Annual Roadtrip - route / suggestions

[Whiskyecho]

Hello folks, Bill here for my once a year post.. I used to be an active poster when I had my R/T 190V but have sold it and only check in here occasionally now.

I make an annual roadtrip from the Houston area to the West Coast - to visit family and attend school reunions - but after doing so for a number of years, I-40 and especially I-10 have gotten really "old", so, I look each year for alternate routes on which to drive - and "driving" is where it's at for me and to put it into RV lingo; "I'm not a camper" and I don't spend a day sightseeing attractions (with a couple of exceptions).

I've mapped out an "out and back" plan which takes me from Houston to Durango to Grand Junction, across Utah & Nevada (ugh) to Lee Vining and thru Yosemite then over to the Coast around Monterey and down the beautiful Hwy 1 to Oxnard, Ca. Returning via I-40 to Flagstaff, down thru Sedona, over to Show Low, Springerville, Silver City, El Paso and (ugh again) I-10 back to Houston. Yes I know about the terrible fires they had in the Springerville area but that road is a really nice "driving road".

We have 3 children (Shiba breed dogs) that we've got to kennel if my Wife and I travel together - so I usually drive by myself (the solitude of which I look forward to) then she kennels the dogs for a few days and flies out and back to and from the destination for our family visits.

I've already "done" the narrow gauge RR from Durango to Silverton and the Grand Canyon RR out of Williams (when we owned the RT) and am suggesting to my Wife to fly into ABQ, where I would pick her up, drive to Durango and let her ride the narrow gauge to Silverton, where I'd pick her up again then we could drive to Grand Junction and she could fly home from there - we'll see about that.

So, the question is, do any of you have any suggestions about the route(s) at which I'm looking ? My "musts" for this year are the Durango-Grand Junction and the Monterey-Oxnard segments.

Thanks, Bill

[arrveedogz]

Take US285 north from I10 at Ft. Stockton, TX. You'll get to experience what it is like to drive on the moon: Dusty, dry, desolate, dreary, depressing, at least as far as Poncha Pass, CO. US50 west goes over Monarch Pass, where there was still some high elevation snow (at least there was some when we crossed through 3 weeks ago). Or US24 up through Leadville is fun.

Check www.inciweb.org for the latest fire info; we missed the fire at Raton Pass -- although driving through a couple of weeks afterwards was still verrry scary.

Safe travels!

Dan F.

[Whiskyecho]

"Take US285 north from I10 at Ft. Stockton, TX. You'll get to experience what it is like to drive on the moon: Dusty, dry, desolate, dreary, depressing.."

no thanks, I'm trying to stay away from "dusty, dry, desolate, dreary and depressing"

"..US50.."

I'll do a lot of driving on 50, but only to get from one place to another, not for the experience of driving on 50

I've changed my route too - now Houston to ABQ, up thru Durango & Silverton to Grand Junction, (and instead of thru Yosemite) over to Reno, thru Susanville & Redding to get to Eureka - just so there's more Hwy 1 to drive down to Oxnard, Ca - will do that in 5 days

The route home remains the same - Oxnard to Flagstaff, down thru Sedona, over to Show Low, Springerville, Silver City and Deming - then the dreaded I 10 back home - probably 2 days, as I'm always anxious to get home

[Davydd]

Stay off the Interstates. More pleasant driving. Few trucks. Little traffic. Better scenery. More interesting food stops. I've put 12,000 miles in so far this year and over 90% of my driving has been off the Interstates. I've found you don't lose that much time and if you plan right you can even find a shorter route in many cases. Often in the desert and mountainous areas there are not many practical choices other than the Interstates.

[Whiskyecho]

thanks - as you can see by my route, the interstates are used only to get me from interest to interest (durango to grand junction & eureka, ca down to oxnard - then - flagstaff to deming on the way home)

I'd put the car on a train from point to point, if that was an option

[Whiskyecho]

trip is finished ! almost 5000 miles of driving and I averaged 18.798 mpg - not bad for a 500hp V10 (and burned no engine oil). 8 days of driving - 6 going and 2 coming home (always anxious to get home). my Wife flew out for the visit and then rode home with me on the return (dogs in the kennel only 1 extra day that way)

a great road car (the BMW M5) and it performed wonderfully on the 4 really fun sections of Hwys that I chose (going north into Ouray, Co, westbound into Eureka, Ca, Hwy 1, off Hwy 101 south of Eureka, Ca and Hwy 1 south of Stinson Beach back to 101 vicinity of Marin City - I highly recommend those roads for some "spirited" driving..

the California coastline seems more beautiful each year