Some takeaways from 1760 mile drive cross country

[gamecockcat]

Just moved from Denver area to the Jacksonville area and drove 1760 miles. Takeaways:
1. Astounding how much emptyness/farmland there is across eastern CO, all of Kansas, much of MO, and chunks of TN and GA. Not much of anything to see for miles and miles.
2. Saw many, many billboards across KS and MO for churches and Jesus 'sayings'.
3. Very few political signs but 100% were Trump.
4. No traffic problems until St. Louis (minor), Nashville (awful at 12:30 on a Friday) and Atlanta (pretty easy as we went thru on Saturday morning around 8:15 am). Planned around those cities on purpose.
5. In every larger city there were the few idiots driving 15+ mph faster than the traffic, weaving in and out, tailgating, etc. Idiot, impatient drivers are everywhere, evidently.
6. A lot more state patrol presence on the interstates than I expected.
7. A ton of road construction in every state we drove thru (CO, KS, MO, IL, KY, TN, GA).
8. Drivers on I-95 are in a HURRY. Speed limit of 70 is close to the minimum for most drivers. Set cruise on 75 and stayed way to the right.
9. Hawks are extremely plentiful across the middle states - probably saw > 100+ over the course of 26 hours of driving.
10. Getting way too old to drive 7+ hours, not including stops, for multiple days. Back and butt gave up the ghost just a bit earlier every day.

 

[bthaunert]

In 2008, we moved from New Jersey to Oregon. We took the I90/I80 route as it was summer. It was a brutal drive until you get to the Rockies, then it’s beautiful. It’s amazing how different that part of the country is.

In 2016, we moved from Oregon to Maryland in the winter. Took the southern route on I40. Some good scenery in Arizona and New Mexico but brutal after that.

 

[vhcat70]

This reminds me of the 23 days, 6500 miles driving vacation we took in 1983 from KY, northwest to Yellowstone, south thru UT to Grand Canyon, and then to CO & Rocky MNP before head home. As I count now, hit 9 NP's & several state parks for 1-4 days each.

 

[BC_Wader]

This reminds me of the 23 days, 6500 miles driving vacation we took in 1983 from KY, northwest to Yellowstone, south thru UT to Grand Canyon, and then to CO & Rocky MNP before head home. As I count now, hit 9 NP's & several state parks for 1-4 days each.

How comfy of a ride was that Wagon Queen Family Truckster? All jokes aside, I've always wanted to do that. I want to see out West before I get too old to do so.

 

[vhcat70]

How comfy of a ride was that Wagon Queen Family Truckster? All jokes aside, I've always wanted to do that. I want to see out West before I get too old to do so.

This was it, only silver. 1978 Cutlass wagon. I don't recall it being a bad ride.

 

[Cold Stout Beer]

Just moved from Denver area to the Jacksonville area and drove 1760 miles. Takeaways:
1. Astounding how much emptyness/farmland there is across eastern CO, all of Kansas, much of MO, and chunks of TN and GA. Not much of anything to see for miles and miles.
2. Saw many, many billboards across KS and MO for churches and Jesus 'sayings'.
3. Very few political signs but 100% were Trump.
4. No traffic problems until St. Louis (minor), Nashville (awful at 12:30 on a Friday) and Atlanta (pretty easy as we went thru on Saturday morning around 8:15 am). Planned around those cities on purpose.
5. In every larger city there were the few idiots driving 15+ mph faster than the traffic, weaving in and out, tailgating, etc. Idiot, impatient drivers are everywhere, evidently.
6. A lot more state patrol presence on the interstates than I expected.
7. A ton of road construction in every state we drove thru (CO, KS, MO, IL, KY, TN, GA).
8. Drivers on I-95 are in a HURRY. Speed limit of 70 is close to the minimum for most drivers. Set cruise on 75 and stayed way to the right.
9. Hawks are extremely plentiful across the middle states - probably saw > 100+ over the course of 26 hours of driving.
10. Getting way too old to drive 7+ hours, not including stops, for multiple days. Back and butt gave up the ghost just a bit earlier every day.

Google maps is the best. Built in radar detector that alerts you to upcoming cops and no interstates unless necessary. I love pulling it up on my screen via Apple car play.

 

[Spica Orbit]

In 2016, we moved from Oregon to Maryland in the winter. Took the southern route on I40. Some good scenery in Arizona and New Mexico but brutal after that.

---
Maybe 20 to 25 years ago in New Mexico, I went right at 70 miles & only saw one home. Can't remember the road right off, but it was in the southern part of the state.

 

[bthaunert]

Google maps is the best. Built in radar detector that alerts you to upcoming cops and no interstates unless necessary. I love pulling it up on my screen via Apple car play.

I live and die by Waze. GPS in general has made traveling so much better.

 

[gamecockcat]

---
Maybe 20 to 25 years ago in New Mexico, I went right at 70 miles & only saw one home. Can't remember the road right off, but it was in the southern part of the state.

