Baltimore to Oakland and back again

IIRC I-59 down to birmingham was a wash board piece of highway, but it has been years. never could figure out an alternate route.
bumpy

An overload of information is right at your fingertips. Check Trip Advisor for top attractions. Pick the official site for any state or any town.

We are also headed west from the Eastern Shore mid April but going to the Northwest. One concern for that time of year is the spring storms. Mostly for that reason we have almost 20 days allotted for MD to the OR coast with multiple day stops along the way & most travel days no more than 4 or 5 hours.

We like being last ones out of the CG in the morning & first ones in by mid afternoon in time to watch the 'entertainment' when the 500 mile a day very tired road warriors arrive all tired & frustrated.

I almost forgot the biggest reason to use I-40 you avoid Atlanta, Dallas/FtWorth, Phoenix, and LA, not to mention, El Paso, and Tucson. On I-40 you do go through Oklahoma City, Little Rock, Memphis, and Nashville but by comparison those are a piece of cake.

jerseyjim wrote:

Then...check your 5-600 mile a day thing. We leave around 7-8AM and pull in around 3PM. No hurry. Keep in mind, on-the-road campgrounds fill up around 5PM... .

x2
bumpy

I-40 in April will be fine. I-10 may have dust storm closures. I-40 is shorter and generally more scenic IMO. I would rather see the Grand Canyon than Tombstone. A few days in Flagstaff will allow you to see the Grand Canyon, Walnut Canyon, Sedona, Homilovi, Meteor Crater, and the Painted Desert/Petrified forest.

On the return, use I-80 then I would swing up on I-15 at Salt Lake City to see the Tetons and Yellowstone, but it will add a few days to your trip and takes you off of the direct route back to Baltimore.

Look into Trailer Haven in San Leandro (2399 E 14th St, San Leandro, CA 94577, (510) 357-3235) for a close to Oakland RV park. Tell them how big your rig is and when you will arrive and they will keep a space open you can fit into.

5-600 miles a day.....I suggest you start at 300 miles a day. See how you do.
I-10 seems to have the most campgrounds and the most campgrounds open all year.

At around 300-400 miles a day taking I-95...our first stop would be Florence, SC. Next day, the KOA, Ga.exit#1...St. Marys. From there, we found a old but neat overmight stay at the I-10 Campground in Theodore, Alabama. Stay in the up front sites. Then, Beaumont Texas...Gulf Shore (I think)...then thru Texas, Junction then Van Horn. All these are easy-on'easy-off the interstates. Plus, these that I've mentioned all have nearby gas stations that accommodate RVs.

Then...check your 5-600 mile a day thing. We leave around 7-8AM and pull in around 3PM. No hurry. Keep in mind, on-the-road campgrounds fill up around 5PM...so without reservations, end your day early. We never had problems. (Except for one year, the snows were so bad that RVs were coming down from I-40 and I-20 to I-10. Watch the Weather Channel. That was the only year we made reservations...but again, that was the 3rd year of a snowbird run to AZ, (January) so we knew where we were gonna be.)

On the way back, we've gone I-20 to Dallas (the Cowboy RV Park in Ft. Worth) (toured the NASCAR race track and the Cowboys' stadium) then up to Oklahoma City KOA to see the bombing memorial (well worth it), then, on I-40 quite a few places to see...then I-81 to home.

Suggestion: IMO, KOA has the interstates just about locked up. Convenient, clean and easy on, easy off. So you might want to sign up for the KOA membership. With their 10% off...by the 3rd or 4th nite...almost free. (LOL) Also, get the Trailer Life Directory available at Camping World. I think 9 bucks. VERY valuable publication.

The idea behind the 500 to 600 miles, 10 hours was to get up early, hit the road, travel the full day, pull in later and have dinner at a new campground. Then spend the next day or two touring the new location before taking another travel day to the next location to tour from.

This is our first major trip.

Do a Google search for `_______ tourism' and put the State or City that you want to know about in the blank space and read what the specialists recommend. Much faster and more thorough than waiting for possible responses to your post.
Since very few of us `older' RVers would try to travel 500 to 600 miles per day perhaps you will return to this Forum with an appraisal of how it worked out for you.

My suggestions would be the Grand Teton and Yellowstone National Parks, at least 4 days to visit, also Mount Rushmore.
Just an observation on your 500-600 miles a day. Maybe for 1 or 2 days in a row. That's 10-12 hours of actual driving time, not counting breaks, fuel, meals, nature, sightseeing for something that looks interesting in area.

Ken

Why would you want to travel 500 to 600 miles a day - you're retired now, right? Go by: On the road by 10:00AM, off the road by 3:00PM and a cold beverage in hand by 5:00PM.

Honestly, it's time to enjoy the travels, not drive like you still only have two weeks of vacation time a year.

If nothing else, use Google. Just type in "what is there to see in Bismark North Dakota?" and all sorts of things will pop up.

This summer we saw most of the Presidential Libraries and most of the major Civil War sites.

Bill