Driving Cross Country

[deacphan]

Somewhat have done it. Drove from Atlanta to LAs Vegas and then back to Chicago for work. Also just drove to Austin from NC when I moved here.

The drive from Atlanta to Vegas is still one of the most memorable things I've ever done. I went Atlanta-Memphis-Oklahoma City-Flagstaff and then the quick 2-3 hour drive to Vegas. The OKC to Flagstaff drive was just breathtaking. Pretty much drove through five different types of terrain in one day. Did it in March, left OKC when it was in the 70's and then 5 hours later I was in a snowstorm on the way to Albuquerque in the Rockies. Stopped off in Laredo b/c its the only real town you hit in the Texas Panhandle (was my first time in TX) and stopped a few other times just to take it all in.

Then on the way out of Vegas, to Chicago, we spent the nights in Denver and Omaha. The two things I remember from that was driving through southern Utah, which was amazing and some

best part imo

 

[BillBrasky]

best part imo

Haha. Here's the rest, I prejacked my post:

just had insane geographical sightlines. I could describe it but its something you have to see for yourself. Also I thought driving through Iowa and eastern Nebraska was kind of neat, because of the bluffs as well as the ridiculous amount of wind mills.

 

[deacphan]

the nothingness in iowa and nebraska was kind of cool. you could not turn your wheel for an hour straight. some utah pics:

 

[BillBrasky]

Oh nice, you got to go through when there was snow on the ground. The landscape was clear when I passed through and like I said was just breathtaking. The drive from the Nevada-Utah border till you hit the Rockies is just ridiculous. I did however get to drive through Vail and Breckenridge at night, and it was somewhat lightly snowing. The whole trip was just incredibly scenic. But of course my dumb ass didn't take any pictures.

Then you get to Denver, work your way down the mountain and about 20 miles outside of Denver its just flatness. We we're driving a 20-foot sprinter van (a promotional vehicle for Sprint) and when I was crushing it through Eastern Colorado, Nebraska and parts of Iowa the crosswinds about blew us over twice. It was just nuts.

I also forgot to mention that I did also drive from Charlotte to Kansas City for work as well, going through WV and KY. Kentucky is also a very beautiful and scenic area. Lots of awesome horses and distilleries. We spent the night in Lexington and then drove through downtown Louisville, and then through the nothingness of southern Indiana and Illinois until we got to the Lou. And the drive from St. Louis to KC could not be more boring.

 

[RJKarl]

And if you take I40, you can get a free 72 OZ steak in Amarillo....well if you eat it all in one sitting.

 

[lbE08]

yeah, i'd say Utah is a pretty underrated state. It's an afterthought for many people, but it's kind of awesome.

 

[JDawg]

ooooo yessss phan, thanks for an excuse to post pictures of when I drove to Alaska!

 

[lbE08]

ooooo yessss phan, thanks for an excuse to post pictures of when I drove to Alaska!

lol, how long have you been waiting for that?


i have a handful of photos from our journey, as well.

 

[BillBrasky]

And if you take I40, you can get a free 72 OZ steak in Amarillo....well if you eat it all in one sitting.

I can 100% back this up. I think I said Laredo in my original post, but I meant Amarillo. That's where we stopped in the panhandle. And I almost took the challenge, however I smartly realized that I still had about 10 more hours to drive that day so I smartly back out of it. Those 150 mile stretches with no gas stations and their bathrooms would have been a problem.

 

[JDawg]

(I took these in July 2009)

Kluane Lake in the Yukon. Crazy still lake that provided pristine reflections. I took this out the passenger window while traveling at like 55 mph and it came out amazing

The internet says the road maxes out at about 4000 ft elevation according to the guidebook so there was some serious prominence on some of the mountains, the picture really doesn't do it justice. I don't recall which peaks these were and the pictures really don't do it justice.

 

[deacphan]

"I don't recall which peaks these were and the pictures really don't do it justice."

things i've said about every pic i took in alaska.

 

[JDawg]

lol, how long have you been waiting for that?


i have a handful of photos from our journey, as well.

long enough!

I can 100% back this up. I think I said Laredo in my original post, but I meant Amarillo. That's where we stopped in the panhandle. And I almost took the challenge, however I smartly realized that I still had about 10 more hours to drive that day so I smartly back out of it. Those 150 mile stretches with no gas stations and their bathrooms would have been a problem.