When we moved to CO, drove pretty much straight across northern NM from Dallas. Absolutely nothing to see. If I weren't on meth when moving there, I would be soon thereafter.

Drove from my sister's home in Las Cruces to ABQ once and it's about as desolate an area as one can imagine (eastern UT from the CO border to SLC is a kissing cousin). Have spent many days in ABQ on business and can't for the life of me understand why 800k people live there.

Have driven southern part of AZ and the scenery was more interesting to me than anywhere in NM save Santa Fe. But, I don't find much beauty in the desert. Some people love it. Different strokes.

 

[Cold Stout Beer]

I live and die by Waze. GPS in general has made traveling so much better.

My neighbors suggested Waze 2 weeks ago. I have not tried it yet but agree on GPS!

 

[BigBlueDave]

Google maps is the best. Built in radar detector that alerts you to upcoming cops and no interstates unless necessary. I love pulling it up on my screen via Apple car play.

I drove from Sacramento, Ca to Kentucky back in Dec 2022. A neat feature is to list all of a certain restaurant on the route. I ate a different Chick-fil-A meal every lunch for four days.

🤣

I didn’t eat Chick-fil-A for 6 months after that.


In 2010, I bought a flatbed ford in Los Angeles. I drove right through Winslow, Arizona on the way back home. I didn’t make time to stop and take a pic with the city limit sign.

Life is full of big regrets.

 

[Cold Stout Beer]

I drove from Sacramento, Ca to Kentucky back in Dec 2022. A neat feature is to list all of a certain restaurant on the route. I ate a different Chick-fil-A meal every lunch for four days.

🤣

I didn’t eat Chick-fil-A for 6 months after that.


In 2010, I bought a flatbed ford in Los Angeles. I drove right through Winslow, Arizona on the way back home. I didn’t make time to stop and take a pic with the city limit sign.

Life is full of big regrets.

I used to eat Chick Fillet all the time but once time it was so greasy that I can't even look at it anymore. Now Texas Roadhouse, that's a different story. Love that place!

 

[Stan the caddy]

Great post, thanks for sharing the experience. Agree about the mind boggling amount of empty land in the country. Anytime I hear the word “overpopulation”, I always think “there’s plenty of space”.

 

[dvillecatfan]

Enjoy my Mexico and Carribean visits...trips out west are the best tho.

 

[natron20]

Went on a cross country road trip in 1986 when I was 8 years old. Loved it as a kid and to this day one of my traveling goals when I retire is to make many more trips out west. I’ve done it four times total and love the experience.

One day I plan to drive as much of the old Route 66 I can (skipping the places where I might get shot. Looking at you East St Louis). Would love to visit all the road road side attractions.

I’ve made several trips to New England but nothing beats the open road heading west.

 

[Blueisbest]

When I was a kid back in the early 70's, my parents and I drove from Louisville to Mew Mexico in a car that had no A/C in the middle of summer to see my sister and brother-in-law. It was the old 4 windows down. 70 mph air both ways. Great fun.

 

[starchief5]

Talk about desolate, try I 10 between Kerrville TX and Las Cruces NM. 535 miles of nothing to see except buffaloes roaming, deer and antelopes playing (but seldomly a discouraging word).

Kerrville to Las Cruces

www.google.com

 

[HymanKaplan]

I tried that once, but I died from dysentery.

 

[DreadLox]

How comfy of a ride was that Wagon Queen Family Truckster? All jokes aside, I've always wanted to do that. I want to see out West before I get too old to do so.

We took the kids on a tour of the west around 30 years ago. Saw White Sands, Sedona, the Grand Canyon, an Indian mesa in New Mexico, Santa Fe ...

It was great, but at Santa Fe there was a general revolt. "HOME!"

The last amazing sight we saw was the underside of a B-52 somewhere in Oklahoma.

 

[BC_Wader]

We took the kids on a tour of the west around 30 years ago. Saw White Sands, Sedona, the Grand Canyon, an Indian mesa in New Mexico, Santa Fe ...

It was great, but at Santa Fe there was a general revolt. "HOME!"

The last amazing sight we saw was the underside of a B-52 somewhere in Oklahoma.

I want to see Yellowstone, Jackson Hole, Grand Tetons, Grand Canyon and Hoover Dam. I'm going to make it out there one day. Supposedly somewhere on Route 66, there are indentions in the road like the ones near warning lanes on the highway. If you drive a certain speed you'll hear America the Beautiful being played through your tires. That would be cool as hell.

 

[gamecockcat]

Talk about desolate, try I 10 between Kerrville TX and Las Cruces NM. 535 miles of nothing to see except buffaloes roaming, deer and antelopes playing (but seldomly a discouraging word).

Kerrville to Las Cruces

www.google.com

Having been there, once you reach Las Cruces, it's not like the Garden of Eden. It's barely better than a wide spot in the road, imo. To paraphrase my father, 'I resent having to drive all this way to get to this pile of crap'.