New Iberia Louisiana to Longview Washington

[adamdegraff]

Have a show tomorrow night in New Iberia, Louisiana, a week off for travel, and then a show in Longview, Washington. Considering different routes. Anybody have a suggestion? GPS tells me to go through Dallas, Salida, Denver, Cheyenne WY, etc. It's such a long drive, I'm not looking to make it a really difficult one, but then again, it would be nice to see some spectacular scenery. At present I'm debating whether to take 70 across Colorado or 80 across Wyoming. Been on both in a car, but wondering if my bus friends might have an opinion.

Please, feel free to include favorite rest stops, fuel stops, and most importantly, restaurants along the way;)

Thanks,

Adam

[Coloradobus]

Adam,

We have traveled the route from Dallas that mostly follows I-35E to Rte 360 to Rte 287 from Denton?Dallas to and thru Amarillo with a short jog onto I-40 then back on Rte 287 north pasing into and from the panhandle of OK, into Colorado thru and passed Lamar and up to I-70 at Limon, Co.
Taking I-70 west to I-270 to I-25 to Cheyenne will get you to I-80.
Taking I-80 west to I-84 bypasses the Salt Lake area.
You will take 84 all the way into Oregon, say Pendleton and Portland where you can get I-5 and head to your destination.
If times and days match, feel free to stop over in our driveway at the office. We have 50 amp and water, and its a short five mile trip back to I-25 and Cheyenne which is 99 miles from our house.
Taking I-70 would really take you out of your way getting to Salt Lake, even if you took the diagonal thru Price Utah and beyond.
Good luck.

[BrianE]

Adam, While Jim & Chris have probably outlined the fastest route, I can suggest another that is about the same mileage (2460) and has some varied highways and some very pretty scenery. I-40 to Gallup NM, 264/491 to Cortez CO where a short diversion will allow you to visit Mesa Verde NP which has some fabulous cliff dwellings. There is a nice RV Park just across from the entrance. Continue North on 491/191 to Moab which has 2 nice RV Parks on the North end of town. Arches NP is a short drive up hwy 191 and offers some terrific short hikes through numerous natural arches. Continue North on 191 to I-70 US 6 and I-15 to Provo (the diagonal cutoff Chris mentioned.) There is a good RV Park across from the Flying J in Springville. North on I-15 (try to avoid Salt Lake commute traffic hours) to I-84 to I-205/I-5 in Portland and North to Longview.

We have 12 tickets to your show in Longview and are looking forward to meeting you and seeing your performance. We are located about 45 minutes South of Longview and have a good parking spot and 50amp power. If your time is short we'll find you a convenient RV Park and you can cruise through, otherwise spend an evening with our airpark neighbors (and your new fans) including Petervs if he behaves himself. We are famous for impromptu pot luck dinners in our park (weather permitting). Will call you on the road. Drive safe however you decide to go.

[adamdegraff]

Jim & Chris and Brian,
thanks for you input. And Brian, thanks for your call. Got your message today, but have been at the wheel all day! Good day of driving though.

Decided that we wanted to try to see some friends near Aspen, so the plan is to high tail it to Denver. We made it as far as Norman, OK and plan to overnight at the Flying J in Limon, CO tomorrow night, unless dissuaded by any POGers. Actually parked next to a very nice 1990 Marathon here in Norman right now. Nice, young IT guy came over to say hi while I was looking for a small air leak in the generator air bags. (Found it.) Guess he travels around doing his thing. Sound familiar.

So, I guess our plan, though not the most direct route, is to take 35 up to Salina, then head over on 70 and say on it through Denver, etc. Then cut up to Salt Lake (NOT during rush hour) and head on that way. Brian, the route you suggested sounded awesome, but this is an especially long trip with the kids... so playgrounds and tag in rest area fields has replaced nice RV parks. Can't even remember the last time I plugged in.

So, the trip is progressing nicely. Looking forward to meeting you at the show in Longview. Let's set up a time to say hi.

Oh and thank you both for your offers of hospitality! What a group!

Got to go get some sleep now. Another big day tomorrow.

Adam