Eastern US/Canada/Texas Trip Advice

Are you aware of the traffic conditions around Toronto, Ottawa, Montreal & Quebec City?

Suggestion 1 - in West Texas the most interesting place(s) are the Davis Mountains. A lot of interesting wildlife on the circular drive and also the observatory which has evening stargazing programs.

Suggestion 2 - Interstate 80 is the single most boring route through the US. We've driven it many times. Unless you have a good reason to visit Cleveland and Chicago I would suggest other routes.

Suggestion 3 - Tour New England before crossing into Canada and then go west along the north shore of Lake Superior. Visit Thunder Bay and then reenter the US and travel along the north shore of Lake Superior to Duluth. Follow US 2 west through North Dakota (which is surprisingly interesting) and then cut south to Denver. (Eastern Montana is pretty boring.)

Suggestion 4 - Reenter the US at Sault Saint Marie and then explore the Upper Peninsula of Michigan before catching US 2. All routes are interesting.

Check the rules about entering Canada and reentering the US. There are strict rules about fresh food, liquor, and gifts that you really need to know.

Moved from General RVing.

Riley and Val,

I do have some suggestions based on the route you sort of laid out.
I can't help with New England much because I lived in eastern CT and haven't even been back there in years.
But, I you are museum people, hang on.....
If you get north in upper NY, in Rochester is the Strong Museum of Play. This is a great stop if you were a child once or even know anybody that was.
If you go across NY on the Southern Tier Expressway (No Tolls), then plan a stop in the Corning Glass Museum.
If you are into ships and history, the museum in Erie PA is good. There are also numerous museum ships that dot Lake Erie, but I used to rum those, so I don't tend to bother with them.
If you plan to go north to Michigan, buy fuel in Ohio or at least check it out on gas buddy.
Now, for an excursion into MI, there are two museums that should not be missed and they are both in the same place. There is the Henry Ford Museum in Dearborn (very near Detroit), and coupled with that is the Greenfield Village complex. Neither is cheap, so read about them first.
Then while still in Michigan and if you are car people. Lookup the Gilmore in Hickory Corners. It has collections that exist no where else. The Kalamazoo (a real place) has the Air Zoo that used to be a collection of Grumman Cats. It now has a lot else too. It is close to the highway.
From here, I would like to send you off the the Field and Science and Industy in Chicago. Both are very good but parking is a bear and expensive. You will have to leave the coach out of town...
Now let's see if I can post this....
Matt

be sure you each have a valid passport or passport card in order to get back into the states. not sure what you will need to enter Canada.

Carlsbad Caverns: guided tour and evening bat fly program. recommend Brantley Stare Park.
Texas Hill Country: Pacific War Museum (Fredericksburg), Luchenbach, TX (near F’burg), LBJ Ranch tour (near Johnson City, TX)

Been to D.C.?

Sounds like a fabulous trip! We made a trip from WA back to the New England States in 2013 for 6.5 weeks in our RV and want to do it again (not retired yet so have to build up the time).

Definitely recommend Kennebunkport in Maine, very quaint town (our favorite). We stayed at Red Apple Campground. Wish we went to Portland but ran out of time. Our next favorite area was Vermont - specifically for the King Arthur Flour campus in White River Junction (we're foodies), all the covered bridges, Cabot creamery (excellent!) up outside of Montpelier (also a neat town) and of course, Ben & Jerry's.

Cooperstown, NY is a fun place (even if you're not a baseball fan)with really cool architecture throughout the town.

Maumee Bay State Park in Ohio on the south end of Lake Erie was beautiful - we stayed there for a few days. Huge campground and park. Lots of trails. Wish we had time to go north into Michigan and the upper peninsula. Hear that's pretty spectacular.

Safe travels!