaurants which was so much fun, from coffee shops to sushi to Mexican. Unfortunately, this was a rather stressful stop for Pepper and Sage as they did not get along with my friend’s cats at all. Travelling with pets definitely makes it a bit more complicated and we were sad to see them so stressed. Things like that are a bit part of why we generally don’t stay with friends and family while on the road with the cats, but we’re so glad we got to take that rest day and spend the time with friends.
Fairfield, Iowa → Columbus, Ohio
Once we made it to Iowa things got COLD! Dan and I were rudely reminded by the snow and freezing whether that it was indeed wintertime and that we had been blessed in Phoenix. We ran into some snow on our drive into Fairfield and then a bit more on the way to Columbus, but thankfully nothing too bad. In Columbus we actually stayed at a hotel which was our first time doing that with the cats. Thankfully, we had no issues and it ended up costing about the same as the Airbnbs I was seeing that were available, but we got the convenience of a hotel plus free breakfast.
Columbus, Ohio → Scranton, Pennsylvania
We hit more snow on the way to Scranton, but again nothing too bad which was good because coming from Phoenix we of course didn’t have snow tires on our car. We weren’t too impressed with our Airbnb in Scranton unfortunately, but it did the trick and worked as a single night stay – our last night of the road trip!
Scranton, Pennsylvania → Greenfield, New Hampshire
Here’s where we hit the real snow. Honestly, we didn’t run into truly bad or problematic weather until the last 20 minutes or so of the entire road trip. Southwestern New Hampshire had just been completely dumped on by a winter storm that dropped three feet of snow. We almost didn’t make it to Dan’s mom’s house and her driveway was perhaps the biggest hurdle, but we finally made it and took the night to unload the car and rest.
All in all it was a great road trip! It wasn’t meant to be a sightseeing trip so neither of us were too disappointed by not getting out exploring much. We really wanted to get from point A to point B (or point G?) with a fun stop in the middle of our trip, and that’s exactly what we did. Check out some of our road trip resources below!
where we stayed
Check out the Airbnb we stayed at in Santa Fe, New Mexico here.
Check out the Airbnb we stayed at in Larned, Kansas here.
In Columbus we opted to stay in a hotel which honestly was a bit of a turning point for us. I was always a bit hesitant to stay in a hotel with the cats, largely because hotels typically charge such high pet fees. We stayed at the Homewood Suites Columbus/Polaris and had no issues; it actually ended up being just about the same price as the Airbnbs I was looking at in that area. The convenience was so nice, plus the free breakfast, and the best part was honestly the fact that the cats couldn’t get under the bed haha. At Airbnbs, it’s their first place to go and of course they get all covered in dust and we have to struggle to get them out when it’s time to leave. Oftentimes hotels have bedframes that block off the space under the bed and this one was no exception.
Check out our thoughts on Airbnbs vs Hotels in the road trip resources section below!
what we ate
As I mentioned above, this time around on our road trip from Arizona we tried to save money on food. Our last cross-country road trip we out every single meal which obviously adds up fast. We had a few pantry items leftover that we didn’t finish before leaving our apartment in Phoenix which we brought with us. The night before we left on the road trip, we also swung into Target to pick up a few more items to at least make it possible to avoid eating dinners out while on the road.
In Santa Fe we ate dinner out, but it ended up providing us with enough leftovers to pretty much cover us for lunch the next day which was great. Between leftovers, fast food, and meat & cheese snack packs we had some quick and easy lunches. For dinner we brought along:
- Annie’s mac & cheese (microwave packs and a regular box too)
- Soups (we love Amy’s Kitchen soups as well as soups from Rao’s)
- Hot dogs (which we were able to keep frozen until our second night on the road)
The hot dogs made another easy lunch the next day. We brought a cooler with us to keep things cold which allowed us to save leftovers for lunch, and it also kept my bone broth cold! I love the quick and easy dose of protein that bone broth offers, sipping on it makes a great soothing snack or early morning drink before breakfast. I like to use Perfect Supplements Bone Broth Powder to make a big pot and then freeze it in smaller containers to have some ready to go whenever I want. It’s unflavoured which I love, so you can add whatever veggies, herbs, and spices you like best!
PLEASE COMMENT BELOW