Madison to Austin for the new year!

[Defne]

Hi all! New around here, and new to making a huge road trip like this as well, but my husband and I are moving from Madison WI to Austin TX and taking the pooch with us, so driving seems to be the most sensible way to get it done. We're planning on leaving around January 1 (dead of winter, brilliant, right?) and taking a good 3 days to get there so it's not too hard on any of us and maybe even enjoy it a little ;) Checked the handy map wizard and it seems like decent stopping points would be Kansas City and Oklahoma City, but I did want to reach out here on the forum and see if y'all had any suggestions... Good pit stops, places to see, anything particularly dog-friendly (also checking on bringfido), or other general advice or tips you might have. Thanks so much for helping out a newbie!

[DonnaR57]

Welcome to RTA!

Sometimes you have to move or take a trip in the dead of winter. It just happens. Bear in mind that you have less daylight in which to travel. Your thought of doing this in 3 days is excellent! I would, however, have a 4th day available in case you get holed up somewhere because of weather. What I'd try to do, though, is make your days all around 400 miles. Perhaps you could stop just short of KC on the first day, which is around 490 miles, such as in Bethany or Cameron. Same would be true for OKC -- stay north of there, perhaps in the Perry area. Since you're traveling on a holiday weekend, morning rush hour should NOT be at issue!

Dog-friendly hotels include La Quinta and Motel 6, but always call ahead and ask. You could also pick up hotel coupon books at state tourist centers, usually within the first few miles as you enter a state on an interstate, or at some truck stops. These coupon books often say either "pet friendly" or "no pets, please" in the ads.

Best advice, though, is not to rely on electronics for your maps. Do pick up a good atlas at a big box store like Walmart or at your local bookstore. If you are AAA member, you can get maps for free at the local office. Maps are invaluable most any time, but they are especially important if you suddenly find out that a storm is heading right across the route you are planning to use. With a map, you can consult and possibly find an alternative route, or change your plans and stay someplace overnight to let the storm pass by. (Don't wait until the last minute, as the hotels will fill with other travelers in the same boat.)


Donna

[Harry Kline]

Welcome to RTA!

Sometimes you have to move or take a trip in the dead of winter. It just happens. Bear in mind that you have less daylight in which to travel. Your thought of doing this in 3 days is excellent! I would, however, have a 4th day available in case you get holed up somewhere because of weather. What I'd try to do, though, is make your days all around 400 miles. Perhaps you could stop just short of KC on the first day, which is around 490 miles, such as in Bethany or Cameron. Same would be true for OKC -- stay north of there, perhaps in the Perry area. Since you're traveling on a holiday weekend, morning rush hour should NOT be at issue!


Donna

I'm going to add to what Donna said. You will be traveling on New Years Weekend, when many people will be traveling home from holiday visits to get to work on Monday, so traffic might be heavier than normal. You will also be going through or past three large cities, K.C. Oklahoma City and Dallas/Fort Worth. You want to take bypasses when you can, and I have a couple for you.

At Kansas City, take the I-435 bypass south on the east side at Claycomo, MO and use it all the way to where it rejoins I-35 at Lenexa, KS. Take I-35 to Emporia, where you'll join I-335, a toll road to the Oklahoma border.

When you get to Wichita, there is no bypass, but I-35 goes to the east of the downtown area, so it isn't too bad for traffic. The same is true of Oklahoma City where I-35 skirts the city to the east of downtown.

At Denton, TX you have a choice of I-35W or I-35E. Choose I-35W, which goes through Fort Worth. Believe me, it is the better of the two routes for traffic.

If you use the bypasses, you should make good time and avoid the city traffic.

I speak from experience, as we drove from K.C. to Killeen many times and usually made it a one-day trip each way. Certainly you can do it in two days to Austin, even in the dead of winter.

[glc]

Minor correction, Harry - I-335 ends at Emporia, you should just stay on I-35.

To get out of Madison, take US-151 to Cedar Rapids and around the east side of the city to US-30 to I-380 to I-80 to I-35. Another option is take US-20 out of Dubuque to I-35.

Cameron and Perry would make good overnight stops to avoid big cities.