sunfan03
Bremerton, WA
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Need your advice and suggestions for a trip from Washington to Nashville next year. Thinking about leaving mid-April (maybe take a detour to Orlando for the teenagers - Disneyworld) and being gone for about a month (picking up DD from college and bringing her home)
Would like to avoid winter temps and snowy passes, so is best route to head south to California and then east?
Traveling in a 32' Class C this time around. (Our last RV trip was 6 years ago with a 29' Class C.)
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coolmom42
Middle Tennessee
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Per Google maps... that's 91 hours and 6,241 miles roundtrip.
Consider going through Las Vegas to Flagstaff and picking up I-40, all the way to Nashville. Be prepared to lay up a couple of days for high winds and/or storm fronts anywhere from Texas on eastward, on that route, regardless of your direction of travel. If you should hit any snow around Flagstaff it won't last long.
Going on down to I-10 would get you out of the wind, generally and maybe out of the worst t-storms in April. Be aware that RV parks on the Gulf Coast have taken a serious beating from hurricanes this year and may be closed due to damage.
Single empty-nester in Middle TN, sometimes with a friend or grandchild on board
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sunfan03
Bremerton, WA
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Thanks coolmom42!
What do you think about taking I-20? Thinking maybe we could visit White Sands NP again (weather should be fine) and then head East on I-20 through Dallas (or possibly drop down to I-10 and visit family in San Antonio, Houston).
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TenOC
On the road -- Full time
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Nashville is a fantastic place to live except for one problem there's nothing to see within 500 miles. Depending on what you have seen in your other travels, you might want to take in Yellowstone, Grand Teton, the national parks of Utah and Monument Valley. Then you have 2 days hard-driving to Nashville.
Even in mid April, if you hit bad weather simply hold up for a day and continue trip. So any of the many routs from Washington to Nashville should work for you.
Please give me enough troubles, uncertainty, problems, obstacles and STRESS so that I do not become arrogant, proud, and smug in my own abilities, and enough blessings and good times that I realize that someone else is in charge of my life.
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ppine
Northern Nevada
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IN April many mountain passes will be closed. The chance of snow in the Rockies is very real. Take the southern route.
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sunfan03
Bremerton, WA
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Thanks TenOC - haven't been to Monument Valley, so we'll check that out. Definitely planning on stops, but maybe more so on the way back home once we pick up DD.
ppine, do you have a website that you use to check the mountain passes, or do you have to do it by state? And that's what I wanted to know...if there's a chance for snow, I'd rather avoid it.
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obgraham
TriCites WA
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sunfan03 wrote:Thanks TenOC - haven't been to Monument Valley, so we'll check that out. Definitely planning on stops, but maybe more so on the way back home once we pick up DD.
ppine, do you have a website that you use to check the mountain passes, or do you have to do it by state? And that's what I wanted to know...if there's a chance for snow, I'd rather avoid it. Every state I've RV'd through has a DOT website, or equivalent, with road reports, and usually a lot of cameras, and specific highway predictions. I prefer to use those as they are the most accurate.
For instance, I'd rather look at the cameras in Snoqualmie Pass if deciding to head to Seattle, rather than some TV weather guy.
As far as your plan, in Mid-April I would just plan the direct route: Salt Lake, Denver, Kansas City, St Louis, and Nashville. Odds favor good weather. Sure, you can see snow and bad roads sometimes -- that's why you check ahead of time!
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Thermoguy
Graham, WA
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I was thinking the same thing. By April we have to remove snow tires in WA, so that is a pretty good indication that the passes are all clear with the exception of a freak winter storm. But, since the main highways are all heavily traveled, I wouldn't go way out of the way, with maybe a backup plan if the weather is unusual. For the passes on the west, that means taking I-84 through Portland, when you get over to the Rockies, I'm not as familiar, but I would plan the most direct route and be less worried about the weather on main highways. Now, if you want to go to Yellowstone, or Glacier, then that is different, but I90, I84, ect are heavy truck routes.
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ppine
Northern Nevada
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People in western WA mow their grass in Feb. I used to live around Seattle.
People in the Rocky Mtns plant their tomatoes in the third week in June. Depending on the year many passes stay closed until late May, June or even later.
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coolmom42
Middle Tennessee
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sunfan03 wrote:Thanks coolmom42!
What do you think about taking I-20? Thinking maybe we could visit White Sands NP again (weather should be fine) and then head East on I-20 through Dallas (or possibly drop down to I-10 and visit family in San Antonio, Houston).
I've never made the run on I-20 but it should be pretty reasonable temps. Just keep an eye out for severe Tstorms.
My general preference is for I-40, weather allowing, because the biggest town is Oklahoma City. Not a fan of cities in general, much less driving a RV.
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