phredgreen and bluebongo's adventure across america
 

Okay kids, as you may or may not know, bluebongo and I are moving out to Richmond, Virginia from our lifelong hometown of Phoenix, Arizona. Bluebongo has been accepted to Virginia Commonwealth University where she'll be working toward her bachelor's degree. At this point, we'll be leaving sometime on or around January 7th, and we need to be in Richmond by the 14th of the same month for the start of school.

Transportation-wise, we're only taking our cars, and subsequently, only taking what we can fit into our cars. Our whole life in a hatchback and a two-door coupe. Considering we're doing this in the middle of winter, we're looking to take a route that will keep us out of the snow/ice as much as possible before making our final stab northward into Virginia. that becomes the first question.

I am looking at two different routes. Please give any and all input as to the pros and cons of each route, including things to expect, places that we absolutely MUST see, and tedious long stretches inbetween civilization.

<b>Route A</b> is what Mapquest suggests. Mapquest thinks we shoud hop on the I-17 and take that north to the I-40, and take the I-40 across the country. That route would take us through New Mexico, Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Tennesee, and North Carolina before hopping onto the I-85 into Virginia.

<b>Route B</b> would be the southernmost route we could take to get across the country, but is about 400 miles longer, according to Mapquest. We would get onto the I-10 here in Phoenix and take that East, going through New Mexico, Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, and into Florida, where we'd catch the I-95 in Jacksonville and take that up the Atlantic coast through Georgia, South and North Carolina, and into Virginia.

Now we're doing this for as little cash as possible, for the simple fact that we just don't have any major cash. It will be a stretch to pull this trip off, but we hafta make this trip. Whether or not we move is no longer an option.

Now this is where i'm gonna ask for something else from you guys. We need places where we can crash for a night and get some sleep before continuing on. If you're on one of these routes and have a spare couch or a bed that we can borrow for a night, your help is more appreciated than you will ever know. We don't smoke, and we're asking to stay in nonsmoking households, for the sake of good rest, if nothing else. I appreciate everyone's help with this, it really means alot that you guys can do this for two of your own. We look foward to your suggestions on how we can make this trip work out for us.

I wish Sacramento was on the way, I'd be more than happy to put yall up for a night or two :)

Whichever route you go, be sure to take lots of pictures!! :D

If you take the route through SC I am on your way and more then happy to have you stay here!! :)

You guys are welcome to crash at my place. I'll even cook for you. I understand not wanting to stop only two hours from your goal, though.

Also Virginia is about a eight hour drive from me so it is something you could do in one sitting.

Phred---watch that I-10, It has a lot of traffic and gets beat all to hell...Through Louisiana it is mostly on low bridges over the swamp and it is like a wash board...you feel every joint in the road...

I-40 carries a lot of traffic also, but they seem to keep it up a little better---there is a lot of truck traffic going into Memphis....

Wish we were on your route, but we are just a wee bit to far south---stay in touch....via con dious

Phred if you take Route B you can crash at my house for a night in Louisiana. I'm between Baton Rouge and Slidell so you can take the I-12 split and bypass N.O. and all of its problems.

Alright phred....Having experience traveling both of these interstates, I would have to go with the "A" plan. You want a more direct route, and you are on a budget. More importantly, Mapquest has screwed me many a time with inaccurate directions. I own the 1997 Rand McNally Road Atlas...(sold for $10.95) at any self respecting gas up.)....it is my bible, and it has never let me down.

Benefits of the "A" plan...

-more to the east, say, after Little Rock, Arkansas...the sights entering the Smoky Mountains are awesome...truly breathtaking...you'll see why they call them the Smokies!
Entering North Carolina..........whoa....my ride is here, I'll continue this later.....I'lll set you up phred!!! More tomorrow!:D

If you were going anywhere near me, you'd be welcome to crash here, but I'm just slightly out of your way.

Best of luck with your move... I always find it nice to change where I live occasionally.

hell you can stay at my place ... probably a whole 20 min away from you guys :). it could be a warm up :P

Stay away from Flagstaff.
You could end up stuck there for a week.
I hit an icestorm there once on St. Patrick's Day !!

Take the southern route.
I-10 to west Texas.
I-20 to Dallas
I-30 to Little Rock
I-40 to Knoxville
I-81 to I-64
I-64 to Richmond

Have fun and stay safe!!

funny you should mention that route, ynt. i just had a trucker reccomend the same route today. we're thinking that we may just do that in order to avoid any of that messy cold nonsense up in northern arizona.

ugh, yeah.. I had the experience of driving through an evil icey snow storm with my sister and my niece in the car, going through flagstaff on the way to albequerque (forget the spelling, i dislike it there and prefer los alamos/santa fe to it anyday of the week).... so it will be interesting to see the different things we encounter trekking across the US.

I love Santa Fe. great town. I want to retire there.

I'd love to help yinz out, but I suspect that Ohio is a bit out of your way.

as mentioned above, take the most direct route when on a budget, but avoid using Mapquest. their directions SUCK. get you a good map/atlas and look it over carefully.

Alright. Here's my advice, my man. We did it more than once across the country and never paid a cent.

You chart your route by area colleges and universities. Try to make it to a college town by the end of the day. Then, you make your way to the Student Union. From there it's your need, your wit, charm, friendliness, etc. that makes instant human connection and gets you an offer of a place to crash for the night. It simply worked every single time for us! This was back then, of course. But how different could it be now?

BesTFP of luck!

phred, you know if you were headed our way you'd be welcome... good luck on the trip! be safe :)

I-40 through the NC mountains is absolutely beautiful... pretty twisty road though, Im not sure I would want to drive it in the dead of winter like you are, though.

