travelling through the old west

[Jay-X]

i want to spend the summer of 2007 travelling from montana to the mexico border.

can a 20 yr old foreigner rent a car in the states? how much would it cost me to bring my car over there?


this may sound stupid, but i would really love to WALK from montana to mexico... maybe sleeping in the ranches that i come across to. is it possible to do it or would i end up dead for some reason?

 

[al77]

Originally posted by Jay-X
i want to spend the summer of 2007 travelling from montana to the mexico border.

can a 20 yr old foreigner rent a car in the states? how much would it cost me to bring my car over there?

this may sound stupid, but i would really love to WALK from montana to mexico... maybe sleeping in the ranches that i come across to. is it possible to do it or would i end up dead for some reason?

Any specific things you like along "from montana to the mexico border" route? It does sound a bit interesting to me: the states you are going to visit are not very populated ones.

It help if you have a credit card (usually if you have a US cread it card, you don't have to pay for insurance if you rent a car).
Don't know much about details though.

To bring you car from Italy (?).. man, you don't want to do that, cuz you also wantt o bring it back. It will cost you really a lot!

Can you walk from Montana to Mexico? You sure can, but would you enjoy it? You will have to walk next to highways with 4-6 lanes with cars that go 130+ km/h. I am not sure you will really enjoy it.
You can sleep in motels (around $40 per night) and I don't think you will meet that many people: maybe just an occasional cop would stop and ask you "What happened to your car?"

Anyway, I guess the best idea is to pick some locations you want to visit: cities, national parks etc.
US doens't have much public transportaion, especially along you route, so you will have to rent a car.
Estimate you expenses: minimum is $40 per night for motel + $30 per day for a car + about $15 for gas at least if you are going to drive a lot, two tiny meal at something like McDonald's would be about $4-5 each. So...about $90 per day just to survive.
If you want to feel a bit more comfortable - double that.

if you want to save some money, find a buddy and share all expenses plus you can buy food before the trip that would last 3-5 days without a fridge.

 

[Porky]

I know for a fact that people under the age of 25 can't be put on a rental car's insurance plan. I'd assume they can't rent one, either.

 

[Jay-X]

Re: Re: travelling through the old west

hey al77, thank you very much for your help. i'll clarify, so you can be even more helpful


1. i don't want to visit any particular city (there's no interesting city on that way)

2. what are the wildest states? not as in wild parties, but as in wild nature... i was thinking maybe montana, wyoming, idaho and texas... what else?

3. will i be able to rent a car at 20 yrs old? i'd prefer to rent it rather than carry mine with me, but i think that you have to be at least 21 to rent a car in the us.

4. if i had a car, i'd sleep in it to save more money

5. if i hadn't a car, i could sleep into motels or something like that, which would be cheaper than 40$ a night, i think

6. i don't have a credit car right now, but i'll surely get one before that travel

7. are highways really like that? i thought that wild west's highways were desert, with just 2 lanes and no cars


thanks to everyone that will help

 

[Jay-X]

c'mon, 46 reads and nobody answers?

 

[Jay-X]

ANSWER!

 

[wootapotky]

2. what are the wildest states? not as in wild parties, but as in wild nature... i was thinking maybe montana, wyoming, idaho and texas... what else?

Southern Utah's really cool looking.

http://jazz.wojtaszek.pl/chwredrock.html

So is colorado. i'll let you google pictures of colorado on your own.

3. will i be able to rent a car at 20 yrs old? i'd prefer to rent it rather than carry mine with me, but i think that you have to be at least 21 to rent a car in the us.

I'm pretty sure you have to be older than 21 to rent a car. Probably 25. Why? I don't know, because America has idiotic laws.

7. are highways really like that? i thought that wild west's highways were desert, with just 2 lanes and no cars

Some of them are. Some of them switch from large highways to 2 lane highways.

 

[PoloBlue]

you should travel with a friend that is old enough to rent a car
or with a group of friends to be safe.

lots of people carry firearms with them in the west out in the country.

 

[BrotherAP]

So you want to visit the old west, do you?

You want wide open spaces. You want untamed wilderness.

New Mexico has the lowest population density of any state in the continental US.

There is a huge spectrum of terrain here. Most people think of New Mexico as a desert. We have mountain lakes, snow capped peaks in the middle of summer, green river valleys, hidden hot springs in pine forests where you can sit comfortable through a night and watch the constellations set. You can get a backpack, load a tent and a sleeping bag and hike to places where you can camp, fish, hike, swim, and stand on the highest peak for hudreds of miles in any direction and not see another person for weeks. It sounds like this is what you are looking for.

We also have volcanic mesas, barrel cactus, desert sand dunes, indian ruins, cattle ranches, and ghost towns, if you head south.

Colorado is also a beautiful place. You can visit the old mining towns, with their locations along hard cliffs. Go to Boulder/Denver area and see the Rockies, some of the most beautiful mountains anywhere. The camping is a bit crowded, though, since most of the best places have been made accessible they've been ruined.

If you're coming to the west, I would not neglect to visit Arizona and the Grand Canyon.

Since I live here, I'll link some images that feel very familiar to me.

