I wanna feel the blues...

[zmyst1958]

Just wanted to mention a couple of options since they seem pretty much within easy access to your itinerary.

Georgia has a neat little town called Helen a short ways north of Atlanta. This town is built with a strong German influence and would be a great place to spend a few hours.

Also in south Georgia, a trip on the Okenokee Swamp could be interesting.

Finally, when heading up from Dallas to Oklahoma, very close to Lawton is the Wichita Mountains Wildlife Refuge another great place to spend a few hours driving through.

All these places have camping, but you may need to check regarding the swamp what is and is not available.

See Big Al Carson in New Orleans for some really funny, funky blues.

[Mark Sedenquist]

Just wanted to mention a couple of options since they seem pretty much within easy access to youritinerary.

Welcome to the Great American RoadTrip Forum! It is wonderful to have a new member, like yourself, answering questions with your first post. Great ideas too!

Mark

[zmyst1958]

Mark, thanks for the welcome, just found this site and boy does it stir the travel bug that lurks beneath the surface, barely beneath. I can see I'll be planning a trip in the very near future and what a wonderful place this is for advice and support.

Becki

[aline]

Hi Becki, thank you very much for the great tips. I did have a gap in my itinerary from Dallas to Oklahoma and you helped to fill it.
Helen seems to be the cutest little place and is the perfect stop between Savannah and Memphis. The hiking trails really call for a stop and interaction with nature! After some exercising I might as well head to their winery and if I get 'too' happy afterwards I can always spend the night.
I've also checked the Big Al Carson website and he sounds like real fun.
Thanks a lot for helping me out!

[UKCraig]

If you're going to Memphis, make sure you do the Graceland thing. Put aside any thoughts about it being tacky - it is but it's great fun anyway! You absolutely must visit the Lorraine Motel where MLK was shot (it's now a fascinating museum) and, as you say, Beale Street is the place to be after dark. Just don't wander too far away from there after dark as there are some not quite so desireable areas closeby.

And, if you can, get yourself along to Nashville too. If it's not on your route it's definately worth a diversion to spend an evening there. Very cool place.

Wasn't a massive fan of New Orleans myself, but others swear by it. Dallas, however, was a surprise hit with me. I really did enjoy my time there and you have to factor in some time there.

[GoGators2006]

I began typing up an extensive report of my trip when I was done, but I found myself only half way done, and planned on finishing it later.

I agree with the comment about Helen, GA -- it's a fun town, especially in the winter. I'm not sure if it's open in February, but consider the Tallulah Gorge as well -- it's pretty close to Helen.

I chose to go the Southernmost route through Bama, Miss, Louisiana, Texas, OK, Texas again, NM, Colorado, then Utah.

Here is my incomplete work from my trip report -- it may or may not help. It was quite lengthly already, so I just included the parts that pertain to you.

Alabama: Guess what? This was my first time to Alabama too. I noticed the geography of Alabama was slightly different than Florida, less pines, and more of something else. I kept on I-10 through the state, and went through Mobile, and my only tunnel on the trip. I thought Mobile was a really neat town, and I was impressed by the large seaport that it had. In retrospect, I wish I would have jumped on I-20W in Mobile, as you will come to understand later on.

Mississippi: Sorry guys, but I have vague recollections of Mississippi. I didn't spend much time going through there on I-10, but I do remember stopping for lunch at a Wendy's in Gulfport if that counts for anything.

Louisiana: Continuing Westward on I-10 I entered Louisiana, which certainly did not live up to my expectations. I didn't see much Katrina damage along I-10, but I did go over a LOOONG 20+ mile stretch of bridge over swamp just north of New Orleans. Thankfully there were no accidents while I was on it. What on Earth do they do if there is an accident on there? It must be a mess.

I then passed through Baton Rouge, and crossed the Mississippi River (which seemed like a decent milestone) and proceeded North on to I-49 for an endless number of miles. I would not recommend this stretch of road even to my worst enemy. The drive was excruciatingly boring, through a vast expanse of nothingness, and very few places to stop to take a break. I never realized how large Louisiana is until I drove this stretch of road. My trip on I-49 finally ended when I reached Shreveport around 8pm on day 2 to connect with I-20. I was high on caffeine and decided to push on in to Texas before calling it a night (I think mostly because I wanted to be in 5 states in one day).

East Texas: Finding a hotel room in East Texas along I-20 was more work than I expected. Unfortunately I had to drive around for nearly an hour before finding a vacant room at a reasonable rate. I was very surprised by how far Eastward the Dallas sprawl is in Texas. I don't recall very many isolated areas along East Texas along I-20.

Then came the part that I was most not looking forward to: going through Dallas. I was in Dallas a few weeks prior to my trip/move, and I recall the traffic being absolutely horrific. Luckily I made it to Dallas mid-day, and did not encounter much traffic along the interstates. Once I got to Dallas I proceeded North on to I-35 headed towards Oklahoma City. As I approached Oklahoma, it was very noticeable that the terrain was opening up, and that the horizons were much longer. Being from Florida, long horizons is not something I ever encounter much, and it was amazing to me looking out over ranch land for miles on end.

