California to Tennessee

[bmb1881]

This is my first time posting, I though I would try it out & see if I could
get any suggestions.
My husband & I were wanting to take a road trip from California to Tennessee. We bought an RV a couple months ago. We have family in Tenn.
So we wanted to drive out to Tenn.
I was wondering does anybody have any suggestions about nice places to stop along the way? Any places of interest? We wanted to stop & see some different places on our trip, besides just drive straight from Calif. to Tenn.
My husband was also wondering if there were any nice towns that look like
the town in the tv program of "EVERWOOD" (I think that's filmed in Ogden, Utah).
If anybody knows of any neat little towns & places along the way to Tennessee let me know.
I just wanted to get some ideas of places to stop along the way to Tennessee.
Thanks,
Bonnie

[Mark Sedenquist]

This is my first time posting, I though I would try it out & see if I could get any suggestions.

Welcome to the Forum! What kind of RV did you get? Be sure to read, print out and carry Mark Helmlinger's suggested tips for operating a RV.

My husband & I were wanting to take a road trip from California to Tennessee. We bought an RV a couple months ago. We have family in Tenn.
So we wanted to drive out to Tenn.

Tennessee is a pretty cool destination -- when would the trip be?

My husband was also wondering if there were any nice towns that look like the town in the tv program of "EVERWOOD" (I think that's filmed in Ogden, Utah).

I have never seen the show, but America is full of small towns that are pretty fun to visit. What kinds of things interest you?

Mark

[PNW Judy]

I'd love to help but I've never seen Everwood either. Sorry.

What route are you considering? Or do you want route suggestions? What kinds of things do you like to do and see? How much time do you have for the drive?

It will be easier to give you ideas if we have some idea of what interests you.

Hint: below the posts on this page, there are other threads that have similar topics. That's a good place to start to do some research. You can also do a search on the forums here to get ideas.

[bmb1881]

We got a 28 foot 1994 Fleetwood Coronado motorhome.
We just got back from short 2 week RV trip. So we have operated the motorhome before. I will look at the operating guide. & save it on my desktop. Thanks for the link.
We are thinking of leaving in a couple of weeks.
We are looking for any small, neat, fun towns to visit.
We think taking the main highways would be boring. So we would like to take
the road(s) less travelled. We would like to stop along the way & see some things.
Any suggestions.
Thanks,
Bonnie

[PNW Judy]

Ya know, there are some ugly highway areas in this country. No doubt about that. But once you get out of the cities, the interstates offer some terrific scenery. Don't rule out the interstates solely because you'll thinkt they're boring. Once you get into the deserts, mountains, and wide-open plains, they go past some tremendous sights.

What route are you planning on taking? That will help with giving you suggestions on what to see and do along the way.

What kinds of things do you want to see in the small towns? Just the towns themselves? Or neat, old architecture? Or roadside kitsch? Or historic sites? I hope I'm not sounding like a broken record but some more input on your interests would really help.

[bmb1881]

Hmmm... Lets See,
We Don't Have A Specific Amount Of Time For The Trip. We Just Wanted It To Be Really Nice & Relaxing Drive To Tennessee.
I'm Not Sure About A Specific Route We Were Wanting To Take To Tennessee.
We Love The Mountain Stuff (lakes). Tons Of Green Trees, Forest.
It Might Be Nice To See Some Neat Old Architecture, Roadside Kitsch, Historic Sites. Also Ghost Towns.
I'm Not Sure What Else I Can Think Of Right Now.
Thanks,
Bonnie

[PNW Judy]

If you want forests and mountains, you might want to consider taking I-70 through Colorado. Another route, but it will add time and miles, would be to go up to I-90/94 through Washington, Idaho, and Montana. However, once you get through the mountainous and forested areas along these routes, you're going to be getting into the Great Plains states with virtually none of either. I don't think there's any route that will keep you in forests the whole way. Desert, plains, etc. will have to be driven through no matter what at some point.

Each route is going to have interesting small towns, architecture, and history. I'm having trouble figuring out how to help you because there are literally hundreds of ways to get from CA to TN via combinations of interstate/smaller roads.