When going through British Columbia/Yukon there's basically nothing....at the end of my shift we stopped at a small town with a gas station at ~2 am but they were closed for the night and of course they were the only shop in town. We used the spare 5 gallon canister, got us another two hours or so to the next town, and they were open. Otherwise we were sleeping there until they opened in the morning. But it was definitely eerie, there were plenty of times during that night where it felt like we were in a horror/zombie movie based on the environments, darkness, etc.

When you're the only humans within 20 miles (literally), shit gets real dark at night.

 

[JDawg]

"I don't recall which peaks these were and the pictures really don't do it justice."

things i've said about every pic i took in alaska.

IIRC it was right before we crossed over the border....I could probably recreate it but don't have time. Stupid work.

 

[CrapshootDeac]

Drove from Winston to Portland in 5 days. I was in a car by myself following our rented U-Haul truck that was towing a U-Haul trailer. Think we maxed out at about 55 mph. Longest 5 days of my life.

 

[myDeaconmyhand]

The combined area of southern Utah, southern Colorado, and northern New Mexico is the most beautiful part of a cross country car trip IMO. You're seriously missing out if you don't take a route through that area, Utah especially.

 

[HailToTheDeacons]

Texas.

At just under 879 miles (1,415 km), the stretch of Interstate 10 crossing Texas, maintained by the Texas Department of Transportation, is the longest continuous untolled freeway under a single authority in North America, a title formerly held by Ontario's Highway 401. Mile marker 880 (and the corresponding exit number) near Orange are the highest numbered mile marker and exit on the Interstate Highway System or, for that matter, on any freeway in North America.

 

[deacphan]

that sounds like hell to me

 

[deac_tracy]

Somewhat have done it. Drove from Atlanta to LAs Vegas and then back to Chicago for work. Also just drove to Austin from NC when I moved here.

The drive from Atlanta to Vegas is still one of the most memorable things I've ever done. I went Atlanta-Memphis-Oklahoma City-Flagstaff and then the quick 2-3 hour drive to Vegas. The OKC to Flagstaff drive was just breathtaking. Pretty much drove through five different types of terrain in one day. Did it in March, left OKC when it was in the 70's and then 5 hours later I was in a snowstorm on the way to Albuquerque in the Rockies. Stopped off in Laredo b/c its the only real town you hit in the Texas Panhandle (was my first time in TX) and stopped a few other times just to take it all in.

Then on the way out of Vegas, to Chicago, we spent the nights in Denver and Omaha. The two things I remember from that was driving through southern Utah, which was amazing and just had insane geographical sightlines. I could describe it buts its something you have to see for yourself. Also I thought driving through Iowa and eastern Nebraska was kind of neat, because of the bluffs as well as the ridiculous amount of wind mills.

Laredo? I'm guessing you mean Lubbock.

 

[SDeacz]

I've done it Twice. San Diego to Winston Both Times. San Diego to Albuerquerque, Albuerquerque to Oklahoma City, Oklahoma City to Nashville, Nashville to Winston. Second time was San diego to Las Cruces, Las Cruces to Arlington, TX, ARlington to Memphis, Memphis to Winston.

Both times we spent an extra night in a city in a city for rest. First time we stayed in nashville, and really liked it. Next time we stayed in Arlington with an uncle.

I would suggest getting up early 5:00am and starting each day. Its much easier to drive in the mornings than the evenings.

 

[deacphan]

I've done it Twice. San Diego to Winston Both Times. San Diego to Albuerquerque, Albuerquerque to Oklahoma City, Oklahoma City to Nashville, Nashville to Winston. Second time was San diego to Las Cruces, Las Cruces to Arlington, TX, ARlington to Memphis, Memphis to Winston.

Both times we spent an extra night in a city in a city for rest. First time we stayed in nashville, and really liked it. Next time we stayed in Arlington with an uncle.

I would suggest getting up early 5:00am and starting each day. Its much easier to drive in the mornings than the evenings.

depends on which way you were driving. we used to get up and do hikes so the dog would be tired and sleep, and driving in the afternoon west was kind of annoying. lots of sunsets though.