By Jess Moss
June 7,2015; 7:13AM,EDT
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With gas prices predicted to remain at travel-tempting lows, 2015 is destined to be the summer of the road trip. Around the country, new additions are spicing up classic routes, and important anniversaries are being celebrated along dedicated drives. Add in a few itineraries inspired by summer blockbusters, and you've got ten exciting and affordable options for a memorable summer road trip vacation. Pack up the trunk, prep your music playlists, and get ready to explore America.
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Start: Albuquerque, New Mexico
End: Moriarty, New Mexico
Distance: 38 miles
A drive on the Mother Road (now known as I-40) is often at the top of a road trippers' bucket list, but this year the iconic route has a new twist. Last October, a strip of "musical road" was installed near the village of Tijears, east of Albuquerque. A series of rumble strips on the highway is calibrated so if you drive the speed limit (45 mph), the vibrations in your car buzz to the tune of "America the Beautiful."
Start your drive in Albuquerque, where you can still spot neon Route 66 signs downtown, then cruise east through the Cibola National Forest until you reach Tijeras and the singing road. Continue on to Moriarty, where you'll see some Route 66 relics, such as the Sunset Motel and some old bars. The road only plays music if you're driving east, so be sure to start in Albuquerque and not the other direction.
Plan your trip: Visit Fodor's New Mexico Travel Guide
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HUNT FOR FOSSILS ON THE DINOSAUR DIAMOND SCENIC BYWAY
Credit: IrinaK/Shutterstock
Start: Grand Junction, Colorado
End: Moab, Utah
Distance: 424 miles
A prehistoric pairing for this summer's film release of Jurassic World, this route loops through Utah and Colorado, taking in some of the west's top dinosaur sites-plus some killer scenery. Start your trip on the Colorado side, in Grand Junction, and drive northwest to the aptly named town of Dinosaur. Spend a few hours at Dinosaur National Monument, where you can see live digs and a paleontology lab.
Continue west into Utah, where you can visit the Utah Field House of Natural History State Park Museum. Kids love the museum's garden of life-size dinosaurs. As the route turns south in Utah, you can stop at more dig sites, including the Cleveland-Lloyd Dinosaur Quarry south of Price, Utah. Finish your trip in Moab, where the Museum of Moab has more dino displays.
Plan Your Trip: Visit Fodor's Colorado Travel Guide and Utah Travel Guide
HONOR CIVIL RIGHTS HISTORY ON THE SELMA TO MONTGOMERY NATIONAL HISTORIC TRAIL
Credit: Carol M. Highsmith via Wikimedia Commons
Start: Selma, Alabama
End: Montgomery, Alabama
Distance: 54 miles
This National Scenic Byway traces the 54-mile route followed by civil rights demonstrators in the 1965 Selma to Montgomery Voting Rights March, which celebrates its 50th anniversary this year. Start in Selma, spending a few hours exploring the small Alabama town that took center stage in the fight for voting rights. Then follow U.S. 80, crossing the arched Edmund Pettus Bridge, site of the violent clash between marchers and law enforcement known as Bloody Sunday.
The drive to Montgomery continues east through rural countryside, passing farms and churches that served as campsites for the marchers, and an interpretive center at the site of Tent City in Lowndes County. The final five miles of the route follow busy streets through Montgomery to the Alabama State Capitol. Be sure to leave time to see other civil rights monuments around the city, including the Rosa Parks Library and Museum and the Civil Rights Memorial. To commemorate the anniversary this year, the state will be hosting reenactments, plays, and special events along the route.
Plan Your Trip: Visit Fodor's Alabama Travel Guide
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