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  1. #1
    Join Date
    Feb 2008
    Location
    el cerrito,california
    Posts
    27

    Default Cross America with the Blues

    My son and I are about to embark on quite an adventure. With the help of this forum we have begun plotting our itinerary to travel from NYcity to San Francisco/ our 'theme' is American Music- a 3 week adventure that will take us to Washington DC (wanna know the blues? what better place to start! :) ever hear Leadbelly's Bourgeois Blues? "It's a bourgeois town!" is Washington DC

    2 days in DC-visiting the Smithsonian and the Spy Museum and visiting our House of Congress telling em what we feel- we head down the Blue Ridge Parkway through Virginia and North Carolina. We take 3 days camping out if the weather goes our way.

    From here we head to Nashville Tenn for a couple of days of music and hanging out

    We'll then shoot over to Memphis Tenn for the river and music for 2 days.

    Memphis and onto the Mississippi Delta, The Land Where the Blues Began.
    and into New Orleans. Here we will spend a day or three.

    From New Orleans and the Louisianna Delta onto Austin Texas! where I know we'll hear some great music.

    After Austin we'll be doing some hard travelin' for we'll need to make some time to head into the Canyonlands of southern Utah

    after a couple of days hiking and exploring and camping in the red rocks we head toward the west coast post haste into the Nevada desert and onto Reno Nevada for cheap hotel digs at Circus Circus and then home to our home near SF Bay

    most of our trip we'll be camping out. keeping our costs down with an occasional hotel or motel. We'll be making a video of our journey and our car is a Prius to keep the gas costs way down and sparing the air a bit with lower emissions. We know its not all fun and light, it'll be tough at times but what in life is worth it if you don't get the Blues once in a while.

    Here's our 'rough outline' map. Still in planning stages. any comments, suggestions, words of warning, campsite suggestions, hotel motel suggestions much appreciated.
    Last edited by AZBuck; 05-16-2008 at 08:01 AM. Reason: Preferred link format; Remove some whitespace

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Mar 2005
    Location
    Tucson, AZ
    Posts
    10,376

    Default Just a Few Observations

    Welcome back to the RoadTrip America Forums!

    On the way between Memphis and New Orleans, your map shows you using I-55. A route more in keeping with your theme would be US-61, the Blues Highway.

    In the southwest, be on the lookout for venues with live Native American music.

    Finally, I don't see where your map takes you to Las Vegas, but maybe your plans have changed since you last updated the map.

    AZBuck
    Last edited by Tom_H007; 01-30-2024 at 02:58 AM. Reason: Removed inactive link

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Feb 2008
    Location
    el cerrito,california
    Posts
    27

    Default The Blues Highway

    whoa what a great article and terrific tip. thanks so much. why didn't i think of that song by Bob Dylan-'Highway 61 revisited'.


    "Now the roving gambler, he was very bored
    Trying to create our next world war
    He found a promoter who nearly fell on the floor
    He said I've never engaged in this kind of thing before
    But yes I think it can be very easily done
    We'll just put some bleachers out in the sun
    And head out on Highway 61"

    great American song/ yeah we be taking that highway.

    again, much appreciated, thanks for taking the time.
    Last edited by Tom_H007; 02-28-2024 at 09:47 PM. Reason: removed inactive photo link

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Feb 2008
    Location
    el cerrito,california
    Posts
    27

    Default A Change in Itinerary Revisited

    Instead of going way north back to interstate 80 from Utah, we'll just head up to Highway 50 and cross Nevada with it. I've heard it's much more scenic than interstate 80. I'm sure it's slower but who cares. Who needs Vegas, Dino and Frank and Sammy don't play there no more.

  5. #5
    Join Date
    Feb 2008
    Location
    el cerrito,california
    Posts
    27

    Default Mona Lisa across the highway. audiobooks for the long way?

    "Mona Lisa must've had the highway blues
    you can tell by the way she smiles"

    one other thing
    my local library has lots of audiobook cd's i'm transferring to the ipod and listening to a iittle Dickens, Elmore Leonard and Philip K Dick and a David Mamet Play, anyone with some recommends?

  6. #6
    Join Date
    Feb 2008
    Location
    el cerrito,california
    Posts
    27

    Default i'm Hoping

    Last edited by Tom_H007; 01-27-2024 at 02:23 AM. Reason: replaced image, added link

  7. #7
    Join Date
    Jan 1998
    Location
    Las Vegas, Nevada
    Posts
    13,017

    Default RTA's home is Las Vegas....

    Quote Originally Posted by Melvin Furd View Post
    I've heard it's much more scenic
    Here is one roadtripper's take on US-50.
    Who needs Vegas?
    Well, if you enjoy this site.... RTA's corporate home is in Las Vegas. Here are some of things we enjoy about living and working here.

    Mark

  8. #8
    Join Date
    Feb 2008
    Location
    el cerrito,california
    Posts
    27

    Default Open Mouth Insert Foot

    Whoops don't mean to put down someones town, least of all the hosts city! I beg your pardon. Thanks Mark for those articles, I am more inclined toward the quiet and solitude these days so the route 50 article is handy and who knows a little detour to Vegas is always a possibility. Would love to see Bette Midlers act!
    Last edited by Melvin Furd; 05-19-2008 at 07:37 AM.

  9. Default

    What a great idea to make a trip based on Blues. Let us know how it went.

  10. #10
    Join Date
    Feb 2008
    Location
    el cerrito,california
    Posts
    27

    Default

    Thanks man. my son is one helluva piano player and he can play the blues like you wouldn't believe and he's only ten years old (11 in July) He sings the Dylan song Highway 61 amongst many other songs and he can sing. Frankly if he's game and I'm not going to push him, we're going to blow some minds, so we're going to go to the Land Where the Blues was Born....Recommended highly!-by Alan Lomax

    Winner of a 1993 National Book Critics Circle award, a rollicking memoir of the legendary folklorist's journey into blues country

    http://tinyurl.com/57okxg

    Me, I'm a filmmaker so we're hoping to combine and make a little movie about our trip. I've got my trusted HV20 canon camera, and a tripod, a li'l red Prius, camping gear. and we're gone. Will keep this forum posted as we proceed. It has been an enormous help in plotting out this trip.

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