Need Help! Raleigh, NC to San Francisco, Ca

[Jtgutierrez]

Hello, and thank you in advance for your time.

I am planning a cross country road trip that I will taking next Wednesday 4/21/21 from Raleigh, NC to San Francisco, CA. I am finally getting to move the love of my love home to wine country so we can live together and have our forever happiness!

I am looking for to plan a route that highlights some of the “worlds biggest” items, and other quirky roadside attractions along the way. Taking pictures at the road signs as we enter each state along the way. We don’t have any particular places we want to see aside from the Grand Canyon for some beautiful views, maybe Graceland. New Orleans?

We have never done a long distance road trip like this, and we could use all the help we can get in planning a memorable trip of a lifetime! Seeing many places that we would otherwise never have a chance to see.

I am flying out there on Wednesday 4/21/21 and we are driving back kinda as fast as we can, while still maximizing our experience. I’m trying to be back in California on Sunday evening 4/25/21 so I can make it to work Monday. But if I need to take more time off work, I should be able to swing it.

ThNk you all for your help, and I greatly appreciate this forum for all the help it has already provided me!!

[glc]

Welcome to RTA!

You are not allocating enough time for this trip, even before considering sightseeing. This drive would take 5 full days with no diversions, taking I-40/CA-58/I-5.

[AZBuck]

Welcome Aboard the RoadTrip America Forums!

There is no way that you can safely drive from Raleigh to San Francisco in four days. Period. Having two drivers (if you in fact do) is no help. You would still have to cover over 700 miles a day. No! Not possible. And that's before you add in any detours to New Orleans or the Grand Canyon or anywhere else, let alone stopping at 'The World's Biggest' anything. Find at least another day if you want to make this trip at all.

AZBuck

[Jtgutierrez]

Welcome Aboard the RoadTrip America Forums!

There is no way that you can safely drive from Raleigh to San Francisco in four days. Period. Having two drivers (if you in fact do) is no help. You would still have to cover over 700 miles a day. No! Not possible. And that's before you add in any detours to New Orleans or the Grand Canyon or anywhere else, let alone stopping at 'The World's Biggest' anything. Find at least another day if you want to make this trip at all.

AZBuck

Thank you for your reply! I do have another driver that will help drive. And I am not opposed to adding needed time for sightseeing. Thank you for your help!

[Southwest Dave]

It's not a case of adding time to sightsee, you need to add time purely to do the drive safely. So how much time are you prepared, or able to take to make it an enjoyable and safe experience. To get your "Forever happiness" you first of all need to get there safely, which is something we all want.

[DonnaR57]

I'm going to chime in with a "they're correct!" here. Raleigh to SF is 2840 miles, give or take a few on each end depending on exactly where you're starting/ending. That equates to about 5-1/2 days on the road without sightseeing.

A commercial driver is limited to 600 miles or 10 hours on the road per day, whichever is less. Then they must take a mandatory 8 hours off - any time sitting in the front of the cab is like driving - they must be in the back of the cab (if they have a driving partner) or (if solo) must pull over and sleep (or at least get off the road and rest!). That's why you may see truckers in rest areas, pulled over on the sides of exits, or even along the freeway in huge wide spots put there for just that purpose.

My husband is an ex-trucker. We follow that guideline, for the most part. We find that pushing it much past that 600 mile mark means we're extra tired, which is not a good thing to be on the road. If you are a beginner, you should keep it to 500-550 miles per day. Those miles are ONLY for days when you aren't stopping to sightsee. If you want to stop and see something, you add more time.

Another hold up that Google Maps and the like don't always take much into consideration, is construction. I just came down I-40 in the past 2 weeks. There was horrible construction westbound on 40 west of Albuquerque all the way to the NM/AZ state line. We were going eastbound and saw lines and lines of traffic going the other way - no accidents, just construction delays. (We went home via another route to avoid being part of that!)

Grand Canyon is experiencing horrific delays at the one and only Rim entrance that is open at this time. The South Rim entrance at Tusayan is open - the eastern entrance to the South Rim is closed down. You have to allow for that, plus time to try to park, catch the shuttle bus to see various viewpoints. Call it at least a full day.

I can't think of any "world's biggest" along the I-40. There are three things in the Panhandle of Texas along I-40. One is the giant cross at Groom. Another would be Cadillac Ranch in Amarillo. Bear in mind that this is in the midst of a construction area. If you like western flavor and steak, Big Texan in Amarillo is good for a lunch or dinner. It's actually easier to approach from the east, I'm told. Here is a discussion of the Big Texan rules for the 72 oz steak that you will see on billboards approaching Amarillo.

I'd really give serious consideration to extending your westbound trip by at least 3 days, if you want to fit your dreams in, not to mention the safety that others have mentioned.


Donna

[glc]

Donna - the Grand Canyon East Entrance reopened April 8.