I would suggest that you look at a map of the US and mark the stuff you really want to see. Maybe the Grand Canyon? Maybe Glacier NP? Maybe New Orleans? Any and all places that you really want to see should be marked in some way. Then see if you can figure out a route that lets you see them all. Come back here for suggestions. Once we get some specific ideas, we can more easily offer suggestions for things to see (or avoid) along the way.

For kitsch, Roadside America is a great website to check out. One of the best websites for architecture is Roadside Peek. For great road food, often in unusual/unique restaurants, check out Road Food. Many of these websites and more can be found at the links our dear editors have so graciously provided. Check out all the wealth of information available when you click on "Site Directory" at the top of this page.

You might also check out Road Trip USA which details several routes across the US. They have a great book as well as an informative website

Hopefully this will give you some ideas to get you started on narrowing things down. I think the planning is half the fun myself.

[swainsam]

Hey,

I'm also planning a trip which involves Tennessee to California (i'm actually starting in Toronto but I will go through TN to CA) I've never done it before, so don't know if what I say will help or not but i'll kind of let you know the route i'm planning on taking and then maybe someone who knows can pick it to death!!

Memphis, TN (Graceland) -

Little Rock, AR -

Hot Springs Nat Park ("The American Spa") -

The Crater of Diamonds State Park (Crater of Diamonds State Park is the only diamond-producing site in the world where the public can search for diamonds. And the policy there is “finder’s keepers.” ) -

Dallas, TX (JFK shooting) -

Amarillo, TX (Route 66, Cadillac Ranch,) -

Santa Fe, NM (historic) -

Albuquerque, NM (panoramic views of the world longest aerial tramways) -

Monument Valley, UT -

Zion Nat Park, UT -

Grand Canyon, AZ -

Hoover Dam, NV -

Las Vegas, NV -

California

Ooop's just through you would probably want to do that backwards if your starting in CA!! :-)

Not sure if that helps??

Sam

[Mark Sedenquist]

We Don't Have A Specific Amount Of Time For The Trip. We Just Wanted It To Be Really Nice & Relaxing Drive To Tennessee.

Bonnie,
I would suggest that you allow a full week for the trip to Tennessee -- unless you are used to rigors of RV travel -- I would suggest that you plan to spend no more than five hours each day doing actual highway miles and the rest of the day exploring and relaxing.

One place that I really enjoyed for architecture was Columbus, Indiana -- if you, be sure to take the walking tour of downtown where you can see buildings designed by Richard Meier, I. M. Pei, Kevin Roche, and Robert Venturi. Another architecture site that explores the world of Googie can provide ample examples of amusing strutures closer to California. RTA is a member of Commercial Archeology and I think their site is a treasure trove of unusual Americana for roadtrip.

On your way east, you can drive part of the old Route 66 and there are two sites that I think provide the best resources on the web. The first was created by Guy Randall and can be used like an on-going travelog and the second is a relatively new site by Kathy Weiser, who like Guy, has a incredibly rich collection of places to explore and experience as you make your way eastward.

Also Ghost Towns.

The best resource I have found for western ghost towns is this one.

Also -- Wesley Treat's site about zany sites in Texas is really fun. And for explorations near Tennessee itself -- check out the Boston Wrangler's field report here.

Mark

[Mark Sedenquist]

I'm also planning a trip which involves Tennessee to California (i'm actually starting in Toronto but I will go through TN to CA) I've never done it before, so don't know if what I say will help or not but i'll kind of let you know the route i'm planning on taking Hot Springs Nat Park ("The American Spa") -

Sam,
When you are at Hot Springs National Park -- first you are going to be surprised -- the entire park is downtown on city streets -- be sure to "Take the Treatment" where you will be bathed by professional bathers. It is quite an experience. My bather was 3rd-generation professional.

Albuquerque, NM (panoramic views of the world longest aerial tramways) -

That is interesting, I have been to Albuquerque dozens of times and I never even knew it HAD an aerial tramway.

Monument Valley, UT -
Zion Nat Park, UT -
Grand Canyon, AZ -

You are zig zagging around here a bit. Is that intended?

Hoover Dam, NV -

Be sure to take the tour