Toas pueblo. Probably the most touristy place in New Mexico, other than Santa Fe, but this building is very representative of what inspires most architechture in Northern New Mexico

http://www.internettime.com/images/taospueblo.jpg


A picture of the Jemez River, where my friends and I used to go cliff diving and camping.

http://www.wallpaperdave.com/wjem03.jpg


Wide open spaces

http://www.chattanoogaphoto.org/images/Janis - White Rocks New Mexico.jpg


I've heard many times that you can't rent a car if you're under 25, but I've never tried. I don't recommend walking - things can be very spaced


BrotherAP

 

[DrMetallica]

check out Arizona. It is such a trip if u are from europe

my pics: http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b240/JollyOirishFarmer/1meadow.jpg

http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b240/JollyOirishFarmer/2fromthetop.jpg

http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b240/JollyOirishFarmer/4thebase.jpg

http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b240/JollyOirishFarmer/5thepeak.jpg

http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b240/JollyOirishFarmer/DSC05848Large.jpg

http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b240/JollyOirishFarmer/DSC05853.jpg

http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b240/JollyOirishFarmer/DSC05854.jpg

http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b240/JollyOirishFarmer/DSC05862.jpg

http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b240/JollyOirishFarmer/DSC05874Large.jpg

http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b240/JollyOirishFarmer/DSC01642.jpg

http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b240/JollyOirishFarmer/DSC01600.jpg

I know there is a hiking trail that goes up and down the continental divide (the mountains that seperate the western united states from the eastern united states). You might want to check that out. Also check out tours or busses. Also there is a town here called Tombstone, Arizona and it's pretty touristy and has a lot of wild west stuff. You should also try to find some authentic ghost towns to go to, that is really weird walking through a small run down town that no one lives in anymore.

 

[Jay-X]

Originally posted by BrotherAP
So you want to visit the old west, do you?

You want wide open spaces. You want untamed wilderness.

New Mexico has the lowest population density of any state in the continental US.

There is a huge spectrum of terrain here. Most people think of New Mexico as a desert. We have mountain lakes, snow capped peaks in the middle of summer, green river valleys, hidden hot springs in pine forests where you can sit comfortable through a night and watch the constellations set. You can get a backpack, load a tent and a sleeping bag and hike to places where you can camp, fish, hike, swim, and stand on the highest peak for hudreds of miles in any direction and not see another person for weeks. It sounds like this is what you are looking for.

We also have volcanic mesas, barrel cactus, desert sand dunes, indian ruins, cattle ranches, and ghost towns, if you head south.

Colorado is also a beautiful place. You can visit the old mining towns, with their locations along hard cliffs. Go to Boulder/Denver area and see the Rockies, some of the most beautiful mountains anywhere. The camping is a bit crowded, though, since most of the best places have been made accessible they've been ruined.

If you're coming to the west, I would not neglect to visit Arizona and the Grand Canyon.

Since I live here, I'll link some images that feel very familiar to me.

Toas pueblo. Probably the most touristy place in New Mexico, other than Santa Fe, but this building is very representative of what inspires most architechture in Northern New Mexico

http://www.internettime.com/images/taospueblo.jpg


A picture of the Jemez River, where my friends and I used to go cliff diving and camping.

http://www.wallpaperdave.com/wjem03.jpg


Wide open spaces

http://www.chattanoogaphoto.org/images/Janis - White Rocks New Mexico.jpg


I've heard many times that you can't rent a car if you're under 25, but I've never tried. I don't recommend walking - things can be very spaced


BrotherAP

man, that's exactly what i want. i'd prefer to sleep into my car or into a tent, rather than in a hotel (not because it's cheaper, but because i actually like that). i don't want to camp in organized places, i want to put the tent wherever i happen to be at evening... near a river, on the peak of a mountain, in the desert... wherever i am

what about using a bike?! i'd be able to cycle for around 100-150 km a day, so it would be pretty good, wouldn't it? the only problem would how to bring with me all the stuff that i need...

a-propos, what should i bring with me?
i think a tent, a sleepingbag, clothes and what else?

i'll surely go to new mexico... i've mapgoogled it and it looks wonderful.

so, my trip will probably be: montana-idaho-wyoming-colorado-utah-arizona-new mexico-texas

should i visit places like kansas, north and south dakota, oklahoma and nebraska?

 

[diablo]

Originally posted by Porky
I know for a fact that people under the age of 25 can't be put on a rental car's insurance plan. I'd assume they can't rent one, either.

This assumption is incorrect.

Originally posted by Jay-X
can a 20 yr old foreigner rent a car in the states? how much would it cost me to bring my car over there?

In order for a non-US citizen to rent a car, he or she must have an international driver's license, a major credit card, and be 21 years of age or older, according to Enterprise (a major car rental agency in the USA). Shipping a car would cost around $2500 each way and take several weeks to arrive. I got this quote from DAS.

As far as walking cross-country is concerned, that's what is called "backpacking". There are hundreds of thousands of websites that can show you what and how to do what it is you're talking about, including what to bring, trails to use, how to get from place to place, maps, etc. Here's just one such (major) site:

http://www.backpacker.com/

Originally posted by Jay-X
what should i bring with me? i think a tent, a sleepingbag, clothes and what else?

Guy, you're massively unprepared. You need to do a full half year of research and figure out what it is you'll need... then get it. Then you need to go and test it out for a month or two in Europe. After that you should have an idea of what you really do need and what you don't need. For example, should you bring a down or synthetic bag? Do you know the difference between the two? The advantages and disadvantages of each? What temperature should the bag be rated to? Should you have wicking clothing or cotton? Wool? What temperatures will you be exposed to? Should you layer? Internal frame or external? The list of questions can go on for hours...

 

[Jay-X]

as usual, diablo has been really helpful
i know i'm completely unprepared, but luckily i have 20 months ahead of me yet, so i can get ready for it

 

[dannyc]

Dude let me ask you, why you doing this?

You going to be by yourself or with a couple of buddies hiking about?

 

[Dimebag_Darrell]

Good luck, hope you don't freeze to death, get robbed or kidnapped.

 

[Jay-X]

Originally posted by dannyc
Dude let me ask you, why you doing this?

You going to be by yourself or with a couple of buddies hiking about?

i'm going by myself. i'm gonna do this, because i'd like to... i don't know why...