Phred, whats up man. Not sure which route I would suggest simply because I haven't traveled the Southern route...but ahhh, the I-40 route I do have experience with. I just (month and a half ago) moved out here to the Bay Area from Asheville, NC, carrying all of my earthly belongings much like yourself. However I did have a 20-something foot U-Haul towing my car.

But I loved the I-40 route. I especially liked the fact that it passed through a bunch of the major cities that I had always wanted to see. The only hitch happens in Arkansas where from Ft. Smith all the way to Little Rock its basically one lane. When I was traveling the traffic wasn't so so bad that it made a huge difference. To me New Mexico was the best scenic-wise, only because I hadn't seen terrain like that in my life. OH yea, watch out for the Cow Farm on our side of Amarillo, TX. Seriously, this farm last for miles and my goodness you won't be able to counter the crap smell for at least a half an hour. Tenn was pretty interesting because of the mighty Miss and the Pyramid in Memphis. And then what can you say about the beautiful Apps and the Smokies. Unbelievable. Trust me snow, ice or no snow, no ice, you will be white-knucklin' it for several miles from the western periphery all the way until you get to Haywood County in NC. But its worth it. Maybe if you get some extra time (7 days to drive should afford you plenty of extra) hit up the Blue Ridge Parkway, thats if its even open when you're passing through.

Ahh, enough. Sorry, I know you didn't ask for a dissertation but once I started I couldn't stop. Keep us informed!!

Damnit, I wanna go too, except for the fact that I am probally the farthest away from Phoenix right now that I could possibly be... Damn the man...
~Crack

Being a texan, and a Houstonian, I'd have to say take the northern route. Several reasons:

1) I-10 absolutely sucks anytime you're near a Texas city (San Antonio and Houston both) it runs through. Traffic, though not as bad as say the DC area, bogs down EVERY day on the western side of Houston around Katy, and it may still be under construction, as it had been for teh 6 months prior to my departure to College Station.

2) Had a buddy of mine take the Tampa-Houston trip several times in a year by car as he lived with his dad in Tampa but visited his mom in my hometown. I-10 is a bitch at night, southern Lousiana tends to be foggy, and New Orleans is WAY too tempting to stop and spend money in. Have a friend who goes to Tulane in the Big Easy, and the town has far too many distractions to divert your attention from your goal.

3) West Texas is ugly, barren, and most of Texas is dreary as hell in the winter. However, if you're strapped for cash and gas, you may want to skirt the mountains of Arkansas to the south to avoid time delays and then return to the northern route.

Love to help with a place to crash, but I'm in the Phoenix area, since that's your starting point, don't think I could be much help.

I'd say, as long as the weather is nice in Flagstaff, I'd go the I-40 route. In less than a week, I'm making a trip to Colorado and will be on I-40 from Flagstaff to Albuquerque.

Well I am in Oklahoma so if you decide on Route A let me know I might be able to work something out. I've got two dogs so I hope allegies aren't a problem. Location, Stillwater OK. I will be back in town around the third going down to Dallas for a bowl game. Got a spare room. Good luck.

Phred, don't worry too much about the I-40 through the Tn/NC Mountains as long as you can check a forecast for Asheville, NC and verify no snow, you won't have trouble. The road is plowed if there is a snowfall, so worst case, you might have to hold in Knoxville or just go north on I-81 as suggested if you get that far and find it's shut down. But this time of year, I think you'll be ok. March is usually the heavy time for snow.

Have a safe trip!

Hm, I would be very careful about passing through the I-40 tour-de-curves connecting Konxville to Asheville. While it may be true that the road is consistently plowed and salted (I mean, come on, it is I-40) it's still something that bears watching (the forecast, as smoky stated). Much of the interstate is protected from any sunshine as well.

March is not the heavy time for snow. Climatologically speaking the most snow on average occurs in January (at least for Asheville). While the month might not hold the single greatest snowfall event its certainly the month with the most consistent dumps. And given the frequency of snow events so far this winter I'd keep my eyes to the sky.

Here's proof of bigtime non-March snow events from just a couple of weeks ago: http://www.erh.noaa.gov/er/gsp/local...mber_18-20.htm

And of course last night's upper level storm that dropped anywhere from 2 to 5" across the area.

And one more, it looks like next Wed (the 14th I believe) is looking quite interesting weather wise. While it's a long way out still keep tuned in.

I hope this didn't come off as protentious or even an Armegeddon type of mountain pass. It's not like you're passing into Tahoe or anything. You're gonna be maybe a couple to a few thousand feet in elevation. That's busch league man, you got it covered!

Drive safe

Your best choice for lodging is Hostils
I ve been to many and theyare cheap and convenient.
you usually have to do a house chore in the morning though, like vacuem a room or 2.
you meet some cool people sometimes though.

okay. just to update the thread, we're there.


we took the 60 from the east valley up to the 40 in new mexico, and took the 40 all the way across. the first night was a stop in tucumcari, new mexico (to whom we now both owe 80 bucks thanks to lead feet), the second night in little rock, arkansas. the third night we stayed in knoxville and drove through to richmond the fourth day. a total of four driving days, plus we stayed an extra day in arjkansas to visit with family. started tuesday, just got in yesterday (friday).

now we're trying to get the housing situation squared away, hoping like hell it'll happen soon cuz we can't afford to stay in hotels any more. after that it's jobs, but she already has an interview and i have a hookup through family, so we should be up and running sooner than later. i'll keep this thread updated.