Oklahoma: Who would have thought Southern Oklahoma would be one of the more amazing places I have visited? This stretch of I-35 through the southern parts of Oklahoma is some of the most scenic driving I have ever done. At this point I noticed the terrain changing a bit, approaching some rocky hills that have obviously been dynamited for the interstate. To me, these were very unique, and were a sign of greater things to come. Overall, this stretch of Oklahoma was very green (grass, but few trees), the wildflowers were in full bloom, the air was fresh, and the horizons were easily the longest near-ground-level horizons I have ever seen in my life. I would not be able to put in to words what the area looks like, but it is uniquely beautiful. As I approached Oklahoma City, the beauty diminished, and I was unlucky enough to hit Oklahoma City just in time for afternoon rush hour.

After a near accident in Oklahoma City traffic, I jumped on I-40 Westward and finally escaped the parking lot in to rural Oklahoma. I saw quite a bit of damage from previous tornadoes along this stretch of I-40, but otherwise, there is not much else worth mentioning about this part of Oklahoma. There were plenty of drab ranches, and the air smelled of cow manure for most of the trip through here.

Texas Panhandle: Who would have thought the Texas Panhandle was so large? After a few miles of "more of the same" in the Eastern portion of the Texas Panhandle, I finally started to approach some serious (to a Floridian at least) mountainous terrain. I was coming among this portion of Texas along a long Texas sunset, and the views were absolutely amazing just east of Amarillo. Approaching Amarillo, I had "Amarillo by Morning" by George Strait (one of my favorite songs!) going through my head. I was able to listen to the song a couple of times, and along with the Texas sunset, these moments were very exhilarating. I turned in for the night in Amarillo, and when I woke up in the morning I realized that I was very close to the Great West.

My route finally took me off I-20 onto TX-335 and a couple lonely RM/FM (still don't know what this means) Texas roads. Finally I was off the interstates and on to the moments I had been waiting for: drives along State and US Highways through the West. I then found myself going north on US-287 through some unique oil country, and then finally on to US-87/US-64 heading in to New Mexico.

[lhuff]

I took off on I-90 and about freaked at being on an Interstate again, especially one with a 75 mph speed limit. I'd been on roads with 55 mph speed limits for days that wound gently through the country side. But I was soon used to the rat race again and sat back and watched the advertising signs that sprouted from the roadsides like weeds. They were great. It's a rather bleak landscape, but I was thoroughly entertained at the myriad of signs and advertising campaigns that flooded the roadside. Wall Drug's, of course, were the most prominent. Louisiana could really take a not from this. They banned advertising along I-49 in an effort to create a scenic drive. Ummm, I-49 runs through one giant pine tree forest for 200 miles and avoids towns like the plague. In other words, it's boring. I avoid driving I-49 whenever possible on long trips, and I'm not the only one. I'd love to see miles and miles of advertising for alligator farms in Natchitoches and the boats in Shreveport rather than -- tree, tree, tree....

Here's a quote from a recent roadtrip I was on where I found myself lamenting the horror that is I-49. If I had realized you were going to go up that way I would have recommended taking highway 190 out of Baton Rouge to Highway 171 out of Lake Charles through to Shreveport and then Highway 80 through East Texas. All run somewhat parallel to the Interstates, but are infinitely more interesting.

Laura

[aline]

Hi everyone, thank you again for all your support and help with so many great tips.
I am currently organizing the last details of my 2 months vacation in Brazil (december/january) reason why I haven't posted here for a couple of weeks.
Nevertheless, I am also still working on my road trip crossing USA and will intensify the 'studies and preparation in January while enjoying an ice cold beer with my siblings to avoid letting my brains melt in the hot brazilian summer!
News (and certainly a few more questions) to come soon.
Best of luck to you all!
Aline

[Sandra08]

Hi.. just wanted to say that I am really impressed with the quality of this site!! I am planning a road trip throughout the States next year and I am currently looking for ideas.. and there are SO many here.. now I am a bit confused - may need more than 4 weeks as originally planned... I have been looking on other sites as well but will continue to read through more topics etc to get more ideas!!! Im sure to have lots of questions!!

Thankyou :)

[iranfromthezoo]

Aline..I see your going to stay in Clarksdale, MS and go to NOLA. As a resident of Mississippi I can tell you a little about our "jewels" that no one knows about. Morgan Freeman has a blues/jazz joint in Clarksdale, I don't know the name but I can get it to you if you want. Mississippi Highway 1 is a great road to travel. It shows the delta in all it's glory and sadly in it's disparity. In Rosedale, MS there is the Great River Road State Park. Only .50 to get in, it's right on the Mississippi River and you can walk up to the banks. You can follow MS 1 to US 61 into Vicksburg and see the Vicksburg National Military Park and the nation's second largest military cemetery. You can also find yourself getting lost at the Coca-Cola museum and see where and how Coca-Cola was first made. A little further South is Port Gibson with the church that has a hand pointing in the sky. You can also see Grand Gulf Park which has a nuclear reactor and another amazing view of the Mississippi River. You can also go further south to see Windsor Ruins (sign says Windsor Runins). You can get on the Natchez Trace to finish off in Natchez, MS which is a a 30-45 min from NOLA. It is an amazing town...if you go there I highly recommend eating at Kings Tavern. It was built in the 1600's and is and amazing place but be prepared to spend some money.


All of these places are safe. Although this is Mississippi and we claim racism is gone it is still alive and breathing in the smaller towns of the delta. I walked into a store up there and was refused service because of my skin color (which is white believe it or not).

I work as a firefighter in Brandon, MS and I am off two out of every 3 days. If you would like a tour guide I would be most glad to show anywhere in our state.