Re: Who is going to the big game???
Same here....let me know what you hear about the drive across the desert.
We are staying in SD Fri night - Tempe Sat night - driving all the way back to SD after the game and flying back Mon Noon.
Anybody know how long to allow from Tempe > Stadium on Gameday?
I've driven from Phoenix to San Diego several times. Basically, it goes like this. From Phoenix, you drive about 30 minutes on the I-10. This is a straight easy shot on a major highway. From there, you get on to the 85, which is not an interstate. It's basically a road that connects two major interstates -- the I-10 and the I-8. It's about 35 miles, mostly 4 lane (two in each direction) and 2 lane in places. It's pretty easy. You drive by a prison, so don't pick up hitchikers.
You then get to a foresaken place called Gila Bend. Get gas.
Gila Bend is where the 85 links up with I-8, which is the highway that goes all the way to the San Diego airport. For about 200 miles, the I-8 is a straight, easy, usually uncongested interstate, with only two towns of any note. You go through Yuma (after passing the largest R-V lot in the world) and cross the border and go through some very neat sand dunes in the California desert. You then hit a town called El Centro, which is in the middle of the California desert. Large military presence. Good place to stop for gas and food. For about 50 miles on either side of Yuma, you're extremely close to the border, so there is a border patrol presence all around. They set up random checks where they basically close down the highway and stop everyone passing through. There is also an agricultural inspection station in California that, if open, can slow you down.
After about 200 miles on I-8, you begin a very sharp climb up into the mountains. There is pretty much nothing along this route, except a native american casino/hotel at the peak of the san andreas divide. In my view, this is a bit of a scary drive at night. But then I'm probably being a bit of a pu**y about this, and many people I know have done it. Just be safe. There's a place called Pine Valley up high in the mountains where you can get gas and a good $5 cheeseburger.
You'll be in the mountains for an hour or so. Once you come down out of the mountains, you're basically in San Diego. You'll pass SDSU and Qualcom Stadium. Next stop is the airport.
