Community Forums

k9crazy5 · 08-31-2014, 10:31 AM

I am about to embark on my first cross country trip from So. Cal to Asheville, North Carolina. I will be in a 39' DP with toad. The goal of the trip is to explore Asheville as a possible location to move to so we want to spend as much time as we can there. We would like to stop in a couple of places along the way for a day or so as well.

What are your thoughts on this route? Mainly I-40

So. Cal to Needles, CA. Overnighter in a Walmart
Needles to Albuquerque, NM. Overnighter in a Walmart.
Albuquerque to Oklahoma City. Extra day to explore OK
Ok to Nasheville, TN. Extra day to explore Nasheville.
Nasheville to Asheville, NC.

Return trip:
Asheville to Memphis. Extra day for Elvis
Memphis to Amarillo, TX. Overnighter in Walmart
TX to Williams, AZ. Extra day for train to Grand Cyn
AZ to So. Cal

I know there is a lot to see but time is limited and Asheville is the goal.

RickO · 08-31-2014, 02:40 PM

Sounds to me like you've got a pretty good itinerary mapped out. The extra days you've built in are wise and well placed considering your objective.

You'll love the Asheville area. If you have dogs, you might want to consider Four Paws Kingdom as your base for exploring.... or at least for a few days. It's a great RV park dedicated to dogs.

Best of luck and travel safely.

Rick

MaverickBBD · 09-01-2014, 11:14 AM

Sounds like you have it pretty much mapped out. Only thing I might suggest is to allow at least a day or two for possible weather delays. Also, allow for a fatigue factor if one morning you wake up and just don't feel like traveling.

macantic · 09-01-2014, 12:08 PM

while in Ashville,don't forget to visit the "Biltmore Estate",google it and check it out if you don't know about it.

k9crazy5 · 09-01-2014, 02:15 PM

Thanks for the input. I have a hard time planning long trips because you never know what you are going to encounter. On a trip last year from Bend, Or down to Mammoth Lakes, CA looked great on paper but what was unknown to me were all the little town detours that took you miles out of the way and slowed the speed limit down to a crawl. Ended up taking a couple hours longer than expected. Which of course meant that I had to set anchor in the pine trees in the dark.

1ciderdog · 09-01-2014, 06:32 PM

Sounds like a good plan but if it were me I'd consider I-10 for one direction so that you see a bit of different scenery on the way back.

RickO · 09-01-2014, 07:02 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 1ciderdog

Sounds like a good plan but if it were me I'd consider I-10 for one direction so that you see a bit of different scenery on the way back.

Great suggestion! Don't worry if one way vs the other is a few hundred miles farther. Even though we're not talking about beautiful scenery along many sections of I 10, it will give you the opportunity to experience more of the country.

Maybe even plan to overnight in Fort Stockton, Texas... a popular overnight stop on I 10
Good ribs! - Review of Road Runner Cafe, Fort Stockton, TX - TripAdvisor

There's not much around it but it has easy pull through sites and an on site/mom and pop cafe which serves great home cooked comfort food. Leave you diet behind. It's nice to have a little "oasis" like this to break up a very long drive.

Rick

Dtwallace · 09-01-2014, 07:19 PM

I've made this same trip many times as an over the road trucker. You have a great plan as far as route, the (I-10) return trip will make for more interesting scenery change like said above. How you get to (I-10) will be based on what you want to see and weather. Wishing you a great trip, and wish I could make it with you.

DTW

k9crazy5 · 09-01-2014, 09:41 PM

Thanks again. I had not considered I-10 but i will check it out. I did consider I-70 through Colorado and Utah but did not want to take the extra time. Talk about scenic. I have done it a couple of times to/from CO.